You know E3 is right around the corner when Shenmue rumors start making the rounds. News started making the rounds last night that SEGA of Japan has renewed its trademark for the Shenmue intellectual property.
Of course, Internet forum logic suggests this must mean that SEGA is planning on unveiling Shenmue 3 at E3. I mean what’s the reason for having the #ShenmuE3 hashtag if SEGA isn’t going to finally give us the game we’ve been bugging them for?
A few months ago, everyone freaked out because SEGA apparently lost the Shenmue trademark in the U.S., but some suggested that filing was for Shenmue Online, an MMO that failed so hard it didn’t make it to North America or Europe.
What this filing likely means is that SEGA is simply keeping ownership of the trademark because that’s what video game companies do, whether they plan on continuing the franchise or not. Around this time last year, we spoke with Ryo Hazuki voice actor Corey Marshall, and he confirmed he hasn’t done any voice work on anything Shenmue related.
Of course, we’d be a little more than happy if SEGA intended on a Shenmue announcement during the event, whether it was a sequel to the series or if it intended on finally releasing that Shenmue 1 and 2 HD re-release. So what do you think, will SEGA have a Shenmue announcement during E3?
[Via Metro]