"Shenmue III."

DAMN THAT FELT GOOD!

Holy mother of GOD, EVERYONE! WE DID IT!!!! I donated $10,000 for a dinner with Yu. I know that's crazy but I couldn't fucking help it.

This is like sketching on a napkin, without sketching on a napkin... if you're basing anything on this lol.

Fucking well said. We told them it would be big and we were important. Now Sega, the gaming community and everyone knows we did it. We are getting our game and they can all suck a dick. Lovely day.
Love Yu Suzuki.
Love Sony.
Love Kickstarter.
Love Shenmue.

World Series of Darts.

Congratulations, everyone!
We all did it together!

We don't need closure everybody. We need continuation. Ideally this goes on further than Shenmue III. We've been dreaming big for so long, are we going to give up with just the idea of III? Never be content with anything! Ever.

I think too many people took the mockup video too serious. It was meant to show the engine and was prolly done with zero budget - and personally i think the engine looks pretty nice. After funding is done i guess we'll soon see more serious tech demos.

http://www.polygon.com/2015/6/17/8795017/shenmue-on-a-budget

Interesting read, all. I don't think this has been shared yet. Apologies if it has!

I'm not too concerned. I saw this part of the chapter playing out like a lot of old kung fu flicks. Like uh....like the movie kickboxer when Van Damme started scouting for the trainer in thailand. It had a lot of ancient ruins and small villages. I mean the movie was silly as fuck but you get the idea I'm trying to communicate here.
It's like Ryo goes from the modern world to the ancient where he becomes enveloped in the mysticism of nature and the old ways etc etc etc.

That's kind of what I'm expecting.

Well, fuck , guys. I still can't believe this is actually happening. It was around 3am here when I saw the news and watched the trailer, so I was already in bed watching it on my phone, and I was utterly speechless, before cheering and proceeding to be extremely hyper, leaving my boyfriend extremely confused (though he understood once I explained - he's heard me witter on about Shenmue enough times!). I can't believe after all this time it is finally a reality. I was 14 years old when Shenmue II came out...now that I'm a 28 year old with actual responsibilities and stuff, I could only really afford a $29 pledge, but I knew I had to pay at least something. Like many others, I'm not entirely sure about the way Ryo and Shenhua look, but I'm sure this is only something they quickly knocked together for the trailer and they will look more like their old selves in the final game.

But yeah...I kept daydreaming about the day when this would happen (even faintly when I was beginning to lose hope), and now it's actually here...Yu, you magnificent bastard. You can tell how much he cares about us as fans, and in this day and age that is truly refreshing. I've been very cynical about gaming in general lately,, this current generation failing to excite me really, but obviously I must get a PS4 now (I don't think I'll ever have a PC capable of running it in this lifetime!). I'm already getting excited about posting here again and being a part of all the pre-release buzz, where we will no doubt analyse every screenshot and trailer we receive to death and back. And now I can finally play through the first two games without getting depressed :P

It's been a hell of a wait guys, but hopefully it will be worth it. We only went and fucking did it!!! :mrgreen:

Let's see -

*Went to uni, got an English Literature degree
*Got a few full time jobs, the current one being a support worker for people with autism (with shit pay for what it involves)
*Realised I was gay and came out gradually to family and friends
*Moved out of my parents house
*Got a long-term boyfriend, who I currently share a house with
*Started writing a novel, and also currently trying to get a poetry collection published

It's crazy to think all this has happened in my life since Shenmue II came out...and by the time 3 does, I will be 30 years old...goddamn...

It already surpassed Wasteland 2 which was not just a long anticipated and advertised game with a massive fan base but also one that was announced ages before fund raising even started. Shenmue 3 was pretty much a surprise and it did in hours what took Wasteland 2 (great game btw) over a month. So no good time for pessimists like me. And keep in mind that many people are on summer vacation right now and didn't even hear about it yet.

Typical Shenmue.

Doesn't make sense but sounds great anyway

In the hands of people who actually know what they're doing, this Kickstarter could've been a hell of a lot more successful.

The whole process reeks of being very amateur. It's E3 week so we should see Yu on every livestream and doing interviews with every media outlet. All we've seen of him is on Playstation's official livestream and an interview with some French guy. It seems to have done this well on being Shenmue alone and these so called Kickstarter experts haven't done much.

When Bloodstained and the Banjo type game got announced on Kickstarter they had interviews going live the minute the Kickstarter went up.

Himuro wrote: Huh? Why would Ryo go back to Japan without having fought Lan Di?

Booty call from nozomi.

Ah, yeah, it's Ryo, not happening

I personally think Shenmue 3 is going to be similar to the first game in a lot of ways. Shenmue 2 was certainly more action-packed than the first game, but it didn't really have a small-town feeling. Now we're in Guilin... and it doesn't get more small-town than that. I think you're going to get a lot of the aspects that made you like the 1980's Yokosuka in Shenmue 3, despite not actually taking place in Japan.

shredingskin wrote: Shenhua is not Ryo love interest.

You're right, it's Fangmei.

I love shenmue, I love the story but the real reason why it was so amazing was because it was pushing the envelope at the time. The game was truly immersive, the amount of detail from arcades to forklift jobs was simply amazing.

I really felt like I was living in 80's japan.

Shenmue 3 needs that, I know its hard because they arn't gonna have that $50-$70 million budget but they need to capture that immersion.

Don't get me wrong the Shenmue story is great but that feeling of immersion is much much better...Yu Suzuki can't forget the reason Shenmue 1 is considered the GOAT.

Shenmue 2 Hong Kong didn't feel much immersive either, there was something missing.


The way Shenmue 2 ended was very strange, it seemed to be leaving that realism 80's world which is extremely relatable to the modern gamer today to 80's China village, which doesn't sound much appealing.

I really hope that Shenmue 3 takes place in Japan for the most part...Chinese villagies just doesn't have that immersion 80's japan does.

As for the story, it's been getting more and more "mystical", not sure if this is a good thing but I hope the game for the most part feels like real modern life.


Some of the Realism Features I want is.

>Eating is required now, will make those tomato convenience store useful
>AI reacts to you doing weird stuff like running around,staring at them, looking at wall

If Shenmue made me feel like I was living in my japanese hometown. Shenmue II made me feel like an immigrant going abroad in an adventure. Never once I felt a lack of immersion on SHII.

Shenmue II ending wasn't strange if you have been following the story since the beginning, in fact you could even say the meat and bones of the saga only starts after that point. Since the prophesy can only begin after Shenhua and Ryo meet.

The game teases you with ancient Chinese culture since the very beginning. It was always the focus of the game narrative.

Himuro wrote: But Guizhang didn't leave with Ryo. He's not Ryo material. Ren is going to meet up with Ryo because he smells money, but in reality he's chasing after the man of his dreams and he just can't admit it yet.

Wow... Now you have convinced me! REN for the winner.

One of the best things about the series so far is how it evolved naturally, like a proper adventure would, without being afraid to take the player and Ryo out of their comfort zone. As others have said, Shenmue 2 feels strikingly different to Shenmue 1, but it still felt like the natural progression of Ryo's journey. It didn't add anything new and spicy just for sake of adding something new and spicy, like so many other game sequels do, yet also wasn't afraid to leave behind it's old trappings and move into new territory (literally). Shenmue 1 and Shenmue 2 both respectively gave me such unique feelings and experiences, and each feeds into the other and enhances the other.

The last disc on Shenmue 2 took us into new territory again, but only really gave us a taster of it. I think it's obvious by now that this more rural direction is where Shenmue 3 is headed. I personally welcome this, and look forward to seeing how the 1980's Chinese countryside will make me feel. Not many other games would take us to such a place.

As for the mystical "mumbo jumbo" some people are talking about. That's as much what makes Shenmue for me as anything else in the game. It wouldn't be Shenmue if it didn't have that slight contrast and tension between the realistic and mystical/supernatural. In fact, it wasn't even really a "tension" at all, that's the wrong way of putting it. The games blended the two so skillfully that the mystical starts to seem realistic, and realistic starts to seem mystical. It's takes it all in it's stride throughout, handling both elements with a unbelievably deft hand.

I don't have any doubts that Yu will continue to weave the quotidian and the extraordinary as successfully as he did in the first two games. Yes, the end of Shenmue 2 was a blockbuster, jaw to floor moment, but wasn't it amazing. And I'm sure Yu knows as well as we do, what made that moment so special, was that the games didn't throw this stuff at us willy nilly. It was a special scene for a special moment, and executed brilliantly. Probably more than anything else, the Shenmue games made me feel like there is more to world than we realise, more than what meets the eye. Sure you can say it's all just cliched orientalist mumbu jumbu mysticism if you want, but no other film or game has made the supernatural, or the seemingly unbelievable, feel so believable to me.

So it's only fitting that the unbelievable, Shenmue 3, has just been made believable.

Then go play Shenmue 1.
There are other ways to build immersion in a game, and Shenmue has always done it through different methods depending on the setting. Immersion is about creating a convincing atmosphere, not directly catering to your personal tastes.
The word you're looking for is "appeal," not immersion.

Agreed about the main page. The Dojo used to be THE place to go for Shenmue news...can more of the fresh information be posted on the main page, with more room to view past news, like it used to be? These are exciting times, I'd rather read Shenmue news here than on Facebook or gaming sites.

Please DON'T have quest markers. This is a big deal to me.

http://www.mediafire.com/view/6siygr66m2te2qr/i-wf0702_004.jpg#
http://www.mediafire.com/view/bp8911gv5b7y5a3/i-wf0702_005.jpg#
http://www.mediafire.com/view/zhehbcn73zhkp9a/i-wf0702_006.jpg#
http://www.mediafire.com/view/bf1trmgz7tejf1m/i-wf0702_007.jpg#
http://www.mediafire.com/view/6md3ql10x1ppiw6/i-wf0702_008.jpg#
http://www.mediafire.com/view/6iot4869ui62rdr/i-wf0702_009.jpg#

thanks to kurushii for the scans.

Famitsu Translation by Axm and Switch

Feature Story
- Ryo Hazuki is coming back -


Shenmue III has set off
The fundraising campaign has started on Kickstarter


E3 2015 is being held in Los Angeles from June 17th till 19th (Japan time). Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) press conference was held in June 16th, a day before E3 starts, and a game creator Yu Suzuki announced the new “Shenmue 3.” He also revealed his campaign using the crowd-funding site “Kickstarter” to raise funds for this game.
It’s been 14 years since the release of Shenmue 2. What will this eagerly-awaited Shenmue 3 be like? Why did he chose Kickstarter?--- I have asked the executive produce Mr.Suzuki. (Interviewer: Famitsu chief editor Katsuhiko Hayashi)


Finally setting off the official sequel “Shenmue 3”


---The impact of the name of “Shenmue 3” is so great and it surprised me when I first heard it. Well, it’s been 14 years since Shenmue 2 was released. Why make Shenmue 3 now? Would you give us the accounts on how it started?
Suzuki: I have been always looking for the way to launch Shenmue 3, so it is not like we just started this project. Although it’s been more than a decade since Shenmue 2, there are many enthusiastic fans still existing and when I attend autograph sessions abroad, they always come ask me “When is Shenmue 3 coming?” For example in France, 80% of people who come to my autograph sessions are the Shenmue fans. The rest of 10% are Virtua Fighter fans and the other 10% are Hang-on fans or so. There are fans who still manage fan communities. Every year around March and April, the rumor “They say that they are making Shenmue 3” comes out and it reaches me.. haha.


---The eagerly waiting voices turn to rumors.
Suzuki: Yes that’s right. But slowly the fan’s voices have changed to something wistful. They say “It can be just a novel, so please give us the sequel story at least” or “Just manga is fine. We want to see a new “Shenmue”.” Those voices made me think that I should push the project forward somehow for the fans, no matter if I couldn’t make a full-spec game.


--- And for the means to make it happen, you chose Kickstarter. Why?
Suzuki: About three years ago, one of the fans who has experience using Kickstarter suggested me using it for the Shenmue project. That is when I first learned about Kickstarter, and started researching it. If it comes to really making the game, I have to make sure it satisfies my fans. So I couldn’t go like “OK I’m doing this with Kickstarter!” I seeked other ways,--- for instance finding a partner, but I couldn’t find one that meets my requirements. After careful consideration, we decided that Kickstarter is the best way to set off, and we were able to announce it finally in 2015.


---So you were just saying that you wanted to make the sequel, but really you have been working on it already for a long time.
Suzuki: Yes. Strong feedback after the Shenmue lecture at GDC 2014 also pushed me into coming this far. Sega agreeably licenced it to me and SCE also supported us by saying “We will support you if you are making Shenmue.” I knew that announcing the Kickstarter project at SCE’s conference is a very remarkable thing and am so happy that many people still support Shenmue this much.


---The title “Shenmue 3” is very direct and has no twist.
Suzuki: I couldn’t think of any other name. Shenmue 1, 2 and 3. It is not a spin-off. It comes to PS4 and PC.


---Its an eagerly awaited official sequel and fans will be definitely delighted. What is the goal of the Kickstarter funding?
Suzuki: 2 million yen at the very beginning.


---It must be easy to raise 2 million if it is for Shenmue.
Suzuki: However, 2 million is the very least amount of money you need for a game to come to exist. If it’s just 2 million, it will be more likely a very story-driven based game. If we can raise more, it will be more realistic for me to be able to do what I want to do. I want to try something new.

--- Just like you.. Your stance of “making something new” has never changed.
Suzuki: Yes. I will do my best to make a new Shenmue.

--- We will talk about this “New Shenmue” later. What are the pledge rewards for donating to Kickstarter?
Suzuki: I would like to adopt everyone’s opinion into the game to the extent that I can. For example if there are two designs of one character, then I will ask everyone to vote for each of them. I will provide the participation privilege for that kind of voting. Also while Shenmue 3 is under development, I will prepare a trial-demo so they can take a sneak peak of it.

--- So you are creating Shenmue 3 with your fans?
Suzuki: I think every one of the people who invested in this project has a leading role in it and I hope each one of them enjoy it. Please visit Kickstarter’s Shenmue page to learn more about the pledge rewards.


F: Next, I would like to ask about the key content of Shenmue 3. What kind of story developments can be expected in Shenmue 3?
YS: At the end of Shenmue 2 Ryo visits Guilin, said to be the most beautiful region in China. The area is famous for landscape paintings, and it has a river called the Li river. Shen Hua’s house is located on a tributary of the river. The story of Shenmue 2 ends at the point where Ryo reaches Shen Hua’s house, and the story of Shemue 3 continues right from there.
F: So, Ryo and Shen Hua will make an appearance, continuing from the previous part.
YS: For people who have played the Shenmue series, those familiar characters will appear as they were.
F: Will the setting be Guilin?
YS: Yes. For example, visiting a town(s) in the Guilin area, or going back to the mountains. Also infiltrating the Guilin chapter of an underground organization, the Chi You Men.
F: It could be said that Shenmue is the originator of open world gameplay, and has influenced many games since, but for Shenmue 3 what direction do you plan to take the open world model?
YS: When I created Shenmue 1, I was aiming to create exactly what is now called an “open world”. Being able to stop freely at any location you wish, advancing if you wish to move the story forward, or just standing still if you prefer. Back then, we called the system “FREE”, but in time it came to be referred to as open world. In Shenmue 2, with advances and technology and techniques, the open world was expanded even further.
F: In Shenmue 2, it was possible to walk through many towns over a wide area of Hong Kong, wasn’t it.
YS: Actually, at that time, I had decided that for Shenmue 3 I would delve in more deeply.
F: More deeply?
YS: Yes. People might expect that the open world would be made even broader, but in contrast to that, I will focus on depth. For example, for the case of 100 characters, splitting the development budget among them would limit the elements that could be incorporated into each character.
F: That’s true, it would make it harder to create each with detail.
YS: However, if we reduce the number to 10 characters, a lot of possibilities are opened up. The amount of conversation could be increased 10 times, or detailed A.I. provided for each character. As a result, conversations could be much richer. As an example, in Shenmue 3 the person that Ryo will speak with most is Shen Hua, so I want to portray her with depth. I envisage an approach where, by settings parameters for Shen Hua, on-going conversations with her will influence events such as changing her attitude, or changing the way that quests relating to her unfold.
F: I see. I think a lot of support for Shenmue comes not from just the realistic towns, but from the realism of the people inhabiting it. From what you have described, this realism will be further increased, and the world will feel even more “human”.
YS: Yes. In Shenmue this time I will be focusing particularly on digging down further on such internal aspects.
F: This is your vision for the new Shenmue, isn’t it.
YS: Of course, that’s not to say it will not be open world. Stretch goals will allow the town(s) to be expanded. However, what I would like to try first is to develop something that everyone has not anticipated; a deep Shenmue world.

F: I can’t wait to see this new Shenmue. Speaking of Shenmue, apart from its open world, its QTEs and minigames made it special, didn’t they.
YS: QTEs were originally included so that even people who were poor at battles could enjoy them. I’m happy that various games have included QTEs since then.
F: QTEs also had their origin in Shenmue, didn’t they.
YS: This time, I would like to show new QTEs; ones which can played by anyone, and which have carefully-crafted event sequences. In addition, I’d like to change the nature of free battles. (I will think of a different name, as I don’t want to call them free battles). I’d like to make a battle that is won by making the correct decision, rather than by correct timing of pushing buttons.
F: I believe Shenmue was made with the concept of being a game that can be enjoyed by any player, and this new system feels to be in keeping with that.
YS: Also this time I am planning a “technique scrolls” system. Ah.... maybe I have said too much (laughs).
F: Not at all, we’d like to hear more! (laughs)
YS: For example, with the free battle it is tough to practice and input the various commands required, so simply by obtaining a technique scroll you can apply the technique to help you win a battle. In the case of a QTE, the new technique could be unleashed during the QTE. I would like to make it so that a technique can be used to your advantage in battle just by obtaining a technique scroll. Furthermore, I’d like to make that technique scroll connect with various elements within the game.
F: Could you explain a bit more with respect to “connecting with elements”?
YS: Shenmue has had a number of ways you could play around, such as mini-games and gambling spots, but I have always been thinking about how to connect these together in some way. Of course, they are connected in the sense that you can take a part-time job to earn money, then increase that amount by gambling, then buy weapons... but not that kind of connection, something much closer. If the stretch goals can be reached and more detailed elements incorporated into the open world, this will allow technique scrolls to serve as the pivot for connecting together the various side games. That’s the kind of direction I would like to take it.
F: I see. So various elements of the open world will be connected together in a more natural way. Apart from that, are there any other elements that you are keen to include in Shenmue 3?
YS: One particular part of Shenmue that fans seem to have fallen in love with is the forklift part-time job, which is extremely popular. So I really want to include it in Shenmue 3 too, but how can you operate a forklift deep in the mountains of Guilin (laughs). I haven’t stopped thinking about how to find some way to include a forklift (laughs).

F: Please tell us about the development set-up for Shenmue 3.
YS: This time, the main development company is Neilo. The representative for Neilo, Takeshi Hirai, worked as the chief programmer for Shenmue and has a good understanding of Shenmue.
F: Since Shenmue is an open world game, I had thought that working with an overseas development company that is experienced in open world games would have been an option.
YS: Yes, that may have been an option. However, the main distinguishing characteristic of Shenmue is its culture. I believe that users overseas also have taken interest in the culture and customs of Asia. People have said they appreciate it when Ryo says “Thank you” for the smallest thing, for example. Someone who has worked all along on creating Shenmue understands that kind of culture and values.
F: So this time, development will be using Unreal Engine 4, won’t it.
YS: I have been looking at various engines for Shenmue 3 for the past 3 years, but the colors of Unreal Engine 4 are closest to those I envisage for the world of Shenmue. Although that’s a pretty broad statement, given that it’s a technical topic. The feeling of slight dampness in the air, the skin colors, the feel of materials etc were closest to my ideal.
F: Apart from the Neilo staff, are there others participating who have worked with Shenmue before?
YS: Yes, of course. I wanted to build up the team with past members as I believe that gives the fans some reassurance. Among others are scenario writer Masahiro Yoshimoto, and Kenji Miyawaki who is in charge of the character designs.
F: Given that this project is coming to life 14 years after the previous release of Shenmue, everyone must be very surprised.
YS: Mr Yoshimoto has been active in the world of television, and reacted with surprise saying “With television, producing something new with a theme that is 14 years old is unheard of”. But Mr Yoshimoto told me that he made many discoveries through his experience with Shenmue. Later on, I plan to release a video with comments from Mr Yoshimoto and the rest of the staff, so please watch out for it.
F: We are looking forward to seeing it. The fans are sure to be happy.
YS: I have gathered together quite a few of the original key members who gave Shenmue that special feel. I’m sure this will bring a feeling of both reassurance and nostalgia.
F: By the way, it may be a bit impatient to ask, but do you already have in mind how things will progress after Shenmue 3?
YS: Of course, I have that in mind. But first and foremost, I’d like to put primary focus on Shenmue 3.
F: When is the planned release date for Shenmue 3?
YS: I’d like to release it by the end of 2017.
F: That’s quite some way off, but we can’t wait. From speaking with you today, I can really appreciate the challenges that you are taking on of producing a new Shenmue. Finally, do you have a message for all the fans who have waited all this time for Shenmue 3?
YS: The fans have told me over the course of 14 years how they wanted part 3 to be made, and I have always told myself that I had to find some way to make it. And now, through the crowd-funding of Kickstarter, at last I have been able to make a start on the Shenmue 3 project. In order to bring about a Shenmue 3 that incorporates a perfect blend of both a Shenmue that everyone desires, as well as a Shenmue with the new challenges I want to take on, everyone’s effort is needed. Thank you so much for your support.

Picture captions:
1) This image shows the figures of Ryo and Shen Hua walking on a mountain path. Note that Ryo has changed clothes from the leather jacket he wears in the first and second parts of the series.
2) Using a telescope, Ryo observes buildings below a cliff. According to Yu Suzuki, before Ryo lies the enemy’s camp, which Ryo is searching for a way to infiltrate.
3) Shen Hua and Ryo, drawn by Kenji Miyawaki who is in charge of character design for the series. Shen Hua, the main heroine, did not appear much in the first and second parts of the series. In Shenmue 3, she will surely take a principle role.
4) Niao Sun, one of the leaders of the underground organisation opposing Ryo, the Chi You Men. Although her existence has previously been revealed, she has not made an in-game appearance until now.

Hey guys, not sure if this text was on the page before but under the next video on the Shenmue 3 site that is labeled as 'Coming Soon' we have this text. http://puu.sh/itmil/44d23e681d.jpg

"Ryo and Shenhua arrive at the Fairy Fountain after their long journey. Entranced, they watch the gentle flight of the lantern bugs upon the mirage-like oasis"

Sounds like that scene in from the Shemue II pre-release stuff to me.

Can't wait to see the first real trailer. I know yu isn't going to fuck around with any CG bullshit too.

I posted this on the Kickstarter comment section. Agree/Disagree?

Thank you Yu, and everyone else involved doing this. However, there's a lot of confusion with this Kickstarter. I think you guys are unknowingly damaging the potential for the Kickstarter. Besides revealing Sony's involvement on the first day of the Kickstarter, giving people the idea that there is no more need to back it on Kickstarter because a big company like Sony is supporting it, there's also a lot of vagueness in relation to the stretch goals.

For example, what exactly is Raport? What is the Skill Tree? What are Character Perspectives? No one knows or understands, and this vagueness leaves doubts not only on your potential backers but current backers. Could you further expound upon these features?

Finally, why isn't Yu doing interviews all over the place for the Kickstarter to give information? There was a French interview on Youtube, but not one available in English. A lot of the marketing so far is scattershot and unorganized. Please do better. Thank you, a grateful Shenmue fan.

Just be a total slut for 30 days. Try and get interviewed by everyone and get news sites posting about Shenmue. Yu needs to get in the public light similar to how other Kickstarter project leaders have. Get more developers to make videos about why they love Shenmue, plenty of people have said they love it over the years in interviews. Get someone in the team to interview Yu and put it on the Kickstarter page and drop them every few days. Interviews should have been arranged weeks ago for every major gaming news outlet. I can imagine Yu will just go back to Japan after E3 and we won't hear from him again for months.

Make it clear what these S I&II scenes are. If it's like Shenmue the movie let people know so it doesn't put people off who have never played the series and that they can catch up. Nowhere on the Kickstarter page does it sound welcoming at all to newcomers to the series.

Do a let's play of certain sections of the original Shenmue. In these Yu could just speak about making the game and the history at SEGA. Let's plays aren't my cup of tea but people go crazy for them. Add a tier where you get a monthy skype session or online Q&A's with members of the team working on the games.

Get an english twitter account similar to what Kojima has. The Japansese audience is very small compared to America and America has the biggest funding potential. Only starting to use Twitter again about a day before E3 was silly. This isn't like the FFVII announcement where it's a nice surprise. For a Kickstarter that only lasts 30 days you should be teasing it for quite awhile.

Don't announce you'll do shows like the one in Monoco. Announce stretch goals that you will go to places like PAX, Tokyo Game Show, Playstation Experiance and Gamecom. No one outside of the core people who already have donated will care about seeing a game at an anime convention in Monoco. A tier could be made that if you donate enough you get access to a special Q&A with Yu or early hands on time with the game at Pax would bring in some extra money. If people are willing to pay £10,000 and also pay to fly to Tokyo to have dinner with the guy they'll do it if they don't have to pay to fly and his coming to PAX so extra dinners is something.

Include tiers like letting people voice a character or to let them name something in a tier between the $500-$10,000. You're letting people include their name in the credits why not let some people add a message next to their name for a few extra dollars to get a few people to up their pledge. Heck for even more money get your photo in the credits. Include a tier where people can have themselves made into a toy capsule Ryo can collect.

The toy capsules replicas are great but have a donation pledge to get replicas of the mirrors. Make them a decent quality so you can ask for more to get them.

The Double Fine team did a documentary about making the game that certain backers got access to. The Shenmue III story will be one people want to watch.

FUck yeah, a let's play commentated by Yu Suzuki would be incredible.

Gametrailers is doing one of Shenmue II, would be awesome to see Huber, Yu Suzuki, Rocco from mega64, or some guys hyping the shit of Shenmue for people that haven't played it.

The whole 70 man battle scenes, the third disk of shenmue II, the ending.

Don't make it 1 hour long, but something like 15 minutes hyping the shit out of the game.

+1 to the mirrors replicas.

The documentary is great, but actually quite expensive, DF hurted a lot, it was awesome (even more so than the actual game), but just saying "exclusive making of videos for X tier backers" would be great.

That's a silly way to promote the game though there are fans from around the world and they need to get the word out more.

So barebones...we need more than that.

I hope someone asks "what the fuck were you thinking with this Kickstarter, and why is it this amateurish when you've had years to build up to it?"

Not to be an annoyingly negative dick, but Jesus Christ, the stretch goals are still hidden at the bottom of the fucking page!

This is more than great news and we have to make sure that we get some of the important info out in the open about the kickstarter and also try to help them by asking about adding more Reward Tiers (between $500 and $10,000), and also by making the stretch goals more clear/descriptive.

Here is a list of questions that are being complied on Neogaf by the user GavinGT.

Updated List of Questions for Friday's Yu Suzuki AMA

- Why no physical PS4 disc?
- What's the deal with the other two towns mentioned in the Kickstarter video?
- Can we have some more higher tier Kickstarter rewards, please?
- What do you forecast the final budget to be?
- Will the game have English and Japanese VO?
- Will Corey Marshall reprise his role?
- Will you finish the story with Shemue III?
- Do you have access to Sega-branded arcade games and capsule toys?
- Can you go into more detail about what the stretch goals actually mean?
- Will you update the controls?
- Will we see a return of some Shenmue I systems, such as lots of interactivity with objects?
- Will the free battle system still exist in the game?
- How will you update QTEs?
- How many developers do you plan to have working on the game?
- Is an Xbox One version out of the question?
- Do you have any specific cost-cutting measures in mind?
- Will the final game be at full price?

A great list IMO.

Great idea.

AMA question: Regardless of stretch goals what is the minimum number of locations that will for sure be in the game?

They're thinking about adding a Pay Pal donation link as well, which will help with funding even once the kickstarter ends.

I think they could reach ten million if they do the following things.

1. Better structure their kickstarter.
2. Explain in detail what each Stretch goal is.
3. Detail a graph for how much money is needed for each portion of development
4. ADD PS4 Physical Kickstarter backer exclusive.
5. Explain the minimize size of the game and locations. Ie, if the game will have 4 main locales regardless of if it reaches 6 million dollars or not. I don't think having one location will cut it.
6. Fire Awesome Japan, hire the team that did Bloodstained immediately.

Though Suzuki said that despite the evolution of open world game design since Shenmue 1 and 2 shipped, he doesn’t have any plans to alter the way Shenmue 3 will play to keep up with the times, aiming for a feel similar to the original games.

http://www.polygon.com/2015/6/17/8795017/shenmue-on-a-budget

The more Suzuki talks about Shenmue 3 -- the more at ease I feel about the project turning into something that I'll be happy with.

I posted this on the main thread but I think it belongs here.I've got some big reservations about what i've seen so far from a marketing comms perspective. We have a long way to go yet but the initial announcement created a huge noise, the Shenmue community have turned this up to 11 and generated a huge buzz online promoting interest in Shenmue way beyond just the gaming press. Honestly the hype generated by the online community is priceless, can't be manufactured, can't be bought and can't be replicated, it's been unbelieveable.

While there will be a comms strategy for Shenmue III the game, imo the project needs something akin to an election campaign, an overall comms strategy to tell every gamer that they simply must play this game, which i see no evidence of. For instance the design of the kickstarter is poor, the reward tiers and benefits have gaping holes. Somebody overseeing all of the project from an overall comms perspective would have seen that straight away, nailing the kickstarter is just as important as nailing E3, momentum is everything with Shenmue III . The silence of Sega has also been deafening, not a statement, not a tweet, retweet, like, simply silence. The HD remakes will have a huge impact on the success of Shenmue III and the fact they are letting Yu have the IP should have been part of the E3 presentation. Sega's absence is strange and unhelpful. Sony have been off message in the last two days and have not got a consistent line regarding their involvement, i've heard 6 different lines from Sony spokesperson's which is unforgiveable. It all points to a bit of a mess on the comms front. In contrast the community have been incredible and masked some of these early mistakes.

9. Sony and other investors only funding a part of the games budget. Does this mean most of the budget will come from the Kickstarter? More importantly, how much does Suzuki-san want the Kickstater to reach in order for him to make the FULL vision for Shenmue III?

Great job so far Himuro! I found that you have a typo in question 9. Sony and other investors ARE only funding a part of the games budget. :)