Jan 2012:

Inspired by a recent interview with French fan site Shenmue Master at the Toulouse Game Show, the Team Yu project is founded with the aim of educating gamers on the distinction between Sega's unwillingness to publish Shenmue III, and Suzuki's own desire to continue the series for its fans.

Fans complete a French translation of Shenmue II.

Feb 2012:

Sega sets the tone on how it intends to handle the new feedback for the next three and a half years.

Mar 2012:

Building on partnerships with fan communities Shenmue-UK and Shenmue 500K, the first Shenmue Tweetathon is held on March 3rd, inviting fans to converge on Twitter for a day's activity around the hashtag #GiveYuTheShenmueLicense - expressing that if Sega is not committed to the future of the franchise, then the company may as well give up the rights to someone who is.

Days after the inaugural Tweetathon, tenuous interpretations of a GameReactor interview with then-Sega brand manager Ben Harbourne lead to widespread hysteria in anticipation of Shenmue HD re-releases. A questionably sourced report on the unknown GamerZines website then fuels speculation (and advertising revenue) with a supposed leak that HD remakes have been completed for over a year. Despite the story being dismissed by another then-Sega employee the wider media still runs with it and continues to reference the rumor for years to come.

Apr 2012:

Cédric Biscay's Shibuya International, a company built around business links between France and Japan and which helped organize Suzuki's appearances at the Toulouse Game Show the previous November, launches Shibuya Productions, a subsidiary specializing in the production of video games and animations.

May 2012:

Steve Lycett, head of Sumo Digital, expresses his desire in an interview with the UK's Official Xbox Magazine to see Yu Suzuki put Shenmue III on Kickstarter. Cédric Biscay tells the Shenmue Master fan site that Suzuki is aware of crowdfunding operations but Sega is not considering this option and will not release the Shenmue license without compensation.

Jun 2012:

Fans complete a Spanish translation of Shenmue.

Jul 2012:

Yu Suzuki receives an award from the ACMI Game Masters exhibition in Australia.

Aug 2012:

On the day of the fifth monthly Tweetathon, 1UP.com publishes an article about the campaign, approaching various friends for comment. One of whom - Camouflaj founder and recently successful crowdfunder of République, Ryan Payton - espouses the virtues of crowdfunding for Shenmue III, noting "somebody's got to mobilize this rabid community - they will help make this game a reality." Some months later, Payton approaches Suzuki with this idea and begins selling him on the concept of Kickstarter.

Meanwhile, UK magazine gamesTM also lends its support to the campaign, along with comedian Matt Walker. The snowballing publicity leads to a significant boost in participation for the Tweetathon going forward.

Sep 2012:

A fan recreates Ryo Hazuki's bedroom using CryEngine 3.

Oct 2012:

GBR gamebytesradio begins supporting the Tweetathon each month with a 24-hour playlist of Shenmue tunes streaming throughout the event.

Comedian Imran Yusuf joins the campaign, later compiling video clips of his pilgrimage to Shenmue locations in Japan to promote the hashtag, and appearing on the SEGA Nerds podcast.

Jan 2013:

Shenmue Dojo gets involved in the Tweetathon for the first time.

Mar 2013:

Yu Suzuki appears at the Monaco Anime Game Show, promoted by Shibuya International. Reports from fans in attendance help us clear up numerous cases of mistranslation and misreporting of the on-stage Q&A session. Most noteable amongst the genuine news that did emerge from the event is Suzuki being unaware of any plans by Sega to re-release Shenmue 1 & 2.

In his second interview with Shenmue Master (not published until July), Suzuki states that by obtaining the Shenmue license from Sega, he would be able to use existing Shenmue III materials already stored in Sega's vaults.

Having barely unpacked his bags after the trip to MAGS, Suzuki jets off to San Francisco for the Game Developers Conference. Whilst there, a photograph taken with former Sega colleague (and architect of the PlayStation 4) Mark Cerny creates a stir when GDC's general manager claims they are "talking strategy for Shenmue III," declining requests to confirm whether she was joking. MAGS promoter and future Shenmue III co-producer Cédric Biscay dismisses the tweet as "a simple publicity shot for the GDC," reiterating this sentiment in a later interview with Shenmue Master.

Also at GDC, indy developer and former Gamasutra senior editor Brandon Sheffield speaks with Suzuki about Kickstarter, and then asks fans to help him prove the viability of this option. Despite relative lack of exposure, within 24 hours campaign followers respond in their hundreds.

Apr 2013:

One month after the Tweetathon's first anniversary, the event is continuing to grow and makes its first use of Thunderclap to simultaneously release a batch of tweets pre-loaded by fans leading up to the deadline. This is later replaced by a custom AutoTweet tool on the Team Yu website, coded by David Brown of Mooncalf Studios.

Critical comments on a Sega fan site prompt a detailed defense of the #GiveYuTheShenmueLicense hashtag and the aims of the campaign, which is then retweeted by the fan site.

May 2013:

Shenmue Dojo holds a 70 Man Battle contest, assisted by Team Yu, inviting fans to film themselves completing this climactic section of the first game in the fastest time to win an Exclusive edition Ryo Hazuki statue supplied by First 4 Figures.

Electro/house music star Kavinsky participates in the Tweetathon after seeing Yu Suzuki photographed with his album OutRun (named for Yu's arcade classic).

Shenmue villain Lan Di tops a poll of Sega characters to be made into a statue by First 4 Figures, after pre-orders for the high-end Ryo Hazuki statue sell out.

Voice actor Corey Marshall dispels rumors of new studio work on Shenmue III, stemming purely from a change to his Facebook profile.

Jun 2013:

Virtua Fighter composer and Streets of Rage sound programmer Takayuki Nakamura tweets his support of the campaign and begins adding regular mentions in his newsletter.

Jul 2013:

Corey offers signed photos to participants in the Tweetathon.

Aug 2013:

Jordan Mechner, creator of Prince of Persia, lends his support to the campaign.

Members of the international Shenmue 500K community spell out the campaign hashtag #GiveYuTheShenmueLicense in a photo collage.

Sep 2013:

The campaign begins targeting Sony's #BuildingTheList survey, run by Gio Corsi's Third Party Productions team in search of requests for titles to bring to PlayStation platforms.

Following several rounds of voting spread over months, Shenmue is crowned the best game of all time in a mammoth poll held by leading German magazine M! Games.

Oct 2013:

Sega's CS Research and Development producer Yosuke Okunari claims that their next line-up of HD re-releases "will depend on all of your voices, so please continue to support us." When approached by fans on Twitter, he clarifies that although he would like to play more Shenmue, requests should be directed to Sega West - the most common addressee during 20 monthly Tweetathons thus far.

Nov 2013:

Overlapping the Tweetathon, gamers raise money for the SickKids charity by playing Shenmue 1 & 2 on Twitch for 25 straight hours.

Sony's Adam Boyes acknowledges Shenmue as one of the most requested games in their ongoing #BuildingTheList survey, prompting much speculation. Meanwhile Shenmue dominates a separate survey by the UK's Official PlayStation Magazine on most wanted franchises to appear on PS4, although an unannounced deadline of only a few hours prevents this from being reflected in the magazine itself.

Dec 2013:

Answering a tweet, Microsoft's Phil Spencer makes his first public comments on the prospect of Shenmue III on Xbox One: "I like Shenmue as well but it's a Sega IP. MS Studios doesn't have much pull at Sega. I'll recommend to our 3rd party team."

The campaign replaces its old hashtag #GiveYuTheShenmueLicense with the newly announced #SaveShenmue.

Ryo Hazuki is revealed as DLC for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, following success in the character poll endorsed by Sumo Digital a year prior. Fans send the developers a photo collage thanking them for their persistence.

Jan 2014:

Fan-made smartphone app Shenmue Cassette Player is released for Android.

With another photo collage the Shenmue 500K community reaches out to Sony and attracts industry and media attention.

Ryo DLC for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is released for PC, with the Shenmue protagonist also included as an unlockable character for iOS and Android.

The UK's largest videogame retail chain Game voices its support for the campaign.

The first attempt is made to get Shenmue's soundtrack voted into the Classic FM Hall of Fame, against claims from an influential source of withheld support that it's not worth trying as it will never happen.

Feb 2014:

A Team Yu Twibbon is introduced to help Twitter and Facebook users raise awareness of the campaign in their profile pictures.

Phil Spencer speaks against the idea of funding Shenmue III for Xbox One as Microsoft doesn't own the IP.

Shenmue III captures 47% of all votes to lead an X-One Magazine poll for games most wanted on Xbox One.

A fan-made screensaver is released for Windows, emulating the Shenmue loading screens and including a built-in Tweetathon reminder on the 3rd of each month.

Issues surrounding Shenmue-related trademarks spark a flurry of misleading reports.

Mar 2014:

Fan-made browser game Excite QTT (Quick Time Typing) is launched online.

Team Yu is interviewed by the crew behind the G.E.E.K Podcast.

Yu Suzuki attends the Game Developers Conference to present a Shenmue Postmortem and seek partnerships for Shenmue III, including secret talks with Sony. He also states that he is researching Kickstarter as a method of funding the game.

Ys Net reveals a new browser-based Virtua Fighter spin-off, and Suzuki continues to debate Kickstarter for Shenmue III.

Phil Spencer, recently promoted by Microsoft to Head of Xbox, further acknowledges Shenmue as the most requested game.

Apr 2014:

Spencer follows up by using the #SaveShenmue hashtag on Twitter.

Sony's Adam Boyes remarks on the continued frequency of Shenmue requests on Twitter.

A fan remix of Shenhua's theme is used to raise money for a charity battling the effects of children's cancer.

Edge magazine runs a feature on Team Yu and the positive behavior of Shenmue fans campaigning for a sequel.

Rumors continue over Shenmue III being "as close to being announced as it has ever been over the past decade," according to a reporter following a "small private audience with Yu Suzuki" at GDC in March.

Sony's Gio Corsi comments at PAX East on the relentless tweeting of Shenmue fans since the beginning of his #BuildingTheList survey.

May 2014:

Phil Spencer encourages gamers to lobby for the return of their favorite games from the original Xbox. Fans waste no time in reminding him which console was required to play Shenmue II in North America.

Jun 2014:

Team Yu gets a discreet message to Yu Suzuki via Ali Novin, encouraging the view that if neither private investment nor crowdfunding is shaping up to be wholly workable for Shenmue III on its own, then both methods could be used to offset each other, with any risk-averse investors possibly agreeing to support the project on the condition that measurable demand for the game is proven by fans pledging a minimum target amount.

Another E3 comes and goes without a Shenmue III announcement, but Yu Suzuki remains active and reassuring words are offered by Sony's Adam Boyes, while fans continue to petition Microsoft through an official Xbox poll.

Yu Suzuki is presented with a Legend Award at Gamelab Barcelona, where he has the chance to mingle with Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida and discuss crowdfunded game development with two of its most high profile advocates, Tim Schafer (Broken Age) and Keiji Inafune (Mighty No. 9). Amidst proceedings, the Internet goes nuts over photos showing a Shenmue-style "III" symbol on a screen behind Suzuki, before delayed translations reveal it to be nothing serious.

Jul 2014:

Voice actress Lisle Wilkerson offers signed photos to participants in the Tweetathon.

Aug 2014:

Team Yu's founder appears on the Chipped Podcast to promote the campaign.

NoconKid, a graphic designer from South Korea, begins releasing videos of his homemade HD recreation of Shenmue's environments, dropping jaws around the world.

One of several detailed efforts by fans to recreate Shenmue locations within Minecraft is released for download.

Following a long delay after voting, Empire lists Shenmue as one of the greatest video games of all time, jumping to 7th place from a previous ranking of 42nd.

Sep 2014:

Fans complete English, Spanish, and German translations of the "What's Shenmue?" demo.

Insert Coin Clothing offers discounts on their official Ryo Hazuki replica jacket to participants in the Tweetathon.

Sega of Japan receives a deluge of requests for Shenmue during its promotion on Facebook of the Tokyo Game Show. In an interview from the event not published until November, Yu Suzuki tries to take the heat off Sega.

Oct 2014:

Corey Marshall and other performers restate their support for the #SaveShenmue campaign.

Reiterating previous advice, Team Yu continues to urge fans to avoid unofficial crowdfunding schemes for Shenmue III.

Scott Rohde, PlayStation Software Product Development Head for Sony Worldwide Studios America, draws international media coverage by acknowledging the campaign's persistence.

Nov 2014:

Team Yu interviews NoconKid about his fan-made Shenmue HD project.

Almost 15 years after Shenmue's release, tweets from Fangamer, GameTrailers' Michael Huber, and other passionate supporters are collated in a small snapshot of the latest Tweetathon.

A documentary is announced, later to be titled A Gamer's Journey: The Definitive History of Shenmue. The project receives publicity from IGN while supporting the campaign.

Not even the IGN Convention in Dubai is safe from the campaign to #SaveShenmue.

Dec 2014:

On the 20th anniversary of PlayStation, only one game appears on every wishlist for Christmas.

Sony succeeds in bringing Yakuza 5 to the West following its popularity in the #BuildingTheList survey, leaving fans to wonder if fellow frontrunner Shenmue III will be next.

RETRO magazine promotes the campaign in a feature listing franchises that need a sequel.

Russian news outlet GameMAG promotes the campaign while covering a fan-made version of Lucky Hit.

Jan 2015:

Organizers of the ACMI Game Masters exhibition featuring Yu Suzuki titles promote the Tweetathon.

A second attempt is made to vote Shenmue's soundtrack into the Classic FM Hall of Fame.

Feb 2015:

The campaign passes a milestone of three years of monthly Tweetathons.

Lisle Wilkerson praises the dedication of those campaigning for Shenmue III, stating, "I think that Sega should do this, just out of, kind of a respect for the loyalty of fans."

Mar 2015:

With Yu Suzuki attending another GDC, a former colleague who worked on Shenmue's dynamic weather system comments on the importance of fans actively campaigning to save Shenmue.

A Toonami poll asking for people's favorite video game is dominated by Shenmue, earning it a mention on their Pre-Flight show.

Gamers begin voting in their thousands in support of a proposal to make Lego versions of classic Sega arcade machines and Yu Suzuki himself.

Suzuki-san speaks at a seminar in Tokyo about the role of game creators.

Apr 2015:

A fan mod by Espirral allowing versions of Ryo Hazuki and Lan Di to finally battle in Dead or Alive 5 receives media coverage from around the world.

May 2015:

Tweetathon participants continue to influence their fellow gamers into showing solidarity for the cause.

Fan-made smartphone game Excite QTA (Quick Time App) is released for Android.

Yet another Shenmue hoax claims a joint announcement by Sega and Square Enix concerning a Shenmue I-III collection is imminent. After the games media and blogosphere obligingly whips fans into an expectant frenzy, the culprit confesses to forging the "leaked" image.

Yu Suzuki resumes activity on his long-dormant Twitter account.

Jun 2015:

Data Discs offers a limited edition copy of its official Shenmue soundtrack LP to participants in the Tweetathon.

Suzuki-san begins homing in on #SaveShenmue tweets.

Fans collaborate for a photo collage wishing Suzuki a happy 57th birthday.

Suzuki arrives at E3 and tweets a picture of a forklift, sending fans into a frenzy of speculation and almost giving Sony's Adam Boyes a nervous breakdown...

Suzuki-san is introduced by Adam Boyes onto Sony's stage at E3 and, to a reaction like no other, announces a Kickstarter for Shenmue III that crashes the site and reaches its $2 million target in record time. Ys Net, PlayStation, and the main Sony account all tweet the campaign hashtag.

Team Yu begins focusing on promoting the Kickstarter and fighting back against a mountain of misinformation reported by the media.

Yu Suzuki issues a statement correcting some of the hysterical clickbait being peddled by the scaremongering press.

Jul 2015:

Co-producer Cédric Biscay of Shibuya Productions comments on the manufactured drama: "I think that the media's desire to create buzz around this issue will strain our campaign by at least $2m. I don't have any words for the minority of journalists who seem to sometimes forget their duty to provide information by writing about their interpretations rather than facts."

Corey Marshall is announced as returning to voice Ryo Hazuki in Shenmue III, just as his Japanese counterpart Masaya Matsukaze will also return.

Yu Suzuki joins the biggest ever #SaveShenmue Tweetathon to answer questions from fans. An independently organized fan campaign urges Kickstarter backers to each donate an extra $30 during the event.

Ys Net publicly names Ali Novin as Executive Shenmue Ambassador while publishing links to community websites and social media pages, including a photograph of Suzuki-san holding a book prepared by Team Yu containing messages posted by fans during a previous Tweetathon.

The first ever #SaveShenmue QTE is announced by Team Yu and retweeted by Suzuki-san, introducing a new campaign concept requiring fans to converge online at the exact same time for a chance to win two names in the credits of Shenmue III by spreading useful information about the game.

Spanish studio BlitWorks, having worked on several ports for the company, urges fans to continue requesting Shenmue HD from Sega, describing a previous proposal: "We thought it would be a good idea to showcase Sonic CD, Jet Set Radio and Shenmue working on the emulators to Sega, with the prospect of a commercial release for the consoles of that time. They showed interest in Sonic CD and Jet Set Radio."

Fundraising on Kickstarter comes to a close with a record total of $6,333,295 pledged by 69,320 backers, and Yu Suzuki confirming on Twitch that due to strong demand, a PayPal option will be put in place for those who were unable to back the game through Kickstarter. Industry figures to have personally donated via Kickstarter include Peter Moore (now of EA) and Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida.

Team Yu thanks supporters with a video titled #ShenmueSaved.

Yu Suzuki issues his own message of thanks to supporters.

A speed run of Shenmue II raises money for Médecins Sans Frontières.

Work officially begins on Shenmue III.

Aug 2015:

The campaign rebrands as #SaveShenmueHD to push for re-releases of Shenmue 1 & 2 on current formats, thus increasing potential sales of Shenmue III and securing the future of the series.

The first Tweetathon using the new hashtag is utilized to gather questions for an interview with Yu Suzuki.

Shenmue III tops a poll on GameFAQs for most anticipated Kickstarted game.

Phil Spencer explains that he had spoken with Yu Suzuki about bringing Shenmue III to Xbox One, but did not pursue a deal because he preferred to focus on first party titles. Cédric Biscay later states that Microsoft "woke up a little late" and "had no arguments that would have made it possible."

Team Yu's founder is interviewed by gamesTM magazine along with Yu Suzuki and Cédric Biscay.

NoconKid uses his latest video to promote the #SaveShenmueHD campaign.

Gio Corsi reveals that Shenmue was always #1 in the #BuildingTheList survey, and describes the precautions taken to keep the project under wraps until E3.

Yu Suzuki tells the story of hiring a fan he met in a restaurant to work on Shenmue III.

Sep 2015:

Coinciding with the Tokyo Game Show, the long awaited Slacker Backer page opens, allowing fans who missed out on the Shenmue III Kickstarter to donate for rewards via PayPal.

Fans complete Spanish translations of Dreamcast and Xbox versions of Shenmue II.

Oct 2015:

During the #SaveShenmueHD Tweetathon, Ys Net announces the hiring of NoconKid to apply the skills demonstrated in his homemade Shenmue HD videos to Shenmue III.

Ryo Hazuki is announced as a character in Namco Bandai's IP crossover game with Sega, Project X Zone 2.

Team Yu launches a Shenmue III quiz and profile header images to help promote the game's continued crowdfunding across social media.

Yet more inaccurate news coverage, this time by a reporter twisting someone else's interview to create rumors of Shenmue III on Xbox One against the interviewer's own advice, requires new efforts to clear up confusion amongst misled fans.

Team Yu's founder is interviewed by SEGA Nerds to address the yellow journalism continuing to plague Shenmue III since the moment it was announced.

Sega Europe marketing director Jon Rooke appears to suggest the company is exploring the possibility of Shenmue 1 & 2 remakes, though paraphrasing of his precise words causes confusion amongst fans and reporters.

In the company's first direct voluntary acknowledgment of the series since Shenmue III's announcement in June, Sega Europe's social media team tweets about playing the original Dreamcast title at Paris Games Week.

Questions from Team Yu and other Shenmue fan sites and community pages are put to Yu Suzuki in an update delivered to Kickstarter backers. Suzuki describes the fans' continued support as one of the most moving experiences of his life.

Nov 2015:

Team Yu launches the Winning Can Raffle, providing Shenmue III's PayPal backers the chance to win coveted prizes donated by generous fans along with First 4 Figures, who offer their new exclusive edition Lan Di statue to one of the winning ticket holders, and Corey Marshall, who offers to sign and personalize some of the items up for grabs.

Sony's Gio Corsi and Adam Boyes share a photo taken while catching up with Yu Suzuki and the Shenmue III team in Tokyo.

Suzuki visits Shanghai for the CHUAPPX Expo to promote Shenmue III, showcasing new prototype footage and receiving gifts from local fans.

A Shenmue meet-up is organized in the UK by fans, featuring activities such as a real Lucky Hit board, an exclusive teaser for the documentary A Gamer's Journey, and a live stream with Corey Marshall.

Dec 2015:

Shenmue III co-producer Cédric Biscay addresses the #SaveShenmueHD campaign and speaks of the importance of re-releasing Shenmue 1 & 2 in HD before the new sequel's release.

The first set of results in the Winning Can Raffle are announced, following the interim deadline at the end of the Tweetathon.

New Shenmue action figures are announced by Chinese company WorldBox.

Chinese members of the Shenmue community on Baidu Tieba donate 200 books to a primary school for underprivileged children in Guilin, after two teachers there had personally donated large sums to Shenmue III via Kickstarter to draw wider attention to the school and its needs.

A new stretch goal is unlocked for Shenmue III by PayPal backers, as the crowdfunding total passes $6.5 million shortly after the deadline is extended until further notice.

Shenmue Dojo's webmaster is interviewed by Retro Gamer magazine.

Jan 2016:

A decision not to add Kickstarter-exclusive rewards to those already available on the PayPal crowdfunding site is misreported by journalists implying PayPal backers will receive no rewards at all. Once again it's left to those paying attention to fight against the tide and show other sites how to research a story.

Team Yu's founder writes on the website of the UK's Metro newspaper about the origins of the campaign.

A third attempt is made to vote Shenmue's soundtrack into the Classic FM Hall of Fame.

Yu Suzuki is officially presented with two Guinness World Records for Shenmue III being the most funded video game on Kickstarter and the fastest to raise $1 million.

Feb 2016:

The final set of results in the Winning Can Raffle are announced, with tickets received for the contest representing over $2.5K spent on the Shenmue III PayPal campaign.

Yu Suzuki appears at MAGIC Monaco for a Shenmue III conference hosted by David De ville, and unveils new content and footage from the game's ongoing development. Later that day, Shenmue Master records its third interview with Suzuki-san, published the following month.

Fans make the most of an official survey from Sega to express demand for Shenmue 1 & 2 HD.

Mar 2016:

Fans complete a Brazilian Portuguese translation of the "What's Shenmue?" demo.

Shenmue's soundtrack is finally inducted as the highest new entry into the Classic FM Hall of Fame.

Apr 2016:

To mark the 50th consecutive monthly Tweetathon, contests are held throughout the day and a teaser video is revealed to announce an interview with Yu Suzuki secretly held by Team Yu and the Shenmue Dojo fan site at MAGIC Monaco. The full video and written report are published the following day.

The media misconstrues another project update from Ys Net, with journalists this time falsely reporting that Shenmue III's dialog might only be recorded in one language. The source material instead explains that it's the ability for players in all markets to select between English and Japanese when loading up their copy of the game that may come down to budgeting later in development.

May 2016:

Responding to a deluge of fan questions about the whereabouts of Shenmue 1 & 2 HD, Sega Europe states the company "would love to release these tomorrow" and is "currently investigating how to make it a reality," but cites "complications from licensed products that were included in the original games." Most of the games media reports this as a step in the right direction with possible cause for concern over the licensing issues, while a minority of reporters exaggerate the story as confirmation of the games being greenlit.

Luke Crane, head of games at Kickstarter, quashes criticisms of Shenmue III's use of their platform and Sony's involvement in the project.

Gio Corsi and Adam Boyes catch up with Yu Suzuki in Japan, sharing their last photo together before Boyes leaves Sony a few weeks later.

Chinese fans on Baidu Tieba follow up their previous book donation by donating a projector to the remote primary school in Guilin.

Jun 2016:

In partnership with Japan Cat Network, Team Yu launches the Shenmue Heart of Gold campaign to raise funding for shelter animals in Japan, inspired by Ryo's compassion for an orphaned kitten in the game. Lisle Wilkerson's own rescue cat Princess Genki acts as feline ambassador, with Shenmue III music composer Ryuji Iuchi and co-producer Shibuya Productions also helping to raise awareness.

Jul 2016:

Now known as a Shenmue III advisor, Ryan Payton encourages campaigners to continue requesting Shenmue HD from Sega.

Aug 2016:

Without direct prompting, Sega Europe COO Jurgen Post acknowledges that Shenmue has been "pretty much at the top of every list of titles that people wanted to see revived."

Sep 2016:

Jurgen Post speaks in more detail about Shenmue, stating that Sega is "looking into" remakes of the first two games and that they have the company's "full attention," while reiterating his colleague's earlier comments from May about licensing contracts that Sega "will need to renegotiate" before the games can be greenlit. Meanwhile, Sega Europe registers several website domain names suggesting an active interest in Shenmue HD remasters.

In an unofficial poll conducted for Sega's attention during the Tweetathon, fans vote overwhelmingly against keeping licensed products in Shenmue HD if negotiating those contracts will prevent the first two games from being released ahead of Shenmue III.

Oct 2016:

Seventeen years after its release, hidden animation data is discovered by a fan within the code of the playable "What's Shenmue?" demo matching the victory pose of Virtua Fighter's Akira, formerly the lead character of the game during development.

Cédric Biscay restates the need for Sega to release new versions of Shenmue 1 & 2 on modern platforms.

Nov 2016:

On the 30th anniversary of the start date in Shenmue's story, a live playthrough on Twitch raises money for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Dec 2016:

Fan-made Mini Shenmue RPG is released for the Saturn platform, playable via emulator.

Chinese fans on Baidu Tieba enhance their previous donation of a projector by also donating curtains to the remote primary school in Guilin.

Jan 2017:

Cédric Biscay tweets his own direct plea to Sega to #SaveShenmueHD following the first Tweetathon of the year.

News sites discover the domain names registered by Sega Europe in September 2016.

Cédric Biscay urges fans to stay vocal in the quest to #SaveShenmueHD.

Feb 2017:

The proposed Lego set featuring Yu Suzuki and some of his creations receives the required 10,000 votes to be formally considered for official release.

A rumor citing an unnamed source at Atlus USA claims Shenmue 1 & 2 remasters will be released in 2017.

Mar 2017:

Fans use an official Sega Japan survey to highlight interest in the campaign for Shenmue 1 & 2 remasters.

Apr 2017:

Cédric Biscay reiterates his desire for Shenmue 1 & 2 remasters to be released by Sega ahead of Shenmue III.

Fans respond to an invitation from Tekken 7 director Katsuhiro Harada with requests for Ryo Hazuki to become a guest character in upcoming DLC.

May 2017:

Sony's Gio Corsi catches up with Yu Suzuki during a visit to Japan.

Jun 2017:

Fans vote Shenmue 1 & 2 in 2nd and 6th place respectively in a Famitsu magazine action-adventure games poll.

Fans react warmly to Yu Suzuki's announcement of an extension to Shenmue III's development period.

Aug 2017:

Sega Europe's Executive Vice President of Publishing, John Clark, makes familiar comments about Shenmue on new platforms being something they "would love to make happen" and are "actively pursuing."

The Italian branch of IGN recalls the monthly Tweetathons that led up to Shenmue 3's shock revival.

Ys Net releases a new teaser video to celebrate a new publishing deal with Deep Silver, with many interviews at Gamescom allowing Yu Suzuki to address misconceptions about the game's incomplete assets.

Suzuki also reiterates many times in his Gamescom interviews a desire to see Shenmue 1 & 2 remastered, urging fans to request this from Sega.

Amongst the interviews granted by Yu Suzuki at Gamescom are three conducted by fan sites Shenmue Dojo, Shenmue 500K, and Shenmue Master.

Team Yu interviews co-producer Cédric Biscay, who again stresses the need for Sega to remaster Shenmue 1 & 2 in time for Shenmue 3's release.

Voice actor Corey Marshall pays tribute to the teamwork of fans around the world making Shenmue III happen.

Shenmue 1 & 2 both rank highly in a Famitsu poll to name the best video games of all time.

Sep 2017:

Corey Marshall encourages Brazilian fans to campaign for HD remasters of Shenmue 1 & 2 with Portuguese subtitles.

More rumors insist on a 2017 release for Shenmue HD remasters, although it appears to be news to Olivier Comte, head of Deep Silver's French division.

Comte checks in on Shenmue III development in Japan, tweeting, "Very impressed by what I see. Clearly the game is going to be great!"

Oct 2017:

Voice actress Lisle Wilkerson participates in the monthly Tweetathon for remasters of Shenmue 1 & 2.

Fans donate to a Japanese animal shelter through the Shenmue Heart of Gold campaign, to win a copy of Shenmue II specially signed by Yu Suzuki.

Nov 2017:

Shenmue 3 co-producer Cédric Biscay visits Yu Suzuki in Japan.

Shenmue's English voice cast reunites to raise funds for victims of three successive hurricanes, attracting media coverage in both the US and Japan.

Dec 2017:

Yokosuka City's tourism board releases a free Shenmue-themed guide map with the cooperation of Sega, helping fans make the most of any pilgrimage to the first game's setting.

Jan 2018:

Fans respond to a question asked by Sega with a deluge of support for Shenmue and the campaign for remasters of the first two games.

Comicbook.com revises its previous claims, once evident that HD remasters were not released in 2017 after all.

Chinese fans on Baidu Tieba add to their previous donations by donating a further 166 books to the remote primary school in Guilin.

Members of Shenmue 500K collaborate for a new collage welcoming publisher Deep Silver to the Shenmue 3 project.

Feb 2018:

THQ Nordic announces its acquisition of Koch Media, parent company of Deep Silver, stating that both companies will continue to operate separately with a commitment to delivering on their existing pipelines, and no cost-cutting measures planned.

Fans rise to the challenge of adding five thousand pre-registrations to the tally for Sega's new Japanese mobile game Kotodaman, securing a cameo for Shenmue's Ryo Hazuki.

Fan site Shenmue Master publishes an exclusive interview with three composers of Shenmue's soundtrack: Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Yuzo Koshiro, and Ryuji Iuchi.

Yu Suzuki attends MAGIC Monaco for a Shenmue 3 conference, sharing new screenshots with the public and an extended version of the Gamescom 2017 teaser video with those in attendance. Whilst there, Suzuki grants several media interviews, plus fan community interviews to Shenmue 500K, Shenmue Forever & Team Yu, Shenmue Master, and SEGASaturno. Meanwhile, co-producer and MAGIC promoter Cédric Biscay is also interviewed.

Mar 2018:

A new Facebook photo frame is introduced by Team Yu, allowing fans to easily adorn any picture with the campaign hashtag symbol.

Corey Marshall updates fans directly via Facebook regarding the schedule for Shenmue 3 English voice recording.

Apr 2018:

Responding to requests to make Shenmue II backward compatible on Xbox One, Microsoft's Phil Spencer advises fans to take it up with Sega as the onus is on the publisher.

Sega chief Haruki Satomi, soon to be joined on stage by John Clark, Executive Vice President of Publishing at Sega Europe, announces new enhanced versions of Shenmue 1 & 2 for modern platforms at SEGA FES in Tokyo. Sega Europe, Sega of America, and developer d3t share the news by tweeting the hashtag #ShenmueSaved, bringing to a close the #SaveShenmueHD campaign.