Yu Suzuki considering Crowdfunding/Kickstarter to fund Shenmue 3

[Badnik Mechanic]

 
Translation: Yu Suzuki declares to be thinking about a kickstarter-LIKE model to fund Shenmue 3! #MAGS
 

 
Translation: Yu Suzuki would like to continue the Shenmue adventure in anime or manga form.

 

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So SSMB.... which one of you is going to pay the oh.... what... $60 Million this kickstarter goal is likely to be?
  
But don't get your hopes up just yet... from the Team Yu facebook page...
 

Now, we don't want to get anyone's hopes up. As exciting as this sounds, the news is still rather vague and ambiguous, at least until we're able to gather more details. But we promised to pass along whatever came out of the Monaco Anime Game Show this weekend, so please take this with a grain of salt for the time being:

As you may recall from an earlier post, Sebastien-Abdelhamid had asked fans on Twitter to suggest questions that he would ask Yu Suzuki at the MAGS convention. Well, here's a new tweet from the interviewer following that session:

"Yu Suzuki déclare penser au Crownfunding type Kickstarter pour financer Shenmue 3 ! #MAGS"

https://twitter.com/SAbdelhamid/stat...59625822728192

This roughly translates to:

"Yu Suzuki declares he is thinking about crowdfunding such as Kickstarter to finance Shenmue 3! #MAGS"

A thrilling prospect for sure, but before we get carried away let's acknowledge a few things. First of all, while it still inspires hope, it says he's only thinking about it. But most importantly, we don't yet know the context of these comments. We don't even have a direct quote. Did Yu volunteer this statement, or was he coaxed into politely going along with an idea presented to him on the spot? We simply don't know at this stage, so we hope to see a video or at least a full transcription of the interview before deciding how seriously to take this tweet.

We have said before that we believe Yu would be more open to the Kickstarter concept than the corporate suits at Sega. You can read our previous comments here:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=375636402448405

On this latest development, we'll keep you posted.

The recent talk about Kickstarter has been interesting, with Psychonauts developer Double Fine Productions managing to raise over $1,000,000 in under 24 hours to make a new adventure game. Naturally this has a lot of Shenmue fans very excited at the prospect of Sega using a similar approach to overcome their financial wariness toward making Shenmue III.

However, Sega and Double Fine are in very different positions. Chances are, most gamers were unfamiliar with the name Double Fine before their fundraising story went viral. Asking fans to pledge money for a game the company otherwise couldn't afford to make is how this underdog developer has made its name. Sega, on the other hand, has a reputation as one of the most established and prolific brands in the industry. Resorting to Kickstarter is likely to seem beneath them, even if it's what the consumer wants. Their corporate ego won't allow it.

Team Yu maintains that the only way we'll ever see Shenmue III become a reality is if Yu Suzuki can obtain the license from Sega. He may then see the benefit in crowdsourcing the capital required to make the game, and we can all put our money where our collective mouth is. But until he has the rights to Shenmue, there'll be no project to fund.

The obstacle between fans and the game remains Sega's stubborn burial of the Shenmue license, instead of giving it to the one man who can put it to good use. Suzuki wants to make the game. We want him to make the game, and would invest our money to help him do so. But before that can happen, Sega must first do the right thing and let Yu take control of Shenmue's destiny.

Please join Team Yu in lifting the plight of our most wanted sequel over this hurdle. Then we'll be on the right track for the kickstart to begin.

Place bets now, what will come out first, Shenmue 3 or The Last Guardian?

[Linkabel]

You know, a lot of people seem to want a Shenmue 3 so I wouldn't call it that crazy of an idea (is still crazy though). Inb4 Iizuka starts a kickstarter for SA3 and Shadow The Hedgehog 2: Ecco the Dolphin strikes Back

[Urban Flow]

I would love a Shenmue 3!!!!

[The Kid]

Considering pretty much every Sega article on gaming sites is flooded with "Shenmue 3!" types of comments, I'm not exactly doubting the ability of people to fund it.

[Scott]

I'd love for both Shenmue games to come to XBLA/Steam/PSN firstly. It could generate even more hype for a third game!

[iDEATH]

Ammount seems high but that's how much these things cost. I'd like to know what incentives they'll give out to donators though, I'd maybe consider giving something.

[Badnik Mechanic]

$60 Million

 

Guys... that isn't a confirmed figure, thats just my guess.I have no idea if that figure is right or if it's anywhere in the rhelms of reality. Only one of the figures for A: CM is said to be $40 Million, if this goes ahead it'll likely be a Next Gen system release so most if not everything would have to be built from scratch, I doubt they could even get away with just using tons of assests from the yakuza series and hoping that will help as a foundation.

[ArtFenix]

Inb4 Ryo Hazuki is not cool anymore and he would be laughed at if people would see him in a bar..

So it'd be better to make a westernized reboot. Maybe offer the development to some guys from Ninja Theory or something..

 

 

What I'm trying to say is if the game ever comes out, I hope it will still have that japanese soul like the first two titles.