December 2017 is fastly approaching!

[Hazuki00]

I would say yes. You guys don't have to believe us, but what Spaghetti was saying about smoke and mirrors, and what they have revealed in Kickstarter updates compared to what we have seen, they are playing their cards very close to their chest. No bullshit or joking about here, and Adam, Matt, George, Jessica and Joe will back me up on this 100%.
...

Thanks a lot Peter for this interesting info! And thanks for calm things down a little.

[Spaghetti]

In fact, there was one thing that i was unhappy with, but i wasn't going to say anything. But after talking with Matt (sitting beside me) he brought up the same thing. Did we say something? Damn right we did. It was about the QTE sequence we seen and we were not happy with aspects of it. Yu himself humbly apologised..... Let that sink in. Yu Suzuki is fucking apologising to us?? That's how humble he is. He knows what he needs to do, and how demanding us hardcore Shenmue fans are. He knows what we want and expect. He assured that it was still early testing and that it was being worked on, like every aspect of the game. But this was a fully rendered and animated QTE sequence with black suits, much in the style of the White Dynasty QTE sequence from Shenmue 2.

Considering the stuff you saw was from June 2016, barely half a year into prototype, it sounds par for the course that a gameplay sequence still needed work. It's pretty encouraging that even with relatively early footage YSnet were mostly hitting the right notes to amaze fans.

[Valascaziel]

Sorry for the late response, Spags but I personally feel at least one delay is coming, probably til late Spring or early Summer 2018. It's possible a full year, but it would be wiser if that's the case to announce one large delay, rather than a couple. Too frequent delays leads to much questioning.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the trial version make it by December, but they could utilize that for much needed feedback and improvements leading up to release.

[delvec19]

Only 68 days until E3!

[The_Fuzileiro]

I would say yes. You guys don't have to believe us, but what Spaghetti was saying about smoke and mirrors, and what they have revealed in Kickstarter updates compared to what we have seen, they are playing their cards very close to their chest. No bullshit or joking about here, and Adam, Matt, George, Jessica and Joe will back me up on this 100%.

Understand how much money i personally had to give, and the sacrifices i am still having to make to this day, to be sitting there on that bus. Do you really think Yu and the gang turned around and said, "peeps we are fucked here. We only have a shitty Ryo model and a fishing pond to show ya, but please, big it up to the hills when you get back and make it seem like we know what we are doing. Thanks buddy.". If i seen something i wasn't happy with, then trust me they would have heard about it. In fact, there was one thing that i was unhappy with, but i wasn't going to say anything. But after talking with Matt (sitting beside me) he brought up the same thing. Did we say something? Damn right we did. It was about the QTE sequence we seen and we were not happy with aspects of it. Yu himself humbly apologised..... Let that sink in. Yu Suzuki is fucking apologising to us?? That's how humble he is. He knows what he needs to do, and how demanding us hardcore Shenmue fans are. He knows what we want and expect. He assured that it was still early testing and that it was being worked on, like every aspect of the game. But this was a fully rendered and animated QTE sequence with black suits, much in the style of the White Dynasty QTE sequence from Shenmue 2.

Do i think the game is going to be delayed? Of course. What game isn't these days. But the reasons i have are the opposite, in that the game could probably be released in December on schedule, but i know Yu will agonise over EVERY detail and pixel in this game. Every line of dialogue and how it's spoken. How the animations look, how the cut scenes are directed. I think this game will be delayed because for the lack of resources he has now compared to what he had at Sega, he will still try and make sure this game goes out looking as ambitious and grandeur the originals were.

So what if it's delayed. Big deal. Are they liars and cheaters! No they are not, and if i see anyone brand the team with slurs like that, they will be warned. What difference does it really make, except for good things. We don't know what's happening, and if 2 fully HD remasters are due to be released over the coming year or so, then by all means take your time YSNET. We have 2 games to keep us preoccupied. We don't know that for sure, but have some faith. Everything will be fine. Before you know it's you will have completed this game over a matter of hours. See when you have completed it, that's when to worry about if there will be a Shenmue 4 or where the future lies. Right now, you know what's coming, so enjoy the ride and the excitement of Kickstarter updates and major gaming events because very soon, it will all come to an end. Stop thinking and worrying about the future and live for the now.

Thank you very much for this information Peter. I personally don't give a shit if the game will be delayed or not, but this news can calm down others. It's really amazing to know that Suzuki san apologized your complaint, this shows how much focused he is to deliver a great game and reach fans expectations.

The saddest thing for me is the fact of Sega being totally off from production, not giving a penny for Shenmue to live.

Ok, give the license for Yu Suzuki produce the game still is better than nothing, but... it could be at least it's publisher.

Maybe the confirmation of Shenmue HD release could give us some more "trust" in the promise sega made years ago of recover old hardcore fan's of the brand.

[Spaghetti]

Sorry for the late response, Spags but I personally feel at least one delay is coming, probably til late Spring or early Summer 2018. It's possible a full year, but it would be wiser if that's the case to announce one large delay, rather than a couple. Too frequent delays leads to much questioning.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the trial version make it by December, but they could utilize that for much needed feedback and improvements leading up to release.

Oh sure. Since day one most of us have predicted a delay, or in some cases even wished for one. Games get delayed all the time. Kickstarter games that massively exceed their initial goal especially.

But until YSnet says anything, then it's just a case of giving them the benefit of the doubt. If they believe it, we should believe it too.

Why? Because at some point we have to remember we're not the ones who know best. We all have our opinions on Shenmue III's development so far, but at the end of the day we're outsiders, and they're in the trenches. They know, we don't. Fact.

I think we'll have our answer about a delay by the end of Summer. Joel from Awesome Japan's comments about the Slacker Backer pledging lasting either until the middle of the year or the end of the year makes me think it relates to a decision about the release.

I could believe the end of the Slacker Backer funding period coincides with the game entering Beta, where the addition of new assets and code are frozen. If Shenmue III were to release in December this year, the game could enter Beta around August or September, which matches timing with one scenario for the suggested Slacker Backer end. If the Slacker Backer ends around New Year, then we could be looking at March-April 2018 for Shenmue III.

Either way, we're probably closer to the answers we want than we think.

[SMDzero]

Before you know it's you will have completed this game over a matter of hours. See when you have completed it, that's when to worry about if there will be a Shenmue 4 or where the future lies. Right now, you know what's coming, so enjoy the ride and the excitement of Kickstarter updates and major gaming events because very soon, it will all come to an end. Stop thinking and worrying about the future and live for the now.

Unless some fans here have super-willpower and won't play Shenmue 3 until Shenmue 4 is already released.

[Cyberman]

I hope they at least mention Shenmue 3 at E3.

[fittersau]

Lol so much heated discussion.. Really, it doesn't take much to see that they are waaaay off track to deliver for Dec 2017.

If Shenmue 3 is still announced for Dec 2017, I wouldn't even bother with the game. It would be so broken and unfinished it wouldn't be worth tarnishing the memories of Shenmue 1 & 2.

[Hyo Razuki]

We don't know what's going on behind the scenes, especially regarding Shenmue 1 & 2 HD. In my opinion, anything we say about the release date is just based on speculation. If S3 gets released in December, as announced, I'm very confident YS Net know what they're doing and will give us a finished, polished, great game. If it gets delayed, it gets delayed.

I don't see a very long delay happening, however. Time is money and YS Net sure don't have the money to stretch the development cycle for an extra year or whatever. They may be able to delay it for a few months but not for a year or more.

[Spaghetti]

Lol so much heated discussion.. Really, it doesn't take much to see that they are waaaay off track to deliver for Dec 2017.

If Shenmue 3 is still announced for Dec 2017, I wouldn't even bother with the game. It would be so broken and unfinished it wouldn't be worth tarnishing the memories of Shenmue 1 & 2.

[Valascaziel]

We don't know what's going on behind the scenes, especially regarding Shenmue 1 & 2 HD. In my opinion, anything we say about the release date is just based on speculation. If S3 gets released in December, as announced, I'm very confident YS Net know what they're doing and will give us a finished, polished, great game. If it gets delayed, it gets delayed.

I don't see a very long delay happening, however. Time is money and YS Net sure don't have the money to stretch the development cycle for an extra year or whatever. They may be able to delay it for a few months but not for a year or more.

Not necessarily. We don't know the pockets of the investors outside of backers or if someone else is waiting to cover the delay. Mighty No. 9 and Bloodstained had less crowd funding than Shenmue and Mighty was delayed 3(4?) times and Bloodstained got over a year delay not too long ago.

A strong trailer and an HD Collection announcement could bring serious interest and contributions to the Slacker Backer and if it pushes us to a fully realized combat system at least or expanded areas, I'm okay with a few months or longer to incorporate that.

[Spaghetti]

Not necessarily. We don't know the pockets of the investors outside of backers or if someone else is waiting to cover the delay. Mighty No. 9 and Bloodstained had less crowd funding than Shenmue and Mighty was delayed 3(4?) times and Bloodstained got over a year delay not too long ago.

Just so we remember that you can't really apply a blanket of logic on delays; Mighty No. 9 was delayed because of issues implementing their netcode for multiplayer functions, and Bloodstained was delayed because of their development partner dropping out. It's got nothing to do with how well the Kickstarters did.

Shenmue III won't have the same problems, but it may have its own completely different issues that may cause a delay.

[Hyo Razuki]

Bloodstained announced their delay after striking a deal with a publisher, if my memory is correct.

And they both suffered from the old Kickstarter problem, which is being announced for way too many platforms.

Why do those small studios never learn? Finish the game on one, two platforms max and get it out there. Ports can always be done later on.

[Spaghetti]

Bloodstained announced their delay after striking a deal with a publisher, if my memory is correct.

And they both suffered from the old Kickstarter problem, which is being announced for way too many platforms.

Why do those small studios never learn? Finish the game on one, two platforms max and get it out there. Ports can always be done later on.

I probably should have worded it better R.E Bloodstained.

Yes, you're right that they announced the delay after finding a replacement publisher for the one that dropped out. Bloodstained initial pitch mentioned a publisher was already waiting in the wings. Many believe it to have been Deep Silver, who published Mighty No. 9. Understandably they may have had cold feet about doing another deal with technically the same developer (Inti Creates)...

But yes, feature/platform bloat is a top problem with Kickstarters. Neither improve the core of the game, which is why something like MN9, which had a litany of them in its Kickstarter, came out inherently flawed IMO.

Stretch goals is the one area that the Shenmue III Kickstarter got totally right. It was focused.