• Log In | Sign Up

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Top Games
  • Search
  • New Releases
  • Daily Deals
  • Forums

Adventure Gamers - Forums

Welcome to Adventure Gamers. Please Sign In or Join Now to post.

You are here: HomeForum Home → Gaming → General → Thread

Post Marker Legend:

  • New Topic New posts
  • Old Topic No new posts

Currently online

Jdawg445Lady Kestrel

Support us, by purchasing through these affiliate links

   

Shenmue III

Avatar

Total Posts: 22

Joined 2008-09-02

PM

Are any other Adventure Gamers excited by the Shenmue III Kickstarter campaign? It surpassed its $2 million funding target in a day, and is slated for release in late 2017.

The first two Dreamcast games (released in 1999 and 2001) are amongst my favourite games ever. In fact, it was reviews at the time comparing Shenmue to traditional graphic adventures that brought about my interest in the genre - beginning with the Broken Sword series.

I have, perhaps controversially, posted this thread in the ‘Adventure’ forum because I consider the Shenmue series to be, essentially, graphic adventure games: its action elements are secondary to the adventure elements (dialogue, mystery-solving, exploring environments, &c.), as in Quantic Dream’s games or other modern adventures such as Dreamfall: The Longest Journey.

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 619

Joined 2012-06-06

PM

Yay for corporate kickstarters.


Bt

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 1279

Joined 2012-07-11

PM

Expect it’s not BT and only fools like Polygon would think so.

I’m really looking forward to this. I’m just hoping it actually gets made as although the Kickstarter has hit it’s goal, it seems it will definitely need more money to be the complete Shenmue experience.

     

Recently completed: Game of Thrones (decent), Tales from the borderlands (great!), Life is Strange (great!), Stasis (good), Annas Quest (great!); Broken Age (poor)

Avatar

Total Posts: 966

Joined 2005-11-29

PM

Blackthorne - 19 June 2015 12:46 PM

Yay for corporate kickstarters.


Bt

Shenmue gets a pass. Suzuki tried to get this game of the ground for 14 years. He bled for this game. If this is how it has to happen, then great.

I’ll give him $60 just because I want him to have $60 more dollars to make this game. Nothing else matters.

I get the arguments about how games like this dilute KS’s intent and distort the public’s perception of what games cost to make and all that. But it’s god damn Shenmue III, dammit.

Shenmue III.

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 22

Joined 2008-09-02

PM

Yu Suzuki has been given permission from Sega to licence the Shenmue name, but he’s brought this project to its current status—14 years since the previous instalment’s release, with little corporate support (as the first two games were commercial disasters). Although Sony has provided some perfunctory support for the project, it’s reported that the majority of the funding will come from whatever is generated by KS backers.

This is a Yu Suzuki project, with help from colleagues old and new, with nominal corporate involvement—not merely a “corporate kickstarter”.

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 506

Joined 2003-09-10

PM

Tad - 19 June 2015 01:11 PM

Expect it’s not BT and only fools like Polygon would think so.

No. Sony is funding Shenmue 3 with the condition that fan interest needed to be proven with a successful Kickstarter. It’s been reported by a bunch of sites.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2015/06/17/stop-donating-to-the-shenmue-3-kickstarter-right-now/

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06/17/e3-2015-sony-is-funding-shenmue-3-development

http://www.gamesradar.com/sony-now-admitting-partnering-shenmue-3-kickstarter-leaves-bad-taste-my-mouth/

http://kotaku.com/sony-is-helping-make-shenmue-iii-1711819045

etc.

I don’t know anything about Shenmue, but I have a problem with the way Kickstarter has been used here. It was dishonest not to disclose their involvement from the beginning. And suggesting that a game like this could be made on a $2M budget only makes it harder for a developer without corporate backing to ask for what they really need. If this trend continues, big companies are going to squeeze little developers out of crowdfunding—which is the opposite of what crowdfunding and Kickstarter was meant to help the “little guy” achieve in the first place.

 

 

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 1279

Joined 2012-07-11

PM

They say they’re “partners” not funding it completely like other seems to think.

     

Recently completed: Game of Thrones (decent), Tales from the borderlands (great!), Life is Strange (great!), Stasis (good), Annas Quest (great!); Broken Age (poor)

Avatar

Total Posts: 2653

Joined 2013-03-14

PM

Sony will shell out a boat load of money in this. The KS will propably net them 4-5 million and Sony will pour in at leat as much, even if not more. They will make a AAA release out of it with the final budget in +10 million.

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 22

Joined 2008-09-02

PM

Sony are providing support, but any outside investment is coming from a number of different sources, in addition to the significant crowdfunding, as has been reported; there’s little reason for Sony to provide majority funding for a non-exclusive title.

Not that I’m saying their involvement isn’t cause for a bit of concern. I’m just glad that it’s happening & it’s not a PS4 exclusive.

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 8998

Joined 2004-01-05

PM

fov - 19 June 2015 01:27 PM

I don’t know anything about Shenmue, but I have a problem with the way Kickstarter has been used here. It was dishonest not to disclose their involvement from the beginning.

 

The first day was not over and Sony was already saying they were helping funding the game. That is close to the beginning. Anyone doesn’t like it, withdraw the funds.

The kickstarter was to assess interest. If it didin’t work, Sony and other partners would not fund it.

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 966

Joined 2005-11-29

PM

fov - 19 June 2015 01:27 PM

It was dishonest not to disclose their involvement from the beginning.

Sony announced the Kickstarter on stage at their E3 press conference. That seems transparently “involved,” they just aren’t disclosing the particular terms of it.

Which they didn’t for Broken Age, Dreamfall Chapters, etc either, by the way. Sure those deals were after the fact, but still.

And suggesting that a game like this could be made on a $2M budget only makes it harder for a developer without corporate backing to ask for what they really need.

The FAQ on the Kickstarter page clearly states that $2M is not the entire budget.

Can you make an open world game for just $2 million?

No, we cannot make an open world game for $2 million. Shenmue will be produced using both the funds raised from the Kickstarter and through other funding sources already secured by Ys Net Inc. We are very sorry, but due to contractual obligations, details of outside investments will not be disclosed.

There’s nothing dishonest here. It could stand to be more transparent, sure, but it’s quite honest.

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 619

Joined 2012-06-06

PM

fov is right.  As much as Shenmue III is cool, using Kickstarter this way is bogus for all of the above listed reasons.  As much as I’d like to see Shenmue III, basically using it as an interest gauge is crap.


Bt

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 1279

Joined 2012-07-11

PM

Anyway,

Can’t wait!

They’ve been stuck in that cave for far too long!

Going by what we know, Slll will most likely be smaller as the story will take Ryo to far more rural and secluded places.

I’ve just started playing through Sl again Wink

     

Recently completed: Game of Thrones (decent), Tales from the borderlands (great!), Life is Strange (great!), Stasis (good), Annas Quest (great!); Broken Age (poor)

Avatar

Total Posts: 966

Joined 2005-11-29

PM

Blackthorne - 19 June 2015 02:38 PM

fov is right.  As much as Shenmue III is cool, using Kickstarter this way is bogus for all of the above listed reasons.  As much as I’d like to see Shenmue III, basically using it as an interest gauge is crap.


Bt

In general I’d agree, but I think there’s some mitigating factors here.

1) Suzuki has done EVERYTHING to get this off the ground. This was not his first resort, it’s his last, so while you might fault his investors, it’s hard to fault him.

2) It’s actually kind of hard to fault the investors here too. Shenmue was not a financially successful series, and a lot of time has gone by since then with little reason to think that’s changed. So there’s a certain legitimacy to investor caution here.

Now when we’re talking about inXile or companies that have the money to fun their own games without outside investment, that’s another matter. Or even when you’re talking about Bloodstained, which seems like a slam dunk and a relatively inexpensive game to develop…

But this isn’t those games. It’s Shenmue. It comes with a lot of baggage. I don’t think this is just another millionaire who doesn’t want to have skin in the game. They’re being earnest about both the need for funds and the need to prove themselves.

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 2704

Joined 2004-08-02

PM

fov - 19 June 2015 01:27 PM
Tad - 19 June 2015 01:11 PM

Expect it’s not BT and only fools like Polygon would think so.

No. Sony is funding Shenmue 3 with the condition that fan interest needed to be proven with a successful Kickstarter. It’s been reported by a bunch of sites.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2015/06/17/stop-donating-to-the-shenmue-3-kickstarter-right-now/

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06/17/e3-2015-sony-is-funding-shenmue-3-development

http://www.gamesradar.com/sony-now-admitting-partnering-shenmue-3-kickstarter-leaves-bad-taste-my-mouth/

http://kotaku.com/sony-is-helping-make-shenmue-iii-1711819045

etc.

I don’t know anything about Shenmue, but I have a problem with the way Kickstarter has been used here. It was dishonest not to disclose their involvement from the beginning. And suggesting that a game like this could be made on a $2M budget only makes it harder for a developer without corporate backing to ask for what they really need. If this trend continues, big companies are going to squeeze little developers out of crowdfunding—which is the opposite of what crowdfunding and Kickstarter was meant to help the “little guy” achieve in the first place.

 

Why should anyone care if Sony or someone else use kickstarter as a bench mark to fund the game or not? The end result is getting a sequel to a game many have waiting for for 15 years, and the people who are donating money to the kickstarter are getting the game they have waited for. It’s a win-win for everyone. I don’t see how it hurts the little guy.

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 3200

Joined 2007-01-04

PM

The PS4 is a huge success for Sony - to keep this ball rolling they need a steady stream of great games. This game should be a great game and a feather in Sony’s cap.

I had the original game on the Dreamcast in the day and thought it was pretty amazing. For three short years, the system to own was the Dreamcast - another stunning game at the time on the system was Resident Evil: Code Veronica.

  Heart

     

I enjoy playing adventure games on my Alienware M17 r4 and my Nintendo Switch OLED.

You are here: HomeForum Home → Gaming → General → Thread

Welcome to the Adventure Gamers forums!

Back to the top