Sega Corporation further extended its support for the Xbox by announcing on Thursday that it will release Shenmue II and Phantasy Star Online for Microsoft's upcoming console. The company also made a related announcement, saying that Shenmue II will not be released for the North American Dreamcast. The game is already out for the Japanese Dreamcast and will be released on that console in Europe. In releasing Shenmue II for the Xbox, Sega will receive support from Microsoft in marketing and distributing the game. Following the announcement, GameSpot had the opportunity to speak with Charles Bellfield, vice president of marketing and corporate communications at Sega of America. Bellfield discussed the reasoning behind Sega's decision to bring Shenmue II to the Xbox and the specifics of the announcement.

　　Bellfield reiterated that Sega's decision to move Shenmue II from the Dreamcast to the Xbox in the US was a difficult one. However, as part of the company's long-term plans to return to profitability and Microsoft's commitment to support the franchise through an extensive marketing initiative, the decision was necessary. "We want to create a life cycle for the product beyond the Dreamcast," Bellfield explained. "We are looking at the financial forecasts the retailers were giving us on Dreamcast. The numbers were not high enough, and we had to look at another venue to drive Shenmue II. The level of marketing support that MS will put behind that title will make it very much financially viable for the Xbox platform next year. We want to continue Yu Suzuki's and Sega's vision for the Shenmue games. The ability to keep on making these games is an overriding interest for Sega."

　　In terms of the logistics of releasing the two games, Bellfield confirmed that Shenmue II will be released in fall 2002 for the Xbox and Phantasy Star Online will arrive earlier as part of an Xbox online bundle. "Shenmue II will be on the Sega Dreamcast in the Japanese and European market, but it will not arrive in the US market until fall 2002, and it will be marketed by Microsoft under the Sega label," Bellfield said. "With Phantasy Star Online we have an OEM detail with Microsoft--the game will ship with a Xbox online bundle next year. PSO will also be supported by specific Xbox hardware peripherals."

　　Phantasy Star Online is also in development for the PC and GameCube platforms, and it has already been released on the Sega Dreamcast. Shenmue II will be published by Sega and distributed by Big Ben Interactive in Europe. No word yet on whether Shenmue II, or the remainder of the series, is exclusive to the Xbox.