Physical Version of Shenmue 3 PS4 Now on the Kickstarter
- Thread starter munchie64
- Start date
Try having at least a shred of perspective, god damn.
The $2M goal was clearly chosen because that is what Suzuki believes was needed to get A VERSION of Shenmue III out. A conclusion to the storyline that would be an enjoyable experience for fans of the franchise. Exactly what people have been wanting for over a decade now.
The stretch goals would expand the game into something more than that, but the purpose of the Kickstarter is to provide closure on one of gaming's great unfinished epics. As it stands right now Shenmue I and II are the equivalent of having Star Wars: A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back with Return of the Jedi having never been released.
At $10M it will be a much bigger game, probably more accessible to the average gamer who doesn't have an attachment to the Shenmue series, but Suzuki has been nothing but honest about the purpose of this Kickstarter. First and foremost it is to give closure to the series' longtime fans. Bringing in new fans and/or delivering a full featured stand along game are entirely secondary to that core goal.
People need to understand that. If you look at this as either a Kickstarter for a full AAA tier game or Sony using Kickstarter to fund a project you've entirely missed the point. Even if they reach $10M this is not going to be a Sleeping Dogs/GTA sized open world experience. Those games cost an order of magnitude more than $10M.
Pledge if you meet the following criteria:
1. Are a long time Shenmue fan.
2. Appreciate video game history and want to see an all-time great franchise get the best send off possible.
3. Are curious enough about the Shenmue franchise to consider the cost of entry acceptable.
4. Think there is money to be made in hording physical versions.
As with all Kickstarters donations this inherently implies accepting some level of risk. You are trusting the developer to deliver not just a product, but a product you will enjoy when donations are made largely sight unseen. If you are completely risk adverse then Kickstarter simply isn't for you. Stop concern trolling if that is the case, accept that it isn't your bag, and stop propping up this idiotic misrepresentation agenda because that never happened.
Tricky I Shadow
Banned
It's so great to see GAF really rallying together to back this. My faith in gaming is returning! : )
Augemitbutter
Member
yup, money is flowing again. physical forever.
Dr. Black Jack
Member
Instabacked, this is what I was holding out for. SO EXCITED
Media only wants to focus on the negative aspects of the campaign. More clicks. I mean Jason Schrier condemned Phil Owen's article, but will you see Kotaku put up a positive article on the Kickstarter in the coming week? I'd be willing to bet, no.
Theonik
Member
No need. They will find out over the next few days. Most people will check right before they have to pay. Allowing for upgrades after the deadline is also important there since some people might still miss it.
Finally all backers get emails when they post an update.
Just wanted to mention, that Witcher 2 or 3 (not sure) was made with 15 Million Dollars (excluding marketing). So there is without a doubt a lot of potential creating amazing worlds without wasting too much money. Despite that, I don't need gigantic worlds, Shenmues world was and is awesome and has a unique atmosphere, that wasn't matched for me by any of the above mentioned "real" open worlds.
Just a small peeve; I'm sure the backers would be happy, I just think I'd be a little thrown off to see a picture of a dude like the one shown at the harbor missing persons. It clashes with the setting. The NPC, as mentioned, would be re-stylized, so that's ok. If I see a real-world contemporary picture of a guy on the missing persons board, I'd feel my game got hacked or its a mod.
No biggie, I'll just look pass it.
No biggie, I'll just look pass it.
PositronicMan
Member
Thanks for the heads up! This is exactly what I was waiting for. Backed!
Everyone should watched/listen to the SEGA-NERD Shenmue Voice Actors interview. It:s so much fun! They give some solid insight on the voice work then went into Shenmue, the problems they experienced and how much they want for it to improve. The passion is fantastic and they all really want to be in Shenmue III and are completely ape for it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dcvi9Vt3WP4
It's true though, Chai was definitely the original Gollum from Lord of the Rings, i.e. Chai was done before Gollum. However, Yu Suzuki might have taken inspiration from the artbooks.... but the voice, Chai came first:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dcvi9Vt3WP4
It's true though, Chai was definitely the original Gollum from Lord of the Rings, i.e. Chai was done before Gollum. However, Yu Suzuki might have taken inspiration from the artbooks.... but the voice, Chai came first:
Witcher was made in Poland were wages is a lot lower. You won't be able to do the same in japan
Ha. You definitely didn't. So what do you think now?
If "cringingly" was a word then that was cringingly awful....
I dont know yet
Sidewinder
Member
Doubled my pledge yesterday as soon as I saw the mail.
Physical 4 life!
Physical 4 life!
Witcher 2 was $10.3M, Witcher 3 was $35M. Both made in Poland where average wages are less than half of the average wages in Japan. So to make a Witcher 2 level game in Japan you're talking $20M or better.
Something equal to one of the Flotsam or Vergen areas in Witcher 2 is about what I'm expecting.
Now at $4.2 million.
i've restarted playing shenmue, i forgot how much ryo fucks shit up.
Theonik
Member
It's the voiceacting. It has pervaded a feeling of the game being less REAL.
You also need to take into account that Shenmue's KS includes dinners around the world with Yu, tons of swag, and nearly everyone that pledges $ gets a copy of the game, so they wont have to buy a copy after release. Witcher 3 put $15M directly into dev without having to put any of that money into pledge fulfillment and everyone had to buy TW3 after release.
Pyroclastic
Banned
I'm one of the many who upped
would up even higher if there was an $80 dollar pledge. No idea what they would include in that one mind so I'm being a bit silly there.
Onwards to the portugese subtitles!
would up even higher if there was an $80 dollar pledge. No idea what they would include in that one mind so I'm being a bit silly there.
Onwards to the portugese subtitles!
you can alter you pledge higher if you want to put forward another $20. just go to manage your pledge and adjust the number manually.
I always was slightly freaked out by Chai's passport model with weird earwax coming out.
people only tend to think of sailors and petting kittens when it comes to shenmue.
little did they know the entire third act is devoted to taking on a street gang.
people would shit their pants if they knew how much ass kicking goes on in shenmue II. i mean an entire set of side quests is devoted to underground street fighting.
you can always just make another KS account.
Would rather just do it from one account but it they don't add the option then that's what I'll have to do
we'll see. they're not done adding options and tiers, etc, to the kickstarter yet so maybe they'll pull up a multipack tier.
Acquiescence
Member
I've just noticed, the PS4 physical reward already has more pledges than the PC counterpart, and it's only been up for, what, two days? Says it all really.
Witcher 3 was $32M (+$35M marketing). Comparing it to Shenmue 3 is a bit apples and oranges, not just because of Witcher 3 being made in Poland, but also because W3 was released on one more platform (Xbox One), included development of a custom game engine instead of using UE4, etc.
It looks like the dinners have been scheduled in accordance with Suzuki existing itinerary. Late February 2016 in Monaco: Monaco Anime Game International Conferences (MAGIC). According to Cedric Biscay, they'll be there and showcase the game. June 2016 in Los Angeles: E3, of course.
Anyway, yes, reward fulfillment will take a sizeable chunk of the KS money. But then, they never said that the KS money would be the entire development budget, just that it is a significant part. Their other investors will contribute some money as well.
GhostTrick
Banned
You are aware that a lot of PC physical release are also ones beyond the 60 dollars tier ?
Acquiescence
Member
Regardless, the PC equivalent getting outpaced in such a short span of time really does scream that the Kickstarter should have had the PS4 physical tier from the very beginning. Especially since it wasn't there those first two days when the huge surge of pledges came flooding in.
GhostTrick
Banned
Yeah I agree. And I think a lot more people in the 30 dollars tier will upgrade. The news still needs to spread though.
I still dont get why it didnt got it since first day.
It's fine, the PS4 physical edition will give this Kickstarter some momentum, hopefully. If we can get to 5 million before the last few days then 6 million may be possible with last rush.
What is it about consoles that makes physical games so enticing? I backed for digital pc version because I don't care about physical on pc at all. Now that physical ps4 version has been added im seriously considering upping my pledge to $60 even though I have a PC considerably more powerful than my PS4. I've never played a shenmue game either lol
Acquiescence
Member
For sure, I'm glad it's just finally happened more than anything. The mind does wonder though, how would things be looking right now if the physical tier was there right at the start, during all that E3 madness. Substantially better? Maybe, maybe not. But definitely better to some degree.
a nice box. something to hold in your hands. that kinda thing. if you want it, go for it!
it'll be a collector's item anyway because of the kickstarter exclusive cover.