SHENMUE 3 kickstarter (PC/PS4) - FINAL DAY - NEW KS RECORD GO GO GO!
- Thread starter Mr. RPG
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Theonik
Member
Before the goal is reached:
Cons:
PP funding is not counted onto the total so it means you might not get the money from KS.
After the goal is reached:
Pro:
- It allows people who can't use KS for whatever reason to contribute. For bloodstained that was $208k by the end.
- It allows you to add funds from people after the campaign ends
Cons:
- It is harder to manage two sources of income and you lose some of the fulfilment tools KS has. This is solved by several KS running software tools.
- You can't easily keep track of the numbers on each tier, it breaks limited tiers since KS counts are automatic. So you can only offer non-limited rewards through PayPal
- PayPal takes some money but it might be lower than KS so that's not a negative.
Edit: Yeah also what Krejlooc said.
Die Squirrel Die
Member
GAF is noticeably worse, but believe me every other website is terrible as well. It took me about 5 minutes and multiple refreshes earlier today before I could the Kickstarter page to display more than just the sites header. That and starting around lunch time there were straight up loses of connection, every 20 to 30 minutes, although they seem to have stopped.
JonathanNemo
Member
I would appreciate a Tomato Convenience Store.
If we want a different kind of retro, the Star Shop from Planet Harriers or Weaponald's from Space Fantasy Zone would be nice to see again. Somehow!
gamerforever
Banned
I'm not sure what has gone on exactly, but does it revolve around fanboys not liking this being on the ps4 only?
If we don't get this now its going hurt even more than waiting 14 years.
Well at least ryos not in that cave anymore!
If we don't get this now its going hurt even more than waiting 14 years.
Well at least ryos not in that cave anymore!
It's the latest wave of concern trolling. Or, to be succinct, "it's about ethics in games funding (tm)"
CosmicQueso
Member
Is there a way to compare the number of backers at different points for this KS versus some others?
The average donation is over $80, and the total donor count doesn't seem to be high.
Just makes me think this will remain very niche with a low number of high value donors.
Also makes me think that the controversy is actually a benefit in generating interest. Given all the hype at the conference, only having 40k+ backers... just seems like that backer number should be higher if this was truly an E3 "gigaton".
The average donation is over $80, and the total donor count doesn't seem to be high.
Just makes me think this will remain very niche with a low number of high value donors.
Also makes me think that the controversy is actually a benefit in generating interest. Given all the hype at the conference, only having 40k+ backers... just seems like that backer number should be higher if this was truly an E3 "gigaton".
ArisenDragon
Member
Seems like people are still hesitate to back a kickstarter even at 29 dollars would be great if more people added to it.
So I run a popular blog that is hosted on the Tumblr platform and just posted an extremely long piece called Why Shenmue Matters. The post has already gotten over 200 notes and has jumped to the top of the Shenmue, Sony, E3, and PS4 tags on Tumblr. It is also near the top of the general Gaming and Video Games tags.
Wanted to set the tone of Shenmue discussion in a positive way.
Here's the link:
Why Shenmue Matters - Cinema Gorgeous
Wanted to set the tone of Shenmue discussion in a positive way.
Here's the link:
Why Shenmue Matters - Cinema Gorgeous
Die Squirrel Die
Member
Here's Shenmue III's kicktraq.
Here;s Bloodstained's
Yooka-Laylee's
Project (Pillars of) Eternity
And Torment's
They track funding amount, number of backers and number of comments. If you go to the daily data tab you can get a breakdown of daily totals, although Kicktraq base their days on calender days rather than the starting time of the kickstarter +24 hours, +48 hours, +72 hours etc.
Elfforkusu
Member
So I've seen people discussing what the fans can do to help (either in this thread or one of the others), and since i didn't get a chance to respond when i wanted to, i will now. I think these are the primary things (beyond "get the word out"):
1. Explain "what is Shenmue?", and why we think that the world needs more of it
1a. why Yu Suzuki is awesome
and, unfortunately,
2. that the kickstarter will be the primary source of funds. That the notion of Sony playing any more than a supporting role on this game is simply bad journalism. This meme is *not+ going to go away. People saw the polygon/etc articles, internalized the notion, and spread it. It's hard to convince people that they've been mislead, whether we're talking about about crowdfunding or global warming. We're going to be fighting it in some form or another for the whole campaign.
#1 is about bringing more people into the fold
#2 is about convincing people (be friendly) who would've already donated if not for unnecessary FUD about the campaign
1. Explain "what is Shenmue?", and why we think that the world needs more of it
1a. why Yu Suzuki is awesome
and, unfortunately,
2. that the kickstarter will be the primary source of funds. That the notion of Sony playing any more than a supporting role on this game is simply bad journalism. This meme is *not+ going to go away. People saw the polygon/etc articles, internalized the notion, and spread it. It's hard to convince people that they've been mislead, whether we're talking about about crowdfunding or global warming. We're going to be fighting it in some form or another for the whole campaign.
#1 is about bringing more people into the fold
#2 is about convincing people (be friendly) who would've already donated if not for unnecessary FUD about the campaign
I've done this myself on my own site to try and keep the message positive. Not sure if I can link it here though? Nonetheless it's done
Good shout, this. I'm chuffed for the guys over at the Dojo; maintaining a dedicated kernel of a community for over a decade with no credible reason to believe they would ever get their closure is inspiring stuff. I really hope the KS campaign gets somewhere close to what YS needs to make this game a deserving follow-up to the prequels.
Elfforkusu
Member
He should make a funny video wherein he goes around asking random people if they know any sailors.
Bumping this for a new page.
I think this is a really cool situation for bumping interest.
I know neogaf is read by many high flyers in the gaming world. Hopefully one of you is happy to get on board.
Obviously FB message him, but feel free to Holla at 500k admins to ensure your message is delivered.
maquiladora
Member
Has there been any word on physical PS4 release? Because I think that is the one thing that would get the majority of digital tier backers to up their pledge. It could add a half million or more to the total.
Theonik
Member
Not that many people usually contribute to KS. In the first place it is pretty unappealing for a lot of people as a buying model. But also there is a lot of people that see that the goal was hit and won't go back. I'm starting to think they used the gigaton incorrectly by going too low on their goal. On a normal campaign that would be pretty wise, but basically, after the goal was hit, the E3 boost fizzled out very quickly as people quickly went 'OK this is HYPE LET'S DO THIS' then when it hits the number people go 'OK mission accomplished let's go home'
Then there are many badly conceived aspects of how the campaign is structured wrt the tiers offered. The people funnelled from E3, would largely be PS users, yet, the PS4 tiers are capped at digital rewards only. Then the $3k tiers were added much later, and there is still huge gaps in the rewards from 500-3k and 3k-10k. Interest in the game and fan passion only takes you so far in a KS campaign. You usually have to consider it like selling a product and many of the tiers are unappealing compared to say Bloodstained that had the bulk of its few contributors on the $60-100 brackets. They did a good job upseling the lower tiers.
The bad press and fearmongerring doesn't help either. I was asking some friends about whether they were considering to back it and the first thing they said 'Nah it's already funded' which well is a very bad impression to leave. I don't think there was the same concerns with Bloodstained.
Finally I think the defence force that is building up is starting to do more damage to the goodwill of the project than good.
Now a final thing to note is this. There will always be a ton of people who take a wait and see approach for those things. In the first place that is the smartest and most appealing for people who are not personally invested in KS to engage on them. Because of how crowdfunding works, a $4m project is more appealing to fund than a barely funded project. That's because the more overfunded game is bound to have more so when you pledge at the start you are getting a barebones game, but at the end when you are looking to pledge you are looking at 5x the 'game' there is also more information with which to make a decision. So the optimal times to back are either at the start to 'make it happen' which is where a lot of the bigger fans come in, and at the end. Throughout the campaign if the people running it are skilled enough to realise this you should also be trying to drive people to upgrade either by giving more info, using part of funding to make the rewards more appealing etc.
All of this comes down to a big balancing act that needs to be factored against funding, fulfilment and revenues. A lot of early big game KS like DFA almost sunk because they didn't properly manage this.
Thank you for doing this. This is exactly the sort of thing I was talking about before. Let's try to bring this more on track by trying to show people why the Shenmue games are awesome and why we like them and why Shenmue III is a worthwhile thing to buy into. Stuff like this and the Gametrailers reaction are exactly what drives people on this campaign.
What damage?
3.5 million damage and counting
Ghost_Messiah
Member
Love this idea. Just forwarded it to the guys at ShenmueDojo as they're currently in contact with him. I'll let you know if anything comes of it.
No word just yet. There's something going on behind the scenes with Sony that's prohibiting PS4 retail copies being offered as rewards for the campaign or least that's the theory. Yu has an agreement with Sony (who's investing in the game as well as providing production and marketing support) that sounds as though they want control of when Shenmue 3 hits retail for PS4. We don't know for definite but if such a deal is in place (and it makes sense for there to be one given YSNet have thus far dodged all questions pertaining to this matter) then that would mean a PS4 retail release will never be offered as a reward for the duration of this campaign. If we're correct here it would explain its conspicuous absence thus far.
We don't know for certain because no one's talking due to the obvious contractual limitations but my theory? Sony's preventing it.
Theonik
Member
Die Squirrel Die
Member
Internet, I'm sorry I called you a dick earlier, we cool now?
Just backed for $30 for now. If they do a physical PS4 version I'll definitely go up to that, beyond that I'm going to have to see closer to the end date. I think the highest I could reasonably go is the $175 tier, which is currently about £110, and that's stretching it a little.
Just backed for $30 for now. If they do a physical PS4 version I'll definitely go up to that, beyond that I'm going to have to see closer to the end date. I think the highest I could reasonably go is the $175 tier, which is currently about £110, and that's stretching it a little.
In terms of number of backers, it's trailing Yooka for the same point in the project:
The first two days are pretty similar for both and then Yooka was getting consistently more backers following on from that, and that's without the megaton announcement that Shenmue had.
Coming from someone who's a big fan of Shenmue and has backed it for $180, I just don't think Shenmue is very popular and will struggle to meet its stretch goals and secure further funding from publishers.
Honestly, I think SEGA will look at these numbers and consider themselves vindicated for doing nothing with the license.
The first two days are pretty similar for both and then Yooka was getting consistently more backers following on from that, and that's without the megaton announcement that Shenmue had.
Coming from someone who's a big fan of Shenmue and has backed it for $180, I just don't think Shenmue is very popular and will struggle to meet its stretch goals and secure further funding from publishers.
Honestly, I think SEGA will look at these numbers and consider themselves vindicated for doing nothing with the license.
D
Deleted member 80556
Unconfirmed Member
Yep, it lost what was made since like 5 hours ago in just one minute with people removing their big pledges.
Oh well, maybe they realized they need the money for other things.
Nah, they're probably trolls.
It happens more often than you think.
I saw that mulitple times on different kickstarter projects.
Sectorseven
Member
The tracking so far doesn't suggest the elaborate Kickstarter made a huge difference. Still, it would be fun.
More and better rewards easily would give this a nice boost No doubt
Ghost_Messiah
Member
Yeah I just watched it nosedive about ~7K somehow? Must have lost a torrent of large pledges in an instant. I'm hoping for the best here but unnecessary drops like this are sad to see.
JonathanNemo
Member
Yeah, watching these numbers and complaining about the Kickstarter is about as exciting as day trading. Actually, day trading is exciting. But I'm not sure it's the kind of excitement that's worthwhile.
More ideas to get the word out would be nice, besides "I can do a better Kickstarter." That's not something we can change.
More ideas to get the word out would be nice, besides "I can do a better Kickstarter." That's not something we can change.
And despite all that the KS is doing very well. I really think this is the first Kickstarter for a lot of people. It'll get one last huge boost the last two days.
D
Deleted member 80556
Unconfirmed Member
Indeed. Wish I had a bigger following.
Stumbled across this in the Kickstarter comments...
Great set of images (and a gif) people can use when promoting the Kickstarter.
http://imgur.com/a/ZrG4b
Great set of images (and a gif) people can use when promoting the Kickstarter.
http://imgur.com/a/ZrG4b
Stumbled across this in the Kickstarter comments...
Great set of images (and a gif) people can use when promoting the Kickstarter.
http://imgur.com/a/ZrG4b
Uh. It's in the OP.
Ryo Hazuki
Member
They're actually a little different but very similar, hahaha.
Ha, weird. It is slightly different! Either one works, but its good to have options.
Ghost_Messiah
Member
Well ShenmueDojo are pushing this like their lives depend on it quite admirably and understandably so. In terms of us over here on NeoGAF off the top of my head a new dedicated thread pushing the campaign to rally the community? I've seen community driven efforts on here succeed before (just a random recollection here that's kind of tangentially related; the Sega PC ports campaign) so this community when united for a common cause does have the power to make waves. We're pretty much the nexus of gaming on the Internet; the centre point of news and we host some individuals with power and connections in the gaming sphere.
We should pool our ideas together and create a new dedicated thread here to rally the community and give this a hard push. We all clearly care about this and an effort like that might be far more productive than as you say just focusing on the numbers.
Thoughts everyone?
Fox_Mulder
Rockefellers. Skull and Bones. Microsoft. Al Qaeda. A Cabal of Bankers. The melting point of steel. What do these things have in common? Wake up sheeple, the landfill wasn't even REAL!
A youtube campaign like the Ice Bucket Challenge (involving famous youtubers)?
maquiladora
Member
Damn, it really has slowed to an absolute crawl now. I still think it will finish above 5m but probably not a lot more than that.
I do think if people want to campaign for exposure by far the best way is to try and get the big Youtubers to play the game and get their fan bases excited about it.
This is not something that we on GAF are usually very knowledgeable about, because honestly most of us are older than the target demographic for these Youtubers (teenagers).
openrob
Member
Bumping this for a new page.
I think this is a really cool situation for bumping interest.
I know neogaf is read by many high flyers in the gaming world. Hopefully one of you is happy to get on board.
Obviously FB message him, but feel free to Holla at 500k admins to ensure your message is delivered.
Also Lisle Wilkeson (VA for Xiuying Hong / Joy / Yuan) has also jumped in to comment!
any new shenmue threads are likely to get closed, so i propose we use this thread as a launch pad for the funding initiative
let the yu suzuki thread draw the flak for now, just try and keep this thread above that with more posts, and more views.
following the shenmue dojo's playbook is a good idea too. if there is anybody in here who posts there too, maybe let them know we've got their back?
Finally, almost a week after the shock... I forced myself to man up and get to watch the live announcement of Shenmue 3 and the trailer from Kickstarter.
The thing is... I cried like a little girl for several minutes during the E3 when the Shenmue theme started playing.. that well, the E3 ended right there for me and couldn't continue watching. I didn't care about anything else, and I was pretty shocked and went all emo for days.
Shenmue means the world to me and I'm super ultra happy. 14 years of waiting, 14 years of lost dreams.
Now there's hope and life is good again. LOL.
Regarding the kickstarter and Sony funding controversy, I think we just need to wait.
For a saga that's been out of the radar since 2002 when the Xbox version of Shenmue 2 was released, I guess it's doing ok with almost 4 millions funded by the fans, and lots of media covering (good or bad, it's important to get widespread publicity)
Regarding the "how is it gonna be?"
We've waited 14 years, so let's not rush art. I'm pretty sure Suzuki has a detailed vision of how the game is gonna be and how everything will unfold. Every single game he did IMHO, was a masterpiece. From Hang On to Shenmue, all incredible masterpieces that will be remembered and cherished by all entities in the universe through eternity.
So, all I wanna say is:
The thing is... I cried like a little girl for several minutes during the E3 when the Shenmue theme started playing.. that well, the E3 ended right there for me and couldn't continue watching. I didn't care about anything else, and I was pretty shocked and went all emo for days.
Shenmue means the world to me and I'm super ultra happy. 14 years of waiting, 14 years of lost dreams.
Now there's hope and life is good again. LOL.
Regarding the kickstarter and Sony funding controversy, I think we just need to wait.
For a saga that's been out of the radar since 2002 when the Xbox version of Shenmue 2 was released, I guess it's doing ok with almost 4 millions funded by the fans, and lots of media covering (good or bad, it's important to get widespread publicity)
Regarding the "how is it gonna be?"
We've waited 14 years, so let's not rush art. I'm pretty sure Suzuki has a detailed vision of how the game is gonna be and how everything will unfold. Every single game he did IMHO, was a masterpiece. From Hang On to Shenmue, all incredible masterpieces that will be remembered and cherished by all entities in the universe through eternity.
So, all I wanna say is:
Sectorseven
Member
It'd be fun if he could take twitter requests for lines to record. Better if they could work it into the actual Kickstarter as a reward, but they're too disorganized for that.
Every Kickstarter slows down after the initial surge. Nothing unusual is happening here.
Seriously.
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