Novelty Politician Count Binface Threatens to Nationalise Sega Over Shenmue 4 Silence

British novelty politician Count Binface — writer Jonathan David Harvey in a giant trash-can helmet — has publicly demanded that Sega reveal progress on Shenmue 4, threatening to nationalise the company if it fails to act. The character is known for absurdist policies such as a £1 price cap on croissants and nationalising singer Adele. Harvey actually runs in real UK elections and recently faced off against Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

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Famed British political figure Count Binface has issued a public demand to Sega to quit horsing around and finish Shenmue 4, and suggested the company may be nationalized by the UK government if it doesn't move with sufficient haste.

For those not in the know, Count Binface is not an entirely serious political figure: He's really more akin to Darth Vader with a giant trash can for a helmet, whose policies include things like banning loud snacks from movie theaters, a price cap of £1 on croissants, nationalizing Adele, and "the hand dryer in the gents' toilet at the Crown & Treaty, Uxbridge, to be moved to a more sensible position ."

The Count—writer Jonathan David Harvey in his unbinned form—is a novelty politician, but he does run in actual elections in the UK, and he's been in the news lately for facing off against Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, best known as one of the leading figures of Brexit, in the ongoing by-election in the riding of Clacton. As such, he's a busy guy, but he still has time to share thoughts on the state of Shenmue.

"I need to say a galactic 'hello' to Sega on behalf of the Shenmue fans," Count Binface says in the clip. "Now, I'm not just saying 'hello,' Sega. I've got a little bone to pick with you, because the fans would like to campaign for an update from you, Sega, about Shenmue 4."

🚨 BREAKING: @countbinface.bsky.social has cast his vote for Shenmue and now he has a message for @sega-west.bsky.social and @sega.jp The campaign continues. The people have spoken.#LetsGetShenmue4

— @shenmuedojo.com ( @shenmuedojo.com.bsky.social ) 2026-07-22T21:30:55.073Z

After a quick complaint about Shenmue 3 ending on a cliffhanger that remains unresolved, the Count continued: "I wonder whether Sega needs to be nationalized along with Adele. What do you say? Shall we harness the power of the Shenmue to ensure that there is no delay with updates ever again? I quite like the sound of that. I'd like to reboot Sega World in London's Trocadero and have old Sonic the Hedgehog back in his prime. Oh, that would be wonderful. But hey, I digress."

He might actually be serious on that last point: As noted by Metro , Count Binface's manifesto when he was running for mayor of London in 2021 included turning the Trocadero "back into a truly top-notch video arcade."

His demands of Sega may be somewhat less pure, however. As Metro pointed out, the video was shared by the Shenmue Dojo fan site but hasn't appeared on Count Binface's own socials, suggesting that this whole thing may have been an op. Count Binface does in fact have a Cameo page, after all—political campaigns are expensive.

Still, as political corruption goes it's pretty small potatoes, and even if he is taking stacks of cash in brown paper bags, Count Binface is expressing a legitimate concern. Shenmue 3 is now seven years old and while it was quite good , it wasn't conclusive. There was excitement a-plenty when a purported Shenmue 4 trailer leaked in 2025, but that turned out to be a fake , and there's been nothing since to suggest that the game is in development. Will an edict from Count Binface change that situation? Probably not, but it can't hurt to try.

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