Shenmue Dojo

There have been many questions concerning Shenmue 3’s budget and what outside sources will be added to the money collected through Kickstarter. I apologize for not having been more forthright in this area and would like to take this opportunity to help clarify the situation.

Ys Net and I have been putting in many long years trying to find a way to bring back a sequel that so many fans have waited so long for. After learning of Kickstarter, I knew it would be possible to get Shenmue 3 started. Wanting to make the best game possible, I also knew that I would have to look to more traditional means to obtain all the funds that would be needed to create the game I had envisioned.

Sony and Shibuya Productions have been wonderful partners because they believe in Shenmue and want to see the best for the fans and the game. Their investment in (and support of) Shenmue have helped to realize a sequel that will stand proud with its predecessors. While it is not business practice to discuss the specific details of such arrangements, I can say that with their assistance on the production and marketing end, and in Sony’s case with some publishing support as well, Ys Net is able to use more of the money we collect through Kickstarter purely for Shenmue 3’s development. It is also important to note that your funds are going strictly to Ys Net for development of Shenmue 3 – Sony and Shibuya Productions are not seeing a cent of your Kickstarter dollars.

The outpouring of support from all of you, the backers, has been so inspirational. I cannot thank you enough. Having reached our funding goal, I am excited to say that the Shenmue story will go on, and our journey with Ryo and Shenhua will continue. Fans will be able to enjoy the sequel they have waited so long for, and newcomers to the series will be introduced to a unique gaming experience.

Of course, like with any Kickstarter, additional funding will only help us make a better game. On top of everything Shenmue 3 will already bring, the Stretch Goals that I have laid out will add extra quests, events, and new gameplay systems that will make the game even more immersive and take the series to the next level. At the $5 million mark, there will be an all new gameplay feature I would be excited to be able to add to the Shenmue legacy. If we should make the $10 million Stretch Goal, a much larger, completely open world will be yours to explore.

Even if these Stretch Goals are not reached, Shenmue 3 will already be a sequel true to its name, and one we can all be proud of. It is my hope though, that together we can make this Shenmue just as revolutionary as the first two were.

I understand this statement may by late in coming. Going forward, we wish to be as open as possible concerning the game’s development. I would like to again ask for your cooperation and support in helping make Shenmue 3 the best that it can be.

Sincerely, Yu Suzuki

The more we can raise during this campaign, the more Shenmue 3 will come alive. Together, we can make it happen. Together, we can make a Shenmue that surpasses even the originals!

Sonoshee wrote: I've seen idiots posting the same thing about Sony footing the entire development cost on Eurogamer, IGN and even in the Kickstarter comments. I'm doing my best to try to convince them otherwise but it's not sinking in.

Rikitatsu wrote:- Yu Suzuki says the majority of investment will be from Kickstarter.

Nahovil wrote:

Rikitatsu wrote:- Yu Suzuki says the majority of investment will be from Kickstarter.

It takes a bit of imagination to infer this sentence from your source.

- As far as money goes, he expects the game's investment will primarily come from individual backers, so he wants them all to be happy with the finished product. Doesn't sound like Sony and others are giving them all THAT much.

Adam Boyes has conveyed in two or three occasions that Sony is backing the project substantially.

Nahovil wrote:

Rikitatsu wrote:- Yu Suzuki says the majority of investment will be from Kickstarter.

It takes a bit of imagination to infer this sentence from your source.





Adam Boyes has conveyed in two or three occasions that Sony is backing the project substantially.

We're getting behind it in a major way

Rikitatsu wrote:
Sources:

- Adam Boyes says there providing "Some Funding"
- Yu Suzuki says the

Peter wrote:

Rikitatsu wrote:
Sources:

- Adam Boyes says there providing "Some Funding"
- Yu Suzuki says the

That to me are 3 conflicting reports and why I am not paying any attention to anything that anyone says about funding. We won't know whats going on behind the scenes so I'm not going to fret over it.

Luke_09 wrote: As I've said in a precious thread, the fact of the matter is, NONE OF US know exactly how much external funding this game is getting. It's all speculation at the moment, that's as much as we do know!

Until that time comes, all we have is the KickStarter, that's the only thing at the moment that is giving us real monetary values! That's why we cannot assume that others are heavily funding this game until we know for sure. From the sounds of things we will never know for sure.

Therefore we MUST keep promoting the KickStarter and getting the word out there.

Rikitatsu wrote:

Luke_09 wrote: As I've said in a precious thread, the fact of the matter is, NONE OF US know exactly how much external funding this game is getting. It's all speculation at the moment, that's as much as we do know!

Until that time comes, all we have is the KickStarter, that's the only thing at the moment that is giving us real monetary values! That's why we cannot assume that others are heavily funding this game until we know for sure. From the sounds of things we will never know for sure.

Therefore we MUST keep promoting the KickStarter and getting the word out there.

No matter how much you promote the Kickstarter, if the average gamer thinks a Multi-Billion corporation is footing the bill, why would he pledge? First we must clear this misunderstanding, then promote.

None of us know the exact amount of external funding, but we know Suzuki is expecting the majority of the budget to come from Kickstarter. This (and Sony executives comments) give clear indication that external funding isn't as much as people would like to believe.

Luke_09 wrote:

Rikitatsu wrote:

Luke_09 wrote: As I've said in a precious thread, the fact of the matter is, NONE OF US know exactly how much external funding this game is getting. It's all speculation at the moment, that's as much as we do know!

Until that time comes, all we have is the KickStarter, that's the only thing at the moment that is giving us real monetary values! That's why we cannot assume that others are heavily funding this game until we know for sure. From the sounds of things we will never know for sure.

Therefore we MUST keep promoting the KickStarter and getting the word out there.

No matter how much you promote the Kickstarter, if the average gamer thinks a Multi-Billion corporation is footing the bill, why would he pledge? First we must clear this misunderstanding, then promote.

None of us know the exact amount of external funding, but we know Suzuki is expecting the majority of the budget to come from Kickstarter. This (and Sony executives comments) give clear indication that external funding isn't as much as people would like to believe.

But the fact is, none of us know if there even is a misunderstanding!

Rikitatsu wrote:

Luke_09 wrote: As I've said in a precious thread, the fact of the matter is, NONE OF US know exactly how much external funding this game is getting. It's all speculation at the moment, that's as much as we do know!

Until that time comes, all we have is the KickStarter, that's the only thing at the moment that is giving us real monetary values! That's why we cannot assume that others are heavily funding this game until we know for sure. From the sounds of things we will never know for sure.

Therefore we MUST keep promoting the KickStarter and getting the word out there.

No matter how much you promote the Kickstarter, if the average gamer thinks a Multi-Billion corporation is footing the bill, why would he pledge? First we must clear this misunderstanding, then promote.

None of us know the exact amount of external funding, but we know Suzuki is expecting the majority of the budget to come from Kickstarter. This (and Sony executives comments) give clear indication that external funding isn't as much as people would like to believe.