Live: Watch the Shenmue III Kickstarter Countdown Right Here

Settle down with some sailors

by Sammy Barker Sat 18th Jul 2015

There are mere hours left for you to #SaveShenmue, and in order to give the project one final push, Yu Suzuki will be hosting a livestream with some of the PlayStation 4 sequel's core creative team. Join us as the clock counts down on arguably one of the most exciting Kickstarter campaigns of all time, which all started with that Sony press conference announcement.

Live Blog (Archive)
Chat

02:59

get2sammyb said:

Right, I am off to bed now. Dream come true. Shenmue III is real. Still pinching myself to be honest.

02:56

The project earned $6,333,295 in funding through Kickstarter. PayPal will allow for funding beyond the Kickstarter.

02:53

And Shenmue III is funded. Thanks everyone!

02:45

$6.3 million. Ten minutes to go. I see.

02:43

Untitled Live Blog Image

One more picture for the road.

02:31

Suzuki-san: "We want to achieve a level of perfection with Shenmue III. We want to reflect the voice of the fans and the users in the game as much as possible."

02:24

Just 30 minutes left to go. Let's get sweaty.

02:23

We're getting a talk through all of the Stretch Goals. Not exactly riveting viewing, but there's not long left to go either.

01:40

get2sammyb said:

Right, I'm off to take a quick break, but will be back before the end of the campaign. Don't stay too quiet in the chat... Haha!

01:39

Yu Suzuki says that he was initially worried about what kind of reception Shenmue III would receive at E3, but when he heard cheers he was moved to tears.

01:31

get2sammyb said:

The people on the stream think $7 million is within reach. They're crazy. $6.5 million would be an achievement, but it's going to be a stretch from here.

01:27

Untitled Live Blog Image

"Toy capsules. I love these."

01:24

You now have less than 90 minutes to back Shenmue III.

01:24

Yu Suzuki's chatting about some of Shenmue's characters. Ren is his current focus, who was created in contrast to Ryo.

01:02

Looks like the stream is coming back online now.

00:51

Well, this has been a bit of an anti-climax in the end. Still, the stream is only a small portion of the story - the Kickstarter's continuing to increase at a rapid rate.

00:41

Untitled Live Blog Image

00:40

Kickstarter's climbing to $6.2 million. Let's hit $6.5 million.

00:39

According to Twitter, there's been a power outage at the studio the stream was being recorded from. Surely there can't be any more twists and turns in this campaign!

00:36

get2sammyb said:

The stream appears to have gone offline. Not surprised - it looked and sounded like it was being recorded using a potato. But who cares really? Shenmue III!

00:31

Did you know? Shenmue started life as a SEGA Saturn game. Footage of this version was included with the Xbox release of Shenmue II. You can watch it here: youtube.com/watch?v=foZUcPQAMvg

00:28

Two hours left to back Shenmue III.

00:23

Super Hang-On, OutRun, and Virtua Fighter. All of Yu Suzuki's classics are taking the spotlight tonight.

00:10

get2sammyb said:

Kickstarter just crossed $6.1 million. Absolutely amazing scenes.

00:10

That was supposed to say: "And the stream is live WITH Yu Suzuki." The excitement is too much, readers - can't even type anymore!

00:06

And the stream is live Yu Suzuki. There's lots of clapping going on.

00:02

Untitled Live Blog Image

"Keep friends... Those you love... Close to you." Iwao Hazuki shares some final words of advice with his son. Which he subsequently ignores, ditching everyone on his quest for revenge.

00:00

Join us live for the Shenmue III livestream right here. Which is, er, running late.

23:48

Untitled Live Blog Image

A bit of amazing artwork from the Shenmue community right here. Sadly, we're not entirely sure who's behind this - but if you know, please let us know. We obviously want to give credit where credit's very much due.

23:47

In addition to the livestream starting in 15 minutes, you've got three hours to get your remaining Shenmue III pledges in. You can find the Kickstarter page through here: kickstarter.com/projects/ysnet/shenmue-3

23:45

Right around 15 minutes until the Shenmue III livestream starts.

23:40

get2sammyb said:

We've hit $6 million. I've waited an eternity for this day. Smiling like a Cheshire cat right now.

23:39

There are mere hours left for you to #SaveShenmue, and in order to give the project one final push, Yu Suzuki will be hosting a livestream with some of the PlayStation 4 sequel’s core creative team. Join us as the clock counts down on arguably one of the most exciting Kickstarter campaigns of all time, which all started with that Sony press conference announcement.

get2sammyb said:

I think that $6.3 million is a great success personally.

get2sammyb said:

I'm happy with it. During the middle portion it looked like it was going to really struggle, but it's exploded over the past few days.

Jaz007 said:

So Sammy. how to you feel about the kickstarter success it's had? Are you just ecstatic about what it's accomplished, or are you a bit disappointed it didn't have even more success?

Jaz007 said:

I can barely understand any of the English.

get2sammyb said:

Sixth most funded Kickstarter ever now.

get2sammyb said:

I think $6.5 is going to be a stretch too far now, sadly. It's done amazingly well, though.

Jaz007 said:

*I'm not funding it.

Jaz007 said:

It's 6.3M now. I doubt it will, but I hope it reaches 6.5M. I'm funding it, but I've never payed so much attention to a kickstarter before.

get2sammyb said:

I still can't believe Shenmue III is getting made. Dream come true.

Good old Twitch

get2sammyb said:

Hello Ryan! We've had power cuts and all sorts of other craziness in here.

Hey hey hey

get2sammyb said:

Super Hang-On. The greatest.

Snorky said:

@ShogunRok same.. I don't like playing sequels without playing the original first

get2sammyb said:

It's definitely going to happen now.

ShogunRok said:

I honestly think I'd try an HD remaster

DrJoeystein said:

I'm looking to play Shenmue I and II now, but I'd need to buy a Dreamcast and both games, so...that'd be the best thing in the world, Robert. lol

ShogunRok said:

Live from Yu's garage

get2sammyb said:

This is about as amateur as I was expecting!

ShogunRok said:

SEGA currently desperately trying to figure out how it can do HD remasters

get2sammyb said:

I actually think it's got a shot at 6.5 million... A long shot, but it's not impossible. We shall see, Galvatron - we shall see.

DrJoeystein said:

I'm so glad it passed $6 million. Could it actually get 6.5 though? I doubt it, but regardless, this has been an amazing campaign to watch.

get2sammyb said:

Haha! Watch your laptop doesn't burn, Robert!

DrJoeystein said:

Doing astronomy homework, gentlemen, but that's not preventing me from joining this party.

ShogunRok said:

Two Twitch streams open at once... I'm playing it dangerous

get2sammyb said:

I'll be dipping in and out of the chat over the course of the evening. Not overly sure how popular this is going to be, but feel free to chat among yourselves - and don't be shy!

get2sammyb said:

Let's get sweaty.