I suppose the characters could be living in some sort of nightmare world, where traditional games are bypassed in favorite of name-driven racing games. Where Ryu from the Shenmue series can drive a motorcycle and a forklift, yet still can't break out of this hellish existence into some sort of Shenmue 3. When I think about it that way I get chills. Someone hold me.

While Sega-Sammy notes that Suzuki has "retired" from his role as Creative Officer of the AM Plus R&D department, he'll still have some influence at Sega. The developer will continue on as manager of that group, in a role that GameSpot, by way of Sega reps, says is of "diminished capacity."

Suzuki's employment at Sega was called into question last year, when Sega of America boss Simon Jeffery indicated that the creator was no longer working for the company. Jeffery later corrected that, placing Suzuki in a Creative Officer role.

While Shenmue fans should really have given up hope of seeing Shenmue III a long, long time ago, we'd have to think that those still holding a candle for a third chapter should extinguish those hopes. Yes, Suzuki is still a Sega man, but it seems his creative influence is becoming increasingly, let's say, selective.

Yu Suzuki retires from AM plus [Sega Nerds]
Shenmue creator steps down at Sega [GameSpot]

It is intended that the two protests will only be superficially similar, however. Whereas Jericho nuts sent bags of, er, nuts the Shenmue protest will take the form of literally some plastic toy capsules being posted to SEGA offices. Oh, and hopefully the Shenmue protest will be successful.

Ryo Hazuki of the Shenmue MySpace Campaign has this advice for would-be protesters, "Please include a letter asking for the continuation of the Shenmue series with your toy capsules, and poster printed from the Shenmue Poster Project. If you are only sending a letter, please include a poster with yours as well. Please be polite in you letters as you will be representing the entire Shenmue fan base :)"

Protests begin on November 27th through to December 29th.

Mass Mailing SEGA!!! Shenmue!!! [MySpace - thanks to Doomstink for the tip]

Jeffery says of Suzuki's status that "Last I heard, he was doing some online stuff in China", saying that the Space Harrier and Virtua Fighter creator is "kind of his own man right now." Suzuki's recent projects, the arcade game Psy Phi and MMO Shenmue Online never made it to final production stages.

There's obviously much more to the Jeffery Q&A and, as you may be aware, we're fans of the frank Sega exec — and not just because he kept hope alive for a System 16 compilation. The entirety of the interview is worth your while.

The Evolution Of Sega: A Conversation With Simon Jeffery [Gamasutra - thanks, Jay!]

"There are no plans for [Shenmue III] right now," Jeffery told us. Despite being one of the most requested Sega "fanboy" titles, it certainly didn't sound like the publisher has much interest in or resources dedicated to the project.

Jeffery was at least less final on Shenmue III's fate than he was on a North American release of Seaman 2. We asked about the still unpublished PlayStation 2 oddball's Western release, to which Jeffery flat-out said "No."

Yeah, as a concept, these have been done before. Most notably that still-funny Governator one. But soundboard prank calls based on videogame characters? That's new. And what better way to kick off the trend than with Shenmue's Ryo Hazuki doing what he does best: asking deadpan, stupid questions.

[Tapezilla]

Shenmue Ar Tillbaka! [Gamereactor, via Go Nintendo]

Thanks, Shenmue Dojo!

As for Shenmue, I would have to say at this stage, it is worth forgetting about... Suzuki's status is, once again, up in the air, which counts Shenmue III totally out of the picture right now. This is confirmed, it seems.

No More Shenmue [VGB]

Shenmue fans now have the power of the BBC (Scotland... *cough*) behind them. While the rest of us may be ready to face the reality that the series is deader than Ryo's dad after appearing on two different consoles, both regional failures, the Beeb is ready to keep hope alive, in the form of the Shenmue III Appeal...

...the ultimate campaign to force the games industry into finishing the glorious story that was started by Yu Suzuki all those years ago. With the influence of videoGaiden, the power of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and the collective multimedia might of gamers everywhere, how can we possibly fail?

What do we want? We want closure. We want Ryo Hazuki's story to be told to its end. We want to see ambition rewarded. We want a straight "Yes." No other answer will do.

That's Rab Florence, voice of irrationality. His counterpart, Ryan Macleod, is obviously clued in to the overrater disaster that was Shenmue. Or maybe he just knows that today's Sega shouldn't be handling something this epic. I dunno, any Shenmue fans out there clamoring for more?

Keep your eyes on the BBC starting November 5th for more. Michael McWhertor

The BBC videoGaiden Shenmue III Appeal [via Press Start]

At Chinese game show ChinaJoy, Sega unveiled a trailer for the totally logical MMORPG version of the groundbreaking Dreamcast game Shenmue. Called Shenmue Online (so clever!), the game is designed by Sega and super producer Yu Suzuki (Space Harrier, Out Run, Virtua Fighter) for China and Korea. The online version takes scenarios from Shenmue II and lets players join one fo the three in-game clans. Shenmue's free-roaming style should suit online PC gaming in a way that wasn't possible for the Dreamcast's online service. No Western release has been announced. Bummer. Brian Ashcraft

Photos Here [Hazuki Dojo] Thanks, Sean!

If you thought that obsessive Resident Evil 4 fan video was crazy, check this out: Jason Tsui of Gang Entertainment sent along this link to four hours worth of Shenmue I & II movies parodies he created.

The trailer for Shenmue II is pretty good, justified (as most things are) by the presence of a hot blonde. And Mike Paprocki has the debonair good looks of a rising Hollywood star. Unfortunately, I'm not about to invest four hours into a parody of a game I was already disgusted with in thirteen seconds. FLORIAN ECKHARDT

Shenmue Fan Movies [Gang Entertainment]