Dennis Mendel: Shenmue "Is in Stark Contrast to Most of the Other Games in Our Portfolio"
In a surprise move at the end of 2024, United Games Entertainment acquired the publishing rights to Shenmue III from Ys Net through its Inin Games label. We spoke to Dennis Mendel, Head of Business Development, about what may be the biggest publishing deal Inin Games has ever done, at least in terms of brand recognition.
GamesMarkt: This must be one of the biggest publishing deals Inin Games has ever done, at least in terms of brand recognition. What do you expect from this cooperation for Inin Games?
GamesMarkt: This must be one of the biggest publishing deals Inin Games has ever done, at least in terms of brand recognition. What do you expect from this cooperation for Inin Games?
Dennis Mendel: "It feels a bit like asking a father of several children whether this one specific child is the most talented one. ;) Being a publishing house that focuses on retro and retro-related titles, the term 'biggest' can be defined in multiple ways: Clockwork Aquario for example was not the best-known IP (due to the fact that it never got released in the arcades and was actually believed to be lost for nearly 30 years); but we managed to get a Guinness World Record with it which was a huge achievement for us. Then we have Ultracore, a game that is part of the history of one of the most critically acclaimed developing studios in the world, DICE. And then there are popular IPs like Wonder Boy or Bubble Bobble - games that entertained millions of people all over the world. They all are 'big' or let's say important in their own way."
"Sorry for digressing a little, but as I come from (game) science I always feel the need to point out how 'good' the game industry is at forgetting (and not properly preserving) its own legacy while focusing on titles that are popular in the here and now or that seemingly have a big name attached to it whereas the 'old' titles that inspired generations of game developers up util today are falling off the radar. ;)"
"But back to the question, you are right when specifically mentioning brand recognition: Shenmue remains a milestone in gaming history that was released during the Dreamcast era and thankfully the incredibly active fan community keeps the fire burning in today's fast-paced world. This is in stark contrast to most of the other games in our portfolio that originally got released before the internet became widespread and thus were mostly documented in old media with not necessarily as much awareness today even though they would deserve it (not only but also from a game-historical perspective and when it comes to game literacy)."
"So for us as a company that strives to find the right balance between preserving/creating awareness for game history and funding our endeavors by collecting enough 'fuel' for our engines, the general awareness for Shenmue is definitely something that supports us in achieving our goals and to further spread the word about what we do."
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Dennis Mendel: "It feels a bit like asking a father of several children whether this one specific child is the most talented one. ;) Being a publishing house that focuses on retro and retro-related titles, the term 'biggest' can be defined in multiple ways: Clockwork Aquario for example was not the best-known IP (due to the fact that it never got released in the arcades and was actually believed to be lost for nearly 30 years); but we managed to get a Guinness World Record with it which was a huge achievement for us. Then we have Ultracore, a game that is part of the history of one of the most critically acclaimed developing studios in the world, DICE. And then there are popular IPs like Wonder Boy or Bubble Bobble - games that entertained millions of people all over the world. They all are 'big' or let's say important in their own way."
"Sorry for digressing a little, but as I come from (game) science I always feel the need to point out how 'good' the game industry is at forgetting (and not properly preserving) its own legacy while focusing on titles that are popular in the here and now or that seemingly have a big name attached to it whereas the 'old' titles that inspired generations of game developers up util today are falling off the radar. ;)"
"But back to the question, you are right when specifically mentioning brand recognition: Shenmue remains a milestone in gaming history that was released during the Dreamcast era and thankfully the incredibly active fan community keeps the fire burning in today's fast-paced world. This is in stark contrast to most of the other games in our portfolio that originally got released before the internet became widespread and thus were mostly documented in old media with not necessarily as much awareness today even though they would deserve it (not only but also from a game-historical perspective and when it comes to game literacy)."
"So for us as a company that strives to find the right balance between preserving/creating awareness for game history and funding our endeavors by collecting enough 'fuel' for our engines, the general awareness for Shenmue is definitely something that supports us in achieving our goals and to further spread the word about what we do."
Never miss anything from the German, Swiss and Austrian games industry again: subscribe for free to our Daily newsletter and get all news straight to your inbox.
