Hey all! Long-time lurker here. I can't help feeling that every year there's an intense amount of hype that surrounds E3 with relation to Shenmue. While most of us are typically cynical, this community tends to get hopeful.

Just over a year ago, people were jumping up and down in excitement over the Postmortem. Yu gave a discussion about Shenmue (I) and we were all up in arms about how, surely, there would be an announcement. And then, there wasn't.

Now, the guy has tweeted (from E3, no less) a direct reference to the series - a tweet he knows holds a lot of weight - and we're being just about as cynical as can be. I'm sure it will be nothing, like usual, or something minimal (at this point, an HD re-release won't have any impact on getting a 3rd game made).

Still, I hope our cynicism backfires the way our hopes usually do. \:D/

Does anyone else find it equally refreshing to just have this game be acknowledged? As in, for the first time in over a decade, this is an open discussion. The air of mystery that has plagued our community is finally gone. We aren't wondering what Yu is thinking anymore. He's telling us. We aren't forced to ask questions that we fear will never be answered. We will never again need to hear a certain, unnamed game publisher not "comment on rumors or speculation" or announce that there are "no plans at this time" ever again. Ever.

In some ways, the announcement has almost taken away a key element of what has made this community special for the past 14 years. Even for us lurkers who have kept up-to-date and silently supported this franchise that we all hold dear. In other ways, it's showed the strength of what a fan-base can really do.

We won't be looked at as the crazies who put faith in an unreachable dream anymore, but the crazies who never stopped believing, and showed that dedication and faith can be rewarded.

While I believe that the very fabric of this community has changed forever, now that our biggest wish is a reality, I just want to say that I'm proud to have been a part of this great group with all of you for all of these years. As a 12-year-old back in 2000, I never thought the journey would last this long, or mean this much.

Thanks for never giving up!

It seems like the lead trio, as a whole, is interested in returning. They seem to be fans themselves, and they have expressed interest in coming back. This doesn't even begin to address the contributions they have made on the fan front in the past, and it even seems that they (I can't speak for all of them) have contributed to the Kickstarter campaign. I think the key here is getting this message across to Yu and the development team.

The message being, of course, that we want them in the game, and more important, they want to be involved.

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!

you know, ive been thinking about this a lot lately. its hard to remember the scale of the originals because its been so long. i doubt even $4 million from the kickstarter will make a dent in the scope of the game. I think we have to set ourselves up for a very different experience. maybe a lot more linear. I just can't see how, even using a cheap engine and graphics, you could make it as open-world as the originals or more. Even the yakuza games were like $20 million+

I'm with you in thinking that we probably shouldn't start forming expectations so much on what came before. Supposedly Sony is contributing to the effort, but I don't believe any particular amount has been disclosed, and I don't anticipate that we'll find out. However, at this point, consensus of the fan-base (at least, prior to the announcement) seemed to be not in worrying whether Shenmue III was the best game in the series; in fact, it seemed that many people didn't care if Shenmue III was a game at all. That said, the fact that we're getting a playable continuation is huge. I'm with you in thinking that certain elements will be sacrificed or changed, but I'd be feeling that way even if the game had the budget of the first two games.

In one sense, including a city this time around would require much greater resources. Take people, for example. 20 or so people walking around on a city street just wouldn't cut it at this point. And adding more people, yet keeping with Shenmue's immersive nature (daily routines and dialogue) for each person would be a huge undertaking. It makes a lot more sense, then, to focus on smaller, less populated areas where focus will be given to more intimate details and objects. In that way, I agree again with you that there may be a greater sense of linearity. I don't think it will be totally linear, but it certainly won't be as open.

I really feel like this wouldn't have been possible without Adam Boyes. Especially when he mentions all of the other publishers passing on the project. It was an uphill battle and this guy really went above and beyond to make this happen for us. As a community we really do owe him our thanks.