Look in the community section of shenmuedojo.

Shenmue is a weird game to describe because there's nothing quite like it.

It's some kind of deadly premonition, yakuza, adventure gaming, Virtua FIghter fighting, and zen philosophy, if that makes sense.

You really need to give it a shot, it's not a game that can please everybody, but it's still an unique game, and quite a part of gaming history (incredibly revolutionary for it's time).

Possibly. 11M stretch goals are insane... still, Kickstarters that really fuck up their PR get more heat than that. I've seen Kickstarters with negative donation days... i.e. pledge withdrawals higher than new pledges.

Maybe when they announce 20M stretch goals! ;)

And that alone was sheer stupidity. Why in the World did they announce stretch goals up to 11mill when they couldn't get over 3.5mill? Who came up with that bright idea? Now IIRC it was around eight days ago when they were struggling to get over the 3.5mill hump. Now here we are with seventeen days left and they can't break 3.8mill. And you know it wouldn't be that bad if the goals were decent but they were basically "more mini-games on islands" when no one asked for that. Whoever thought of that should be fired. It may be Yu's vision but he asked for 10mill he'll be lucky to see half of it. Unveiling those helped no one because really the only thing backers can say is "please help Yu to realize his vision" when asking people to donate. Having a port or something else like that is a much better incentive then more mini-games.

Everyone everywhere wants to say it's because Sony was revealed to be helping them out with funding and others thought that their donations weren't needed. I think that's malarkey and an outright excuse. It's the fact that the Kickstarter is run terribly, the stretch goals suck, the rewards are even worse and the only reason people are really donating is due to loving the game. Others are willing to chip in but they still aren't giving people what they want so they aren't getting any money. It's a good thing that Yu has admitted in that Twitch that he's aware what people want such things as physical PS4 discs, no DRM and the remasters but he better hurry up with the negotiations because I doubt it'll help anyone if he drops them after the Kickstarter is over.

I'm reminded of that Bard's Tale IV Kickstarter. I saw they had the first three games in there free when the person pledges over $20. I threw $25 at them. I'm not rich but I was willing to make that investment if only for the four games. I'd get the first three plus the new one when it came out and they'd all be on Mac. No argument here. Now think of if Yu came out with new rewards like, $60 and above gets the physical discs, $100 and above gets the remasters, no DRM period on the games. All he'd have to do is kick back and watch the money roll in. Remember backers are already saying they'll add more if only physical became an option so that's people who have already donated and are willing to give more. Easy money! And who knows how many are holding onto their cash due to wanting remasters or the game to be DRM free? Then there's the elephant in the room, other consoles. He hasn't said a peep about that. Reading on the Kickstarter the Bloodstained people listened to what people said. They wanted a Wii U port and they were willing to cut the game if need be for them to have it. Soon after they announced a Wii U port and donations increased for that.

On the goals, do you think it could be due to the fact that many people don't care? Myself, I played both Shenmues. I enjoyed walking around the city and talking to people but I was moreso into trying to find Lan Di. I couldn't have cared less about mini-games. I understand this is part of Yu's vision and many fans want it that have already backed but does anyone think that the casual person really cares about another island with more mini-games? I seriously doubt it. Could that also be affecting funding? Think of someone who doesn't know what Shenmue is. Like myself and Bard's Tale, I had no clue what that game is. Anyone think they might come in, see mini-games as a stretch goal and say "so what" then move on to something else? What if they don't have a PS4 or PC? It seems people want people to donate anyway just to help but who wants to give money to something they can't benefit from? This isn't a charity, this is a video game and if someone can't play it why would they donate?

Also on the Kickstarter they are saying the rewards are overpriced. I agree with that. The only one worth buying is the jacket IMHO and I still don't get why I have to give $250 for an extra costume in the game.

Anyone hear about that $30 on the 3rd thing? Where everyone is supposed to chip in $30 on the 3rd? I don't think it'll end well and even if it does I doubt they'll see a substantial increase from it.

Judging from the Kickstarter there's a big update coming so I'm kinda anxious to see what he has in store for everyone. Surely he knows what people want so maybe he'll start giving them what they want.

It's been pretty quiet around here the past few days. Today is the infamous "30 on the 3rd" so the campaign has seen quite a boost. In fact it finally got out of the 3mill slump and hit a little over 4mill. There are new tiers but all appealing to those who want to drop over $1000. I don't think many are interested in that. But the real news is that they finally released a tier involving a physical PS4 disc at $60. That's pretty decent. I also saw a backer saying they'd add more to their pledge for a Mac version which is good in my case. I almost felt like I'm the only one who wanted it on Mac.

Thinking it over I'm not sure that they'd add the remasters in as a tier. Sega has to know about the interest in them by now. I'm sure Yu sat them down to discuss it and I'm wondering if Sega is thinking it'd be a good idea to release them after the campaign ends. Sega would want to go for the most amount of money possible and having them as a tier might not really give them a ton of cash. It'd help Yu but that's about it. Releasing them after the fact is a huge gamble but for some reason I feel that Sega would and probably will do it that way instead. I hope I'm wrong.

As for the no DRM and other console versions, things aren't looking very good on that. In fact I haven't heard it mentioned at all since that Twitch interview.

Finally got a response back from the Kickstarter team. Seems like their story has changed a bit. Could this mean good news for the DRM-Free community in the near future? I don't really want to get my hopes up too high, but that is a world of difference from the message that SCPM recieved. Thoughts?

My only thought is they better get it in gear. We're on a countdown here. There are maybe about eleven days left ATM and those two things are holding me back from pledging. DRM and no Mac version. It appears that a Mac version isn't in the cards and I'm coming to terms with that. People like me will have to hope it gets ported. I get that. But DRM is a no deal for me. I've read on Kickstarter and on various other sites. I'll admit that the comments are few and far between but a Mac and DRM version are other requests. Some are even holding their pledges until these come down the line. This is why I'm saying they better get it in gear.

Another thing I want to comment on is this. I've stayed close reading the NEOGAF.com forums this whole time and they talk alot about Shenmue III and Yu's vision. There's an ongoing debate here about how some feel he's stupid to not wrap this up with the third game. Many say that they want him to stick to his four to five game vision. Others say that's a bit much, some fat can be trimmed and he really needs to end it with this one. My opinion is that after all these years I think he should also end it with this or, as another poster said, end III in such a way that if there is no funding there's no major cliffhanger. The story could go on or it could end, kind of like Ryo's continued adventures. That would be awesome. But after all of this and the fact that it's doubtful he'll raise the 10mill I'm blown away that this man had the nerve to say that he wants a fourth and fifth game. As I understand the first two didn't do so hot and the third needed a Kickstarter after people begged for fourteen years. If he got his 10mill as he wanted then sure but the man may be lucky to get 6mill. People are even suggesting he go to Kickstarter for the fourth which I don't get because he hasn't reached his ultimate goal. I think they're all getting ahead of themselves. III isn't even out yet but the good news is people are swearing the remasters are coming.

Oh, and on that. Some want to pledge but they want to know what the deal with Shenmue is. Others want remasters to check the series out. Rumor is that they'll drop in the next year or so.

And he really needs to add Paypal support. That's holding some others up.

Many people wanted a physical copy of the PS4 version, so they got it. I assume there are a lot of people pestering them for a DRM-Free option for the PC version (as their tune has changed from "No" to "We're looking into it", it seems likely), so we could very well see that happen before the end of the campaign as well. Many people are asking for PayPal support and that seems likely to happen in the final week, too. The huge surge in support upon the announcement of the PS4 physical copy has to prove to them that giving the community what it wants will result in more support for the project. They may not hit the $11mil goal, but they'll easily get to $6mil at the rate they're going.

As for Suzuki-san's vision, it would seem foolish to end Shenmue 3 on a cliffhanger. As no one knows how the story of this new game will play out, it seems like a no-brainer that it will end with some sort of acceptable conclusion. It might not wrap everything up, thus leaving a window open for future sequels, but I think Suzuki-san learned his lesson after Shenmue 2's ending. Of course, only time will truly tell.

As for the supposed remasters for the first two games, I think it seems likely to happen. The decision, ultimately, is out of Suzuki-san's control, but Sega would be foolish not to capitalize on the hype. We might not get confirmation of a remaster before the end of the Kickstarter campaign, but I still think we'll see them prior to Shenmue 3's release. The cutscenes being included in Shenmue 3 seem like more of a failsafe on Suzuki-san's part just in case Sega drops the ball.

I think 6mill is very feasible. Maybe even 8mill if they keep on the way they're going but I seriously doubt that 11mill will be reached. I'm glad they're listening to people. I hope they end up DRM free and with other versions on other consoles even if they are very limited. I've no doubt that the Kickstarter would see a massive boost from that.

My feeling is that I just don't want this story to end up unfinished. I know the Shenmue community is huge but I also don't think this game is going to be a smashing success. It was a cult favorite to begin with and I'm just afraid that he's going to mess around and IV will never happen. Some guys are saying they'd gladly wait another fourteen years for a IV but I don't know. Not to mention Yu is up in his years. Who's to say he'll be around for another fourteen years?

You know I've read a couple other comments where people have said they'd love to donate more but they gave most of their money to Bloodstained. Maybe Yu miscalculated. He should've done this immediately after tax time. I've no doubt some people would've thrown their entire refund check his way.

Question, people are speaking of him continuing funding through some option with people donating every month. Would him being able to get the 11mill through that actually matter?

Now see that is something I think he needs to seriously consider. He can just drop Shenmue III with whatever he has so far and whatever goals he didn't reach he can pursue through DLC along with the rest of the story. I haven't heard him mention that even once so I can only wonder if he's familiar with the concept. Maybe if this game does well enough people in his camp or even on the Kickstarter will suggest it to him? That's the ideal way to finish this series and once all is done if he so desires he can release physical versions kinda like Walking Dead and Shovel Knight. Shovel Knight is infamous and only now is it finally getting a physical release.

Zero Escape III?! I never got II! I gotta get with it!

https://www.candb.com/en/artwork/1516/shenmue-sega.html
Hey check it out, the print is for sale!

Took them almost 3 weeks, but got a reply about drm free, almost copy past to one posted above:

"Hello Darkangel,
Thank you very much for your message.
We are currently looking into the possibilities of releasing a DRM free version.
Should a DRM free version be confirmed we will post an update to the page so please stay tuned.
Best regards,
Oscar&
The Shenmue 3 Kickstarter Team"

One can hope 10 days is enough for them to come to a decision about drm free.

Look at the previous page's last message, you'll have a far more complete answer. :p

This sounds very similar to answers they sent to backers that wanted a disc version of PS4. I am pretty sure DRM free will be announced in the next few days. And they should take advantage of every possibility to reach 6 million.

In the hopes of receiving further clarification, I replied to the message I received and asked why the response was so different from the one SCPM received three weeks ago. This is their uplifting response: I am so glad I decided to send that message because this response is awesome. It's one thing to make assumptions and it's another to have the concrete facts on the matter. I am glad that the dev team have heard our cries. I just hope they are able to announce the great news before the end of the campaign. Fingers crossed!

When a developer initiates a "Slacker Backer" program, it can go either way. I've seen campaigns where devs have used this system to reach further stretch goals, but I've also seen ones that simply use it as a way to pad their budget for the features they already achieved. Knowing how Suzuki-san wants this game to be as big as possible, he definitely could use a system like this to reach any unattained goals. Whether or not he will is yet to be seen.

There is a very long interview (part 1, part 2) from 2010 with Yu Suzuki and Tak Hirai. They will be the main persons behind Shenmue III.

So if you still don't know what Shenmue or who the Yu Suzki is please read it and support the Kickstarter.

Part 2 is more interesting and more Shenmue related. I really can not imagine that this genius will not change the way we experience one more time.

Youtube videos I recommend about Shenmue and Yu Suziki:

Project Berkley

Shenmue Postmortem GDC 2014 with his friend Mark Cerny who designed the Playstation 4

Finally got my response too, basically what everyone has has (finally) gotten:

"Thank you very much for your messages. (Our) mailbox is getting a lot of use these days so sometimes it takes a while to reply, our apologies. We are currenlty still looking into DRM-free possibilities and have not decided on a PC vendor yet. Once these things are decided we will post an update to the page , so stay tuned. We will forward your request to use GOG to Yu Suzuki and the Ys net team. Best regards, Oscar & The Shenmue 3 Kickstarter Team"

I don't have a lot of hope but it's important we make our voices heard. :) EDIT: Actually, two posts above does give me a bit of hope.