Series Creator Yu Suzuki Directing The Free-To-Play Shenmue City

Sunsoft, the publisher of the recently announced Shenmue City, revealed the first details of the social game spinoff, confirming the title will be directed by series creator Yu Suzuki. Shenmue City will be the first title developed by Ys Net, a studio founded by Suzuki in 2008. The title will be supervised by Sega and published in Japan by Sunsoft on the Yahoo! Mobage social gaming service and its mobile site, Mobagetown, reports AndriaSang. While the original series was intended to span three titles, Sunsoft has not indicated that this latest entry represents the final chapter in the planned Shenmue trilogy. Shenmue City is a sidestory based on Sega's cult adventure series, and will be the first entry in the franchise in eight years. The game will feature new stories and characters in Yokosuka, the setting of the original Shenmue, and the will include social features, though Sunsoft has yet to reveal details about how these aspects affect the game. Sunsoft confirmed that the will use a free-to-play, microtransaction based model, which will allow players to purchase in game items for a fee. The game is scheduled to launch this winter, and Japanese players can pre-register for the game by scanning the QR code on the game's official website.