Shenmue II to use Japanese voices

GameSpot has confirmed with Sega of America that the North American version of Shenmue II will not include English voice acting. Sega has released the following statement:

"Sega of America today confirmed that the dialog in the US version of Shenmue II, the highly anticipated sequel to last year's top-selling masterpiece 'Shenmue,' will be entirely in Japanese with English subtitles. The decision comes in an effort to maintain the overall theme and authenticity of the title, and is in response to numerous consumer requests following the release of 'Shenmue,' which was in English for the US market. Shenmue II will hit U.S. retail store shelves Fall 2001."

While Sega states that English dialogue has been removed due to complaints, it might be more likely that converting the exorbitant amount of dialogue would place the game in jeapardy of being delayed. In either case, Shenmue II looks like it's on schedule for release on the Dreamcast at the end of this year.