Det lader til, at annonceringen af Shenmue 3 for godt to måneder siden har haft nogle uforudsete følger, nemlig en massiv stigning i efterspørgslen på brugte Dreamcast-maskiner og de gamle Shenmue-spil til platformen. Dette rapporteres af MCV, som har talt med adskillige uafhængige forhandlere om sagen.
Alex Bowness fra Canterburys Level Up fortæller:
"We sold 20 Dreamcasts in the last week alone. All of sudden, people are asking where they can play the original two Shenmue games. The announcement of Shenmue III really piqued everyone's interest."
Den fornyede interesse i Dreamcasten og Shenmue-spillene har selvfølgelig også fået prisen på produkterne til at stige. Reload Games' Michael Wealleans tilføjer:
"People are trying to get hold of the original copies of Shenmue and Final Fantasy VII, even if they don't have the console to play it on. They just want it in their collection. But with that demand, the price has gone up."
David James-Turvey fra Llanellis Retrobution har en interessant pointe, når han siger, at Sega har tabt en masse penge på ikke at lave en HD-samling af de eftertragtede Shenmue-spil, og fortæller at hans kunder glæder sig mere til Shenmue 3 end til Call of Duty.
"Sega has really lost out on a load of digital sales by not releasing HD versions, so naturally indies like myself are the only place that would satisfy that itch to get back into these titles.
I've had more customers hyped about Shenmue 3 than Call of Duty, and I am glad there are gamers out there like this, because it proves that gaming is not as disposable as other forms of entertainment. Indies should be confident in their physical stock.
Dreamcast sales have come from nowhere almost, what's exciting now is that young gamers who perhaps didn't even know what the Dreamcast was are interested in it."
Har du stadig en gammel Dreamcast-maskine stående, og glæder du dig til Shenmue 3?