Well, that was quick.
In less than half a day, Shenmue 3 has already reached its stretch goal of $2 million on Kickstarter after it was announced by creator Yu Suzuki at Sony’s E3 press conference. In only 9 hours, it has broken the record for the fastest Kickstarter project to reach $1 million and $2 million in funding. At this rate, Shenmue 3 would accumulate $5 million by the end of the day, and a whopping $165 MILLION by the end of its project on July 18th. In other words, Bloodstained can solemnly hand over the title of most-funded video game in Kickstarter history to Shenmue 3 and wallow away with its measly $5.5 million.
The sequel to the classic open world action RPG games Shenmue and Shenmue 2, Shenmue 3 will be built using Unreal Engine 4 and have “new fight mechanics to achieve a new level of interactive storytelling,” according to its Kickstarter.
“Our ambition is to deliver a Shenmue experience that will draw in newcomers to the series and reward diehard fans with its deep story and rich gameplay.”
According to Suzuki, “With the advent of games using Kickstarter during these past few years, the new and now frequent demand from the fans has been, “Do a Kickstarter for Shenmue 3!”
Considering that Shenmue was the most expensive video game at its time with a $70 million budget, it might seem odd that its Kickstarter goal is such a low figure. However, there’s a reason Shenmue 3 was announced at Sony’s E3 press conference, and also is a PlayStation 4 and PC exclusive; it’s being published by Sony. Only with Sony’s help could Shenmue 3 ever be a reality, and after 14 years, it’s safe to say another beloved series becoming a PlayStation exclusive isn’t so bad, Xbox be damned. Besides, Xbox already had its turn at exclusivity with Shenmue 2, and it sure went well for Dreamcast.
$29 still gives new backers a digital copy of Shenmue 3 on PS4 or PC, with numerous rewards for higher pledges up to $500 for a toy capsule box set with four figures. It looks like some heavy hitters are happily stepping up to the funding plate as well: so far, three $10,000 pledges which included rewards of a dinner with Yu Suzuki and a Shenmue script set have already gone, as well as one $10,000 pledge for the original Ryo’s jacket.
With an estimated delivery of December 2017, you might be hesitant about paying for a game at least two years away, but there’s no need to worry; with 31 days left in the campaign, there’s still plenty of time to think.
