It's so surreal to think that Shenmue III actually exists now. The sequel – which this author has been waiting over a decade to play – raised over $6 million on Kickstarter recently, and director Yu Suzuki and his team have been busy beavering away on production ever since. This means that, while it's no doubt incredibly early, there's actually a playable prototype of the project already out there. And Cedric Biscay – whose Shibuya Productions company is helping bring the title to life – tweeted that he got some hands-on time recently.
"Last week, I got the opportunity to enjoy a first playable testing version of a Shenmue III stage," he beamed. "It's enough to make me happy." Even though we're ecstatic that the title's in development, we're still sceptical of how it's going to come out considering the teensy budget. Nevertheless, the mere knowledge that this title is in production is enough to have us hyped for now. Roll on 2017...
[source twitter.com]
Comments 7
"we're still sceptical of how it's going to come out considering the teensy budget"
I thought Sony were investing in this too financially and that the Kickstarter was not so much about gaining funds and more about testing the water for peoples interest?
If so I'm sure the budget is much larger than whatever the total Kickstarter figure was...
My guess is he played the part of the game they made to show around to prospective backers. You can't just walk around begging the industry empty handed saying - fund my Shemue 3 project - you have to have something to show off.
@rjejr This will be the most destructive part of the project. Even by today's standards, this guy wants a load of money, and no one after the bank account manslaughter of last time, wants to fund it wholely. And the kickstarter trends are enough to show why. Niche is niche.
@JoeBlogs @Bad-MuthaAdebisi Maybe I was wrong and Sony are only helping out with pulishing/promotion rather than funding as I thought.
In that case I'm also now slightly concerned that the budget will be big enough for such a big project. Didn't Shenmue 2 cost $80 million or something? Plus that was on last-gen hardware with lower production costs!
Maybe this will end up being a tie-in game instead with a budget like that? Shenmue party games anyone?!
In a few years there will be a great number of websites, and maybe even Sony, looking back at all this and questioning themselves if they didn't went a little overboard back then.
I was just as excited bout the E3 press conference as the next guy, but after the dust settled I quickly realized that it was too much leaning on hype and nostalgia. But instead of asking the right questions a lot of the gaming press turned a blind eye and kept pressuring their readers into joining the Kickstarter "before it's too late to be a part of history".
I hope this all turns out well and that said sites won't be humbled by the game that will be Shenmue 3, but the way so many journalists that set aside their integrity for a chance to relive a part of their childhood in a couple of years was astonishing.
"The sequel – which this author has been waiting over a decade to play"
This author? More like this planet.
I am still waiting on any of my Kickstarted games, so I am not particularly hopeful about this being released this decade.
@Dodoo Both Shenmue games cost a combined $70 million to make - which at the time, made it the most expensive game ever (both were worked on simultaneously). Apparently, even if every Dreamcast owner bought them, the project still wouldn't have made a profit 😐
That was Sega for ya. Back in those days, not even money sense would stop them in their crazy, creative ambitions.
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