As exciting as Shenmue III's reveal has been, the nature of the release's relationship with Sony has been a little muddy. Currently, we know that it's coming to the PlayStation 4 and PC – but an update to the title's Kickstarter page suggested that other systems could be added to the mix. We assumed that the platform holder had just helped Yu Suzuki launch the Kickstarter campaign, then – a mutually beneficial relationship resulting in exposure for the title and press conference plaudits for the platform holder.
However, according to Gio Corsi – the man in charge of SCEA's prolific Third-Party Productions team – the partnership runs a little deeper than that. "We set a goal for $2 million, and if the fans come in and back it, then absolutely we're going to make this a reality," he said on the PlayStation LiveCast moments ago. "Sony and PlayStation is definitely a partner in this game, and it's going to be run through Third-Party Production. We're going to help Ys Net get the game done, and we're going to be partners on it the whole way."
In fact, conversations between PlayStation and the series creator started over a year ago. "Shenmue III was the number one request on the old #BuildingtheList campaign," he continued. "We met with Suzuki-san at GDC last year, and we started the long road of trying to figure out how we were going to get this made. And we said: the only way that this is going to happen is if fans speak up, and Kickstarter is the perfect place to do this."
We'd love to see the legal documentation pertaining to this project, as we suspect that it's as long as Ryo Hazuki's arm – after all, SEGA still technically owns the rights to the brand and is licensing them out. None of the above precludes a release on other platforms, of course, but if Sony's investing time and money into the project, we assume that it'll want some kind of reward. Expect it to stay exclusive to the PS4 and PC for the time being, then.
Update (02:15AM BST): In an interview with Gamespot, Sony's Adam Boyes has confirmed that Sony is helping to fund Shenmue III alongside the Kickstarter.
Comments 23
Good. Hopefully they ditch the PC version. I can't stand those "elitist".
I thought this would be the case when I noticed the Kickstarter campaign was only $2 million. Surely it is going to take a hell of a lot bigger budget to create this game and the Kickstarter was Sony's way of testing the water for interest.
Well the interest speaks for itself!
34,805
backers
$2,740,016
pledged of $2,000,000 goal
31
days to go
I just hope the game can be as big and ambitious as the creator wants.
I saw that interview myself. There was something cagey about the way he spoke about it, though. He purposely avoided specifically saying Sony would fund it, or addressing why it's also on PC and why it says other platforms may be considered. It's also odd that if Sony are behind it like that, it isn't getting a physical release on PS4 yet it is on PC, the latter being a platform on which digital sales are like 99% of all sales.
My feeling is that it isn't actually going to be backed by Sony in the way that Bloodborne was, but they're trying to coast for as long as they can with people associating Shenmue III with Sony. When Gio Corsi was asked that question, he didn't want to get into hot water with his bosses by screwing it up, so he basically did that thing where he didn't technically lie because he only used certain, vague words like "partner". Why not just say "Yes, we're part-funding it and it will only be on PS4 (and PC even though that makes as much sense as Bloodborne or Uncharted being on PC)".
Exactly, who the heck still buys physical PC games? Unless it's some sort of collectors edition or Japanese eroge. I really want PS4 physical because of lack of space. xD Plus it's simply cooler.
@Matroska i wouldnt be surprised though if sony are stumping up the cash needed. Someone has to be backing this game, remember the original cost $70 million to make. You can see why sega have ran away from the franchise with their current financial situation. I know sony arent exactly rolling in it now, but they had to do something for the players.
@BLPs It's not uncommon. The same thing happened with the Bloodstained game: the team had secured funding from Deep Silver, but only if interest in the product could be proved.
I do still agree with @Matroska, though - I still wouldn't be surprised if other platforms got added later in the campaign. Not that it really matters - I'm just glad this is happening at last!
@BLPs The first game was the most expensive game ever made until GTA IV. It was hardly a commercial success, the Dreamcast only sold a bit more than the Wii U has at the moment before finally giving up the ghost. Roughly 25% of all Dreamcast owners would have to have bought it for it to break even.
Suzuki tried to make Shenmue Online several years ago. The project failed and cost Sega and another company around $26 million. It can be hard for fans to realise it but it actually is quite a big risk. As successful as this Kickstarter is already, it's all because of less than 40,000 people (at the moment). In a world of 7 billion, only 40,000 want this game enough to donate $5 or more. That's true of all Kickstarters, it's the hardcore fans, but it just shows how you can mistake Kickstarter success for actual mass appeal. It has to actually sell well in the wild, not just get a small (relatively speaking) core of fans around it.
Fine with PS4 & PC only
@BLPs I'm not sure what your point is at all. It's a series that's had a rocky history because it doesn't play like a blockbuster game yet required a huge budget. It's hard to market in the traditional way since most of it is about getting to know the world around you and the characters that inhabit it. Games like Persona can get away with a tiny budget and pretty basic graphics but Shenmue has a grander scale and a far more detailed world.
There's a history of fans demanding something, begging for it, but then not actually supporting it when it comes out. It's like how many gamers moan about digital copies compared to physical copies, yet when more obscure publishers took the fans at their word and released a riskier physical copy as well, the digital copy still massively outsold the physical one, which ended up being largely ignored.
Sony sure knows how to play the game. The KS wasn't need it at all. They just wanted to gauge interest.
Just a quick update on this article: Adam Boyes has said that Sony is funding this title alongside the Kickstarter. So, there you have it.
@Matroska
The main problem is the PS4 had a good showing last night, PS4 owners mostly seem happy and some people, especially around here, can't stand that.
Yeah anything to make me buy a PS4 Sony, ugh... I want this game, and it be cool if it came with 1 and 2.
Such awesome news!
@Gamer83 yep some people cant stand that especially after the really poor e3 showing from a certain other console manufacturer.
Then maybe this will be an epic game, 20 hours of AAA Shenmue, yes frickin please.
@Hero-of-WiiU Only way 1 & 2 will come out is if SEGA remasters them as they own the properties. Would be really cool if they decided to try and cash in on the remasters at this point though!
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi
I forgot that you'd be ecstatic about this.
@Matroska That's still 35000 people who have "donated" to get the game going.
Also a number of people have been stung by backing - myself included. And kick-starter backing in monetary terms has declined substantially since the beginning of 2014.
You make a point that though - its difficult to put money where your mouth is, especially when games are concerned. And considering there's no physical release on ps4 even if you back £25 that just sucks. Would I back Shenmue 3 - yes but I want a physical release.
@Punished_Boss_84 and very sad I didn't have 10k to buy the original jacket
@Mrskinner
That other show certainly didn't help things. And to try and damage control and not make it look so bad, the easiest thing to do is go to the other conferences and try and poke holes where there really aren't many. Unless we're talking about Ubisoft of course. That was also bad.
@Gamer83 you are on the right page with your first assumption haha. Seems like there is some butt hurt damage limitation going on which is a shame.
Ubisoft and ea were pretty poor in my opinion also.
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