Remember that trailer for Shenmue 4, which made the rounds last week? Well, I am sorry to say it was indeed unofficial after all, and Ys Net is now considering legal action against the uploader.
In a post on social media, Ys Net said last week’s trailer – which clocked in at over four minutes – has “absolutely no connection” to the studio. Its logo was used “without permission”, Ys Net said, “falsely giving the impression that it is an official Shenmue 4 related video produced by us”.
“We recognise that the unauthorised use of our logo, and any act that misleads viewers into believing such content is official, constitutes a serious issue that may amount to trademark infringement and unfair competition,” Ys Net continued.
“We are currently working with relevant parties and preparing appropriate measures, including potential legal action”.
While Ys Net does not actually own the Shenmue IP, with that honour belonging to Sega, the studio apologised to its community for the confusion last week’s trailer may have caused. Let’s be honest, it surely raised more than just a few hopes (I mean, last year fans of the series went so far as to rent out a billboard in New York’s Time Square to campaign for a fourth game).
“We will continue to ensure the proper and accurate dissemination of information, and we ask for your understanding and cooperation,” Ys Net’s statement on the fake trailer closed.
As for the offending trailer, it followed Shenmue protagonist Ryo as he went about various around-the-town jobs, such as washing dishes and arm wrestling. Many were sceptical about its legitimacy from the off, though, with the video coming from an unknown and unvalidated YouTube source with very few followers.
Shenmue 3 resurrected the RPG series in 2019, and our former editor Martin Robison was rather taken with it all. “A bewitching time capsule that transports us to late 80s China, and to turn-of-the-century video games,” he wrote in Eurogamer’s Shenmue 3 review.
