#E32015 Shenmue 3 Kickstarter Campaign Launches & Hits Target With Ease!

Update 17/06/15: It has been confirmed that Sony will be supporting the development of Shenmue 3 from start to finish with financial support and expertise, which would all but rule out an Xbox One release.  During a stream, Sony PlayStation’s director of third party production and developer relations; Gio Corsi said that “Sony and PlayStation is definitely a partner in this game,” and added ”It’s going be run through third-party production. We’re going to help YsNet get the game done. We’re going to be partners on it the whole way.“

While some may show anger at this, especially considering Sony’s stature, raising concerns that the game should never have needed a crowd-funding campaign, I believe it’s more of a statement to potential investors that the gaming community want this game to happen.  I’ve supported this game myself (which is my first Kickstarter involvement), but  I see my $29 as a pre-paid purchase for a game that I’ve waited 14 long years for and would have purchased anyway, and I’m sure many others feel the same.

I can also understand Xbox One owner’s disappointment, but unlike games such as Rise of the Tomb Raider (and closer to the Bayonetta 2’s situation for Wii U), Shenmue 3 has been a game stuck in development hell for 14 years, and year on year, it was growing more unlucky that this saga would never be finished.  But I do hope that one day, Shenmue 3 will come to formats outside of PC and PS4, because I believe all fans that have been waiting as long as I have, deserve to finish this trilogy.  Now, if Yu Suzuki would kindly give us a Shenmue 1 & 2 HD Collection, I would be furthermore internally grateful.

Original Story: It one has to be one of the biggest surprises and announcements in the history of E3, as a Kickstarter campaign was revealed for the incredibly overdue Shenmue 3 at the PlayStation conference!  Yes, you’ve read that right, Shenmue 3!

With it being a Kickstarter campaign, obviously it will need to reach its $2m target if it has any chance of becoming reality, but considering the fact it’s already hit its target with ease, it should pretty much guarantee its existence.

Shenmue 3 will release for PC and PS4, sadly there’s no word of an Xbox One release just yet and it will run off the Unreal 4 engine.  It is said to feature “familiar elements from its predecessors and new fight mechanics to achieve a new level of interactive storytelling.”

 

Considering it’s been 14 long years since the release of Shenmue 2 (I know, right?), below is the official press release to help get you back up to speed with its plot details.

The director and producer of the original Shenmue games and this proposed third instalment; Yu Suzuki had this to say on the Kickstarter campaign:

According to the Kickstarter page, Shenmue 3 is currently slated for a December 2017 release, but that might just be a placeholder for now (hopefully).  Even though it’s easily exceeded its target, if you want to be a part of this exciting news, then please consider making a pledge over at Kickstarter and use the hashtag #SaveShenmue and #Shenmue3 to spread the word.