Shenmue 3 sales & franchise future

[Shibiryo]

What we can do is intentionally buy several copies of the game in-store (physical copies) which would help boost sales of the game. With those copies, you could just sell em' on Ebay or give them out to people for free. Sure, it would create the "out of stock" problem but then they could just stock up themselves.

[Monkei]

^ If you're selling those extra copies on Ebay or giving them away you're not really helping the game's sales, unless you're giving them to people who'd never buy them anyway.

[Shibiryo]

Well, new fans, they would have to play the first two before III so that tactic I mentioned might not work. The extra copies could just be sold to people (discounted) that want to buy the game with those sales sent to Yu Suzuki.

[shenmue852]

i remember back in 2001, people bought multiple copies of Shenmue II. there was some guy who said he bought 7.

it didn't work.

don't waste your money, if it's successful it's successful. promote it in other ways. write a long blog post about why you think the game is great, and share it with people who haven't played the game.

[Anonymous81]

I will definitely buy more than one copy. I don't consider it a waste of money at all.

[shenmue852]

you can spend your money however you see fit, just don't imagine that it's going to have any real effect on sales figures unless you buy 50,000.

[mrandyk]

Your time and money will be better spent if you spread the word rather than buying an additional copy.

[Monkei]

^ Well, neither does it really cost time to buy a second copy, nor does it cost money to spread the word, so I don't really get why "time and money will be better spent". Clearly can't hurt to do both anyway.

It's not 2001, it's a much different situation now than it has been then. Many fans have been fighting or hoping for over a decade. The game and its potential sequels need all the support they can get, people know that.
One guy buying Shenmue II seven times (so six more copies sold) couldn't convince SEGA to greenlight Shenmue III? No shit. SIII has 70.000 backers (minus the fake accounts). I don't know how many of them would be willing to or are already planning to buy additional copies, but what if it's 5.000 or 10.000 of them? Would make a difference I think.

Would you have said the same about the kickstarter? Pledging or the amount you pledge doesn't make a difference? The failure or success of stuff like that comes with the mass of people that's thinking/feeling/doing the same.

But yeah, like you guys already said, everyone can spend his money and do as he likes of course. There's no right or wrong here.

[shenmue852]

donating to a kickstarter that was announced with Sony at E3 is different from a movement to purchase multiple copies. not that many people will sign up- not enough to make a difference.

an additional 10k copies(and that's being unrealistically optimistic) isn't going to be the difference between whether there'll be a Shenmue IV or not. if it only sells 10k, another 10k won't make it less of a failure. if it sells 1 million, another 10k won't be relevant.

it's better to spread awareness, and let things be when it comes to stuff that's out of our control. manipulating sales figures just isn't a practically accomplish-able task, and it's kind of dishonest anyway. but there's nothing wrong with buying copies to give away or an extra one to keep unopened. just my opinion though.

[elmatto]

For the franchises future...

I'm hoping we get more figures or statues. Especially with the recent boom in popularity.
Like for example, I'd love a Ryo figure with articulation.

Figma recently showed off some low poly virtua fighter figures, as well as announcing a yakuza figure.
Makes me hopeful for a Ryo figma.

[zema]

donating to a kickstarter that was announced with Sony at E3 is different from a movement to purchase multiple copies. not that many people will sign up- not enough to make a difference.

an additional 10k copies(and that's being unrealistically optimistic) isn't going to be the difference between whether there'll be a Shenmue IV or not. if it only sells 10k, another 10k won't make it less of a failure. if it sells 1 million, another 10k won't be relevant.

Well going by the number you used 10k extra copies sold (it is unrelealistic in my opinion as well) would generate an extra 600000$ in sales. This amout of Money would be pretty significant for a small company like ysnet, Not chump change like you make it out to be.

I for one will buy multiple copies and give them away to friends not interested in the game. I can always say to them: Hey this game has my name on the credits, you better play it to the end, lol maybe i can turn some of them into fans.

[Anonymous81]

Your time and money will be better spent if you spread the word rather than buying an additional copy.

The two are not mutually exclusive.

I choose how my time and money is best spent incidentally.

[punkmanced]

This may be a controversial opinion, but I think Shenmue and Shenmue II should be remade/rebooted so that it could have better execution, revised writing, expanded gameplay/extra content, and, most importantly, relevance for new generations and players that never played the old ones and would appreciate Shenmue III more if they were able to play the first 2 as games up to current day standards.

For sure the dub needs to be redone.

At the very least, it needs some kind of release (LOL) on current systems, considering how the originals went extinct over a decade ago.

A simple port with updated (dual stick) controls, HD resolution, and the JPN dub would be the bare minimum. Wishful thinking would of course include updated textures, character models, etc… but…we’ll take what we can get.

Fans might get access to Nocon Kid’s remake at some point in the future, as he’s previously stated. We'll see if that comes to pass.

Your time and money will be better spent if you spread the word rather than buying an additional copy.

The two are not mutually exclusive.

I choose how my time and money is best spent incidentally.

Indeed, the two are by no means mutually exclusive. The point is, if you want to make an impact as a fan, you’ll need to buy a copy at launch. Sales-wise, KS won’t mean squat come launch day. Spreading the good word on the interwebz would obviously count as a big plus.