Really? Fucking really? I just spent money backing the Bloodstained Kickstarter, and you're going to go and pull this now?
sigh
Let me go find my wallet...
sigh
Let me go find my wallet...
Shenmue 3 Kickstarter Announced at E3 - Update
- Thread starter Scars Unseen
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They're big enough that it's an announcement on one of the most prestigious gaming events and seemingly have the full backing of Sony, yet are doing a Kickstarter for monetary support?
Yeah, I don't agree with this at all. Maybe fans of the Shenmue series will know something I don't about the franchise, its developers, and its current state but to someone with zero knowledge of the series this just seems super fishy. I don't like the idea of big companies like Sony suddenly throwing their weight behind Kickstarter projects when a good deal of the entire point of Kickstarter was to escape giant companies like that and find an alternative route for development and funding.
Yeah, I don't agree with this at all. Maybe fans of the Shenmue series will know something I don't about the franchise, its developers, and its current state but to someone with zero knowledge of the series this just seems super fishy. I don't like the idea of big companies like Sony suddenly throwing their weight behind Kickstarter projects when a good deal of the entire point of Kickstarter was to escape giant companies like that and find an alternative route for development and funding.
Since this is coming to PC along with PS4 when it gets funded, does this mean that SEGA might port the first two Shenmue games to PC to make some cash while getting the Master Race up to speed?
I knew it. I knew it was only a matter of time before big companies started using Kickstarter. I wasn't thinking it would be Shenmue of all games to get it, but I knew it would be something for big companies to "test the water".
Good for Consumers though, especially fans of Shenmue. I never had a Dreamcast, nor have I ever played any of it's ports, so it's not for me. I'm glad everyone else can get it though. I'm sure it'll be funded, but sadly I won't and can't pay 1 cent for it's production.
Good for Consumers though, especially fans of Shenmue. I never had a Dreamcast, nor have I ever played any of it's ports, so it's not for me. I'm glad everyone else can get it though. I'm sure it'll be funded, but sadly I won't and can't pay 1 cent for it's production.
Kickstarter is for people who don't have the money to make the things they want to make, not for corporations who just don't want to spend money on something someone else wants them to make. Anyone who gives money to this is an idiot. You are donating money to one of the most profitable corporations in the world for potentially nothing. Think about that, won't you?
Yall need to calm down. Kickstarter money ain't going to Sony. Ys.Net is the Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki's indie studio. The game isn't even a PS4 exclusive, its going to have a simultaneous PC release. Being announced at the Sony conference was probably as innocent as Suzuki calling in some favors so that he could give his initial announcement to as wide an audience as possible. Its what you do when you're trying to revive your pet project after over a decade of not being able to get it off the ground and you're one of the most beloved developers in Japan. He's never even developed a game for Sony; most of his work, including Shenmue, was with Sega.
Seriously. Chill. The big guys ain't invading Kickstarter yet.
Seriously. Chill. The big guys ain't invading Kickstarter yet.
I really hope so. I'd love to try such a beloved (to some) series. I don't know what kind of deal Suzuki's made for the rights though. Does he own the Shenmue brand? Is Sega just allowing him to make this one game, for free or not? I dunno. The answer to those would probably also answer how much interest Sega has in supporting the franchise.DarklordKyo said:
Kind of doubt that it has the FULL backing of Sony, if by so you mean that Sony is the guy writing the majority of the cheques for the game's development budget; primarily because if Sony was the other main source of funding, it prooooobably wouldn't be coming to PC. (Scratch that, it almost definitely wouldn't be coming to PC.) If I had to guess, they might be providing some funds, maybe in conjunction with other investors, as well as the obvious advertising platform that the E3 stage offers, maybe in exchange for keeping it a console exclusive. =P I'm kind of curious to the details myself, but again, if Sony were the ones providing primary funding, PC gamers would probably never get their hands on it.The Madman said:
this is the sleaziest kickstarter since that effectively Hollywood movie got an indie-go-go to have it made, and then the people who donated still had to buy tickets.
in the traditional publisher developer model of game development the publishers where the ones holding the lions share of the risk, and as such they would only green light the projects that they would get the best return from, and the more risky things would be ignored. but with Kickstarter that burden is realistically put upon the backers (even though they have no real recourse if it goes to shit), but if this person has enough connections with Sony to get 2-3 minutes of their press conference then it should have just been as easy to ask them for 2mil cause a guy that could write that check without even blinking called him out on stage.
this is not only shady to announce a kickstarter at e3 at a press conference of one of the biggest players in the industry, but to then say we only need as much money as the 5th most funded project ever on kickstarter.
so currently the only risk that Sony may even face from this is a small PR hitch were "we were just exposing an indie to potential ernings" instead of any substantial financial burden.
,my prediction for next year EA comes on stage, and announces 4 kickstarter campaigns each wanting 5mil cause at least that is an evil that we can dis-respect, but not sony.
in the traditional publisher developer model of game development the publishers where the ones holding the lions share of the risk, and as such they would only green light the projects that they would get the best return from, and the more risky things would be ignored. but with Kickstarter that burden is realistically put upon the backers (even though they have no real recourse if it goes to shit), but if this person has enough connections with Sony to get 2-3 minutes of their press conference then it should have just been as easy to ask them for 2mil cause a guy that could write that check without even blinking called him out on stage.
this is not only shady to announce a kickstarter at e3 at a press conference of one of the biggest players in the industry, but to then say we only need as much money as the 5th most funded project ever on kickstarter.
so currently the only risk that Sony may even face from this is a small PR hitch were "we were just exposing an indie to potential ernings" instead of any substantial financial burden.
,my prediction for next year EA comes on stage, and announces 4 kickstarter campaigns each wanting 5mil cause at least that is an evil that we can dis-respect, but not sony.
Oh god, just when I gave up on the possibility of Shenmue 3, they pull this crap... AND it's on PC? Color me donated...
The whole game was essentially the labor of love for Yu Suzuki. Despite Sega having the publishing rights, it's well-known that they had little creative control. The first game was the most expensive game ever made until GTAIV, and it was no surprise when it "flopped", because of how poorly the Dreamcast did in general even if every DC owner bought two copies at full price, it would have only broke even.
Both games that were released were flops financially, and no one wanted to fund the third game. Suzuki split from Sega over the issue, and seemed generally pissed that no one would let him finish it. Trust me, if there was another way to get the thing funded, he would have found it in the interim 12 years between the Xbox version of Shenmue II and now.
As someone above me stated, this isn't actually being produced by Sony either, but by Suzuki's own indie company. All Shenmue fans have been clamoring for now for a dozen years is some kind of ending to the series, even one that was simply a re-release of a the original series with a tacked-on ending. So long as it's made by Suzuki and contains some kind of ending for the beautiful series, I'm all in. Even if Sony or some other corp was abusing the Kickstarter system to avoid having to fund it themselves, Shenmue fans have been looking for someone to throw their money at for a long time.
Shenmue was one of, if not the most ambitious games of all time, the graphics not only being incredibly advanced for its day but many things about it were novel and showed a level of detail and effort that no one had really tried before. Imagine being able to not only explore every room of a realistic house, but also being able to literally open every drawer in the house, even though it holds no benefit most of the time. Without giving any story details away, the second game ended so abruptly and on such a cliffhanger after huge revelations, it was maddening.The Madman said:
The whole game was essentially the labor of love for Yu Suzuki. Despite Sega having the publishing rights, it's well-known that they had little creative control. The first game was the most expensive game ever made until GTAIV, and it was no surprise when it "flopped", because of how poorly the Dreamcast did in general even if every DC owner bought two copies at full price, it would have only broke even.
Both games that were released were flops financially, and no one wanted to fund the third game. Suzuki split from Sega over the issue, and seemed generally pissed that no one would let him finish it. Trust me, if there was another way to get the thing funded, he would have found it in the interim 12 years between the Xbox version of Shenmue II and now.
As someone above me stated, this isn't actually being produced by Sony either, but by Suzuki's own indie company. All Shenmue fans have been clamoring for now for a dozen years is some kind of ending to the series, even one that was simply a re-release of a the original series with a tacked-on ending. So long as it's made by Suzuki and contains some kind of ending for the beautiful series, I'm all in. Even if Sony or some other corp was abusing the Kickstarter system to avoid having to fund it themselves, Shenmue fans have been looking for someone to throw their money at for a long time.
Shenmue is a special case. It had been in limbo with Sega for over a decade. Though the games are critically acclaimed, Sega who was the publisher at the time had given the devs $70 million to make the franchise a trilogy. At the time Shenmue 1 and 2 would have needed to be bought twice by literally everyone who owned the Dreamcast.The Madman said:
Shenmue is a classic yes, but if Shenmue 3 came out as a Kickstarter by without Sony's backing, I doubt it'd get made. Nostalgia alone hasn't helped a lot of Kickstarters. Its hit or miss when it comes to funding. I'm guessing Sony bought the rights to the IP from knowing fans would crowdfund it instantly. It also means, alongside the FF7 remake announcment, that the PS4 has timed 3rd party exclusives on IPs with more draw than the X1 by a long shot. (sorry Tomb Raider).
Keep in mind that Shenmue is also a hella niche title. Yeah, its known, but its a similar boat as the Yakuza series is now. Popular in Japan but not as much worldwide and locked onto one console ain't helping spread the experience to everyone. The PC market will very much help in that respect as there is a huge craving for the more obscure Japanese titles to appear on Steam.
The game's producer Yu Suzuki has had his hand in multiple Sega classics including Shenmue. I believe the game is in safe hands. I'm alright with this. It means that more people will get the chance to experience Shenmue now. And to be honestly, I'd rather see Sony use their stage to promote Shenmue 3's Kickstarter and get some of the profit than a situation like Nintendo's contract with Platinum Games.
That would be nice. Were that to be announced, I'd even consider backing the project on Kickstarter. As it stands though, I'm going to have to pass on it.DarklordKyo said:
Nope. Sega still owns the rights, and Ys Net(Yu's dev studio) licensed it. I imagine Sony's involved in the financing somehow since they put Yu on stage for E3, but they don't actually have any part of ownership of the IP itself. But Yu has been saying for years that getting license to make the game wasn't a problem. It's always been a money issue.AzrealMaximillion said:
It's the first project I've backed to get the digital version for my PS4. While I am interested in what's going on on Kickstarter, I never found it necessary to contribute until the project is finished. But man, I've waited too long for a sequel to let this opportunity pass by. Hopefully this sends a message to SEGA in terms of a HD collection...
FINALLY!
If you guys thought the half life 2 episode 2 cliffhanger was a bastard, it has nothing on the abrupt death of the Shenmue series. 12 chapters planned, 4 released in two games then just killed off without so much as a whimper. Especially after that ending. Not sure how the series has aged though. I know Shenmue 2 got onto the original Xbox at least. Oh well, this pleases a part of me I thought died a long time ago. So Half life 3 now too, right?...
If you guys thought the half life 2 episode 2 cliffhanger was a bastard, it has nothing on the abrupt death of the Shenmue series. 12 chapters planned, 4 released in two games then just killed off without so much as a whimper. Especially after that ending. Not sure how the series has aged though. I know Shenmue 2 got onto the original Xbox at least. Oh well, this pleases a part of me I thought died a long time ago. So Half life 3 now too, right?...
Shenmue 3 Kickstarter Announced at E3 - Update
Sony came to E3 with their big boy pants on this year. Announcement after announcement blew up on Twitter. One announcement, however, led to issues for Kickstarter - the long awaited revival of Shenmue 3.
Read Full Article
Sony came to E3 with their big boy pants on this year. Announcement after announcement blew up on Twitter. One announcement, however, led to issues for Kickstarter - the long awaited revival of Shenmue 3.
Read Full Article
I think the game was niche partially because the consoles it came out on were both sega consoles if I recall correctly. While I did own a sega dreamcast for a short while, I never played Shenmue II, and I never owned any of the original sega consoles like the saturn, mega-drive, etc.The Eupho Guy said:
It's great to hear about it get funded on kickstarter, but they really need to release the first two on steam so that more people get exposed and can make an informed choice on the franchise.