There's been a bit of a backlash surrounding Shenmue III since its announcement last week, which has been a bit disappointing to see. Ever wondered why we can't have nice things? Well, it's because there'll always be some spiteful people out there looking to scupper them – and Yu Suzuki's crowd funding campaign has been the target of clueless sceptics for some time.
We know that Sony is contributing funding to the project, leading many to assume that the Kickstarter is being used merely to gauge interest – but this isn't the case. Writing in a backer update, Suzuki explained that both the Japanese giant and Shibuya Productions will be contributing to the project – but the end product will still be determined by the success of the sequel's ongoing funding drive.
"I can say that with [the abovementioned organisations'] assistance on the production and marketing end, and, in Sony's case, with some publishing support as well, Ys Net is able to use more of the money that we collect through Kickstarter purely for Shenmue III's development," the legendary developer said. "It is also important to note that your funds are going strictly to Ys Net for development of Shenmue III – Sony and Shibuya Productions are not seeing a cent of your dollars."
Suzuki continued that while the story will continue without compromise for $2 million, more money is required if the release is to reach its full potential. "At the $5 million mark, there will be an all-new gameplay feature I would be excited to be able to add to the Shenmue legacy," he said. "If we should make the $10 million Stretch Goal, a much larger, completely open world will be yours to explore."
The title's slowed a lot over the past few days, so $10 million seems impossible at this point. Fortunately, it should cross the $5 million mark pretty comfortably, and it could go significantly higher than that if the people running the campaign stop resting on their laurels and start releasing more information, Stretch Goals, and rewards tiers.
[source kickstarter.com]
Comments 28
I'm just curious, with a "Kickstarter" like this, What's the time limitation typically before they "cap it" and quit soliciting for funding with the "assumption" that they can't reach that stretch goal of $10 million?
@RicksReflection Well, where it finishes at the end of the 22 days is what they'll get. The game will get made now as they've reached their $2 million target. The scale of the project will depend on how much more they can attain over the next three weeks.
Read that this morning, what I find hard to believe is that Sony will not put forward any funding whatsoever specifically for the development. Why would Sony not throw a few million dollars at this project to make it the best Shenmue III possible. Just odd.
Well manybpeople like me clicked the so called Remind Me button, so it will be a race on the last two days
@get2sammyb - Thanks, I've read previously about "Kickstarter" projects, but I wasn't sure if they started out with a "finite" amount of days and then after reaching the original "target goal" if they "extend" the time for "stretch goals" each time they reach them, or stay within the "original time limitation set".
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi - If Sony provides all the "advertising & marketing" it'll be most likely in the millions of dollars, "I think" I read that Sony's agreement with EA on promoting the "Star Wars Battlefront" was somewhere around $20 million in market promoting if I'm not mistaken, but that doesn't mean that their going to spend "that amount" on Shenmue 3, but at the "very least" maybe a couple of "mill", or if we're lucky maybe more.
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi They probably will. I can picture a scenario in which it makes $9 million and they throw in an extra $1 million to top it up. The problem is if the campaign falters and ends up finishing around the $5 million mark, they're not going to double it.
@RicksReflection I'd be shocked if they're spending $20 million on Battlefront! That's an outrageous amount of money!
I see no reason why Sony would throw any more money at the project. From a business perspective, the project is fairly risky.
How many people have actually played the first two games? Fans of the series are clearly very passionate about it, which is great. However, how are people who are new to the series supposed to approach it? Buy a dead console to play it on? Emulate the series?
Looking at the Kickstarter, yes they have raised $3.6 million which is a huge amount, however this amount has been raised by ~45k people. Assuming that the majority of those people will receive a copy of the game, how many more copies will be sold post production?
People are also asking for a physical ps4 version of the game, being an enthusiast of physical media myself I understand this to a certain degree, however from a business perspective, is it really worth the printing cost?
I'm a gamer, and a lover of niche, but taking a pragmatic look at the title I find it hard to understand why Sony would offer any more than they have. It's great that games get made, unfortunately it is also a business. I really hope the project succeeds, but it wouldn't surprise me if it flops.
@get2sammyb - Lol...yeah it does sound crazy, that's why I put the "emphasis" on "I think" I read....lol.
But you could probably find out "easier than I could" the actual marketing dollars that they spent on that deal with EA.
It's harder for "us" out here trying to "wade" through all the articles filled with "hyperbole"......lol.
Edit:- But what ever they spent, we all know marketing "ain't cheap"....lol. So I am curious what they'll end up spending on that deal with EA...?
The original first Shenmue sold about 1.2 million copies, that's about 10% of Dreamcast owners, so we might see sales around 1/2 million. Problem is is that this won't be a huge epic game, its probably only going to cover 1 maybe 2 chapters of the saga. I'm expecting, 10-20 hour game.
"There's been a bit of a backlash surrounding Shenmue III since its announcement last week"
There was always going to be a backlash since the Xbox fanboys won't be getting it.
Spending $20 mil to market 1 Battlefront game seems crazy, but it is SW. I would think SW would sell itself, but there's also the 7th movie and DI3.0 to contend with. And COD.
Maybe $20m is the total of what Sony paid EA for preferential treatment plus what it will spend on advertising? Who knows how those agreements are worded and work out, it's all written for the tax code dodge.
I don't get KS. He was going to make the entire game for only $2m, but he needs more than that, an extra $3m, to add 1 game play element, and then another $5m to make it open world?
What was the original game supposed to be, one of those point-and-click hidden picture games?
I'm all for prize levels - give this much, get this much - but stretch goals always just seem like a psychological marketing ploy to me. Same for Yooka-Laylee and it's never ending stretch goal list. It's not a scam, but it's dishonest and manipulative.
@rjejr - That made me lmao....
This section- I don't get KS. He was going to make the entire game for only $2m, but he needs more than that, an extra $3m, to add 1 game play element, and then another $5m to make it open world?
-("What was the original game supposed to be, one of those point-and-click hidden picture games?")-.........can't....breathe............
That was wicked funny as well as a honest question....
"There's been a bit of a backlash surrounding...[insert anything SONY does here] Same old Sh*t, different day
@rjejr Well, I imagine the $2 million would be enough to get you the main story and the main quests. Bump it up to $5 million and you're going to get whatever this new mechanic he's on about is. Turn it up to $10 million and you'll get all of the extra window dressing on top - the arm wrestling, the darts, the forklift races. These latter things don't really need to be there for the purposes of the story, but I think we'd all like as many of them as possible to make the cut.
@get2sammyb All very well and good but doesn't change the fact Sony are throwing money albeit not for actual game production to keep this a PS4 console exclusive which is just a bit lame, I don't think this is how Shenmue fans envisioned how the third entry would be handled.
@Jazzer94 Should they just throw in a bit of cash to get the Xbox One and Wii U versions made, too, then? Suzuki admits that he needs extra help on top of the Kickstarter campaign. Sony agreed to help. I think it's unreasonable to expect a business to stump up money and resources for no benefit, personally.
Besides, I imagine it will come to other platforms eventually anyway.
At this point, I'm just glad a game is getting made to continue the story, Ryo has been stuck in that cave for so long. I don't care how it gets made, I'm just happy it is, and hopefully will finally get to see where the story goes next.
@get2sammyb Maybe I didn't explain myself level. Let me try again. Though I think @RicksReflection got me, or he's just mocking my madness.
All of Shenmue's 3 story, art, game play, script, everything = $2mil
1 extra gameplay element = an additional $3mil
so 1 extra part on top of the entirety of the main game costs 150% more than the entire rest of the game. If he has 1 idea that costs that much more than all of Shenume 3 then he should do a separate KS for that game.
And on top of that $5m for ALL of Shenmue 3 AND this extraordinarily $3m gameplay element he's want another $5mil, doubling the budget,to $10m, to make it "open world", well what was in the original game to being with?
If the KS had asked for $5m for Shenmue 3, another $1m for an additional gameplay element tacked on,and maybe another $2m or $3m to make it open world, OK. But if he is saying it takes $10m to make the game he wants, then what game was he making for $2m? The demo?
Maybe those of us that want the full experience of an open world Shenmue 3 should refuse to renew our PlayStation Plus until Sony stumps up the other $5 million. Thats a drop in the ocean for there PlayStation business. I know that sounds childish, but Sony could get a Shenmue exclusive deal out of it.
rjejr It's not $3mil for one extra gameplay element, it's $0.4mil as that is the difference between the proceeding stretch goal and the Character Perspective System listed at the $5mil mark. The rest of the money covers expanding elements, adding some other systems and multiple language subs.
@rjejr - I'm definitely "not" mocking your madness, like I said at the bottom of my reply, I thought it was an "honest question" as well as a "wicked" funny "witticism" and when I read your piece and got to the point where you state-
"What was the original game supposed to be, one of those point-and-click hidden picture games?"
"It caught me off guard" and seriously made me Lmao
Edit: The first part of your piece was so logical and "serious" and when I got to "that line" it hit my funny bone as well as being a "legitimate question".
@rjejr Yeah, as @Other_Dave pointed out, there are more Stretch Goals in between $2 million and $5 million.They've unlocked subtitles for various languages, added in the Rapport and Skill Tree Systems, and now they're rasing money for more mini-games in one of the three locations. The character perspective system — whatever it is — is the $5 million Stretch Goal once $4.6 million has been raised.
One would assume we'll see similar tiers for the other villages, which will eventually make the game 'fully' open world, ending at $10 million. It is a confusing Kickstarter, though, so I can see where the misconceptions are coming in.
EDIT: And as for what the game would be at $2 million, I assume it would literally just be the main quests without all of the additional systems and mini-games layered on top. It will still be Shenmue III, but minus all of the minigames and bonus bits.
As a backer, whilst I don't deny there have been issues concerning the breakdown of costs, funding etc., things are improving. The campaign has had some pretty big updates recently. One which details more about who is providing which source of funding. Also, a poll has been sent out to backers regarding what extra rewards they would like. And on top of that Yu Suzuki is going to be doing a Twitch session tomorrow. It's looking like there's going to be a lot more information and interaction than previously thought, which can only be a good thing!
There's been a smear campaign against this game from the second it was announced. Not surprisingly most if from salty Nintendo and Xbox fans.
@BLPs Firstly, it's utter nonsense that I showed 'disdain' for other platforms; I'm a PlayStation fan, yes - but I've always said that I'll buy any system that Shenmue III releases on. I maintain that point.
What I actually said was: "Why should Sony fund the game for other platforms?" I wouldn't expect Microsoft or Nintendo to pay for a game to be ported to the PS4 either, naturally.
I think the crucial thing that you're missing in your post is that increasing the number of platforms increases the budget, too. I know they're using Unreal 4, but there's still not a magic button that magically optimises a game for another system. You should know that with your degree and stuff.
Also, I'm not sure what you're on about with the DLC stuff. The exclusive DLC does help them - look at the Destiny sales last year.
As for why didn't they fund the whole thing? Well, it's not a first-party game is it? Why should they plough $10 million into an IP that they don't even own? They're contributing enough to make the game a reality in the first place. I don't understand what's wrong with that?
@BLPs Sony's not making a quick buck, though, are they? They're helping with funding, marketing, and publishing — and they're getting the game on their platform as a consequence.
Also, the scenario you describe with Shovel Knight is exactly what I expect to happen with this game. It'll get made with PS4 and PC as the focus, and then will come to other formats a year or later if there's still demand for it. Guacamelee is a good example of a game that Sony funded, but later released on other platforms.
I'm not sure what you're getting at in the rest of your post. The game's currently announced for PS4 and PC. You can choose to buy it and play it on those systems, or you can wait to see if it's released elsewhere. If you don't want a PS4, then that's your prerogative. Shrugs...
This is the future of games, you pay us enough, you might get a full game, if Sony I'd helping, what's the problem with making the game BIG
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