No prob Peter ! I'd love to go as a backer myself and would have been possible if I knew Shenmue III KS was coming few months before to save up the money but there's nothing I can do. Still, having the chance to go makes me happy !

It wasn't THAT bad. He was just rather disrespectful, especially when considering Japanese manners. How did he ever get this job in Japan? Maybe being quirky was part of his thing, not sure Suzuki knew this when signing up though.

That's exactly what my wife said when I've showed the live to her (she's japanese) !

"How come he's working with Yu Suzuki ?"
"He has no respect"

Cannot say I disagree :/

Since I already have the 5000 dollars pledge timex watch, I am sharing pictures again just in case someone else wants to grab it and dont get confused with the other watch.

http://s28.postimg.org/5yhzaetq5/DSC_0112.jpg

http://s28.postimg.org/ift8bbe9p/DSC_0113_2.jpg

http://s28.postimg.org/zexlcu03h/DSC_0117.jpg

This one is set as one of a kind for the Kickstarter but there's actually more than one. We do not have the exact number but its less than 200. I've seen like 5-10 of these in the past 10 years.

The 2 others are probably as rare as the one I've posted above, but they look kinda cheap.

Congratulations man !

Let's meet in Monaco for the MAGS and have some fun !

As a Shenmue500k admin, I couldn't agree more. Great initiative and the timing seems to be perfect.

Let's all work together !

A lot !

Kept learning japanese, had the chance to live in Japan for a year and half, got married to a japanese woman and met Yu Suzuki !

I never gave up on Shenmue during the past 14 years and my passion is still the same, if not stronger than ever before. Also met Takenobu Mitsuyoushi, Naoki Yoshida etc, so I've really enjoyed everything I've went through.

I am looking forward awesome events and definetly going to try my best to lead a beautiful life.

Glad there's still so many fans out there and can't wait for all of us to share our feelings about Shenmue III once we get the chance to play it !

I'll give it a shot. Asked if they were looking for someone for the french subtitles and/or community manager.

Gotta cross fingers now.

Definetly old and new characters.

I hope you will enjoy what's coming up next with Shenmue III !

I was watching the first 20 minutes before the shutdown due to the lack of premium account.

I would have loved to see the rest of the interview and why not work on a translation but since you guys are already on it, I'll wait for your upload.

Good luck and thanks for the support !

Special message :

EN :

Shenmue III Kickstarer has ended and we have done an awesome job !

Shenmue has changed my life and since 1999 I've been following the community and so on. My first japanese words came from that game and the reason I am still learning today is probably because of Shenmue.

For the past 14 years, I kept going forward and even though I had some difficult times here and there with the false rumors, I never gave up. As a fan I always wanted to meet Yu Suzuki and that's what I did last year when I've had the chance to interview him in Japan and provided the last 2 Chiyoumen bosses names and exclusive infos.

Always tried my best to keep the community alive, had the chance to be an admin of this awesome group and from now on I will keep doing my best for all of us to achieve greater things.

Since the Kickstarter started, I've slept like 3-4 hours a night and that lasted until today. It was really difficult but really worth it and I can't thank you enough.

Our goal as a team was to make sure Shenmue III would see the light of the day and we did it ! Now, I also have to follow my own goal : working for Yu Suzuki on Shenmue III. To be honest, I don't even know if my dream will ever come true or even if I deserve it, but I won't give up now.

People often asked me why I wasn't working on the Kickstarter Campaign or even why I wasn't listed during the KS campaign update about fans. Some of you sent me really kind messages asking me to go keep trying, to be a Community Manager or representative of the Shenmue Community in France/US and/or Japan and that's what my next goal is. I want to keep trying because you always tried to cheer me up and were counting on me.

Thanks to all of you ! If my dream ever come true, I'll all let you know.

Best regards,

David

PS : In case you want to follow me and see what's going on, feel free to follow me on Twitter. I am also in charge of Yu Suzuki's official twitter (french version) so even if you don't understand, you're more than welcome to fav and RT to boost up Yu Suzuki and Shenmue III's visibility.

Links :

My interview : http://shenmuedojo.net/new/extras/interview1114.html

Twitter :

https://twitter.com/yu_suzuki_fr

https://twitter.com/Deville_Davidx

--------------------

FR :

Le Kickstarter de Shenmue III est désormais terminé et nous avons réussi encore plus que je ne l'imaginais.

Shenmue est plus qu'un jeu pour moi. Il a eu un énorme impact sur moi et a changé ma vie. J'ai commencé à apprendre le japonais à travers son histoire et aujourd'hui si je continue à apprendre, c'est sans aucun doute grâce Shenmue, même si d'autres facteurs provoquent cette passion.

Depuis ces 14 dernières années, je suis toujours allé de l'avant même lorsqu'il y avait des difficultés. Comme beaucoup j'ai été attristé par les nombreuses rumeurs qui ne se sont soldées que par des déceptions. Mais je n'ai jamais abandonné et j'ai toujours su qu'un jour Shenmue III finirait par voir le jour.

L'un de mes rêves était de rencontrer Yu Suzuki et j'ai eu cette chance l'année dernière lorsque j'ai organisé mon interview grâce à laquelle j'ai pu vous transmettre de nouvelles informations comme les noms des 2 derniers boss des Chiyoumen etc.

Je ne peux pas cacher que le Kickstarter m'a énormément épuisé car j'ai passé tout ce mois à dormir entre 3 et 5h par nuit et je suis un peu sur les rotules. Mais ça valait vraiment le coup.

Notre but a toujours été de faire en sorte que Shenmue ne soit pas oublié, de le mettre en avant et de permettre à des personnes qui ne connaissaient pas encore le jeu de se familiariser avec. Aujourd'hui c'est chose faite et même si la route est encore longue, nous avons réussi de belles choses. Merci à vous tous.

L'objectif commun de ramener Shenmue III à la vie étant réalisé, il est temps pour moi de travailler sur un objectif personnel et essayer de réaliser mon rêve, à savoir : travailler avec Yu Suzuki sur Shenmue III. J'ai pas les compétences d'un programmeur mais je pense pouvoir gérer un poste de type Community Manager ou représentant. Beaucoup d'entre vous m'ont envoyé des messages d'encouragement et je vous en remercie. On m'a souvent demandé pourquoi je travaillais pas sur la campagne Kickstarter et qu'ils auraient mieux fait de m'engager, mais malheureusement ça ne dépendait pas de moi. Je ne sais pas si je mérite de travailler sur un tel projet, mais je ferai de mon mieux pour concrétiser cette envie.

Je vais persévérer afin de réaliser mon rêve. Si cela se fait, je ne manquerai pas de vous le faire savoir. Dans le cas contraire, je continuerai à faire de mon mieux afin de vous apporter de nouvelles informations et à soutenir le projet.

Encore merci à vous tous pour votre soutien, que ce soit envers Yu Suzuki, Shenmue III ou envers moi. La communauté que l'on représente est une chose magnifique et j'ai eu l'occasion de rencontrer et discuter avec des personnes formidables.

Je vous dis à bientôt !

David

PS :

Si vous voulez suivre mon actu, je vous laisse mon twitter ainsi que celui de Yu Suzuki (compte FR officiel dont j'ai la charge) :

Mon interview : http://shenmueangel.free.fr/news2.php?id=351

Twitter :

https://twitter.com/yu_suzuki_fr

https://twitter.com/Deville_Davidx

Yokosuka wrote: The email reminds me that I forget to give my real name (backer name). Any way to change it ?

They will send an email to collect your infos so do not worry too much about that.

We'll probably unlock the magic maze once the Paypal page is up.

It will take some time but we can do it !

Great project, I am really looking forward to it.

Good job guys !

Cannot do much about development but if you need someone to add french subtitles or why not voice acting, feel free to throw a PM.

Interesting interview !

Can't wait to meet with Cedric next year at the MAGS. I have a lot of things I want to share with him !

Awesome collection, indeed !

Axm, Peter, yours and mine could open a museum if we all gather things we don't have. Like the jigsaw puzzle I have but can't see in your collection, the Dreamcast, posters etc.

Jealous of your Niao Sun's mug, notebook and some cards and tshirt.

Thanks for sharing

Hello everyone ! How are you ?

Today on August 3rd, fans from all around the world are welcome to tweet and use the hashtag #SaveShenmueHD to spread the word on Twitter!

We've achieved something really great and Shenmue III is finally on its way. However, while we are waiting for it, let's try to give a chance to all the fans out there to get their hands on the first two games. It only takes like 20 seconds and if we spread it all together, we can make it happen again !

Here are the details :

http://teamyu.net/Shenmue.III?action=saveshenmuehd

I also have something special to announce today.

Last year, I had the chance to meet Yu Suzuki and interviewed him regarding Shenmue and Shenmue III. Best thing coming out of this was to share with you all the latest informations I could get. Many of you really appreciated my work, or atleast, that's the feeling I was getting from your messages. I've never felt so much love and can't thank you enough for that.

During the Kickstarter, I was going to pledge 2000 dollars because that's the maximum I had for it, but during the last days I've decided to reduce it to 600 dollars. The reason is because I had another project that I wanted to get done for me and for you. And here it is : a new interview with Yu Suzuki !

Since it's official now I can finally announce it : I will meet Yu Suzuki in September in Japan. It wasn't something easy to do as I had to cut my pledge, sell some of my rare video games gems in order to gather enough money for the flight and fees I will have to handle in Japan, but I am glad that it was possible.

Meeting Yu Suzuki once again is something I am really looking forward to. I will bring in my own questions. However, since I've also been doing this for you, I am going to ask YOURS. Of course, I might not be able to ask all of them but as always, I will do my best.

So here we go :

What kind of questions would you like me to ask ?

What are you looking forward ?

Share anything that you're thinking about even if that's not a question, I'll try to turn it into one.

You can either answer directly through comments or you can send your questions to : [email protected]
I cannot provide details about the day of the interview and when it will be published on Shenmue 500k, Shenmue Dojo and Shenmue Master, but whenever I am allowed to do so, you'll be the first to know.

My dream of working as Shenmue III Community Manager is far ahead and It's highly possible that It'll never come true, but that's as far as I am willing to go to show my motivation and how much I am into this to make it happen.

Thanks for your continued support, it helps me a lot.

Best regards,

David

( french and japanese translations below )

*** *** ***

En français :

Bonjour à tous !

Aujourd'hui, j'ai quelque chose d'important à annoncer. J'espère que vous prendrez le temps de lire ce que je vais écrire. Merci à vous !

L'année dernière, j'ai eu l'opportunité de rencontrer Yu Suzuki et de l'interviewer sur l'avenir de Shenmue et bien évidemment, Shenmue III . Ce qui m'a fait le plus plaisir était de pouvoir partager avec vous de nouvelles informations et d'après vos commentaires, vous étiez très satisfaits du contenu. Les messages de remerciements étaient nombreux et je vous en remercie encore une fois. Cela m'avait fait chaud au coeur.

J'avais un budget d'environ 2000 dollars lors de la campagne Kickstarter de Shenmue III . Il était destiné à l'un des rewards "Dragons Don't Sleep" mais j'ai décidé durant les derniers jours de réduire mon don à 600 dollars et de céder la récompense à un fan. La raison pour laquelle j'ai réduit mon pledge est que j'avais un autre projet en tête qui nécessitait de l'argent et je tenais à le réaliser pour moi, et aussi pour vous. Aujourd'hui, c'est officiel et je peux donc l'annoncer : une autre interview de Yu Suzuki est prévue !

C'est donc au mois de septembre que je vais revoir Yu Suzuki afin de l'interviewer et partager tout cela avec vous, une fois de plus. Cela n'a pas été facile car il m'a fallu vendre une partie de ma collection de jeux vidéo et comme indiqué ci-dessus, descendre mon pledge à 600 dollars afin de me payer le billet d'avion et tous les frais que j'aurai une fois sur place. Mais je l'ai fait aussi bien pour moi, que pour vous.

Rencontrer Yu Suzuki à nouveau est une chose que j'attends avec impatience. Mais je ne tiens pas à tout garder pour moi et je compte vous faire participer. En effet, je vais effectivement lui poser mes propres questions, mais je souhaiterais poser les vôtres également.

Quelles questions souhaiteriez-vous que je lui pose ?

Quelles sont vos attentes ?

Si vous avez des suggestions etc, n'hésitez pas à les écrire.

Vous pouvez poser vos questions directement via les commentaires ou les envoyer à : [email protected]

Je ne suis pas en mesure de pouvoir donner la date de publication de l'interview, ni la date précise à laquelle elle aura lieu, mais dès que j'aurai le feu vert, vous serez les premiers informés.

L'objectif aujourd'hui est d'apporter de nouvelles choses aux différentes communautés le temps que le développement de Shenmue III progresse.

Mon rêve de pouvoir travailler en tant que Community Manager via le projet Shenmue III est encore loin et ne se réalisera peut-être jamais, mais je suis prêt à me rendre au Japon et à mes frais si cela peut augmenter mes chances. J'espère atteindre un jour mon objectif grâce à ma motivation et mon envie de bien faire.

Encore merci à vous tous de m'avoir soutenu jusqu'à aujourd'hui. Cela m'a énormément aidé.

J'attends vos questions avec impatience !

A très bientôt !

David

*** *** ***

日本語：

皆さん、お元気ですか。

本日、大切なことを発表させていただきたいです。本文を読んで頂けたら、嬉しいです。

去年の９月１８日にシェンムーとシェンムーIIIについてのインタビューを鈴木さんと行わせて頂くことが出来ました。おかげさまで、新しい情報をゲットして、世界中のシェンムーファンの皆さんにお伝えできたのは一番良いことでした。感謝のメッセージが沢山届いたことが嬉しかったです。

シェンムーIIIのKickstarterのキャンペーンの間、私は２千ドルぐらいを支援する予定がありましたが、今回の私の企画のために、２千ドルの支援のお金を６百ドルに減らしました。その企画は確定されましたので、このページで皆さんに発表します。昨年に引き続き、今年も鈴木さんと一緒に会い、インタビューを行わせて頂くことになりました！

確定できるため、支援を減らして、自分のゲームコレクションも売ることにして、簡単ではありませんでしたが、飛行機の切符と来日する期間の資金を用意することが出来ました。

今回は、自分の質問だけではなく、可能であれば、シェンムーファンの皆さんの質問を考慮して、鈴木さんに伝えていきたいと思っています。なので、皆さん、私が鈴木さんに聞いて欲しい質問内容は何でしょうか。何について期待していますか。

質問がありましたら、是非コメントを残してください。または、こちらのメールでご質問を受け付けています。

メール : [email protected]

シェンムーIIIに関する仕事「コミュニティマネージャー」として働かせていただきたいという夢を叶えるために一生懸命頑張りたいですが、実現するかどうかまだ分かりません。ですが、諦めたくないので、最後までアピールしていきたいです。

今まで応援してくださった皆さんに大変感謝しております。

質問をお待ちしております。

デュビル・ダビッド

http://s9.postimg.org/smmg8xiun/david_yu.png

Hi guys !

I am gathering all your questions and will pick up the best ones based on popularity. I am going to check if some questions weren't already in previous interviews to avoid wasting time.

Seems like people are often asking about the scroll, leaf and the "boat" chapter so far. If that's possible I will ask about that. We still have time so go ahead and write down your questions whenever you want to.

Thanks for your support guys, really appreciated !

Thank you so much guys, so many questions, I'll have to work harder than expected hehe.

I am probably going to gather everything until August 15th and will work from there.

Seems like people want to avoid spoilers etc and looking forward japanese voices being added to the game. I will work on this and tell Yu Suzuki that the demand is high and that he should definetly think about it. ;-)

No worries guys. I can understand that some people want to have the choice between english/japanese voices etc. I am not going to ask for something specific but telling him that there's a demand and adding an option to allow us to choose would be great.

I am receiving all your mails so even if I don't reply, don't worry. Right now I am busy with my travel schedule etc, but I will read all your questions one by one, I promise.

I can't thank you enough for your support.

I'll get back to you as soon as possible !

Have a nice day.

I will be attending TGS on September 17th and 18th, if I can grab more infos, I will.

But we will probably have something new during MAGS in February.

Thanks to all of you for your questions. The interview's content is now done, I just have to get ready to go to Japan.

http://s22.postimg.org/8aauy4dfl/DSC_0490.jpg

I cannot provide details yet about when It's happening and when I'll be able to publish it but I'll work on it as much as I can. I am also going to attend the Tokyo Game Show etc, so If I'm not too busy and can translate it to french/english/japanese asap, I will, but cannot promise anything.

Sadly I couldn't pick up all of your questions but I'll probably do another interview in February during the Monaco Anime Game Show so there's still another chance ! ;-)

Best regards,

David

Nice find !

I'd have loved to translate it but I don't have too much time right now.

Let's treasure all these videos !

Oh, didn't know they'd be selling a calendar with Shenmue on it. Guess I'll grab everything related to Shenmue !

Thanks for the link.

Hi everyone !

Yu Suzuki's Interview is happening soon but I had some good news to share (specially if you're french).

I've been working as a translator (japanese - french) on a book about Yu Suzuki (his life, what games he created so far etc) written by Benjamin Berget.

Whoever is able to read and understand french and want to preorder it, It's available here :

http://www.geeks-line.com/histoire-du-jeu-video/77-yu-suzuki-le-maitre-de-sega-de-l-arcade-a-shenmue-9791093752068.html

http://www.geeks-line.com/133-thickbox_default/yu-suzuki-le-maitre-de-sega-de-l-arcade-a-shenmue.jpg

Geeks-line company is apparently working on an english translation but it won't come out until next year or that's what I've been told. Once it's official, I'll provide more news.

Oh and just to let you know, I am not getting a single euro out of this project, I've been paid to translate some content, but I am not getting anything from sales, so I hope you won't see my post as some kind of bad advertising.

Now I have to get back to work (interview's content) so I can provide the answers you're all waiting for !

See you soon guys.

Best regards,

David

Oh, didn't know they'd be selling a calendar with Shenmue on it. Guess I'll grab everything related to Shenmue !

Thanks for the link.

Awesome man :) if there's a bucket full of Shenmue badges could you grab a couple and ship me one? I can cover any expenses for you via pay pal :) :heart:

Sure, I'll see if I can grab some !

Thanks for the info. Will definetly grab a tshirt, calendar and button !

Thanks for the feedback guys, appreciated !

FR / フランス語 ：

Aujourd'hui, j'ai eu l'occasion de passer une bonne partie de la journée et de la soirée en compagnie de Yu Suzuki !

On a beaucoup discuté, de la vie de tous les jours, de nourriture et bien évidemment de Shenmue III !

L'interview ne sera pas disponible de suite, je reviendrai donc vers vous dès qu'elle sera terminée.

Je tiens également à indiquer que d'autres belles choses vont arriver, donc continuez à apporter votre soutien, y'a du lourd en route !

En dehors de Yu Suzuki, j'ai eu l'occasion de rencontrer dans les locaux où le jeu est développé, une bonne partie de l'équipe en charge. Ils travaillent tous les jours du matin au soir pour vous apporter le meilleur et de ce que j'ai vu... c'est sur la bonne voie ! Ils sont aussi super gentils, c'était génial.

La prochaine étape sera le TGS (le 17 et 18 septembre) où je reverrai peut-être Yu Suzuki mais rien de sûr. En attendant, je retourne bosser sur ce qu'il y a à traduire.

Des journées comme celles-là, j'en voudrai tous les jours !

EN / 英語 ：

Hey guys !

Today, I had the opportunity to spend most of my time with Yu Suzuki.

We've talked about many things from everyday's life to food and of course,
Shenmue III !

The interview's content won't be available right away and will get back to you once It's done.

I also ask all Shenmue fans to keep providing their support as some beautiful things are on the way, trust me !

Beside the fact that I've met Yu Suzuki, I also had the chance to meet the team in charge of Shenmue III where It's actually being developed.

They're working hard everyday to provide the best experience possible and from what I saw, It's going to be good.

The next step is Tokyo Game Show now (September 17th & 18th) where I might be able to meet Yu Suzuki again but nothing has been decided yet.

Until then, I am going back to work and will try provide another great interview !

See you soon !

David

JP / 日本語 ：

皆様、

本日、鈴木裕さんのインタビューを行わせて頂きました。

インタビューの内容を掲載するまで、時間がかかると思います。

これからも、シェンムーを応援してくださるよう皆さんのご協力をお願い致します。

次は東京ゲームショウです。１７日から２０日までセガのブースで様々なグッズが発売されるようになりますので、興味のある方は、是非、足を運んでみてください！

鈴木さん、今日は色々ありがとうございました。大変感謝しております。

今後とも、宜しくお願い致します。

デュビル・ダビッド

Yu Suzuki is still working as a consultant for Sega if my memory is right so I guess they still have a good relationship.

I have to say that I do not know what's inside the book beside the content that I've translated and/or been working on, like my 2 pages etc.

The book will probably never be available in japanese. But what's important here is Yu Suzuki exposure and the games he has created so far, Shenmue included.

If we keep providing our support like we've been doing for the past years, great things will happen. When I say good news are on the way, I mean it.

So let's keep going ;-)

He's aware of it now as I got the chance to talk to him about it when we met today.

Seems like people are going to misunderstand so I'll make it as clear as possible.

When I've asked about paypal, he provided the release date and I've said :

"Thanks for the information, I will tell the fans and people who are waiting for it"

And he simply said yes, so everything was ok. As you can see, even Cedric RT'd the information on Twitter when I made it available to the public. He even provided details about how long the Paypal service would last :

https://twitter.com/CedricBiscay/status/643787747816140800

But somehow, like Yu Suzuki pointed out on Facebook :

"情報の公開時期を伝えるのを忘れてました。"

means that he forgot to tell me when to make it public, while I stated during the interview that I'd post it.

So clearly, I was not going for a "leak" etc. I was just providing information that Yu Suzuki approved to be posted.

I guess there was a misunderstanding at some point between me and Yu Suzuki but It's not like It was an horrible thing. Things that can clearly not go public and that I know about will never be revealed, or atleast, not by me. I've never betrayed Yu Suzuki and never will.

But still, if this has caused anything bad, I'll take the responsibility.

My life is complete !



The badge is from Gachapon tho.... Spent more than 1000 yen and nothing *grrrrrr*

fittersau wrote:

Amir wrote:

DEVILLE_David wrote: My life is complete !

The badge is from Gachapon tho.... Spent more than 1000 yen and nothing *grrrrrr*

"Maybe I should get another..."

;)

lol

That's what I did and finally got it ! woot !

You're lucky I got some extra.

But I will have to sell it a bit more than the original price because I had to spend like 15 euros to go from my hotel to TGS specially for this purchase.

http://s8.postimg.org/6o9yemj9x/DSC_0614.jpg

So many people today. In line for 2 hours just to buy these ! x.x (M size btw!)

I've sent an email to Cedric about this (no confirmation mail, shipping fees charged while it was supposed to be free) etc.

There's a lack of communication coming from Awesome Japan who is in charge of the campaign and It's really hurting it.

I will get back to you whenever (and If) I get a reply.

By the way, I have something to ask you :

What would you like to see added to the Slacker Backer Campaign page ? What kind of content are you looking forward to ? Do you expect some things ?

If I can backup and provide your feedback to someone else in charge, I will. I can't guarantee anything but we have to make sure this Paypal campaign provide the best results for Shenmue III.

Thanks for your feedback guys.

Cedric has replied to my mail. Regarding the discussed problems he's going to contact the people in charge. So the feedback has been done on my part, we have to wait now.

About new rewards, I will tell him about it as soon as possible.

Have nice day guys !

Yokosuka wrote: I'm waiting for the David's interview before asking new questions.

Back in France and working on it.

Some questions fans asked were declined so I did my best with what I had left.

More to come soon !

Tried sending e-mail to all the related person including Kickstarter KS / YSnet and etc about a week ago, but still no reply from any one of them. There's not much I can do now than to hope they will respond maybe by end of this month or next. It would be great if paypal backers get the same if not similar response treatment to Kickstarter backers. So far no notification, no replies, no updates, just frozen in time.

I just find it very strange and odd that not a single auto generated e-mail was sent as a form of notification of payment received. Would have been nice to know or get at least some sort of auto generated " thank you , we received your payment and order " acknowledgement.

That's one of the problems to resolve at the moment. If we want the Paypal campaign to be a success, we need more reactivity coming from Awesome Japan. Why not more appealing rewards, works in progress etc. Interactivity with the fans, newcomers is a must and they have to work on it.

Interview coming soon (this week).

Hi guys,

I've contacted the Kickstarter Team in order to get some information. Here's what they had to say about the rewards system/upgrade :

"Ys Net says:

Hello David,

Thank you very much for your message

We are currently working with the designated parties to make add-ons / upgrades available for Kickstarter backers.

It will indeed be possible to back a higher tier by backing the difference between it and your current tier.

Further details as to how the system will work will be explained in a later update when the add-on / upgrade system launches.

Thanks again for your support and for saving Shenmue !

Best regards,

Oscar &

The Shenmue 3 Kickstarter Team"

So whoever was worried about it, you don't have to anymore : upgrade system is coming.

Have a nice day !

David

While I have to wait to find the last Shenmue Items I need, I am grabbing some old and good titles (US RPG).

Tried to clean my Shenmue collection since I've received the Data Discs merch and added the TGS 2015 tshirt. Got the watch, Shenmue II JP & both artbooks signed by Yu Suzuki too.

http://s4.postimg.org/gm0h7zral/collecfit.png

Too bad I have no space to display my posters and other items such as clearfiles, tshirts and calendar.

http://s9.postimg.org/jfkymm9hr/DSC01188.jpg

http://s9.postimg.org/ffdtadj0v/dsc4385t.jpg

http://s9.postimg.org/4h2js6ufj/DSC_0054.jpg

http://s9.postimg.org/lmp7ajerz/DSC_0057.jpg

http://s9.postimg.org/t19xp6b9r/DSC_0754_2.jpg

http://s9.postimg.org/uvrdknnnz/DSC_0953.jpg

http://s9.postimg.org/oxdkaf4pb/DSC_0954.jpg

http://s9.postimg.org/3z7ecc4un/DSC_0958.jpg

http://s9.postimg.org/pbewa0osv/DSC_0959.jpg

I've contacted F4F and they said we'd get more news about the Lan Di figure this year. Can't wait to get the limited edition !

If someone has a Niao Sun mug or TGS 99 Shenhua poster, Shenhua, Ryo and Niao Sun clearfiles, I am VERY interested. Feel free to contact me.

Thanks !

Feel free to add :

Me with Yoko Shimomura during TGS 2015



And with Yu Suzuki :

No problem !

Just finished japanese version 1 hour ago. Sent it to Yu Suzuki and waiting for his approval to publish it.

1AM here. Time to get some rest. I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Have a nice day guys.

Hello guys,

As promised, I've received Yu Suzuki's approval to publish it, so here it is !

Meeting Yu Suzuki in Japan once again was awesome. I had the opportunity to meet with the development team and saw some footage and can say that Shenmue is definetly in good hands.

This interview do not contain major spoilers, however, DO NOT read the question/answer #14 if you do not wish to know about Shenmue III's bosses.

Enough said, here you go !

English version / 英語版 :

PDF version : coming soon

Yu Suzuki's interview : A New Shenmue (2015)

1) David : Hello Yu Suzuki. Today is September 14th and 2 months have passed since the end of the Kickstarter's campaign. Could you tell us how you've felt during the campaign ?

Yu Suzuki : Many people asked me how it was during E3 so I'd rather talk about what happened after that, the development and so on. That's what is the most interesting to me. The game's budget has been decided with the Kickstarter and we're working on it accordingly. We're currently testing the Unreal Engine 4.

http://s20.postimg.org/3q8adrch9/image.jpg

2) David : 14 years have passed since the release of Shenmue II. If you had to think about it, was there anything that could have been improved in the previous games ?

Yu Suzuki : When I was making Shenmue II, my goal was to make it better than the first one. Of course, there are many things that could have been better. If I had to provide an example, that'd be the use of time. How long you had to wait until the next event.

In Shenmue Yokosuka, the player had no other choice but to wait until the next event occured. The concept was to add many different features for the player to enjoy while waiting for the said rendezvous. After the first Shenmue was done, people provided their feedback and many of them were frustrated having to wait, that's why I've decided to add the « Skip Time » feature in Shenmue II. By using it, you could skip time and jump to the next scene.

3) David : During the trailer of Shenmue Online, we could see Shenhua summoning a Phoenix to fight Lan Di. Is it linked to the original story of Shenmue ?

Yu Suzuki : This is a story I made up specially for Shenmue Online. So no, It has no link to the original story.

http://s20.postimg.org/v4nf1xkvh/image.jpg

I would like to ask you some questions regarding Shenmue III and the Kickstarter campaign if you don't mind.

4) David : You've planned to add scenes from the first 2 games « Story Digest » in Shenmue III to describe the story. Are you going to use the previous games original scenes or do you plan to recreate them under the Unreal Engine 4 ? Is there any chance you're going to add Chapter 2 « the boat » in it ?

Yu Suzuki : The boat chapter won't be added. Regarding the « Story Digest » we're thinking about the best way to add it.

5) David : A fan has made a suggestion and wanted you to hear it. Is it possible for Ryo to hold a camera and take some pictures that the player could save in the inventory ?

Yu Suzuki : Ryo holding a camera doesn't match with his style and the way he is. However, the fact that the «player» himself is taking the pictures sounds like a nice idea. To be honest, I already thought about it before, so if that's possible, I would like to make this possibility happen.

6) David : In your previous interviews, you've mentioned that Shenmue III's size would be around the size of Shenmue's Dobuita. Each village will be around the same size as Dobuita or where you talking about the full game ?

Yu Suzuki : I want to make Choubu as large as Dobuita. Now, about the remaining villages, we're thinking about it.

http://s20.postimg.org/ua0vfwd0t/image.jpg

7) David : Characters will be linked to Ryo through the « Rapport System ». But is it going to change the main story and why not, make some of the characters disappear at some point ?

Yu Suzuki : This system has been built for Ryo and Shenhua. We are thinking about the possibility to make it work with other characters but that's undecided. Regarding the impact that it's going to have on the story and the game itself, that is currently under experimentation.

8 ) David : The exclusive Kickstarter content « S3World telecom» will provide the possibility to call some characters of the previous games. But are the conversations going to be limited to some lines only or will they offer some variations ?

Yu Suzuki : No, It won't be limited to a single conversation.

9) David  : The Stretch Goals «AI Battling», «Ragdoll Reaction» and «High Ground Battle System» have yet to be reached, but is there anything we could learn about these Stretch Goals ?

Yu Suzuki : Some of you may know what the Ragdoll physics is. If you release the strength of the body, it becomes like a doll, that's not really natural. That's why we're working on the «Motion Blending», adding some resistance to the muscles for example, to obtain realistic moves.

In a Virtua Fighter scene, patterns were determined by the Motion Capture, but with the Ragdoll physics, moves won't repeat over and over. If you get into something (like a wall) the reaction won't be the same. In fact, I'd like to combine the «Ragdoll Physics», the «Motion Blending» and «IK Constraint» to make the NPC and battle's reactions as real as possible.

Regarding the «AI Battling» Stretch Goal, if I had to explain this simply, that'd be, for example, when you're hitting the punch button of your pad to hit your opponent. A jab when he's close, to hit him when he's away from you and to move to hit him when he's even more far away. I would like to create a system that is taking account of the distance, conditions and the position of your rival. During normal fights, if you push a button, your character will use the same move over and over without considering your current situation. I don't really like that and would like to use the «AI Battling» to add some variations to the movements depending on your current state.

And finally, the «High Ground Battle System», is the interactivity with the surrounding environment. I want to create and add strategy and realism to the battles. For example, throwing your opponent on a barrel and making it break or hitting a wall and making it fall like a wave on your enemy. I'd like to create more complex battles using the UE4's physical phenomenon.

David : These features were not available in the first two games right ?

Yu Suzuki : To say the truth, I've already used it. You could see something like that during the «70 Man Battle». But these techniques were used 14 years ago and I am sure that the result will be more interesting if we use the actual technology.

10) David : Is Shenhua going to be with Ryo all the time or is Ryo going to be on his own from time to time as well ?

Yu Suzuki : Both. Moments where Ryo will be on his own and some where Shenhua will stand by his side.

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11) David : Just like in Shenmue I and II, is it going to be possibile to grab the items around us and examine them ?

Yu Suzuki : I would like to make it.

12) David : Some people would like to know more about the Paypal campaign and its rewards. Is there anything you can tell us ?

Yu Suzuki : The campaign will start on September 17th. With Kickstarter, people were limited to one reward, but this time, they will be able to add other rewards. Also, I'd like Japanese users to browse this page, all details will be in Japanese. The remaining Stretch Goals are also a part of this campaign and if we reach them, as promised, they will be made. I am counting on you !

13) David : Niao Sun has been presented during the first Shenmue events but is only appearing for the first time in Shenmue III. Why did you show her so soon during the promotion of the game ? Is there a special reason behind this ?

Yu Suzuki : There's no real reason. She was attractive and I liked her, that's why I wanted to show this character to all of you as soon as possible !

http://s20.postimg.org/jr0vqqact/image.jpg

14) David : Looking at the development's schedule, 4 big bosses will be added to the game. Have you decided to cut some parts of the story and add the 4 main Chiyoumen bosses ?

Yu Suzuki : All I can tell you is that you're going to face Niao Sun of course, and also Lan Di !

http://s20.postimg.org/40fsx3r3h/image.jpg

15) David : Many players would like to have the possibility to switch between the Japanese and English voices. Do you plan to add such a feature in Shenmue III ?

Yu Suzuki : We are considering the possibility to switch between English and Japanese voices. So, many people would like Japanese voices and English subtitles ? I will probably start a poll about this to see what people are looking forward to.

Here is the last question !

16) David : Any special message that you'd like to say to the fans and why not, people who never played Shenmue until today ?

Yu Suzuki : My message towards the fans :

Thank to all of you who have been waiting for the last 14 years. I will bring with Shenmue III a new way to play and many things that were not in the first two games. I am aware that many of you are expecting Shenmue III to be the same as the first games but as a game creator, I am always challenging myself and I'd be very happy if the fans appreciated Shenmue III. Thank you for welcoming the new Shenmue !

Now the message toward players who never experienced Shenmue before :

I am developing it in the best possible way to make sure that you are going to enjoy the experience even though you have never played the first Shenmue. So even if you have no idea what the Shenmue I and II were, please do not hesitate to try it out please !

http://s20.postimg.org/ja248r8x9/DSC_0563.jpg

The interview is now over. I would like to say thank you to Yu Suzuki who allowed me to do this interview. A huge thanks to all the people working at YsNet, for their warm welcome and kindness.

I'd also like to say thank you to Cédric Biscay, french co-producer of Shenmue III. I had the opportunity to meet him and I can tell you that he's really motivated and he loves Shenmue as much as we all do ! Shenmue III is in good hands and I am really looking forward to it !

My next interview should happen during the Magic Monaco in February 2016.

Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed the answers.

©David DE VILLE

**********

Japanese version / 日本語版 ：

鈴木裕さんのインタビュー : 新しいシェンムーへ

1) ダビッド ： 鈴木さん、こんにちは。本日、インタビューを行わせていただくことになり、ありがとうございます。宜しくお願い致します。それでは、はじめましょう。シェンムーⅢのKickstarterのキャンペーンが終了してから、二ヶ月ぐらい経過しました。よろしければ、キャンペーンの間の印象を教えて頂けませんか。

鈴木氏 ： 皆さんに良く聞かれたのはショーの期間中の印象でしたので、その代わりにE3（ロサンゼルスで行われるゲームショー）が終わったあとや開発について話したいと思います。バジェットが決まったので、そのバジェットに合わせてゲームのフローに従って、現在はUE4のテストに入っています。

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2) ダビッド ： シェンムーⅡが発売されてから１４年が経過しました。今、思い浮かべると、シェンムーⅠとⅡには改善点があったと思いますか。

鈴木氏 ：　シェンムーⅡを作るときはシェンムーⅠを改善して作ったので、もちろん改善点が沢山ありました。一つの例を挙げると、待ち合わせの時間です。シェンムーⅠでは待ち合わせの時間までただ待つことしか出来ませんでした。なので、シェンムーⅠでは待ち合わせの時間までに遊ぶ要素を沢山入れてあります。待っている時間に違うことをやって欲しいというのがシェンムーⅠのコンセプトでした。シェンムーⅠが終わったらそこに対してストレスが溜まると言うプレイヤーの声が高かったのでシェンムーⅡでは待つシステムを入れることに決めました。その時間まで待つというシステムを使うと、その時間と場所にジャンプすることが出来るようになりました。　

3) ダビッド ： シェンムーオンラインのトレーラーでは藍帝（らんてい）は龍を、シェンファは鳳凰を召喚して戦っているシーンがありました。このシーンはシェンムーのメインストーリーと繋がっているのでしょうか。

鈴木氏 ： シェンムーオンラインのために作った外伝なので、オリジナルストーリーと繋がっていません。

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4) ダビッド ： まだ、シェンムーをやったことがないプレイヤーにストーリーを分かってもらうために、シェンムーⅢにシェンムーＩ＆Ⅱのストーリーダイジェストコンテンツが追加される予定があります。
それは、昔の動画（シェンムーThe Movie)か、あるいはUnreal Engine 4でリニューアルしたもので追加されるのでしょうか。そして、カットされた「二章　船」の動画版を追加されますか。

鈴木氏 ： シェンムー「二章　船」　は追加されません。ストーリーダイジェストに関してはどの形がいいかどうか検討中です。

5）　ダビッド ： シェンムーファンからのアイデアを聞いたので、お伝えさせていただきます。シェンムーⅢの涼がカメラを持って、写真を撮って、アルバムに保存できるシステムというアイデアでしたが、いかがでしょうか。

鈴木氏 ： 涼がカメラを持つというと、ちょっと彼のイメージに合わないと思います。プレイヤーの方が写真を撮ったらいいと思っています。写真の機能が使えるのは以前からやりたいと考えていたので、出来ればやりたいです。

6） ダビッド ： 以前、他のインタビューを受けていたときに、鈴木さんはシェンムーⅢの世界のサイズはシェンムーのどぶ板と同じぐらいになると言いましたが、それは全部のエリアですか。それとも一つずつの村がどぶ板と同じぐらいのサイズになるということでしょうか。

鈴木氏 ：鳥舞をどぶ板くらいの大きさにしたいと思っています。他の村については検討中です。

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7） ダビッド ： 今回は好感度システムによって涼が他のキャラクターと繋がっていることは変わりますが、そのシステムでストーリーの変更や仲が悪いと仲間と会えなくなってしまう設定がありますか。

鈴木氏 ： 好感度システムは涼とシェンファーに向けて作ったシステムです。他のキャラに使うかどうかは検討中です。ストーリーやゲーム進行にどれくらいの影響を与えるかどうかは現在実験中です。

8） ダビッド ： キックスターター限定の国際テレホンカードで前作で出てきたキャラクターに連絡することが可能ですが、出来る会話が一つ限りなのか又はバリエーションがたくさんあるのでしょうか。

鈴木氏 : 会話は一つ限りではないです。

9） ダビッド ： 「ラグドールリアクション」や「ＡＩバトル」や「ハイグランドバトルシステム」というストレッチゴールはまだ達成していませんが、それについて詳しく説明してくださいませんか。

鈴木氏 ： 皆さんはご存知かもしれませんが、ラグドール物理演算というのがあって、人体の力を抜くと人形みたいなものになって、キャラクターがだらんとしてしまいます。これだけでやると動きが不自然になってしまいます。
そのため、これにモーションブレンディングしたり、例えば筋肉の抵抗（コンストレイン）を加えると、よりリアルな動きが出ます。バーチャファイターで攻撃をされるシーンはモーションキャプチャーで撮ったシーンでパターン化されていますが、ラグドールというのはそのときの地形やぶつかったときの動きを繰り返さないので、実際はラグドール、モーションブレンディング、ＩＫコンストレインを上手く組み合わせてバトルのリアクション・・・例えばNPCのリアクションをもっとリアルにしたいです。

AIバトルというのは、例えば簡単にいうとパンチのボタンだったら、相手が近かったらジャブ、相手が少し離れていたらストレート、もっと離れていたら移動してストレートというふうに相手との位置や距離や状況に応じて,自動的にバトルの技が出来るようにAIでコントロールしたいです。普通のバトルというのはコマンドを押せばそのコマンドの技が出るという風になっているので、その技が状況に合っていなくても出てしまいます。それは良くないなと考えているので、状況に合った技をだすためにAIでコントロールしたいと思っています。

ハイグランドバトルシステム は、キャラクターの周りのものを使って、バトルに臨場感と戦略を加えて作りたいと思っています。例えば、敵を投げたらドラム缶が崩れてきて敵をやっつけるとか、闘おうとしているときに壁を叩いたら波のように崩れてきたり・・・UE4の物理現象を連鎖させて、より複雑で楽しいバトルを作りたいと思っています。演算を使ってやりたいなと思っています。

ダビッド ： シェンムーⅠ・Ⅱではやっていなかったシステムですね？

鈴木氏 ： ちょっとやっていました。７０人バトルのときにドラム缶が崩れてきたりとか…　ですが、あれは14年前の技術でやった表現なので、現在の技術でやったらもっと楽しいものになると思います。

10） ダビッド ： シェンムーⅢではシェンファがシェンムーIIと同じように常に涼と一緒にいるのか、彼が一人になることが多くなるのでしょうか。

鈴木氏 ： 彼女と一緒にいるときもありますし、一人になるときもあります。

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11) ダビッド ： シェンムーとシェンムーⅡでアイテムを細かく観察することが出来ましたが、シェンムーⅢでも同じような動作が出来ますか。

鈴木氏 ：　出来るようにしたいです。

12) ダビッド ： Kickstarterのキャンペーン終了後、更に支援したい方がPaypalで支援出来るシステムが発表されました。それについての詳細を説明して頂けますか。

鈴木氏 ： ９月１７日からPaypalを開始対応しています。Kickstarterでは１個しか買えなかったのですが、今回は追加の購入が出来ますし、あとは特に日本のユーザーが日本語で申し込むことが出来ますので是非ページを見に来て下さい。基本的にはストレッチゴールにも対応していますので追加金額でストレッチゴールをクリアすると約束している部分が実現出来ます。皆さん、宜しくお願いします。

13) ダビッド ： 鳥隼（ちょうじゅん）は昔からプロモーションキャラクターとして使用されていて、シェンムーⅢから登場することになりましたが、どうして１４年前からそのキャラクターを紹介されましたか。特別な理由がありますか。

鈴木氏 ： 特別な理由がありません。キャラクターが魅力的だったので、僕がそのキャラクターが好きで、早く皆さんに見せたかったからです。

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14) ダビッド ： 開発の構成によって、シェンムーIIIでは4つのボスがいるということが分かってきました。つまりストーリーを短くして、四天王（らんてい、こうてい、えんてい、げんてい）を含めることにしましたか。

鈴木氏 ： 一つだけのことを言います。四天王の藍帝(蒼龍) と炎帝（鳥隼）が出てきます。

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15) ダビッド ： 日本語と英語音声を選択するオプションが欲しい方が多いそうです。このような選択肢をシェンムーⅢに追加するつもりでしょうか。

鈴木氏 ： 日本語版と英語版の音声切り替えが可能かどうか検討してみます。海外では日本語音声で英語字幕が欲しい人が多いですか。出来たら、一回アンケートを取ってみたいですね。

それでは、最後の質問です。

16) ダビッド ： シェンムーファンや又はシェンムーを初めてプレイする方々に伝えたい特別なメッセージがありましたら、どうぞ。

鈴木氏 ： シェンムーファンの皆さんについては１４年間ぐらい待ってくれて、本当にありがとうございます。シェンムーⅢではシェンムーI＆Ⅱにない、新しい遊びをチャレンジしようと思っています。シェンムーI＆IIとか全く同じ遊びを期待している人がいるかもしれませんが、鈴木裕は常に新しいことにチャレンジするクリエイターだと思って、シェンムーⅢを応援してくれると嬉しいです。新しいシェンムーを応援して下さい。

はじめて遊ぶ人については、シェンムーIとⅡを遊んでなくても、知らなくても楽しく遊べるように、シェンムーⅢを作る予定です。はじめてのプレイでも、シェンムーの良さが伝わるようなゲームになるので、是非遊んでみてください。

http://s20.postimg.org/ja248r8x9/DSC_0563.jpg

インタビューを読んで下さった皆さん、ありがとうございます。鈴木裕さんとYSNETのスタッフの皆さんにも大変感謝しております。

シェンムーIIIは２０１７年１２月末に発売予定です。興味がある方は是非、シェンムーIIIの公式サイトのページをご覧下さい。

http://shenmue.link/　

予約購入のページはこちらです。

http://shenmue.link/order_jp/