Define money going back yo sony ?this is completely vague . Will it sel some ps4 yes will it give sony a "for the gamers" boost yes . Will sony take any of that 2-3 even 20 mill no they aren't stupid ... And you are if you think that .
Sony is officially helping with funding and development with Shenmue 3
- Thread starter kamakazi5
- Start date
Zekra Dezivad
Member
You are saying that Sony should fund the game for free?
You have a strange idea of business.
Sony is just another Kickstarter backer. They paid for the secret $10 million tier, which gets them Yu Suzuki's Ferrari F355.
This is so wrong just reading this hurts.
Zekra Dezivad
Member
Paying for games feels so strange
Dreamgazer
Member
Except that is not how it is and we aren't even giving money to Sony.
Err try getting funds for a game which has been a proven money sink with high dev costs and justifying it to your higher ups ... If you can dude I have many ideas I would like you to fund .
Edit : I'll give you a 50% cut even
maquiladora
Member
The information on the KS page was very clear that PS4 and PC were the only development platforms. There were no hints in the stretch goals of the addition of other platforms later. People were not being misled in any way into thinking it might come to other platforms. And if anyone did blindly back in with that hope, well they have 30 days to remove their pledge.
They were open and up front about their involvement in the very first interviews on day 1 of the show, including on their own livestream show, less than 24 hours after it was revealed. So if anyone finds this objectionable, again they have 30 days now to remove their pledge.
amstradcpc
Member
amstradcpc
Member
ummm...something tells me you know the answer...
maquiladora
Member
In other news....just reached 2.9 million 
FinalStageBoss
Banned
But you are not giving Sony any money here.
The hell is this hahaha
Well, paying for a game which has the backing of a major publisher over 18 months early does, sure. This very forum had many people campaigning against pre-orders.
I realise that Kickstarter is aimed at unknown games and so it is different, but if Sony were planning on backing this game all along (no way would they have put it in the E3 conference if they didn't - don't try to tell me otherwise) then there is absolutely no need for this Kickstarter.
Opus Angelorum
Member
I don't have an issue with this in principal, although it should have been made clearer (if it wasn't already obvious to some).
However.
Had Microsoft done this, they would have been crucified.
However.
Had Microsoft done this, they would have been crucified.
panda-zebra
Member
This feels a bit like a sizeable, if not complete misunderstanding of the situation.
GhostTrick
Banned
Not really. They are giving them funds, but not FULLY funded. Really, if Sony was giving all the money, there would have no need of a PC version. The only reason is the funds are coming from both Sony AND Kickstarter.
Whilst this is true, this Kickstarter feels like nothing more than a glorified pre-order where you must pay up-front and wait for 18 months. Sony would not have included Shenmue 3 in their E3 conference had they not intended to help fund development, making the money this Kickstarter campaign raises almost a moot point.
They clearly had confidence that there was a market for Shenmue 3, or they would not have included the game in their most important (from a public perception) conference of the year. Why would they?
Dreamgazer
Member
And I'm sure they'll just write a blank check of whatever amount with no questions or concerns.
But there's something wrong there. Shenmue 3 is not "their" project. "Their" meaning Yu Suzuki's and Sony. Sony is helping with funding of the game and marketing costs to ensure that the game is on their platform. Sony doesn't have ownership of the IP, a share in the possible profits, or creative power in the final game. You could say that Sony bought exclusivity, but that would be wrong as the game is being released on PC and that partial exclusivity doesn't make the game "Sony's". Sega owns the IP, Yu Suzuki has all creative power.
That IF, If the game doesnt reach 2mil, possibly sony dont want to back it.
Of course the Kickstarter money is not going to Sony, it is going to the developers.
I fully understand the situation but it just felt strange announcing kickstarter in between all first-party Sony funded exclusives like this game was one of them, and then asking money in advance.
Though Sony's *potential* financial backing was obvious, the stage presentation were along the lines of "We're not involved in this kick-starter, but we are celebrating the launch of the kickstarter". Of course they couldn't admit that they were going to back the project according to the result of the kickstarter, but then again they didn't need to say "We are not involved". Can't remember the exact quote on stage, though.
giancarlo123x
Banned
It's funny reading through this thread and seeing people complain and cry about this kickstarter being shady because of sony funding it. Did people really think 2 million would cover the cost of this game at all? Of course it was to see if there was interest. The original Shenmue cost over 70 million to make! I pledged because I've seen people begging for this game to happen for years, I only hope they release a HD collection so people like myself who never played these can get caught up to speed.
Quite frankly, I'm appalled this is being defended so much. Just to be clear, I have never played one of these games, and won't be interested in picking this one up.
I see a couple of arguments being used here, for this approach:
For Sony, to get up on a world stage and announce a kickstarter for a game is arrogant and an appalling way of going about a IP revival. What impression does this give to other teams who want to do a similar thing? They'll be thinking "Oh, we'll have to raise X amount of money before Sony will give me anything."
Like I said in a point above, this should of been announced with an early-preorder scheme where money from the pre-order gets subsidized into development costs. Multi-million dollar companies should not be using Kickstarter.
I see a couple of arguments being used here, for this approach:
- This game wouldn't happen unless it was for the Kickstarter.
Well, that's not true. That's Sonys choice to partly fund the game if Kickstarter succeeds. Why wouldn't they just open an early pre-order system through PSN and include a cheaper price and say so much % of this pre-order will go to development. Then you'd get your goodies, your cheaper price. They'd also probably get more money over time. - This means dead franchises can come back with kickstarters
Oh come on, if a new game under an old IP can raise 3 million in days then it's not dead is it. They obviously knew interest was apparent to even consider this approach. - Sony aren't getting any money from this
What a load of shit, they have to spend money to distribute and publish this game. They need to see returns. I wouldn't be surprised if this kickstarter was for publishing costs and if they were met, then they fund development costs. - They don't know about the market
This is the icing on the cake. How do all those multi-million business' cope now gauging their market without kickstarters? Poor, poor excuse. Take risks, you obviously know there's interest to even get up on a world stage and announce this.
For Sony, to get up on a world stage and announce a kickstarter for a game is arrogant and an appalling way of going about a IP revival. What impression does this give to other teams who want to do a similar thing? They'll be thinking "Oh, we'll have to raise X amount of money before Sony will give me anything."
Like I said in a point above, this should of been announced with an early-preorder scheme where money from the pre-order gets subsidized into development costs. Multi-million dollar companies should not be using Kickstarter.
maquiladora
Member
Why would they be crucified? Why would anyone be crucified? You can get the game for $29 this way. Probably half the price it will be when the game is finished and released. It's coming to PC. And if you find Sony's involvement abhorrent or morally objectionable you can simply remove your pledge at any time within the next 30 days.
There is really nothing to be outraged over.
So they risk showing a game like this in their E3 conference and then don't support it to completion? No way.
IndoAssassin
Banned
Maybe he's saying the dude he quoted gots beef with Sony
The buzz this Kickstarter is making, breaking records and making the news is invaluable. That ensures that the Kickstarter was indeed needed to raise awareness to this. The presence in Sony E3 conference ensured the success of the kickstarter campaign. There was a risk, as there is always, that the Kickstarter campaign didn't have enough traction. I don't believe that it would fail, but sometimes the worst that could happen to a KS project is to be just borderline successful. This ensured a resounding success of the campaign and attention bandwidth in the gaming media and forums.
Mr. Giggles
Member
In other news....just reached 2.9 million
Hot diggity! The thirst is real!!
It's the third entry in a niche franchise that's been dormant for 14 years and has never been on Playstation before. It's also widely known for having been the most expensive game ever made, and losing buckets of money for Sega. If you think Sony was ready to lay down millions of dollars on faith alone, you're just wrong.
Dreamgazer
Member
This is a Sega IP that was proceeded by assassin creed, ff7 remake, devolver and announced by Boyes of Third Party Relations. The only chance of you feeling strange that this is "in between first parties" is you being delusional.
Well, hey, SFV wouldn't happen without Sony's investment, right? So by that logic, there clearly isn't as much hunger for a new SF game because Capcom don't have enough faith to produce it. Why not Kickstart that game?
IndoAssassin
Banned
yah and going through this thread Sony is also getting crucified. So what's your point?
They are a stakeholder. As a consumer stepping into the role of stakeholder via kickstarter, I think that all other stakeholders should be clearly identified up front.
Please explain to me how this is any different from them investing in, say, Horizon: Zero Dawn as an example?
Dreamgazer
Member
The current market demand for a series like SF is much easier to estimate than a 14 year old series with a bombed second game.
Its apple and oranges.
You just cut out the part of my post where I explained that.
The consumer in this case is a patron not a stakeholder. There won't be any return to the patrons besides the game coming to fruition. And even that is not 100% ensured. A kickstarter is not a guarantee of a final product.
edit: Sony involvement though makes it an almost guarantee. So that's another benefit of Sony footing in some money to this.
Because anyone with RPG interest can pick up Horizon and enjoy it. Shenmue 3 would alienate a great deal of players being the sequel of a niche game.
I'm not denying that. But why include it in your E3 conference if you had no intention of getting behind it unless it does well at Kickstarter level? They wouldn't.