A trademark application for Shenmue 3 which was spotted earlier on the Internet has been called a fake by publisher Sega. We’ve had this much desired game in the rumor mills for almost a decade now, and there’s still no concrete information about its existence. The trademark listing which started to whole chatter about the possible game has now been removed from the website of Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market (OHIM).
Eurogamer has received a statement from Sega confirming the illegitimacy of this trademark. The publisher has called it a ‘fake,’ and has also revealed that it’s currently looking into the origins of the application. A few days back, a report about a Fallout 4 trademark had also popped up on the OHIM site, but it seems this listing too has been taken down now.
The Shenmue series was commenced when its first game of the same name was launched back in 1999 for the Dreamcast console. Produced and directed by veteran designer Yu Suzuki, Shenmue was an adventure game known for its nonlinear gameplay which provided you with a largely interactive world. This game was extremely well received by publications, and has an extensive fan following till date.
It was followed by a sequel titled Shenmue II in 2001. Apart from the Dreamcast, it was also released for the Xbox. It continued its predecessor’s dream run by providing an all the more engaging adventure game experience. With Yu Suzuki having left Sega now, and the rights to the franchise still reserved by the company, Shenmue 3 has been caught in oblivion for more than a decade.