Spanish language interview with Cedric Biscay:

http://www.hobbyconsolas.com/reportajes/entrevista-cedric-biscay-productor-shenmue-3-121638

Q: First I want to ask you how did you meet the saga. What does it means to you as a player and as a developer ?
A: I first played Shenmue in the Dreamcast, japanese version, year 2000, and of coourse, it was kind of a revolution: the posibility of being "free" in a videogame y a lot of other interesting elements, like QTE, minigames, and of course, a deep story. I was a "hardcore" player when I was young, and it wasn't a problem playing many hours in japanese, even though I didn't understand all the story details.


Q. When did you meet Yu SUzuki and how did you get to an agreement between YSnet and Shibuya productions for the development of SIII? Can you tell any curiosity of the process ?
A. I met Yu -san for many years in his office. It was a real pleasure for me to meet the legend ! We exchanged views on the gaming industry in general. Later , I invited him to some events in Europe, and it was amazing for visitors to meet with the head of OutRun , Afterburner , Virtua Fighter, Shenmue , and so on . Of course , he always got questions concerning Shenmue 3 .

In 2013 , in Monaco , we spoke of the possibility of actually making Shenmue III . I remember it well because it was at a dinner party I organized with Mr. Go Nagai, creator of Grendizer or Mazinger Z.What a rare moment ! Then we discussed the possibility many times, in Tokyo, San Francisco and Napa Valley. The project had many forms until finally happened. When the game was announced , people were crying around me , and that is something I will never forget .


Q. What media plan you have for the game? Are you going to show it in each fair ( Gamescom , PlayStation Experience, E3) ? Will we see something before MAGIC , the event held in Monaco on February 27, 2016 , or have considered this event as a kind of ' premiere' to show the first real trailer ?
A. We of course have a plan to visit all the major world events . However, it is too early to tell specific dates. Surely, I will visit the Tokyo Game Show in September, and there is a great possibility for GDC . Yu -san will decide whether to display something before MAGIC . Of course , since I am the organizer of this event, I would like to have exclusive things as far as possible, but I will not force anything. Respect for fans above all , and I know they expect us to show something before that date . Last but not least, we are considering a streaming during conference MAGIC .

Q. Shenmue is the perfect example of something with an Eastern philosophy that is very dear in the West and, interestingly, Shibuya Productions has plenty of that, to the extent that it is a European company with strong ties to Japan. The question is: Do you have a specific role to make the game more 'understandable' for Western audiences?
A. over thirteen years ago, I created Shibuya International, a cross-culture consulting firm, established in Japan and France. Yet I direct the company and at the same time, I manage Shibuya Productions, so yes, we can say that we are sort of specialists in bringing things Japanese or Asian to Western philosophy. I think Yu Suzuki knows how to make games for a global audience, so we never interfere in the game as such. Obviously, sometimes, I can give advice as an experienced player, depending on the case. What is clear is that the fact that Shibuya Productions is on board the project allows Shenmue 3 be closer to the fans and the players international vision.

Q. I know this depends exclusively on Sega, but do you have hope in the possibility of a remastering of the first two installments ? I think it would be absolutely necessary , in order to attract a large number of users to the third installment .
A. Well , it is a somewhat difficult question to answer because I do not want to give too much hope and then nothing happening. From an employer point of view , I would say there's no reason that Sega does not make it ... Thanks to the success of the Kickstarter of Shenmue 3 , Sega can understand the potential of the saga. If you choose to launch an HD version of the first two installments in the coming months , it would be a success for sure. The choice is theirs.

Q. Shenmue is one of the few franchises based on a linear story that continues with each delivery. That's great, but it can also be a problem in order to attract those users who speak (assuming Sega does not release Shenmue HD) . How do you plan to attract people who are not familiar with the story of Ryo Hazuki , Lan Di and Shenhua ?
A. As you say , the best way is to have Shenmue I and II in HD. If that's not possible, we will have to make on our own an animated short film or something similar. In any case , fans have to understand that we have permission to make Shenmue 3 , but everything else on the Saga is Sega's decision because it is the owner of the IP . The best we can do is give ideas to Sega.

Q. Kickstarter campaign was a great success in its first two days, but then progression fell ... until you announced a physical version PS4 as a reward, which was a success in the face of recruiting new donors. The question is: Can we expect a similar update for the last days of the campaign, knowing that many projects experienced a big boost in that stretch? And what about new partial goals for the game?
A. Honestly, I think the Kickstarter campaign has been a great success, not only the first two days. Of course, I know the first few days were insane. We are now around 4.5 million, which is not bad. For my part, I hope that Shenmue 3 is the most funded Kickstarter history of the game. There are more updates on the way, as the team is working hard to add some rewards. As for the partial goals, I can not answer: It depends on the money we get.

Q. Is there any chance of seeing a version of the game for Xbox One? In the question and answer section of the Kickstarter , it seems not deny that possibility. Is it really possible, given that , on the other hand , Sony will give some support in marketing ?
A. As for today , I know nothing about a version for Xbox One.

Q. Many people I asked about the possibility of adding the PayPal option to Kickstarter or even to continue funding the project in the future. Have you considered that?
A. Yes .

Q. Once Kickstarter ends, how you will keep you in touch with backers? Would you periodically show material, or Will you ask them for opinion? If so, how will you do it? Perhaps through the official website of the game? And what of the demo you have promised to those who have contributed $ 100 or more?
A. Of course we will keep in touch with funders and care for their opinions. We know that everyone wants to see new updates, but at the same time, we do not want to spoil the game. We'll find a good balance!

Q. YsNet and Neilo are working with Unreal Engine 4. What level of realism can expect, considering the experience of Yu Suzuki with technical innovations? Will we see a new graphic milestone, as in the first two games, or be a more modest project?
A. Shenmue 3 can't be a modest game. The reason why I like the series is that it is not just a game with good graphics. It is deeper than that. Personally, today, I'm tired of the games that only rely on graphics. The gameplay and technical innovations are some of our strengths.

Q. One of the most beloved things of the first two installments were the arcades. So far, you have not said anything specific of them for Shenmue 3, so ... Will we see those again? Do you have permission to use Sega arcade games like Hang-On, OutRun, Space Harrier, Afterburner or even new titles, especially AM2, the former studio of Yu Suzuki? It would be great to see Virtua Fighter, Virtua Racing and Virtua Striker.
A. I can not answer that.

Q. And the last question: we know that the estimated release date is December 2017, but many people are concerned that many Kickstarter projects always get delayed. What can you tell them? Incidentally, if the game is a great success,
Do you think that all this done for the next 2 and a half years will be useful for having Shenmue IV ?
A. It is impossible to say now if the game is delayed or not. What is certain is that we have tried to be realistic according to our knowledge and experience: December 2017 is not crazy. Indeed, if the game is a success, it will be quite easy to make Shenmue IV. Now, all risks are on Shibuya Productions and Ys Net, but not surprised to have new friends for the fourth installment if this is succesfull (laughs).

To be honest I'm too old for caring about console wars.

Hopefully whatever Shenmue III does is the best for the franchise, self publishing could be something great for YSnet if the game sells well.

Also hindsight is 20/20.

Shenmue HD collection ??

Maybe he can't say because it's SEGA bussiness.

Some games just get better coverage just by being exclusive, and some fanboys will buy it just for being on X console.

Today PS4 is ahead in the race, and I think it will mantain the breach.

But to be honest, if you REALLY want to play the game, you can just play it on pc (by 2017/18 a cellphone will be as potent as a ps4/xbox one). Not being on X electrodomestic it's just an excuse.

Is it good for a niconico stream to have 37k viewers ??

I think that a lot of japaneses don't trust Kickstarter.

Lol at the rewards tiers.

I'm still waiting for "draw a dick on Ryo's notebook" tier.

There are still more than 72 hours, with the big spike in the last 2 days, there's time.

Not much, but enough.

Does anyone here actually find this kind of ass sexy? I cant get in bed with that large of a situation going on. And even for a visual, its such an obvious fake.

Those kind of people get addicted, sucks.

But the thing is, why was she at the gym ? It's not like you are going to gain much muscle in the silicone.

I've got the flu, so I will complain.

I love that a moth before we were asking for SIII with dreamcast graphics, on ds or whatever.

IN the nico nico interview he also said that every character will have a way of doing/saying things

No.

And I'll also die alone.

Recap of the thread

It includes the $600 reward

Let's not do this, Shenmue III happening is all that matters.

amiga1200 wrote:
pissbabying only shits in the collective soup

Well put.

I'll have some pizza while watching yu suzuki.

Tears of joy, best pizza topping ever.

$2500 I saw those busts I and busted.

Being drunk paid off this time.

Ok, that video actually makes me angry.

Not sailors though.

all in for zhen zhong

Yu Suzuki is the man.

Can someone tweet Cedric about telling AJ to do a soundcheck before the stream ??

Love this gif

gogo power rangers

fROM last night drunk to evening drunk

love shenmue

Cannot not laugh

I actually need youtube of the stream, I was just almost crazy.

Didn't understand shit, happy as fuck.

This is how a dog must feel.

Not to say that YS vision was bad but Shenmue needs more guns and space alien marines.

Did it

It doesn't have to do with "fees" any middleware will take a cut from the money, it was about riding the wave of the KS record, so it could be on the news and get people that were hyped but haven't backed could get on the train.

It's just stupid, really bad management. What's the point of cutting momentum ? NONE.

The attention of the average internet user is fickle at best. By the time Suzuki and co finally manage to pull their fingers from their butt, those people have moved on.

Pretty much that, a lot of people that didn't play the games got hyped just by everyone else around it, even if they were skeptic about the quality of the game they would see the ammount pledged/record and think "this will be a fine game" or just want to be part of "it".

If they make the wait a little bit longer it'll just be a time for peoplr that couldn't pledged on KS and for the newcomers will be a glorified preorder. Specially if they go on a news/updates blackout.

Yeah, kickstarter emails you (or you can also enter KS and at the top of the page it says you have a problem) if it's declined.

That post made me went into meditation,

Like really deep.

Came from nirvana and still no paypal.

It's an interesting idea from an economic standpoint.

But honestly I would hate that, it's like destroying partenon (again) to give some people a rock.

I would not pledge for that.

It's just big hype from a game they don't know that gets them "excluded", so they feel bad.

The trailer was not that good, but for KS (let's say, almost pre development) it was amazing.

THey hanven't even did an update saying "we did it" or something.

I know they don't work on weekends, but it's just writing a couple of lines, pretty much the same time that I've wasted writing this post.

He was not happy that Nozomi had more votes than shenhua lol

One of the worries I have is that Yu may have been way long away from game development / game scene.

Contradiction, it's a pretty cool game, I'm a sucker for FMV adventure games (I think I must've played most of them).

It's a little like twin peaks (for now), tex murphy and phoenix wright.

Too bad the controls suck (no mouse support), and it's not very "tech standard" feels like these old fmv games that were made with macromedia.

Please tell me it's not real.

That ending seems more like a threat than anything.

After seeing that collection I guess Messi was sold to another japanese team of something.

Que grande loco. Envidia poco sana jjajaj.

Visca catalunya.

I also backed outcast (even though I only played a little of the original and found it a little too much action oriented for my taste).

From the interview seems that fishing will be the only "stable" job Ryo can have.

He should make it 2 or 3 part time jobs. In SII if you didn't use the reset/try again gambling carrying crates was boredom, lucky hit was fun, but then you only made very little money and a lot of time.

He should make a really hard job paying a good ammount and an easy/fun for little (or/and also an average one).

They ran at 30 ? Are you sure ?

I've been living a lie half my life