With 6.3 in one month anything is possible within 2 years of on-going PayPal support, Shenmue fans always give it their all.

They won't leave Paypal open for 2 years. Usually games leave a late backer option open for a limited time. They need to know what amount of money they're working with. They can't suddenly start to decide expanding the game in two years time because a new stretch goal is met.

Bloodstained received 90% of its funds through private investment and openly admitted after the campaign ended that the Kickstarter was used to gauge interest, so I don't know why Shenmue 3 has gotten so much shit for it (especially as no one actually knows any of the facts and much of the speculation has been proven false).

But still, I would love if we got a lot of private investment. If this 20m is true, I will be happy. It would be awesome if it secured even more investment now that the KS was such a success and a record breaker.

Don't bother checking your banks. The payments don't show up instantly, nor will they show at the weekend. The money will leave the bank on Monday. Just check your emails to see if Kickstarter has processed your payment successfully.

Don't bother checking your banks. The payments don't show up instantly, nor will they show at the weekend. The money will leave the bank on Monday. Just check your emails to see if Kickstarter has processed your payment successfully.

Thank you for saving me the trouble of refreshing my online bank every 10 minutes.

You will be able to see if the bank has allocated the payment though. Just look to see if the "available balance" is lower than your "current balance".

If for example, your current balance says $3,200, you pledged $1,000 and your available balance show as $2,200, then you know your money is being processed.

This is what those people want to see:

I have shit loads of shirts, but they don't need washing after every wear. Not unless it's like at least 25 degrees out there.

I honestly don't know anyone who only wears clothes once. That's just weird.

I wouldn't worry about it. People are fucking morons.

To quote Peep Show; "people like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis. Don't trust people."

It's coming! Have some patience and decorum. No offence, but who the fuck cares? Some of you are going to miserable people to hang with over the next 2-3 years. Shenmue 3 is happening, after 14 years of waiting, we finally fucking did it! We're getting the game we thought we'd never ever see and here we are arguing over the most trivial of things.

Most games on Kickstarter don't have trailers. At best, they might have some concept art that, more often than not, doesn't show anything that will resemble actual gameplay.

It's to be expected when development hasn't even begun...

People are dumb though. They don't realise this or, more than likely, they do, but they just want to hate on something they don't get.

The amount of anger around this place will be hilarious when the reviews come in.

I think it will be fairly well received personally.

That's stretching things. Shenmue has always been divisive. If the game honors the series legacy, expect a lot of negative reviews.

Yup. Especially if it stays rigidly to its roots and fails to "modernise" enough.

It's fine. The physical PS4 version got announced later and, for legal reasons, they can't edit tiers once they have gone live and people have pledged. Every tier above 60 will allow you to choose a physical PS4 version if you wish.

We were aware of the situation in Greece a while before the campaign ended though. Greek fans shouldn't have even attempted to pledge (hopefully they didn't) or should have cancelled their pledges once it came out that money won't be leaving the country.

As for the taxes and foreign currency fees etc., everyone should have been aware of those expenses. It's standard practice.

Cool.

Am I the only one slightly annoyed by the lazy fucks who are like "Oh gee, my payment says it's declined, guess I'll just wait until Paypal is allowed"?

Yeah, or you could just get off your arse and phone your bank and sort it out! Or try another account.

Is Gamespot a good website for gaming? No. No, it isn't.

Sonic Boom: PC Edition incoming....

ConanTheKing wrote: I hope we get some Playstation capsule toys, but it might break immersion getting Sackboy and Nathan Drake in the 80s.

But getting Sonic, Amy Rose, Knuckles, NiGHTS, Virtual Fighters, Alex Kidd and Ryo owning a Sega Saturn didn't?

Joel Tess; what a freaking legend.

Haha the gaming media is actually laughable. Wow, a business offering to provide goods in exchange for consumer's cash? Those evil bastards! And sure, let's ignore the fact 'Slacker Backer' options are normal for nearly all Kickstarters... Idiots.

Just be prepared for the reviews guys.

IGN: "This is no COD" 5/10
Gamespot: "Not enough violence" 4/10

What if Shenmue 3 was exclusive to the Dreamcast instead?

How would you have felt if you went onto the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter page back in June and saw the below images?

In this hypothetical scenario, Shenmue 3 would have run on an improved version of the engine used in Shenmue 1 and 2. It would allow you to import your save files from Shenmue 1 and 2. It would be featured on 4 discs and be region free (although Kickstarter backers would have the choice of PAL, NTSC-U and NTSC-J designs in special "backer only" cases. It would contain a consistent 'feel' and translate all of the features Shenmue fans loved from the original two games.

To some of you who have moved on since the Dreamcast, this whole scenario would sound ridiculous. But to those of you who are still keen Dreamcast enthusiasts and retro gamers, you're probably aware that Indie developers are constantly still working on and releasing new Dreamcast games to this day, so you'll know it's not an entirely ridiculous proposal (apart from the fact, a couple of months ago, the idea of Shenmue 3 ever seeing the light of day seemed ridiculous).

So what do you think?

Edit: Please try and forget about financials and sales etc, and just discuss how you would have felt as a fan of the series.

Credit goes to who arranged the original artwork. It was not me, I saw it somewhere else and I just used it to make conceptual Dreamcast case artwork.

https://i.imgur.com/jnhnb3t.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/GNwkPhx.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/4bHxWGE.jpg

240p for that classic Youtube circa 2005 vibe

I'm sorry, but I see Yu not playing games and keeping up with trends as only a good thing.

I want Shenmue 3 to feel consistent with the style of the first 2 games. I agree with Yu that it's better to have your own vision and not let yourself become to heavily influenced by other games.

We should be positive and understand that every little helps.

I'm pretty sure they're busy working on the game and right now the Paypal campaign is not a huge concern. They have their funding to work with and they're treating anything extra now as icing on the cake.

There's really nothing inherently wrong with that... Reviving Shenmue is a big task and this is now an Indie project. Resources and time are limited and I'm sure Yu Suzuki and his team are working as hard as they can.

Thinking about new rewards and marketing ideas may seem like a good idea, but I'm sure Yu Suzuki wishes to put his time and energy into completing the best game he can, with the budget he has and not have to then worry about the manufacturing of other merchandise for backers.

It's best to accept the funding that has been raised and be happy that all our dreams of Shenmue 3 happening is now a reality. I don't think stewing and getting angry because you think raising more money would be a piece of cake (it wouldn't be) will help.

And for the record, I can't think of any Slacker Backer campaigns that had huge marketing campaigns, lots of new reward tiers and made loads of money. They're usually treated as an added extra there for people who missed out in the original campaign.

(This is not directed at you, Hyo. Just saying.)

The slacker backer campaign was never meant to bring in another $6.000.000, now was it? A few very loud people in the Kickstarter comments and on message boards/Youtube/Facebook were desperately screaming at the top of their lungs for the option to give money via Paypal, and they got that option. And that's all it was and is, another payment option for everyone being late to the party. The vast majority of people willing to give money to this did so during the 30 days of the Kickstarter campaign. It's really no big deal. Yu was willing to make the game with $2.000.000 from the crowd. Now he's doing it with almost $6.500.000. I don't get why people are shitting their pants over this.

Generally speaking I don't get why 90% of you guys are shitting their pants over pretty much everything that's happening or not happening. You keep worrying so much and asking for so much more than is reasonable to ask for, instead of simply being pleased for once. We have so much reason to be pleased, yet you somehow manage to see the worst in everything, again and again. Isn't that exhausting?

Well said. QFT. /thread

To be fair, who gives a fuck about the survey? I get why they feel the need to do it, but I couldn't give a shit whether Paypal backers get the same rewards or not.

The bastard in me would love it if those of us who weren't lazy bastards and actually backed the proper campaign get our 'Kickstarter exclusives', since, without us, there wouldn't even be a Shenmue 3 or a second campagin. But then the socialist hero in me says 'fuck it, let's give Shenmue awesomeness to all that pledge'.

But seriously, I don't care. Regardless, Shenmue 3 is fucking happening!

That's because, for most people, the campaign is over. It's time to for the game to enter development (which it has) and time for us to await the game. 99% of people who care enough about Shenmue 3, will have already pledged money and the massive amount of hyper created back in June cannot be maintained.

The Paypal slacker backer is good for those who are late to the party and it will allow some additional money to trickle in, but anyone who thought it would generate millions of dollars, even if there was a better marketing campaign behind it, is sadly mistaken.

Call me a heretic, but they definitely need to be changed if there's any hope for Shenmue IV. People aren't going to like a game with controls from 1999.

Using the trigger to sprint/run isn't exactly old-fashioned and archaic though, is it? They could use dual analogue stick control for movement and the left or right trigger for running. I can imagine it feeling fairly natural and modern. I seriously don't want Shenmue to implement an 'auto-run' system or anything.

The Kickstarter Exclusive Rewards only applies to rewards like the phone card, which were marketed as "Kickstarter Exclusive".

In their defence, do you know how much of a backlash some companies have faced when they've marketed something as "kickstarter exclusive" and then they turned around and offered it on Paypal or whatever? They want to avoid that...

Btw, why blame Awesome Japan? You really think they have that much power? This decision would have been made after a meeting/consultation between all the relevant parties involved in Shenmue 3. Don't be naive.

Oh boy.... when the media hears about this, they're gonna rip Shenmue 3 a new one.

''Shenmue III developers scam Paypal pledgers from giving them exclusive items''
Even if I have zero confidence in gaming press, that would stray into outright lying. Nobody got scammed, it's just Awesome Japan ignoring the democratic will of the backers in two polls because they are afraid of backlash from a higher than expected percentage of backers.

Exactly. All that has happened is... nothing has changed.

I agree, it's pretty shitty. They should have at least stated before the poll that if "yes" doesn't get at least 'x'% of the poll, that nothing would change. Announcing that 'yes' won, but because 'no' still got a lot of votes they're not going to add any of the Kickstarter exclusives, is pretty bad.

I'll admit, my excitement of Shenmue III has decreased by 30% after seeing this pool BS.
If they pull something like this again, i might just forget it honestly....

I didn't wait 14 years for this...

I wonder if these clowns passing feedback to Suzuki are the same ones who thought fans want the forklift back in Shenmue 3 or for (Shenmue 3 spoilers) Chai to return in Shenmue 3. This will completely ruined the sense of satisfaction many of us got from beating him in Shenmue 1.


I'd be pretty keen for Chai to return... It's not like we saw him die at the end of Shenmue 1. They left it open for his return. Plus, we know he was supposed to be in the start of Shenmue 2, but the chapter/scene was cut.

Just finished up my review on Shenmue 2, for anyone who is interested. Many thanks for any feedback or constructive comments.

Cheers, guys.

https://366gamestoplay.wordpress.com/20 ... shenmue-2/

Hey guys, I recently started a blog and with today being the 3rd, I've published a special feature on the first Shenmue game. I first played it back in December 2000. 16 years later, it's still a phenomenal game and one of my favourites of all time. Would love for fellow Shenmue fans to check out my blog (sorry if this is a little spammy - mods please advise if this breaks any rules. I couldn't find anything listed in the FAQ). Thanks.

https://366gamestoplay.wordpress.com/2016/01/03/4-shenmue/

It's unfortunate that some people are too stupid to understand what this decision means. Knee jerk, emotive outcry everywhere... smh.

I'm talking about the people thinking they're not getting their rewards or that they're taking all the rewards down. Ugh. Don't people have basic reading comprehension skills anymore?

Word, Peter. Word.

Excuse the lame metaphors, but we've climbed the mountain and we're over it now. The game has been funded, fact. The game is in development, fact. Shenmue 3 is coming out, fact. It's time to stop nitpicking and end the negativity, in my opinion. AJ's role is minimal and the 'slacker backer' campaign is a perfunctory late option for those who missed the real campaign and not worth obsessing over. in the slightest. Oh I'm sorry, there are people who genuinely believe that with better marketing and a few extra rewards, the game would have raised millions in addition to the KS. Sorry, but I find that hard to believe. The vast majority of people who wanted to back the game, would have done so in the real Kickstarter. The late backing option is there for those who missed it.

Haha don't worry, guys. 1) Everything will be produced professionally. Fanta Joel isn't about to whip out his crayons and hand draw everything himself. Awesome Japan are just responsible for the Kickstarter side of things. 2) You can also be rest assured that Fanta Joel won't be sitting in the middle of a warehouse flabbergasted and inundated by huge printouts of addresses scattered across the floor. They'll be outsourcing logistics and shipping externally. Although, you just need to worry about the fact Awesome Japan will be passing on the information to whichever company(ies) they use...

I completely, 100% agree with you Peter.

Honestly, the negativity really gets me down. I know it might sound ridiculous to some, but I've wanted this game so badly for 16 years. We've waited so long. I hate the negativity, because I can't help but be ecstatic, regardless of any "controversies", that Shenmue 3 is finally happening.

When I see stupid clickbait articles, when I see outrage everywhere and comments like "I hope everyone kicks up a fuss. complains and this game loses all its funding", it really does get me down.

What I'm saying is, this is kind of a sanctuary free from the bullshit, but it's still sad to see negativity, even though I understand fans are anxious.

Sigh. I just need to stay away from Shenmue related stuff on the internet and wait for Shenmue 3's release haha.

I found the following in the comments of the Kickstarter page:

Ghost of Tom 'Skairkroh' Bule about 10 hours ago

Response from YsNet/Awesome Japan regarding the poll:
Hello Tom,
Thank you very much for your message. We understand that there is a lot of disappointment among fans who wanted the Kickstarter exclusives to be made available.
Since the launch of the Paypal campaign we have received numerous requests to remove exclusivity from certain Kickstarter rewards and make them available for the Slacker Backer campaign as well.
We held the poll as a method to gain more accurate insight on backer opinions concerning this matter since we could not be sure that the requests we received represented the opinion of the vast majority of the backers.
The poll was intended to gauge whether the backers felt that an exception could be made considering that the promise of exclusivity was already established. We felt that upholding this promise should be our foremost consideration.
The majority of respondents did not feel strongly enough about exclusivity to vote either yes or no. While the votes in favor of removing exclusivity marginally outnumbered those against, they did not represent a majority opinion in the poll.
The poll numbers do show that there are also many backers who do not wish to give up their exclusive rewards.
We feel that the logical conclusion to these results is to leave exclusivity as it is because there was not enough support to justify making an exception to go back on our original promise.
We are very happy that so many people responded and we hope we can continue to count on the support of the community.
Sincerely,
Oscar & the Shenmue 3 Team

It seems AJ is capable to reply one-on-one but inept of publicly explain their reasonings?

There response is quite honestly fair enough... The "outcry" and "controversy" is pretty shameful.

You just know that if YsNet had chosen to give the KS exclusive rewards to Slacker Backers that the gaming media would be running headlines like:

"Shenmue 3 Developers Breach Contract and Break Promise to Kickstarter Backers"
"Despite Being Promised EXCLUSIVE Rewards, Shenmue 3 Developers will screw KS Backers For More Money"

It's not just an AJ problem, it's a problem with all Kickstarters....

I'll have pre-ordered a physical retail release (I'm assuming the KS version will not have arrived), have the day booked off work and just sit down and play. It's going to be a bizarre experience, as I had truly given up hope of there ever being a Shenmue 3.

No.

on the other hand if you actually own a Square Tv I feel sorry for you, but thanks for your pointless input

Don't take this the wrong way, but are you quite... well, young?

A "square TV", or CRT, is the prefered option for most people who want to play old consoles that were created with Standard Definition in mind, for a 4:3 output.

Stretching a game made for 4:3 into 16:9 is pointless. It looks stupid and is not how it was intended to be viewed. Just look how shitty it looks:

http://clutchround.com/comparisons/images/resolution/csgo_4_3_stretched_3.png
http://clutchround.com/comparisons/images/resolution/csgo_4_3_stretched_4.png

It's not the look or budget of the game that neccessarily worries me, it's the fact that it's been nearly 3 years since the Kickstarter and all we have to show for it - besides the 'teaser' and a couple of goofy videos ("oh look, here's Ryo opening a cupboard and here's a fairly bad model of an old lady and we're changing her facial expressions. Big whoop") - is a few 'art' shots (because they aren't real screenshots from gameplay). It's getting old now.

The game is supposed to come out this year. Either come clean and admit the game is way off from being ready to be released or show off some actual gameplay in motion.

I'd even settle for some screenshots if they were actually showing off actual gameplay instead of just glorified game art, e.g...

http://lightningamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Shenmue-combat.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/KsXTA.jpg

I like the new NPCs, and Ryo's face is slightly improved.

But the screenshots themselves are weird. I don't know who takes them, but they feel so random and amateurish. They need better PR.

Could be worse... :lol:

https://images.eurogamer.net/2013/articles/1/7/6/8/1/6/9/143695265716.gif

Whilst I feel for Yu worrying that fans are getting impatient and I wouldn't want a fan backlash or for people to whip out the pitchforks, I don't think the problem is we can't wait. I would be fine if the game needed further delays. I'd be fine if it didn't come out until the end of 2019 if that's what the game needed.

It just feels like progress is slow and that there has been a slight lack of transparency. I mean, really, it's been nearly 3 years and we just have arty screenshots. Not gameplay screenshots, but 'photoshopped' art shots. I just feel, as it's a Kickstarter, it would be better if they showed off more. It kinda added insult to injury when there wasn't an update in months at the end of the last year and then they finally provided an update to say there won't be many updates from now on. I mean, really ?

How hard is it to just do a quick video of Ryo walking around a village, talking to people and showing off the menu interface (if there is one yet?). All they have to do is make it clear it's all a work in progress and subject to change, yada yada.

They really need to announce a delay sooner than later. It’s dishonest not to. They’ve shown zero gameplay, are reusing an old trailer and I doubt they’ve even cast voices yet. There’s no chance this is anywhere near release.

And that's all I ask for; bloody transparency. Another delay is fine as long as we see progress. The problem is we haven't really been seeing progress and updates are infrequent now. Be open and frank with the release schedule and show off the gameplay you've been working on.It's not exactly hard, unless... unless there's nothing to show, because the game is in development hell and the team aren't up to the task... :???:

We've seen more of bloody Elysian Shadows. And at least the guy being the System Shock reboot had the balls to say they've had to go on hiatus, as crappy as that is.

I’m not going to panic and make assumptions about the quality of the final product like some of you clowns are, but to only show 4 screenshots after the hype leading up to this event is PR malpractice at best.

That's exactly everyone's point...