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The resurrection of the cult video game "Shenmue" controlled from Monaco
By Jimmy BOURSICOT
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Hardcore fans of Shenmue (video below) that were waiting for almost 15 years. They can be relieved: the third part of the cult video game adventure, which was then released on Dreamcast, will indeed emerge. Crowdfunding campaign, launched on Kickstarter mid-June , was a great success.
1 hour and 42 minutes after launch, Shenmue 3 had reached the million dollars. A record for a game and only the second time this happened on the crowdfunding platform.
32 days later, the counter had increased to 6,333,295 million, donated by 69,320 contributors. More than three times the amount originally requested. And especially the largest amount ever raised for a video game that way.
By the end of 2017, gamers should test this new opus, on PS4 and PC. At the root of this success include Shibuya Productions , a company based in Monaco. It is this, together with Yu Suzuki, the creator of Shenmue world, that made this possible, rebirth.
Since his office unadorned and without aircon (but with Ikki figurine, a character of the Knights of the Zodiac) of Bellevue Street, Cedric Biscay, head of Shibuya Productions, shows mine welcomed one who has just passed a nice kick.
"As co-producer (with YS Net, the Suzuki studio) we had a mission to find private investors. But without the Kickstarter campaign, the project would not have been possible. Honestly, that we knew we would arrive without problems to 2 million. But we did not think climb as high. It's a very nice surprise. "
A small box in the big leagues
Nevertheless, the native of Nice knows that the road is still long. And that waiting around that output is important:
"We realized that there was not that hardcore fans who had given money. On As a big buzz was organized, numerous articles have been published in the press International. And people who were too young to have played the first two episodes became interested. "
Cédric Biscay has strong links with Japan since 2002, when it launched Shibuya International , the consulting company connecting the Hexagon companies and those of the rising sun.
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If he has worked with major multinationals such as BNP Paribas, Deutsche Telekom or Namco Bandai, man 35 years old admits he is himself surprised to be in control of a project of this scale.
"It's a real challenge for us. The term 'gamble' would be a little strong, because the risks are measured. But normally, a company of five people like ours is not found in an adventure like this. For now, we advance error without, it has gained credibility in Japan and it opens doors. "
A cult hit, not a commercial success
At E3, the great global rout video game in which the operation "resurrection" Shenmue was formalized, Cedric Biscay was surprised to see the reaction of those present. "There were fans and journalists. When they learned that the third part was leaving, some began to cry, it was huge."
The sign that the first two episodes, which had nevertheless been considered commercial failures, given the huge investment they need ($ 70 million for the first, making it the eighth most expensive game History), have a true federated community of players. Necessarily very demanding.
"At the Sega Dreamcast with his image, Yu Suzuki and his team were not rewarded. At the time, Shenmue was a revolution with the emergence of the concept of open world, a combat system in 3D especially a deep history of great sensitivity. Since this time, Suzuki was waiting to make a sequel. He really wants to succeed his return and propose new mechanical game. He is a visionary. "
And now a PayPal campaign to inflate the budget
If he happens to share his opinions with Suzuki concerning elements to incorporate into Shenmue 3, Cedric Biscay is primarily responsible for the financial side of the project. And to put the "maestro" Suzuki and his studio in the best conditions, it has yet to swell the pot.
In late June, the Japanese director had stated this during a chat session on Reddit: "If we reach the $ 5 million, one of the things I really want to do with Shenmue III will become reality 10 million. The game really has the functionality of an open world. "
In order to approach this amount, a fundraising campaign via the online payment system PayPal will start soon. Through this, some titles like Bloodstained, Torment Star Citizen or have already managed to gather're beautiful. The last named is now in ... $ 85.2 million.
In a future article, we'll go into more detail on Cedric Biscay activities. Founder of the MAGIC show in Monaco, it is also invested in the field of animation (prepares the reboot of Astroboy).
