More than seven years have passed since the last release of a Shenmue game, and still I occasionally search the Web for news of Shenmue merchandise.  I have not found much more than knick knacks and commemorative items dating to the development and original launch of Shenmue.

A seller on eBay has a steady supply of phone cards and guide books, but I continue to hold out hope for an actual art book or a line of figures.  Some of Shenmue's concept art has surfaced online over the years, but there must be more artwork sketched during the development cycle that remains unseen.  I would love, for example, to know the story behind the regal outfit that Shenhua sports on the cover of "U.S. Shenmue" and here.  I wish that Sega had done more to disseminate Shenmue's artwork other than to hide some images on the Shenmue II discs and release this screensaver (which requires Adobe Shockwave but which appears to have been published with a version of Abode Director that current versions of Shockwave do not have legacy support for).

As for figures, evidently there were prototypes of Shenmue figures, but the only figures to have been released into the wild have been uniformly awful and look as though they were molded from candle wax.  How about a gashapon of Ryo kneeling in front of a gashapon machine?

Sasuke plush or bust.

What on earth would you need a Sasuke bust for!?

It is indeed too late.

Yes, too late. But such a shame that it is. I held on to hope of a Shenmue 2 OST for a long time.