Can I just politely remind people that taking their frustrations out on each other [like at the top of this page] will not be tolerated.

Some of you really need to calm yourselves down. Sleep on it. Leave the internet for a bit.

So, two things for the Dojoers that are not on the Facebook Shenmue 500k site:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t31.0-8/1622361_686424384750502_831191362_o.jpg

Alimn was able to chat up Mark Cerny for a bit as well:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/t1.0-9/p320x320/1947510_10152705289674062_665043891_n.jpg

I talked to Mark about Shenmue....(He's such an awesome person)

"It's not easy these days to find publishers who want to afford those much...", That's what Mark told me.

He said Yu is trying hard to find publishers these days (that's why he's here...)

I personally catched the fact that remaining chapters of Shenmue is much bigger than Shenmue 1 & 2 so for that Suzuki needs lots of money & a strong publisher.

Something that grantees that saga comes to a conclusion not that we end up waitting 15 more years for Shenmue 4.

PS note: GDC isn't over yet & we have E3 ahead...GDC is usually where devs gather to prepare while E3s, TGSs & ... are the real show downs.

I may edit this & add more of what Mark & others told me, but basically that's all we must know as of now. ‪#‎SaveShenmue‬ ‪#‎GDC2014‬

Just keepin' the spirit alive :)

One of the proudest things i have ever seen. Thank you Yu for acknowledging the community!

http://shenmue.link/us-en/

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtf1/v/t1.0-9/11257739_10153420809657269_2528854018526807156_n.jpg?oh=351e42785ac7ecc01a2f6154d23a4a3a&oe=55EF7B4D

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/11427699_10153420809742269_1983519829995904545_n.jpg?oh=154735bd0cc38a9ee7f034253475872c&oe=562931AD

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/11407240_10153420809772269_8740303766061667830_n.jpg?oh=d55e840d450ec04ee88159c2d6d86db5&oe=5630EE1F

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/11391322_10153420809812269_6660361130253710408_n.jpg?oh=c9726a1c2ad98f59c44362d88f4edb36&oe=5632ED2D

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/11391571_10153420809862269_5843973390018055457_n.jpg?oh=0ac732c7c832b1b8ccbc1c549cf09a66&oe=55FC6091

http://i.imgur.com/BJRCaRH.jpg

A Shenmue 3 Kickstarter has just been announced at Sony's E3 press conference! Let's make Yu Suzuki's dream a reality! Shenmue 3 Kickstarter Info site: http://shenmue.link/

Kickstarter Links: Shenmue 3 Kickstarter | E3 Kickstarter Reveal | Kickstarter Promo
Shenmue Fan Communities: Shenmue 500k | NeoGAF | Yu Suzuki's Twitter

Yu Suzuki could shit in a game case and snap it closed and write the number 3 on it and I would probably still buy it.

Copy/Paste job, but the old post is buried under a pile of other posts...



nullDC 1.0.0 (Beta 6)
https://mega.nz/#!UQVVFbwb!TioRcQXrQ3rmnMOquHkTy15CJWk3ghQ38ZnxNPjVQn4

nullDC 1.0.3
https://mega.nz/#!BcVglTSQ!EMFNr3vIFz3Zqyfwv65NVh0Hs-svxHehwzRWPcQoAsY

nullDC 1.0.4
https://mega.nz/#!Zc9nRT5Y!bJxFdWs_iJDilosVfc1duCvht7ZUctlGz2W5TE4Kog4

Xpadder (allows any controller with USB input to be used for and PC game)
https://mega.nz/#!ZBEk3aZI!X4BCIw4Ye-b_wGts73XdXF66_VoPDAxa8eDuKaMtxQg

Shenmue - Disc 1
https://mega.nz/#!BFU23TCJ!BWPsXngr9FA1q4Gq__w63m6TFJJ6VaQMdoVULerkpYw

Shenmue - Disc 2
https://mega.nz/#!5IUknDbQ!cGx-_ysYW1To1oayPIMxwhVMN5U1Bc5P7m-QRFD6JLo

Shenmue - Disc 3
https://mega.nz/#!hQdFSABT!Z_LmgyKUBDuCvDqSy5Yupi07I2Q4jXcTyv6YFM6swo4

Shenmue - Disc 4
https://mega.nz/#!hQMVCaIK!AZcf73FpJ8psTLmkLc1CHxOxX6RzeQjHTFgo_DpirIg

Shenmue II - Disc 1
https://mega.nz/#!dU0FGTIB!ePrWsiYJp6lfFFMQnpbAkxWslz1-UIbiO4yFh4RZ4lw

Shenmue II - Disc 2
https://mega.nz/#!tZ1j0CZQ!FgmEWWGluXcVki8rz7g7mTIpDu9CV-mYAwY6xrzDYnM

Shenmue II - Disc 3
https://mega.nz/#!tN0BgRRC!Tgn2NDkTeKhfQ20dsVj3nGyzJOBUru3OTqiYvoZQkj4

Shenmue II - Disc 4
https://mega.nz/#!5JkWDaJa!bhQ1Y1WUSAAP_TDYqR9WrSfvpGp0UgJzbDvvadtUGHA

Shenmue II - Alternative Link
http://www.mediafire.com/?2k0b446zdqe4n

Shenmue 2X
https://mega.nz/#!0Z0XWQpS!VlNDfbAih50IpRm8dacO2xL8mRErj4WRGpW_HN1VhKk

Shenmue Fan Games (Shenmue Zero, Shenmue: The Boat, Ryo's Room)
https://mega.nz/#!hAdR0JwQ!RN0vCl3abO3qtMtucgriljYBADxW7W0drxQBZW2GgI8

Please note that Shenmue II is Japanese voices w/English dub. And if any links are wrong or broken, just let me know and I'll fix them.

OH SHIT, SON!

Martin wrote: I'd give my left nut to see Shenmue finished properly. How's that for an investment?

Well?

From what I've heard, shorter kickstarters create a sense of pressure on the buyers because it gives them a sense of urgency, making them feel like they have to donate asap.
That said, they certainly should have made an announcement that the kickstarter was coming, before they actually started it. Something like "we're gonna have a kickstarter for Shenmue 3 next month" would have given people more time to prepare, maybe put some money aside to make bigger donations... I still haven't donated yet, but I doubt I'll be able to afford more than the 175$ reward. But if I had known in advance, I would certainly have saved up 500$ or more for it.
I suspect people here set aside money for shenmue like most parents set aside money for their childrens college

I hate DLC.

But I would buy every piece of DLC for Shenmue III I hope if the stretch goals aren't realised that they propose them at a later date as DLC.

One thing they should do is look at the bloodstained kickstarter. A lot of the tiers involved backers collaboration to create things like in game weapons and turning their pets into enemy monsters.

If there were tiers for something like having your face scanned for an NPC character, create a technique scroll, design a capsule toy, something like that would get backers excited to be able to contribute to the actual game itself.

That hurt

from 700 to 3000 I can't give anymore, this is already a big stretch for me.

This is not Ryo's movement, this is the stock example character in UE4. If you download UE4, you can play around with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFFgV6C3v-0

Great interview, I wonder what will they do with the battle system. I'm hoping something similar to the original VF-esque combat.

I have no idea if this has been asked, but could there be stretch goals to release the Saturn beta of Shenmue? Like actual ISO's so we could play it on our consoles?

My Saturn is dying to play it.

Hi, I’ve made a simple lucky hit browser game. That is my project, I’ve been making it for the last three months with the help of several people. The name is « Lucky Hit Challenge » and your goal is to play lucky hit all the day long to earn money and spend them on Shenmue III Kickstarter, competing with each other who will donate more. You can play it here http://goo.gl/eG2aoj

Our goal is to earn $25,000,000 for Shenmue III development with the power of shenmue community. I’ve included some viral instruments for you, so you can share your donation amount on twitter and spam «Do you want to play a game of Lucky Hit?» to all of your friends everyday. I hope you'll like it.

I think we can do it before the new year… or not. It depends on you!

Concerning the future of the project: for now we have only one board and I need your feedback to improve ball physics and to know how to proceed after. Maybe we could make lucky hit game of our dreams for steam? Or we can go mobile…I don’t know yet. But it would be kinda cool to have a really good lucky hit game, not that crap on the market now.

Follow Nagai Industries on twitter for updates and feel free to write me about any bugs you will find.

Link http://nagaiindustries.itch.io/lucky-hit-challenge

UPDATE 1.1
Stand-alone version for PC
Download it here https://goo.gl/LfzZDm

https://twitter.com/NagaiIndustries/status/623712696345718784

will appreciate any feedback

Nah fuck that, mandatory tank controls for everyone. Casuals can fuck off.

It's on!

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3 ... uzuki_ama/

Thought I'd compile all the reddit Q&A in an initial post so it's easy to read for those who don't want to go through 10 pages. I'll edit my initial post as it goes on.

How accurately will Shenmue III be compared to your original vision of the game or will there be major compromises?

YS: There are a total of 11 chapters that make up the whole story. Over the past 14 years I originally planned for there to 4 or five games to the series. If at all possible, I would still like to realize the full story of 11 chapters.

Will Shenmue III enable PayPal or a means to donate to the project when the Kickstarter ends? Projects like Star Citizen gained tens of millions in donations by allowing this.

YS: I am still thinking about it, but have not decided yet.

Shenmue is a Peach Blossom tree correct? Could you tell us what type of tree exactly?
I would like to plant one.

YS: It is more like a cherry blossom tree, that blooms its flowers in the springtime. It is actually a tree I made up for the story.

Hello Suzuku-san! Will a day-to-night cycle and weather system return to Shenmue 3? They added so much to the atmosphere of previous games. Thank you Suzuki-san!

YS: Of course!

Will you reassure us that Ryo's face will be changed back to the Ryo we all know and love when Shenmue 3 releases, and not this impostor wearing Ryo's jacket that you have on Kickstarter? That is NOT our Ryo!

YS: I am not happy with Ryo's face. It will be the face I have in my mind in the end.

Will the gameplay in Shenmue III be more contemporary or will it be more in line with past Shenmue iterations?

YS: As for III, I would like to make a less stressful user interface, that will feature more usability. From now on, I will make that a focus.

Yu are my hero!
Shenmue is credited with introducing the QTE. Given the significant advances in gaming systems and technology over the last decade, are you confident that you can show the gaming world something we have not seen before?

YS: Thank you very much.

Will we see any capsule toys based on Ape Escape or any of the Sony franchise in Shenmue 3?

YS: I have not decided the capsule toys, so please keep your ideas coming.

Have you ever consider telling the rest of the tale for Shenmue in a book if the opportunity to make Shenmue III never came up?

YS: Yes, I have but if I did do that, it would give away the end of the story, and I thought that would be a big minus.

What was your inspiration for the story behind the first two Shenmue games?

YS: When I was making Virtua Fighter, I went location hunting in China. I was very inspired by Chinese martial arts. That very well may have been the beginning.

Will practicing moves make a return in Shenmue 3 along with the FREE battle system? A lot of fans feel not being able to practice moves was big piece missing in Shenmue 2, and I also personally loved being able to practice and make the moves stronger. It really makes you feel as if you are learning marital arts and then performing them in a skill-based actual battle feels very satisfying.

YS: I want to do it yes!

Will players have access to both the Japanese and English voice overs for the game?
And I wanted to say thank you so much for Shenmue and Shenmue II, it brought a tear to my eye seeing those games at E3 during the Shenmue III announcement, I cannot wait. Those two games are what made me curious about Japan as a child, and I am now trying to work as a Japanese translator!

YS: I am thinking about that, yes. However it is not for sure.
It is because of fans like you, I wanted to make a sequel. Thank you very much.

Will the band-aid ever come off?

YS: I am considering a special option where it could be removed.

Will we see Ryo's Journal return? Would be cool to be able to flip the pages using the PS4's touchpad.

YS: I would like to bring back the Journal. That is an interesting idea, I will look into it. Thank you.

What do you think of the current state of Japanese game development?

YS: I see the share of mobile games increasing, the budgets of games decreasing. It will be harder to express a game's vision.
I would hope the console and PC markets gain more popularity.

Any possibility of a bicycle finally being added to Shenmue 3? Thank you so much again, Yu!

YS: There is a 60 horsepower bike in Shenmue 1. For Shenmue, 3 I was thinking about something with 1 horsepower.

Will character polls compromise your artistic vision?

YS: I really want to get everyone's opinion on the characters. I have something in mind that won't break the world immersion.

In Suzuki-san’s opinion, what is the essence of arcade games? Are those influences in Shenmue?

YS: With an arcade game, you are restricted to a 3 minute window to express what the game is. That is how I made games for the longest time. I wanted to create a game that could be played at a more leisurely pace, so I created what ended up being Shenmue.

Yu, are you really going to be signing your autograph on the illustration for the $300 kickstarter signed collectors edition? So far there is almost 2000 backers, that is a lot of illustrations to sign!

YS: Of course I will write them all myself!

Will Shenmue 3 have any sort of multiplayer component? Perhaps Co-op or a versus mode?

YS: I am thinking about something that would resemble that.

Do you have any more details to share about the stretch goals? It's not clear to me what a "Rapport System" or "Character Perspective System" entails.

YS: They are new systems, so naturally they need new names. The Rapport System will govern changes in Shenhua's actions depending on your conversations with or actions towards her. The "Character Perspective System" will highlight different characters personalities as they go through the story.

What will Ryo do to earn money in Shenmue 3?
As great and engrossing as the story and gameplay were in Shenmue 1 and 2, I (and many others) really really liked the forklift driving. It was like I could learn a new (video game) skill, get good at it, and putter around the docks like a badass.

YS: There will be part time jobs that will be indicative of those you would find in China. In the Stretch goals there will also be the old favorites.

Do you have any dogs or cats?

YS: 3 yorkshire terriers and a turtle.

Love your work! You are a pioneer in this industry! As for my question:
How much game elements/features will we be missing in the game if the campaign doesn't reach the $5 million mark?

YS: I will say this: if we reach the $5 mil mark, one of the things I really want to do with Shenmue 3 will become a reality.
At $10 million, it will truly have the features of an open world.

Who would win a fight between Ryo and Akira?

YS: Akira! Akira is up to 5 now, and Ryo is still on 3.

Can we expect more duck racing in Shenmue III? That was the best easter egg I've ever seen in a video game.

YS: I would love it.

How was it working with mega64?

YS: It was really fun. I would love to do it again.
I hope they pitch in for the replica Ryo jacktet!

Will there be forklift gameplay in Shenmue III?

YS: Look for it in the Stretch Goals!

Given Shenmue 2's ending and previous items found within the series; will swordplay enter gameplay at all? What about the story, can we expect Ryo to use a sword at some point?

YS: I can't answer that.

Do you have a favorite game that you've developed other than Shenmue?

YS: I had fun making all the games I worked on, and can't say one was better than another. Boring answer I know, but it really is true.

I only have one statement. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that Shenmue is one of the greatest game series of all time. And one quick question, what can we expect for surprises in the 3rd installment without spoiling the storyline at all?

YS: How could I do that? Sorry, gotta pass. Thank you very much though!

I've always wondered, why did you set the game in the 1980s rather than present day?

YS: I wanted put forward the differences in culture and values between the two periods.

(Suzuki-san, thank you for coming today! Shenmue is the reason I came to Japan. Those living towns and people you showed in your games were so natural and real, that I wanted to see it for myself. So, now I am in my fourth year of living in Japan.
What I'd like to ask is, if you had billions of yen, what would your dream Shenmue be?
Also, were there any features or gameplay you liked that didn't make it into Shenmue 1 or 2?)

YS: One where the player could live in that world. A second life.

I have two important questions for you:
Do you know where I can find some sailors?
Would you like to try a game of Lucky Hit?

YS: Yes, but not right now.
Uh, ok.

I love the music from Shenmue, if anything kept me thinking about Shenmue from time to time during these 10+ years it was the music. Was is your favorite piece from the soundtrack? Thank you for bringing Shenmue to our lives, I can't thank you enough.

YS: Of course I love both the Shenmue and Shenhua themes, and all of them really, but the one that really sticks with me is the Tomato Mart.

Will there be more funding tiers added to the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter, specifically between the $500 and $3000 tier?

YS: Yes.

Shenmue 3 is just the start. How successful does the game need to be for us to get Shenmue 4 and so on until the saga is complete?

YS: If the fans are not happy with 3 there will not be a 4. So I please hope we can together make this game the best it can be.

What Sega console is your favourite and why?

YS: The Dreamcast. It has really good balance. I was involved with the hardware as well, so it had a lot of meaning for me.

Suzuki-San...welcome to the fantasy zone! It's finally happening. Any plans on more arcade games within Shenmue III?

YS: I plan on making plans.

Why do you create?

YS: Why does one climb the mountain?
The shark cannot breath when it does not swim.

Any info on the stretch goals for Choubu and Bailu village?

YS: Choubu is a riverside village with lots of shops, souvenir stores, hotels and temples. The quests in this village should be very enjoyable, I think.
Bailu is the village where Shenhua was raised and also a place that Ryo's father, Iwao, had visited when he was younger. Here as well the quests will play an important role as Ryo and Shenhua start their journey.

Are all the towns listed in the Kickstarter stretch goals in the game already, or are the stretch goals only there as a means to help give them more features and spice?

YS: They are there, but with more powered up through the stretch goals.

Will Ryo ever go back to Japan?

YS: Not in 3.

Who is your favorite Shenmue character?

YS: It has always been Shenhua.

Are you still involved in any programming activities?

YS: I still write algorithms, logic verification, and make simple prototypes.

Do you play airsoft, paintball, or anything similar?

YS: I think it was Afterburner that I really got into airsoft. The office floor was covered with plastic BBs. Yeah, the Berretta 93R rocks. I put a real hunting scope on that one.

Are you at all a fan of Anime? If so, what are your favourites?

YS: Sure, but its all pretty old stuff.

Will the game take advantage of the virtual reality goggles on PS4 and PC?

YS: Right now, there are no plans for a vr system compatibility, but I love the idea of using it to peer into the world of Shenmue.

When creating Shenmue 3, will you use any assets at all from 1 & 2? Or do you have to start all over from scratch because SEGA still owns the first two games?

YS: The assets from 1 & 2 will get a lot of use.

Anyway, a horse?? That alone has me stoked if true.

Oh, and like I posted earlier, can I suggest someone GIld one of Yu's posts? It's a reddit thing, to show appreciation. I would if I could right now.

That seems the plan :D

Don't we have pay for the Glld? I think I rather invest the money back to campaign :lol:

I gilded the main post. Now he has a gold star. At the very least it draws more attention to the AMA. I haven't even pledged to the campaign yet. I plan at least 300 but am waiting to see what other tiers look like.

I don't have any objections whatsoever about Shenmue not taking place in Japan. In fact the prologue to Shenmue hints at that: "He shall appear from a eastern land across the sea." Meaning the hero of the saga will come from abroad and cross the sea westward into China. Shenmue 1 was only the introduction and is meant to give the audience an explanation why a Japanese small town boy embarks on this journey to China.

Remember that Shenmue 1 closes with the words "And thus the saga begins." I think Yu never meant Shenmue to have that much to do with Japan.

I've been to small villages near the city of Guilin in Guangxi Province, China like those Shenmue 3 will probably take place in and I absolutely love those places and the people there. It was one of the best holidays I've ever had and I'm happy to be able to "go back there", this time not as myself but as Ryo Hazuki. :D
You deserve a ban just for using that horrible text colour.

Hi

i made a poll so people can give their opinion, but well just open the link and you will understand i think
(please share the link on whatever Shenmue or video games related site/forum you go, i cant subscribe to all of them)

http://strawpoll.me/4684057
(the main idea being raising more funds)

http://poucopixel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/RyoCoke.jpg

i was just thinking about a few sponsor (with high level selection)
so we could see Hyundai, Pepsi, Nutella, etc...

if i get enough vote i will transmit them to Shibuya Productions (company supporting Yu Suzuki and in direct contact with him)

i just want to get the 10 millions $ so dont hate me for that...

It's hit the front page of reddit, great job guys!

This is not necessarily related to Shenmue 3 itself, but more the campaign and everything surrounding it.

Understandably, many people are excited and passionate for the game, and of course, many people have their worries or their criticisms about the marketing in regards to the Kickstarter campaign, and Sony's involvement, among other things. I just want to remind everyone to keep a clear, rational head about all of this. Remember that we all want the same thing; for Shenmue 3 to be good as it possibly can be given the odds. Bickering over trivialities and trying to be the right one in an argument can be counterproductive to the campaign itself if we're not concentrated on pushing this current Kickstarter campaign as strongly as we can. I am not saying we are not allowed to have disagreements, but don't let them get to the extent of becoming distractions from the goal. We have plenty of time to get this ball rolling, so lets not panic; keep it cool.

In the end, we're all on the same side. This goes for the forum, Twitter, Youtube, Kickstarter comments, and any other context in which we have to interact with one another. Let's try to make some history here.

Bumped my pledge from $310 to $510. (don't tell my wife)

Here you go, hopefully a bit more readable than Google's effort (just translating the part relating to Shenmue).


Interview with Andrew House (CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment)

AV Watch:

Three huge titles were announced today, with each receiving standing ovations at the press conference. Being there in the room myself, it was such a moving and joyful event.

Of the three, regarding Shenmue III in particular: will SCE be providing development support from a funding point of view? To a certain extent, has a limited contract been formed between Yu Suzuki and the studio for the raising of funds?

Andrew House:

Yes, that’s correct.

To add a bit more to that, originally Yu Suzuki formed the intention to carry out the development by raising funds through Kickstarter. That was the start of it all. The moment I and our team heard that, we thought “This is interesting” and we decided we wanted to support it, one way or another.

However before that, we wanted to confirm if there was really the fan base. Sony would then provide backing upon the crowd funding reaching its goal. Consequently, for the consoles the title will be exclusive to the PS4.

But either way Suzuki wanted to do this through Kickstarter. That being the case, we also want to give our support. And I believe our holding the announcement at the recent press conference is a large expression of that support, because from the stage we can let everyone know about its existence.

We’re not talking about our power, though! The success is due to the power and popularity that Shenmue already holds. Even Kickstarter apparently became temporarily unavailable due to the concentrated accesses -- amazing.

I made a comparison video with the Shenmue III Kickstarter trailer and the original river crossing scene from Shenmue II side by side. The idea to this sprung up as soon as I saw the trailer the first time. Thought it would be interesting to look at the differences. They are of course pretty dramatic.

I had to adjust the scene from Shenmue II quite a bit to get the two to run together as well as possible. Two short scenes had to be slowed down to a crawl, please excuse the framerate there.

https://youtu.be/tAfBH-F1oxs

Wohoo, 1000 posts!

Hi everyone, with Corey's permission, I dubbed the kickstarter video with his voice.

Enjoy!

http://www.inside-games.jp/article/2015/06/20/88702.html

I'll try to translate it, but it might take a while...

Edit: Found another one on the same site from the 17th: http://www.inside-games.jp/article/2015/06/17/88607.html

Edit 2: Translation is complete. I'm neither native in english nor japanese, so it might sound strange in some places.

Again, this is the inside-games.jp article from 2015-06-20
- a follow up on the interview Switch translated.

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

Yu Suzuki, the man who started the Shenmue III Kickstarter that set a new Guinness record for the fastest game reaching 1 million dollars. One night after the last time we spoke we ask again about the state of the project and about game creating.

-- Thanks for the other day. This time I would like to dig deeper.
YS: Please go ahead.

-- Can you tell us more about this "nostalgia" that you mentioned was like a theme or keyword for Shenmue 3.
YS: Wherever I go in the world I'm always asked "Where is Shenmue 3?" By mail or through other persons. That's when I felt it, that Shenmue has a lot of parts in it, the things that you feel about the game can differ very much from person to person. Like, one fan said he met a person called Nozomi in real life, you know, like the heroine of Shenmue I. He felt that it was some kind of fate and married her.

-- Wow. Really?
YS: Yeah. it's true. Other than that there were things that seemed obvious for japanese people, but were new for foreigners. For example in the first game Ryo walks around and asks for help from many different people, right? As he leaves he always says "Thank you". There are foreigners that were moved by that. When I heard that I thought "Well, don't you say thank you in your country?".

-- Maybe they don't say things that explicit in that culture?
YS: And in the game these "excuse me" and "thank you"s are repeated many many times. For people not experiencing that in their daily lives it might have been a bit of a shock for them. I took that to my heart.

-- I guess there aren't that many RPGs that end their conversations with "thank you".
YS: And in this society we live in now information is shared over the internet, but as you go further back through the years, and go further into the countryside, information exchange is slow and the culture and customs are more specific to that area. The beliefs and values of the people living there are [less complicated and] easier to understand. That is very interesting.

-- I see.
YS: So maybe the people anticipating part 3 are having fond memories and feel a bit nostalgic. I think people are probably feeling nostalgic about the Shenhua, Ryo and Shenmue from fifteen years ago. And I think that I shouldn't destroy that nostalgia with part 3. If I don't make that work with part 3 I don't think the game will live up to the expectations. That's why the keyword for part 3 is nostalgia.

-- Wasn't part 1 and 2 also make with nostalgia as a keyword?
YS: It's a different kind of nostalgia with part 3. In part 1 and 2 there is the nostalgia towards the era, in part 3 it's the nostalgia towards the game. For part 1 and 2 the target user was late teens to early twenties, so for these users I wanted them to experience the culture of the streets still having that showa-period feel of 1986, and be nostalgic about it. So in contrast to that, in part 3 I want the players to be nostalgic about part 1 and 2.

-- So looking at the years... part 1 and 2 came out in 2000 and 2001. Since part 1 in taking place in 1986 Yokosuka, the users playing the game at 20 years of age would have been six when the game took place.
YS: So it's not really nostalgia since it's a story from when they were just kids. Maybe making them feel "there was a world like this" together with the nostalgia.

-- Since then 15 years has passed and the users has become 35 and start feeling nostalgic about things. Now they are looking back and being nostalgic about having played part 1 and part 2.
YS: Yes. Now they are nostalgic about the experience with Shenmue.

-- So the games were released and as said before the users over the world described what moved them which you didn't think about when the games were made, right? As a game creator, did you continue to be surprised by all the reactions over these 15 years?
YS: Yes. They didn't come all at once. The comments continued coming from all over the world. Especially about cultural differences.

-- As with part 1 and 2, even if you think about what the users will enjoy in part 3, it might be different between japanese and foreign users.
YS: It's different. I can't remember making part 1 and 2 for foreigners.For example the themes of Outrun and other arcade games I made a long time ago were chosen in order to be popular all over the world. But for Shenmue 1 and 2 there were no thoughts about the target country.

-- You didn't make them for japanese users?
YS: I didn't really think about it. It was more about making a new game style, there is something interesting in just that. Making a new thing means a new kind of game which would make the world take notice of it. A new system. But I never thought everyone would react to the culture and customs like this.

-- You can say the new system was the skeleton and the culture and customs were the flesh and outward appearance, maybe?
YS: Maybe more like the system is the physical and culture and customs are the spiritual.

-- That would connect with the word "spiritual" that is often said about Shenmue. So for part 3 you can keep working on the aspects you didn’t think about that people actually really enjoyed about part 1 and 2.
YS: Yeah.

-- Neilo is developing part 3. The CEO Tak Hirai was the lead programmer of part 1 and 2 I've heard. Could you share the story of how you came to work on this project together again? Did you keep in touch during these 15 years?
YS: I've been in contact with Hirai and other members all the time since then. Drinking sometimes, talking about wanting to make Shenmue etc. "If it ever happens I'll count on you". We always said things like that.

-- Everyone was thinking about it.
YS: I'm a programmer from the beginning and Hirai too, so we have a kind of programming bond. In a game there are graphics, sound, program and other elements, but I want to focus on the programming.

-- I see.
YS: There are great games in the world today. Destiny, Grand Theft Auto, Assassin's Creed and more. The budget difference makes it very hard to challenge them in graphics and quality. For example Nintendo games are a bit less graphically advanced, but I don't care about that. They have great playability and I love them. So that's the approach. I'll probably challenge myself on the programming side. I think the programming makes games fun. So with that in mind the programming lead becomes an important partner.

-- Meaning Hirai-san.
YS: Yes. Back then Hirai was the programming lead and... Ah, I guess I can't call just call him Hirai anymore {as in dropping “-san”}. He was working under me back then... He was the one who started Neilo so f course he's great at programming. And this time, for the development of 3, we have gained access to the source code from part 1 and 2. He has written much of that code and might be able to reuse some of it. Back then there were probably nobody as great as him at programming. So in that sense being able to collaborate with him and his company is great.

-- It looks like there are other important creators participating.
YS: Yes. The screenwriter Yoshimoto-sensei is helping out. I'm very happy that many key members are participating.

-- How is the development looking now? I guess you have been talking with Neilo until now.
YS: It all depends on how the Kickstarter goes. If it fails, everything stops. Since it's not finished yet we can't do any real work. But we can do the work we can. We've been having a lot of meetings. For the Kickstarter we've been making promotional videos in Unreal Engine 4, but that was delegated to Neilo. However, I was of course directing it. We worked together like that. The budget will be decided in about a month I think so that's when we'll organize the project team. The plan is fluid but Neilo will be the center, and that won't change.

-- During the Sega era, how was Hirai-san?
YS: When we made Shenmue we were over 300 people at one time. We had managers for different sections, and he had about 100 people under him. So he was between me and where work was being done. He was very much trusted by his subordinates. I think that's the best compliment I can say about him. People who are trusted from above might just be appeasing their supervisors. But it takes someone special to be trusted by those working for him.

The rest of the questions are more about how and why he creates games. While interesting, it’s not that relevant in regards to the Shenmue III project.

wdrpgwd wrote: GUESS WHAT!!!

Well played sir, also, if you need a guest be aware that I do put out!

GUESS WHAT!!!

I thought it would be cool for Corey to do a VO right after he says "it's not enough." The VO would describe the $30 on the 3rd campaign.

If we had to I could edit the flyer in after effects. That would probably be quicker than modding. I can also edit the video. I've got creative cloud and I'm good with premier.

Locke_cole wrote: As a side note...what are you guys slinging to have an extra 10k laying around?

Dope. .....

Nah, just going in quite a bit of debt for it, honestly. But it's fucking worth it.

I feel guilty now, Peter...

I feel like I need to explain who I am now.. I'm not a casual Shenmue fan. My brother and I are 35. We are identical twins and we help lead a school just outside Guilin in Yangshou where we teach poor kids English in helping them get scholarships to achieve better education.

This was inspired by Shenmue. My Avatar is of me laying on a raft on the Lijiang river just outside Guilin.

I've been there from the beginning like most of you. This will be a great experience in my life that I will treasure until I die.

EDIT:

You can find us on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/VolunteerEnglishTeacher?fref=ts

A lot of the pictures are of my brother and I.

Here is me with the kids.
http://i.imgur.com/b8Bc9z0.jpg

I pledged the maximum $10,000, and will be having dinner with Yu Suzuki in Japan next September. I am beyond excited. I was watching E3 at the Opry Mills theater here in Nashville. As soon as it was announced, I ran out of the theater, hopped on my phone and pledged it immediately. Very reckless in all honesty as I'm not rich, but I just don't care. 8) I wonder who the other two are that'll have the dinner with me.

Managed to inform a good journalist of the current conundrum. She clarified some things and set straight the record. Published on the escapist. Concedes Sony backing in the marketing and that the Kickstarter is important. One more article in our favor.

Article just went up: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/141291-Sony-will-be-involved-in-marketing-and-production-for-Shenmue-3?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=all

I pledged $300. May take it up to $500, depending on finances closer to the end of the campaign.

Note: Index to all completed translations referenced in this thread below.

I've created this thread for anyone to request English translations of anything relating to Shenmue III, so we can share the content of non-English media with the community as soon as possible. This will also make it easier for people to check here to see if there's anything they can help out with.

Request a translation : if you have come across an article / interview etc that hasn't yet had a translation into English, just post its link here.

Working on a translation : anyone is free to help with translation! Your time and effort will be greatly appreciated by all members of the Dojo. Just post a quick reply to let everyone know which item you are working on. Once completed, the translation should be posted to a separate thread for better visibility.

Please double-check that the item is not already being worked on / has not already been translated elsewhere before posting.

Index of English Translations
⋅  GAME Watch interview with YS, 6 June 2015
⋅  Twitch interview with YS, 27 June 2015
⋅  Blog entry by composer Ryuji Iuchi, 2 July 2015
⋅  The Second #youAskYou Q&A
⋅  Spanish language interview with Cedric Biscay, 9 July 2015
⋅  YS tweet, 12 July 2015
⋅  NicoNico video interview with YS, 15 July 2015
⋅  Screen captures from interview with the Shenmue III Video Director
⋅  Screen capture from interview with the Shenmue III Scriptwriter
⋅  Kickstarter Countdown on Twitch video
⋅  Photo caption on YS visit to China
⋅  Dorimaga article about Shenmue, September 2001
⋅  Hanging scrolls in Shenmue games . Also here
⋅  Dreamcast Magazine article about Project Berkley, November 1998
⋅  Famitsu interview with YS, September 2015
⋅  SEGA's founding principle
⋅  YS tweet, 16 September 2015
⋅  SEGA merchandise screen at TGS 2015
⋅  Live Action Ryo & Ren video, August 2000
⋅  "70-man battle"
⋅  Interview with SEGA Holdings COO, Hideki Okamura, 16 November 2015
⋅  Dreamcast stick controller prototype article
⋅  Dreamcast Magazine article on Shenmue Part 1, January 1999
⋅  4Gamer interview with YS, 29 Dec 2015
⋅  Beta Footage "What's Shenmue" video from 1999 subtitled
⋅  Slide from YS event talk at TCIC, March 2015
⋅  Weekly AM2 article: Young Ryo's Meal Recipe, June 2000
⋅  Shenmue VHS Promo video (1988)
⋅  MAGIC Monaco - Shenmue 3 Press Conference
⋅  Yu Suzuki Interview: Bessatsu Shonen magazine, May 2016

This is an interview with Yu Suzuki from the japanese site 4gamer.net published 2015-06-19.
Here translated by me.

Original article: http://www.4gamer.net/games/305/G030593/20150618126/

Among other things it brings up interesting new information about the 5 million dollar stretch goal; the character perspective system.

There is also a slight spoiler of a character that might appear, so those of you who want to play the game totally spoiler free should maybe avoid reading this.

here we go.

-- Thanks for being here.
YS: Thanks for having me. before jumping into questions I just want to make clear that Shenmue is a Kickstarter project and the scope and contents depend on the stretch goals.

-- Yeah, looking at the Kickstarter stretch goals there are the rapport system and skill tree and other added.
YS: We add more stretch goals so as more people pledge the scope of the game will get bigger. So as of now I can’t talk in detail about the mechanics of the game. What I’m able to accomplish will very much depend on the funds we can gather. I want to avoid telling too much and end up betraying those who have paid.

-- Under those circumstances, what do you want to do with Shenmue III?
YS: I want to show the relationship between Ryo and Shenhua in more detail. Even further than previous games.

-- It’s kind of hard to imagine how that would work.
YS: Maybe so. I want to to challenge myself, but new things are hard to get people to understand and therefore harder to gain support for. That’s one of the reasons we have prepared stretch goals like larger map and mini games.

-- So you made easy to understand stretch goals first.
YS: As more money comes in, the world of Shenmue III gets larger, and the game becomes more complete. But if it becomes a question of what game has the largest world, the game with the largest budget has a sure advantage. When it comes to Shenmue III, I want to ensure that there are other parts to enjoy besides just the open world aspects.

-- Can you give us any examples?
YS: At 3.2 million dollars there is the rapport system stretch goal. Actions and conversations will affect the relation between Ryo and Shenhua in subtle ways. The way Shenhua speaks and cooperate etc. will change.

-- It seems like the story could change depending on the relationship.
YS: Let’s just say that it depends on the budget. Making statements like that is just asking for trouble (laugh).

-- I get it (laugh). Could you explain the 5 million dollar stretch goal; the character perspective system?
YS: That is where the player will take control of characters like Shenhua and Ren instead of Ryo.

-- At a certain point in the game will we be able to change characters freely?
YS: I can’t talk about details yet, so I will just say that it’s not necessarily like we are letting you control the other characters exactly like Ryo.

-- So it’s not like you can just change characters at will.
YS: The personality of Ren and Shenhua is different from Ryo, so even if they see the same thing the reactions would be different. When you played as Ryo it was his decisions, but playing as Ren and Shenhua would make it very interesting.

-- Hearing that makes me even more interested (laugh).
YS: I’m unable to describe it any more until the 5 million dollar stretch goal is reached, so I’ll stop here for today.

-- By the way, will the story end with this part.
YS: To tell the truth, the original story is too long to end here. So I decided against trying to fit it all in to Shenmue III.

-- Which means that after the Shenmue III project has been finished we have to wait for the the next part.
YS: First we have to do our best to make Shenmue III a solid game.

-- Let’s leave the appearance of Shenmue III and talk about the backend. Can you tell us why you chose to use Unreal Engine 4?
YS: It’s because it’s easy to use and fits with how I imagine Shenmue to look. There are like rendering tendencies for the different engines, and the base colors of Unreal Engine 4 added with “dampness and scent” makes it Shenmue.

-- Are the colors you imagine the same as with the first two parts?
YS: Of course. Shenmue had that air humidity feeling well presented and it had a smell too. That’s what I aim for with Shenmue III.

-- So you’re saying that if you take a scenery out of the game and look at it you’d be able to say “That’s Shenmue!”?
YS: Yeah, That’s what I want to do. But the promotional video we made for Kickstarter felt dry. Kind of ended up like the Californian humidity level (laugh).

-- Your idea of the exact colors or the “scent” of the graphics, is it hard to convey that to the developers?
YS: It it very very hard to explain it. It’s like trying to explain what a melon is to someone who only has seen watermelons and mandarins. Well, you can say the size is about in the middle, but trying to explain the taste is very hard.

-- With that said, do you have members from the former parts working on Shenmue III?
YS: Yes. So we have the original members that kind of know what Shenmue is about.

-- After fifteen years, it’s quite the thing to bring everyone together again.
YS: I think so. Everyone has gone independent or changed their positions, but even at this stage when the scope of the production isn’t set in stone they have gladly offered to join. That’s really heartwarming.

-- It feels like the relationship is deeper than what you could expect from work colleges.
YS: That’s because Shenmue was a project that was more than just work. Ten years after the development of Shenmue II we had this get-together and more than 100 people came.

-- That’s amazing. I’m not sure if I would call that just a get-together.

-- The level of creativity in the games you have created is often very high. Is there any secret to this?
YS: No. I never play games outside work, so I don’t get that influenced by other games. Maybe that’s the reason.

-- I had this idea that you researched other games thorough and tried to make something different, but I guess that’s not true then.
YS: Yeah. it easier to just make something from zero (laugh).

-- So maybe If someone from the media like me hear an explanation for a game and say “Is it like the mechanics from that other game?” you might not be able to get it?
YS: I’m sorry, but I guess that’s true. Well, maybe I have to study the trends in the most popular games.

-- By the way, this is the first in a long time that you get to work on a game this big.
YS: Yeah. It feels like it was a long time ago I got this invested in a game.

-- It’s not like you totally left the game industry, but what do you think of the game industry in Japan looking from a bit afar.
YS: The game engine Unity came out and made it easy for just one person to make his own game, which is a good thing. It wouldn’t be healthy if only big budget games were able to survive. It’s good that the market has expanded with more alternatives. But it’s kind of sad that a majority of games that make money are small like games for smartphones.

-- Do you feel like more effort should be made in making titles for the consoles?
YS: Yeah. Before, Japan was said to be number one in game making. It’s sad that the knowledge that had amassed during that time wasn’t used better.

-- Many of the people during that time went over to make games for smartphones.
YS: It’s not like games for smartphones are necessarily bad, but what’s characteristic of smartphone game making is that the development cycles from start to finished tend to be fast. It might be good for business, but I’m not really satisfied with that. If you compare to cars there’s the really popular cars that sell well. They make a lot of money for the company, but if they don’t develop their flagship model their technical advancement will suffer.

-- In USA there is still a lot of money spent in games for game consoles and PC.
YS: Yeah. That kind of rich content helps activate the whole industry. I hope the industry in Japan gets back on track like before...

-- Oh, the interview got very negative suddenly. Could you maybe give a word of encouragement to the young developers of today or people thinking about making games?
YS: Today is different from before. It’s possible for anyone to make games now. Before it was impossible to make games if you didn’t know how to program, but now there are tools for that. It’s also possible to study game development, and it’s easy to learn from the internet. Living in this age you shouldn't think too hard and just try for fun, go in the direction that feels best for you. Begin with having fun creating.

Comments:
The character perspective system means taking control of characters other than Ryo. He literally says “レンやシェンファ” which means characters “like Shenhua and Ren” so it could be for other characters too. (Edit: Or it could be just an example of characters. Like Thief said: "It could mean that characters like Shenhua and Ren (as in main supporting cast characters) are playable. Ren could have merely been used as an example." Thanks Thief! )
But it’s pretty much as close of a confirmation that we can get that Ren will show up in Shenmue III in one way or another. There is a concept art image of him riding a horse so it’s maybe not that unexpected, but we can be fairly sure he will show up in part 3 and not 4 or even later. Horses were also pretty much confirmed in Yu Suzuki's Reddit AMA so the concept art could very well be of an event happening in Shenmue III.