Suzuki first and foremost wanted to finish the story. He will be able to do this with the initial goal.
The Shenmue 3 kickstarter, to me, has always felt it's more about reviving the Shenmue
series rather than making a single game, give the hype train that had run out of juice long ago a little bit of fuel so that they can get to the fuel station and continue delivering the story.
Even if that kickstarter only hit the funding goal plus a few minor extra stretch goals, as long as people liked whatever they could get into the game, as long as it turned a semi-decent profit, people would still get the continuation they wanted in spite of a less impressive 3rd title.
The moment Shenmue 4 gets announced, they can live with a minor bit of disappointment
Doesn't the Red Ash Kickstarter also have the screw you factor since Capcom cancelled Megaman Legends 3?
It also has
screw you Inafune, which does not help much
Also, the only time I recall a company having one big succesful kickstarter, then an even bigger 2nd project, is inXile with Wasteland 2 and Torment: Tides of Numenera. I think Fargo was unintentionally making a really smart decision by starting with Wasteland 2, even if it was just a case of wanting to revive an old game of his. Some people might have backed it thinking
"this will be the Fallout 3 I wanted", and people do feel strongly about the first 2 Fallouts. Still not as powerful of a namedrop as Planescape: Torment is. He saved the big guns for later.
Then with Bard's Tale IV, although decently funded, is merely hitting the funding goal and first few stretch goals. The name recognition and appeal of that style of RPG isn't as strong. It probably wouldn't get funded at all had Fargo decided that Bard's Tale 4 is not confirmed to release on PC, but console, or mobile.
Then Inafune goes from
"guys, guys, I'm going to resurrect MEGAMAN" to then have a campaign with
"oh, I want a new game in the style of this niche subseries whose gameplay many of you probably have never seen and might not instantly get the appeal. Oh you wanted a continuation to the story and setting of the original? Uuuufff, can't help you there"
Inafune emptied the barrels on his legacy, brand recognition and "rebel spirit" the first time.
