With the recent news that we're going to get Dreamcast games on our current consoles, there seems to have been a massive outpouring of love for Shenmue. 
Why? 
Sure, at the time it was an interesting development in gaming...but the game itself was..hmm, how to put this tactfully, niche to say the least. 
Now everyone is clamouring to have the game arrive on xbl/psn. 
How many have actually played the game. I got so bored after 4 hours on Shenmue 2 I gave up. 
If people so desire to play Shenmue..why the hell don't they just buy Yakuza 3? Its better in every single way. 
Is this nostalgia on overload, or am I missing something...or do people really love that forklift minigame?

I think Shenmue was such a big deal when it came out, that it deserves to be experienced. Most of the people asking for a port probably didn't have the chance to experience it and don't want to go out and buy a Dreamcast (DO IT!!)

" I think Shenmue was such a big deal when it came out, that it deserves to be experienced. Most of the people asking for a port probably didn't have the chance to experience it and don't want to go out and buy a Dreamcast (DO IT!!) "

" How many have actually played the game. I got so bored after 4 hours on Shenmue 2 I gave up. If people so desire to play Shenmue..why the hell don't they just buy Yakuza 3? Its better in every single way.  "

The combat in Shenmue was a lot better than what they did with Yakuza. From what I remember anyway... Thoroughly enjoyed both Shemnue games when they came out. The voice acting is very bad playing it now but it was pretty cooh back then.

Shenmue is only somewhat niche, it definitely has a fair fan following.
 
There are a few things I preferred in Shenmue over Yakuza.  In Shenmue you could interact more with the environment, lots of drawers to open and look at stuff.  Shenmue also had less combat and the QTEs were really well designed (lots of branching and no single miss fails, like Heavy Rain).
 
Shenmue was a little bit more of an adventure game.

" @Jazz said:

" How many have actually played the game. I got so bored after 4 hours on Shenmue 2 I gave up. If people so desire to play Shenmue..why the hell don't they just buy Yakuza 3? Its better in every single way.  "

I've played right through both of them numerous times. And none of the Yakuza games come close at all. "

" The combat in Shenmue was a lot better than what they did with Yakuza. From what I remember anyway... Thoroughly enjoyed both Shemnue games when they came out. The voice acting is very bad playing it now but it was pretty cooh back then. "

"If people so desire to play Shenmue..why the hell don't they just buy Yakuza 3? Its better in every single way.

" @Jazz said:

"If people so desire to play Shenmue..why the hell don't they just buy Yakuza 3? Its better in every single way.

...Outside of the story, the gameplay, the production value, the attention to detail, and that Shenmue came from Sega's Quality Gaming era. Yakuza? None of that, and came out now... when Sega is producing rubbish. Absolute rubbish. Shenmue was one of the first great cinematic games that was far ahead of its time in many respects. The world it presented was immersive, and many of the gameplay elements it brought on, such as interactive QTEs integrated with cut-scenes, have become a staple in far more games than it ought to (it still has never been done better than it was in Shenmue). "

I realise that it was awesome back then. Don't deny that...but now?  My reason for asking this was mostly that I believe a good 70% of people asking for Shenmue because its 'soo awesome' have never actually played Shenmue.  "

"Okay, fair enough as opinion. I asked to get a different opinion. I don't agree with any of that. Especially Sega producing rubbish..have you played Bayonetta, Valkyria Chronicles or Resonance of Fate? Again, it may be the first, but that does not make it the best representation of that type of game.  Diamond put it best as saying its closer to an adventure game than Yakuza which is closer to an RPG. Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on Shenmue...though I personally didn't like it, I'm sure those who actually played it and loved it have good reason for doing so.This is coming from someone who has played both games and just doesn't understand beyond seriously tinted nostalgia glasses what Shenmue could bring to gamers now? edit: nice edit..have you even played Yakuza beyond the demo or seeing the Quick look? Also, not hellsing.      "