On June 16th 2015, Sony's E3 conference was overwhelmed by the announcement of a colossal fan favorite.
A Kickstarter was launched on stage (by none other than ex-Sega developer Yu Suzuki) to determine just how far fan interest would stretch.
Shenmue 3 amassed it's entire funding goal of $2,000,000 in an incredible 9 hours, setting a new world record.Over the course of the following month, community events (such as #30onthe3rd, #TheFinalPush & QTE Event) saw the Kickstarter roar upwards of $4,000,000. In the final days, hours and minutes, fans pulled out all the stops and smashed through a further six stretch goals.
As a community, we went above and beyond to see a series we hold so dear become the Number One record holder for
most funded video game in Kickstarter history, gaining an astounding $6,333,295 in crowd funding and over 69,000 in backers.
Various journalists and gaming websites tried to have many believe that Shenmue was lost forever, a franchise the world was never going to see resurrected, something which was better left forgotten.
But we - the fans - the ones who truly mattered, never gave up hope.
Over the past month, culminating in the last 48 hours - with a combined passion for one dedicated goal - we have shown the world how much this series is valued. Despite how gloomy the future had looked many times over the past 14 years, hope was never lost and that is what ultimately counts today.
As Shenmue fans, we never backed down; our passion, persistence and commitment gave us the continuation we have being craving.
Today we saved our franchise.To everyone who pledged and made history - thank you.Links & Hashtags: #SaveShenmue #Shenmue3
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