Apparently not if they expect most of the funding from kickstarter
Yu Suzuki: I expect individual backers to provide the majority of funds for Shenmue
- Thread starter ShogunDarius
- Start date
Apparently not if they expect most of the funding from kickstarter
Dragon Puncher
Member
I don't think a true Shenmue game can be made on a 5 millioner dollar budget unfortunately and I don't see the project getting 10 million through kickstarter, that's just insane. Hopefully Sony decides that the title is worth it as a console exclusive and pitch in some more.
Theonik
Member
They should have been more realistic with their KS goal, had they asked for say $5m we'd be looking at a different story.
Depends on your idea of a real Shenmue game. More money helps the scope of the game tremendously, but many of the things that would make a Shenmue experience come for 'free' these days. They have access to the extremely expensive research materials they did for the Shenmue series, and a lot of the groundbreaking technology to make a Shenmue game has since become commonplace.
Because console wars, children and man children.
One example of a KS project that did reach $10 million is the Pebble watch:
You can see it started out very similarly, but kept going at a rate that Shenmue 3 has already fallen behind.
I think there's a lot of frustration that the stretch goals are not really "stretch goals", but essentially needed to make the core game world complete. This is not the best way to court potential backers.
It's somewhat apples and oranges comparing a smartwatch to a video game. The base pledge to actually get a product on the Pebble Kickstarter was like $115.
To reach $10 million for Shenmue 3, every current backer would have to average $200 or it would need twice the amount of backers backing $100 average or like 4x the current backers backing just $29.
DidntKnowJack
Member
Now you're changing the argument. Your original assertion was that it was harmful that they had it on stage at E3. They didn't say anything about helping to fund S3 until after the primary goal was already met.
Whether that was harmful to the cause is another matter. I was challenging your original assertion.
This is true, but I still think they could at least run a Twitter account and/or a Facebook page.
E-Cat
Member
Regardless, the Shenmue 3 campaign seems to be more front-loaded.
DXB-KNIGHT
Member
Another question, if this endeavor was successful for both Sony and Yu will it became a trend for mega cooperation supporting kickstarter through "exposure" every E3?
Like EA, Activision, Microsoft Nintendo etc
Like EA, Activision, Microsoft Nintendo etc
Can't because you know then it's immoral because Shenmue 3 would no longer be a nonprofit love letter to the fans.
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
I don't know why but I feel the word expect doesn't say it.
But rather I think he would like a majority of funding being provided by fans.
But rather I think he would like a majority of funding being provided by fans.
To be honest I was really really worried wether it would reached 2m.
Yu might have ready to compromise just in case it didn't meet the goal. Think about it people 14-15 years IP that bombed so hard previously. Fans can say one thing but giving money would be another.
it doesn't need to have achievements and the like. but more communication and more in-depth explanations of things would probably be a good thing. like, what specifically are the stretch goals and how they can be shown in a more interesting way? people want to know about this game and so far it's been like, 'yeah okay we'll fund it and then make it.'
Oh wow. I didn't know.
Geez, the concern trolling is real again. Well, screw it.
It is almost as if this thread is getting a repeat of the other one 1:1... :/
UltraGunner
Banned
They're doing the bare minimum of support for a game that needs all the support it can get, and yet they get all this goodwill.
I haven't read the Polygon article or negative replies people are talking about in this thread, but I can easily see why someone would find the Kickstarter questionable, even after the answers given in these interviews. If I'm going to back a game on Kickstarter, I'd like to know as much about what the project is going to be and how they're going to handle development beforehand.
Like there's no information on what the game mechanics behind the stretch goals actually are besides the names, or how they plan to handle the budget, or how much funding they expect to get outside of crowdfunding. If you don't need to know these things to back the Kickstarter and trust Yu Suzuki with your money, then that's fine, but that doesn't mean others shouldn't have a problem with the lack of information. There's nothing wrong with wanting to know as much as possible before putting your money towards it.
Like there's no information on what the game mechanics behind the stretch goals actually are besides the names, or how they plan to handle the budget, or how much funding they expect to get outside of crowdfunding. If you don't need to know these things to back the Kickstarter and trust Yu Suzuki with your money, then that's fine, but that doesn't mean others shouldn't have a problem with the lack of information. There's nothing wrong with wanting to know as much as possible before putting your money towards it.
Can see it now, EA trots out some Save Sims campaign.
$40 million dollar goal, please help
You cant claim something like this when you dont know the deal.
Also they are not just helping with funds.
And yet when people thought they were backing them with major support they were getting lots of badwill.
Probly publishing and marketing costs
And then we'll find that they're backing them a medium amount and everyone will accuse Sony of being indecisive.
UltraGunner
Banned
Suzuki just said the majority of cash is coming from kickstarter, and Sony hands out support tools and such to almost every indie developer. So yeah I feel comfortable saying they are doing the bare minimum.
Well those people are dumb. There's no way that the Shenmue 3 that the fans want can get made with just kickstarter money. It would need some serious financial backing.
Many many KS have additional funding. I've yet to see one list how much they are getting from those sources. You know there are contacts behind these things right with NDAs?
I think its a story that could have propelled it to success at a 5 mil Kickstarter, and earned beyond that.
I don't think the gaming community at large would have left Shenmue 3, after years of discussion regarding it, slip away even if it meant more people would have to dig deeper into their wallets. I can't see it having failed asking for 5 mil up front.
It'll probably reach that anyway but I feel like if they asked for 5 mil they would have gotten it sooner.
DidntKnowJack
Member
Yup.
Minimum support - they're letting it die!
Taking over the funding - they're holding it hostage!
I'm starting to see where the whole console wars thing has entered the picture.
Exactly.
Eh not going to enter these threads anymore. I have my backing in so I really shouldn't give a damn what some disingenuous trolls have to say. I'll just play Shenmue 1 and 2 again and hope that 3 makes it in 2017.
Then at least they could say that there's an NDA. They don't have to include all of the information there is, but there should be as much as possible.
shenmue 3 is being self published by ys.net
FAQ:
How much outside funding are you guys getting?
Sorry we are under NDA.
Go find that right now in any KS. You know how stupid the above sounds? I draft, negotiate, and litigate contacts on a daily basis. There are extremely few situations where i would mention the existence of an NDA directly.
Still no guarantee on it. Some people might even be turn off by the amount it needed at 5m.
We just so used to hear AAA game devt of 20-50m without realizing that 5-10m is huge amount of money.
Probably a lot of them. Even some that earned a lot of money have gotten extra funding. For example we know Bloodstained is getting partially funded by a publisher and during the PC Gaming E3 conference the CEO of Obsidian said that they got around an extra million dollars to finish Pillars of Eternity even though the kickstarter made around $4 million.
Sephiroth_VII
Member
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
I just hope there's more funding then we expect
Yep it's totally stupid, from one extreme to the other with lots of salt in between
Situation is pretty clear, the more money the Kickstarter raises the better game we'll get.
Right now the deal among the parts involved is to make the game happen in some form (interactive story) with a minimum of 2 millions.
When the Kickstarter is over a final deal among the parts will be made including the scope of the game and definitive financial support.
I think that they will be able to get 10 millions in total if Sony helps them which they'll likely do.
I'm not changing my argument, it's really hard to say with the initial announcement whether it could have gone better or worse. I personally didn't have a problem with the initial announcement, but obviously some people did. I think it would have been 'safer' to keep it at arms length, but that doesn't mean it was 'harmful'. You need to explore some alternative realities to prove that one either way.
But if Sony had gone silent on the matter after that, then there would have been much less focus on Sony's connection, and much more on the kickstarter itself.
I'm just replying to keep this story near the top of GAF, so more people that are naturally adverse to backing kickstarters see it and hopefully back it up with cash.
It'd still be an answer. It's better than them not saying anything about what the outside funding is at all.
EDIT: Welp, missed the answer that Sephiroth_VII pointed out. Weird that it's not under a question that's about outside funding though.
Sephiroth_VII
Member
I seriously doubt that. If Sony execs had just gone "No comment" whenever asked by the press, there would be Area 51-level conspiracy theories swirling around right now.
Theonik
Member
It's a risk for sure. If your KS doesn't hit the goal you get nothing so it's important to set the goal somewhere you think you can hit. But at the same time if the goal is too low you are in some serious trouble as well as it will dictate the success of your campaign. Looking at their planned stretchgoals they were always hoping to get the KS to $12m so the goal was the minimum they thought they could get away with really.
The Cartographer
Member
I don't think we have to worry about that.
Scientist Supreme!
Banned
Sorry if people wanted to know the role of a giant corporation in this kickstarter.
Contractual obligations can mean a host of things, but yes you're right that's likely referencing an NDA. To simply be 100% transparent as some people are seemingly demanding is ridiculous and unrealistic. I really doubt anyone is just going to say sorry our sponsor forced us to not disclose funding so we cant tell you.
Theonik
Member
That's actually exactly what they say in their KS. It's as open they can reasonably be.
Jo Shishido's Cheeks
Member
You're also talking about Shenmue 2.
The cost of creating the original engine, developing the Saturn version and then creating the Dreamcast engine, restarting Shenmue from scratch, making Shenmue 2 and marketing costs for both were around $70 million.
So Shenmue (the entire enterprise) cost approx. $70m
but people took this as
Shenmue (the first game) cost approx. $70m
This is why Yu Suzuki later tried clarifying by saying 'the costs of just the first game alone would be around $40m' but there's no way of knowing for sure.
HighResTomato
Member
Quote? Where do I suggest they should harm themselves.
SkylineRKR
Member
So if Sony isn't really all that big into this, why doesn't he try to get the game on as many platforms as possible?
Xbox one would ensure backing from Xbox owners.
Xbox one would ensure backing from Xbox owners.