Statement Regarding PayPal/Slacker Backer Rewards

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Statement Regarding PayPal/Slacker Backer Rewards

Postby Sean » Thu Jan 07, 2016 1:24 pm

Dear Members,

In light of the recent controversy regarding the active PayPal Slacker Backer campaign and the respective polling that was conducted, we at the Dojo feel that it is important to set the record straight and to provide the community at-large with an accurate briefing on what has transpired.

Following up an initial earlier poll that was posted via Twitter, a second poll was conducted which was open to all backers of the Kickstarter campaign which terminated many months ago. This poll, which ran from 12/24/2015 to 1/01/2016, asked participants whether or not Kickstarter “Exclusive Rewards” should be made available for the Slacker Backer campaign. While the results of the polling and the responses from the over 15,000 participants were rather mixed, it was ultimately decided that the “Exclusive” Rewards would not be made available on the PayPal page as originally stipulated.

Following this announcement within the Kickstarter Project Update #51, there was much confusion and uncertainty regarding the status and validity of the entire PayPal campaign. It was postulated by some that all backers of the campaign would not receive the rewards they thought they confirmed with their contributions, with some going further to state that the backers would receive no rewards at all. This could not be farther from the truth and is a gross misrepresentation of what has been announced by Awesome Japan & YS Net. To be clear: ALL EXISTING PAYPAL REWARDS (ARE) WILL REMAIN INTACT AND ARE NOT AFFECTED BY THE RECENT POLL. THIS LATEST POLL ACTED MERELY TO ASCERTAIN WHETHER REWARDS THAT HAD BEEN OMITTED FROM THE ORIGINAL KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN SHOULD BE INCLUDED ADDITIONALLY IN THE PAYPAL CAMPAIGN. NO REWARDS ARE BEING TAKEN AWAY FROM ANY BACKERS; ONLY NO ADDITIONAL REWARDS WILL BE ADDED FOR THOSE WHO HAVE OR INTEND TO CONTRIBUTE VIA PAYPAL.

It is important to note that Awesome Japan has in-fact addressed this issue directly to fans who have inquired about their methodology. In a response to this inquiry they stated: “…While the votes in favor of removing exclusivity marginally outnumbered those against, they did not represent a majority opinion in the poll. The poll numbers do show that there are also many backers who do not wish to give up their exclusive rewards. We feel that the logical conclusion to these results is to leave exclusivity as it is because there was not enough support to justify making an exception to go back on our original promise.” While there have been instances in which Awesome Japan has presented developments regarding Shenmue 3 in a rather unclear and ambiguous manner, they nevertheless have proven to be passionate and dedicated towards the greater project and all of us in the community should continue to vest our confidence in them. As with any project with this scope and unprecedented magnitude, there are bound to be mistakes that will occur and it is essential for all us to remain united in our cause and to not pass rash judgment on them or on fellow community members; such conduct will only serve to impede the proper release of the game that we have waited over a decade to have in our collective midst.

We as a community have persevered through much over the past few years, which makes what we have achieved in the past 6 months that much more remarkable and inspiring. However, we must recognize that our journey has not yet concluded and that there is still much we can contribute towards the realization of our dream of having Shenmue 3 become a reality. A major part of this contribution is to facilitate a community which is open and embracing to all who find value through the experience of Shenmue and the sharing of what the series represents to each of us. Let us not forget about the diversity in perspective and point of view that exists within our community and let us coalesce these outlooks to make our voices heard in fruitful ways.

Thank you for your time and as always: Keep Friends.

The Shenmue Dojo Staff

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Sean
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Re: Statement Regarding PayPal/Slacker Backer Rewards

Postby Peter » Thu Jan 07, 2016 1:38 pm

Good job bud :nice!:
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Re: Statement Regarding PayPal/Slacker Backer Rewards

Postby James Brown » Thu Jan 07, 2016 1:44 pm

The first bit of sense since the update :)
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Re: Statement Regarding PayPal/Slacker Backer Rewards

Postby SheepheadCG » Thu Jan 07, 2016 4:10 pm

Great job with the post Sean, very clear and to the point.
It was brought to my attention today that Polygon actually revised their article on the matter. They have a quote directly from YS.net that might be useful for the post if you feel it's necessary. Here is the excerpt from the article, along with YS.net's quote:

From Polygon:
"We reached out to Ys Net for clarification on this and the nature of the reward offerings following the poll results. Their statement reads as follows:"

There apparently was a miscommunication concerning the poll in the previous update.

Both the Kickstarter Backers and the Slacker Backers will all be receiving their rewards as listed on the Kickstarter and Slacker Backer pages respectively. Nothing is changing with the currently offered rewards.

The poll from the previous update was asking whether additional Kickstarter Exclusive rewards like the Dice Dude Capsule Toy etc. would be added to the Slacker Backer PayPal page. This point was not made clear enough.

We apologize [for] the misunderstanding. All PayPal purchased rewards will be delivered as promised per the Slacker Backer page information.
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Re: Statement Regarding PayPal/Slacker Backer Rewards

Postby Sonoshee » Sat Jan 09, 2016 5:32 am

At least they had the balls to correct their mistake this time around.
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