Shenmue 3 Kickstarter

[Taiso]

A game of such magnitude that (before kickstarter) it would need a company to support its development. I don't really care how well games have done, or are projected to do. If a game can't happen the old fashioned way, maybe it wasn't meant to be. I still think hundreds of thousands in donations sets a dangerous precedent for things to come. Anyway, I'm not going to argue, I'm pretty set with my opinion.

So what you're referring to is the scope of the game, being a somewhat open world experience and all of that.

Well, that is true. If Shenmue III is to have any hope of living up to the expectations of the market, it can't be like Shenmue or Shenmue II. And a game that's going to cost as much as this can't just appeal to the DC fans that played the first two and the pittance of Xbox players that experienced it.

I hope it comes out and is better and bigger than any other semi open world game ever made. I really do.

 

[SonGohan]

I sort of took the comment of "magnitude" to mean most games that show up on Kickstarter --the small, indie ones that aren't an established franchise and don't have a lot, or any well-known developers working on it. "Shenmue 3" by Yu Suzuki isn't exactly "Faceted Flight" by Matthew Scott, both of which are currently on Kickstarter.

 

[Taiso]

I sort of took the comment of "magnitude" to mean most games that show up on Kickstarter --the small, indie ones that aren't an established franchise and don't have a lot, or any well-known developers working on it. "Shenmue 3" by Yu Suzuki isn't exactly "Faceted Flight" by Matthew Scott, both of which are currently on Kickstarter.

That's initially what I thought he meant too. Like, an important game Kickstarter could never hope to fund.

And while I agree that Shenmue III is 'important' in a community sense, I don't think the numbers really match up with that perceived status. Not in the minds of the suits that could care less about how much a niche fanbase loves a game or series. Didn't save SNK, after all. Or Sega. Or Shenmue.

 

[SonGohan]

I don't think people are questioning whether or not it can be funded through Kickstarter. It's whether it should. A successful funding of a major franchise (which Shenmue is, regardless of it ever made money) leads to another one. And then another one. Who wants to live in a world where even a small number of your favorite franchises are made this way? There's all these stretch goals to make the game better, but in reality, you should either make the best game you can or maybe it shouldn't be made at all. I mean, the guy basically just said if they don't meet the 10 million goal then you will be getting a shittier Shenmue 3 game. Fantastic.

 

[Taiso]

I don't think people are questioning whether or not it can be funded through Kickstarter. It's whether it should. A successful funding of a major franchise (which Shenmue is, regardless of it ever made money) leads to another one. And then another one. Who wants to live in a world where even a small number of your favorite franchises are made this way? There's all these stretch goals to make the game better, but in reality, you should either make the best game you can or maybe it shouldn't be made at all. I mean, the guy basically just said if they don't meet the 10 million goal then you will be getting a shittier Shenmue 3 game. Fantastic.

It's clear Sony doesn't care about the game or its legacy for all the reasons I've mentioned. They just want the press and unfortunately, Shenmue gets to play the victim in this instance. Like I said before, Sony is a shitty company. Maybe they always have been.

 

[Renmauzo]

Bah, I pulled my pledge. There's too much bullshit surrounding this project. If it was meant to be and makes it out, I'll by a copy to show my support the good old fashioned way.

 

[Dr Shroom]

Probably going to do the same or at least reduce it by a great amount. All this shit doesn't sit well with me either.

 

[Taiso]

Ron Perlman talked about why he won't accept crowdfunding for Hellboy 3. Shared here since it felt relevant.

Perlman also ruled out crowdfunding Hellboy 3, explaining that he doesn't think it's the fans' job to finance movie projects.

EDIT: Found a youtube mirror of the interview:

 

[Earthquake24]

If anyone was on the fence about pledging or waiting for them to add new tiers, they just had a big update of new tiers including copies for the PS4.

 

[Castor Troy]

If anyone was on the fence about pledging or waiting for them to add new tiers, they just had a big update of new tiers including copies for the PS4.

Ok, I'm in now.

 

[alec]

I've got it guys... kickstart my next trip to Vegas! I will go to Vegas and visit many popular attractions, taking photographs with any famous people I meet and compiling it in a book. I will also give souvenirs I find to the highest backers!

(What I'm really going to do is get coked up then hit the fucking strip club and get drunk and suck on some stripper titties and get my dick rubbed through my pants. Then I'm gonna get so worked up that I'll walk into the clubs, head held high and proud while I try to get in the pants of the the hottest broads that will pay attention to me. Since that probably won't pan out, I'll probably need to visit the Bunny Ranch, where I will proceed to blast the biggest nut of my life inside some dirty whore! Afterwards, if I still have money left I will drink the rest of my stay away. When I get home, I'll file bankruptcy and not have to pay back a fucking cent. Fuck publishing a book! )

Two of my friends have done this, one posted to her facebook wall the other actually sent me a private message. Fuck them! You want me to fund your European vacation? Blow me!

On topic, I like Shenmue, but I won't kickstart anything ever.

 

[mookie3three]

If anyone was on the fence about pledging or waiting for them to add new tiers, they just had a big update of new tiers including copies for the PS4.

Ok, I'm in now.

Me too.

 

[TheBigBB]

I don't see how they're going to meet all those stretch goals without continuing to add higher donation incentives. How about for $100,000 you get to have a threesome with Yu Suzuki and his wife? They need to give the big tymers something to pour their money into.

 

[WoodyXP]

I wish they could have gotten the PS4 physical copy squared away earlier, they probably could have gotten more $$$. I just bumped my $5 donation up to $60.

 

[supergoose]

The graphics in the teaser look half assed to me.

 

[TheBigBB]

The graphics in the teaser look half assed to me.

Shenmue excels at being half-assed. That's its charm.

 

[supergoose]

Shenmue excels at being half-assed. That's its charm.

You're probably right. I only ever played about an hour of the first game.

 

[Mike Shagohod]

As a fan of the original two games both on DREAMCAST (I never bothered with that XBOX re-release of Part 2), I'm ecstatic that after fourteen damn years SHENMUE 3 is coming out, and it's great to see fans from around the whole globe come together on this, assisting Yu Suzuki along to do this, BUT... the whole Kickstarter thing is just out of hand at this point. Money is still being raised for this to be a reality and you have people telling other people (shaming them, etc.) how much they should be contributing to the Kickstarter. You have fans crying about a re-release of Parts 1 & 2 in H.D. instead of having the focus being on making a bad ass Part 3. I don't understand this mentality. And who the fuck tells others what they should or should not be contributing to the money jar for this? I once thought the people who cling to every last word Shigeru Miyamoto or Hideo Kojima say were annoying, but the fans of SHENMUE going Full Tilt Boogie over this and never shutting up about it are beyond annoying. It almost kills any real enthusiasm I ever held out hope for for this title. And not to be a dick, but SHENMUE's game system/play mechanics were fucking awesome in 2000... in 2015, it's kind of been done to death. But maybe that's just me.

 

[Neorebel]

With absolutely nothing tangible or logical to go by... I have a fool's hope that Yu Suzuki will create a new Shenmue game worth $60 by 2017 on the budget he obtains from Kickstarter and Sony. Yes, the direction the games industry has been going in has been lousy and overly exploitative of its fans, that's nothing new. Also, sentimentality and nostalgia might not be the deepest elements of entertainment value, but, they have their time and place. So yeah, despite my best judgement, I'm enjoying the hype for this- just being honest. Less than 24 hours to go, the kickstarter is at almost $5.5 Mil! I wonder in this last stretch if they can get another million in pledges?

 

[WoodyXP]

But maybe that's just me.

It's not. I tried playing Shenmue II last weekend and I had to put it down after about an hour. Back in the day I could play this game over and over, but today I can't stand it. It's a shame.

 

[Earthquake24]

So, later today they'll be having the final Twitch stream with Yu Suzuki and other project members to celebrate the final hours of the KS campaign: http://www.twitch.tv/shenmue3official Now, I wonder if they'll be a special guest appearance by THIS guy from the 1st Twitch stream a few weeks back:

@ Yu's facial expressions.

 

[WoodyXP]

Now, I wonder if they'll be a special guest appearance by THIS guy from the 1st Twitch stream a few weeks back:

View attachment 27000

That dude was something else. I couldn't tell if he was high or just retarded.

 

[WoodyXP]

Phew. Looks like they canned his ass.

 

[Earthquake24]

"69,320 backers pledged $6,333,295 to help bring this project to life." $6.3 million + pledged. Wow. Yu Suzuki was visibly crying during the final countdown to the end during the twitch stream. Biggest KS funded game ever, taking the title away from BloodStained and they're going to be opening up extended funding through Paypal very soon. They'll be able to break right through the rest of the stretch goals that weren't reached in no time.

 

[Alpha Skyhawk]

Well, I pledged for the digital copy shortly before it hit $6 million. I figured, why the hell not. I would have liked one of the higher tiers (especially the demo), but I didn't feel like spending any more.