Shenmue 3
Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 6:58 amI'm surprised there isn't a thread for this yet. For those who weren't watching the news coming out of this year's E3, yes, Shenmue 3 is happening. Here are some important details and interesting facts:
- Yu Suzuki is funding it via Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ys ... escription
- The Kickstarter broke the record for reaching $1 million of funding (less than two hours): http://uk.ign.com/articles/2015/06/17/e ... owdfunding
- It reached the $2 million funding goal in the first nine hours. However, Suzuki has said that at that level the game will be more story-based, and has implied that it will take around $10 million for it to be the 'full-on Shenmue experience', ie. a fully open world game. Looking at the stretch goals, it appears to be unlocking those features (part-time jobs, side quests, etc) one at a time.
- Some form of funding or assistance will be coming in from Sony and other sources that remain unnamed due to contractual restrictions. In Sony's case it's unclear whether this is anything more than giving it a marketing push or waiving licensing fees for publishing on PS4, or if they are aiding in funding the development.
- Suzuki has confirmed that he is not condensing the story from the original outline, so Shenmue 3 will not end the series. While not explicitly confirmed, it looks like he's planning this to be the third of five games.
- It will be released on PC and PS4. Originally it was to be digitally on both and only physically on PC, but a physical PS4 reward level has just been added.
tl;dr Ryo will finally get out of that cave, but there's a long way to go.
- Yu Suzuki is funding it via Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ys ... escription
- The Kickstarter broke the record for reaching $1 million of funding (less than two hours): http://uk.ign.com/articles/2015/06/17/e ... owdfunding
- It reached the $2 million funding goal in the first nine hours. However, Suzuki has said that at that level the game will be more story-based, and has implied that it will take around $10 million for it to be the 'full-on Shenmue experience', ie. a fully open world game. Looking at the stretch goals, it appears to be unlocking those features (part-time jobs, side quests, etc) one at a time.
- Some form of funding or assistance will be coming in from Sony and other sources that remain unnamed due to contractual restrictions. In Sony's case it's unclear whether this is anything more than giving it a marketing push or waiving licensing fees for publishing on PS4, or if they are aiding in funding the development.
- Suzuki has confirmed that he is not condensing the story from the original outline, so Shenmue 3 will not end the series. While not explicitly confirmed, it looks like he's planning this to be the third of five games.
- It will be released on PC and PS4. Originally it was to be digitally on both and only physically on PC, but a physical PS4 reward level has just been added.
tl;dr Ryo will finally get out of that cave, but there's a long way to go.