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SHENMUE 3 kickstarter (PC/PS4) - FINAL DAY - NEW KS RECORD GO GO GO!
- Thread starter Mr. RPG
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Theonik
Member
It would be cool if we could team with the Dojo and other Shenmue communities to bring a surge on the 3rd of July since they were already planning something, the dust is settling now so the time is right to try a second mainstream push. We need to find additional platforms for promoting it though. Maybe something unorthodox might work. Like maybe get people to do (positive) things relating to the campaign that could make local news?
John Bender
Banned
That's exactly how Kickstarter works. The last few days are important.Älg;169904852 said:
8 X 11 Printer Paper
Member
Yeah that would work, though it would cause the issue of the the total amount always going up and down with the change in currency. As well as screwing up how the graph looks since Yooka was a much longer campaign (12 days longer or so). In the end unless people really want to compare it I'd rather not deal with it.
Yeah, their campaign is being mishandled and they don't seem to be aware of it. I don't know how anyone who's never heard of the game could look at their Kickstarter page and get excited. It's something they should address right away.
I know most kickstarters regain some momentum towards the end, but were talking like 300.000 dollars in like one day. I don't really see that happening. But hey, I could be wrong of course.
Theonik
Member
This is not really simple to do from a project management perspective. The goals are planned like this because it makes sense financially and in terms of resources. I wish they were smarter to put them together so that they didn't have this uneven spacing between them and they could keep momentum between reaching them. They also shouldn't have revealed them all at once so early but did it only for the final push where pacing doesn't really matter anymore and it's all about inducing a sense of panic and urgency. But alas.
Maybe the way they've set it up opening PayPal soon and letting donations trickle over time is the best strategy then use the KS money as a bootstrap.
Usually the end surge is in the order of the start so you are looking at ~2m in the last 48hrs here, but there is no guarantee due to this KS being so different.Älg;169905308 said:
There are a lot of costs involved with creating a physical PS4 version.
Unless Sony is willing to shoulder the costs, it would just eat away funds that would be better used adding to the game.
Sure, a physical PS4 version would be nice, but it's at the very bottom of my wishlist. If they do it, Sony should be doing it at least.
Btw, was this posted yet? New artwork!
https://twitter.com/yu_suzuki_jp/status/614301026301014020/photo/1
Tricky I Shadow
Banned
He's not, but who knows - if we keep bugging him (please do) he might throw us a 2 million bone.
I was reading the other day that the Dojo was looking into renting a billboard for like $10,000 dollars. I can't really see that happening though. The story of that guy who donated $10,000 dollars and runs a school in Guilin should've been picked up by major gaming sites. Maybe we can push that and someone can do an interview with him?
But yeah, we've squeezed Shenmue fans dry at the moment. We need a big publicity stunt to happen now. Phase one is done, it's time for phase 2. We seriously need to buckle down and brainstorm some good ideas. That should be our top priority right now. Please post any ideas you have and let's work towards them!
crazyrabbits
Banned
On one hand, dips in the middle of the campaign are normal for KS. There's almost always a huge boost at the end, moreso if it's a fan favorite. You can bet there are a lot of people sitting on the fence (like me) who will jump in at the end or boost their pledge.
On the other, if I weren't a fan of the series, I would have absolutely no clue what any of the stretch goals mean. With something like the Bard's Tale IV KS, they show you stretch goals, but clearly explain what all of them are, what they entail and what they hope the player will get out of it (designer experience, etc). It seems like they threw some of these in just for the hell of it, like the Portuguese subtitles and "magic maze".
On the other, if I weren't a fan of the series, I would have absolutely no clue what any of the stretch goals mean. With something like the Bard's Tale IV KS, they show you stretch goals, but clearly explain what all of them are, what they entail and what they hope the player will get out of it (designer experience, etc). It seems like they threw some of these in just for the hell of it, like the Portuguese subtitles and "magic maze".
The Yooka-Laylee campaign had someone drawing and tweeting a Rare character everyday the campaign was active, it was quite popular and provided a daily plug.
It's weird, twitter is dead for mentions of Shenmue 3, even news sites have nothing to report on it. Whoever is running the Kickstarter campaign clearly doesn't want any additional money now it's funded.
Updates are needed to get it more press.
Why are they just letting it sink?
It's weird, twitter is dead for mentions of Shenmue 3, even news sites have nothing to report on it. Whoever is running the Kickstarter campaign clearly doesn't want any additional money now it's funded.
Updates are needed to get it more press.
Why are they just letting it sink?
Theonik
Member
There are daily updates with new information they just arent' that exciting. Yesterday they posted their response to the controversy and some sites picked that up while others spun it to new even more far-fetched concern campaigns and conspiracy theories.
Theonik
Member
More like, Ryo is following Yu Suzuki's footsteps in China.
I thought the exchange rate between USD and EUR was about 1:1 now, but it seems I was wrong, so it seems upping my pledge to 500 USD might be doable.
Add 30 USD on the 3rd, 40 USD on the 4th, 50 USD on the 5th and 60 USD on the 6th?
A 200 USD difference for 2 extra collectibles does feel a bit empty, though.:/
Add 30 USD on the 3rd, 40 USD on the 4th, 50 USD on the 5th and 60 USD on the 6th?
A 200 USD difference for 2 extra collectibles does feel a bit empty, though.:/
Jo Shishido's Cheeks
Member
Probably long beaten but I think Magic Maze means the majority of the buildings will be explorable and will all have unique interiors.
It's the name of the system for building generation and streaming, Yu spoke about it at one of the GDC talks IIRC.
Two questions:
- Why did the Yooka campaign run for 40+ days? Aren't all campaigns a month or can they be set to any amount?
- Just how did Star Citizen raise so much money post-campaign? Are there any recap articles about?
It's the name of the system for building generation and streaming, Yu spoke about it at one of the GDC talks IIRC.
Two questions:
- Why did the Yooka campaign run for 40+ days? Aren't all campaigns a month or can they be set to any amount?
- Just how did Star Citizen raise so much money post-campaign? Are there any recap articles about?
Night Hunter
Banned
Exploiting people with OCD by continuously selling bigger and better in-game items (ships) for ridiculous amounts of cash. Or that's what it looked like from the outside at least.
Star Citizen is supported like a F2P games it has made it's success by offering content for the "whales" (big spenders) of the market. Plus space simulators usually have followers who are happy to spend a lot more money or see extended value in smaller content. Similar to flight simulator players who would pay £60 for a single aircraft where as to gamers that is a sickening price for dlc.
The game itself is also huge covering exploration, economy, FPS, space battles and a lot more! Therefore it is covering a much larger playerbase who have interest in different sections of the game.
Hopefully Ys Net keeps opening a form of donations during the development process and logs Stretch goals on their website.
i think continued payments after the kickstarter ends is a really good idea at this point. the stretch goals show that a lot of that money is going into fleshing out the game world rather than developing core gameplay concepts. that means the money can keep coming in through development and not cause any drastic rewriting of design documents and screwing around with current implementation of systems.
this actually gets rid of any minor fears i had about the gameplay experience being shenmue-lite, as all the gameplay stretch goals seem to be enhancements of the systems we know and love from shenmue, rather than "hey pay 6 million to FREE battle again"
this actually gets rid of any minor fears i had about the gameplay experience being shenmue-lite, as all the gameplay stretch goals seem to be enhancements of the systems we know and love from shenmue, rather than "hey pay 6 million to FREE battle again"
To me the incredibly detailed world was a huge part of Shenmue. Just the fact that you could explore almost any nook and crany in the world was so much fun, made it feel very real.
I actually feel that if they don't get enough money to make Shenmue 3 at least as good as the previous games in that aspect I'd rather not have it. As it would just feel like a huge step down to me, it just wouldn't be Shenmue anymore.
I wouldn't put a too huge hope on that last days push as yooka layle didn't really get one.
I really hope they get enough money!
I actually feel that if they don't get enough money to make Shenmue 3 at least as good as the previous games in that aspect I'd rather not have it. As it would just feel like a huge step down to me, it just wouldn't be Shenmue anymore.
I wouldn't put a too huge hope on that last days push as yooka layle didn't really get one.
I really hope they get enough money!
Crimson_Justice
Member
I think what the campaign really needs is something that interests people who have never heard of or played the series before. It needs to convey to them what the game is like, why it's fun, and why they should want to play Shenmue 3.
My girlfriend had never heard of the series before, and she's slightly interested in it because of the reveal and hype and whatnot, but she has no idea what the games are actually like. She says if she had a better idea of what was special about it, what kind of game it is, she would back the campaign. Sure, she could look it up and find some Youtube videos, but that's not really her job to do when it comes to a Kickstarter. It should be the campaign and it's creator's job. But uh, if we wait on Ys Net, that might not happen in time to hit the high goals.
And I know my girlfriend is only one example, but she can't be the only one. There was even that GAF thread, "So what is Shenmue?"
So, as a suggestion, I think it would help get others interested if the huge fans from here, the dojo site, and wherever else, got together and made a hype video. Work together and get the $10k backers featured in it, get some really interesting/funny/viral gameplay from the previous games in it, and get fans to talk about why they love the series in it. There's gotta be some good writers in the community who can make sure everything is worded correctly and the right messages are being sent as well as some people good with video editing software to make it flow and be pleasant on the eyes. Out of all of the Kickstarters that I've seen, this is the one with the biggest, most passionate fanbase, and if any fanbase could do it, it's this one.
To be clear, I'm not saying that the fault should be placed on the fans. It's certainly up to those managing the Kickstarter to make sure what they need to happen happens. But, I know the fans are already putting tons of effort into this campaign, and I just wanted to give my suggestion to where I think their energy would be better placed.
Also, I apologize if something like this is already in the works. I haven't kept completely up-to-date on all of the goings-on, but I'm definitely interested in the game.
My girlfriend had never heard of the series before, and she's slightly interested in it because of the reveal and hype and whatnot, but she has no idea what the games are actually like. She says if she had a better idea of what was special about it, what kind of game it is, she would back the campaign. Sure, she could look it up and find some Youtube videos, but that's not really her job to do when it comes to a Kickstarter. It should be the campaign and it's creator's job. But uh, if we wait on Ys Net, that might not happen in time to hit the high goals.
And I know my girlfriend is only one example, but she can't be the only one. There was even that GAF thread, "So what is Shenmue?"
So, as a suggestion, I think it would help get others interested if the huge fans from here, the dojo site, and wherever else, got together and made a hype video. Work together and get the $10k backers featured in it, get some really interesting/funny/viral gameplay from the previous games in it, and get fans to talk about why they love the series in it. There's gotta be some good writers in the community who can make sure everything is worded correctly and the right messages are being sent as well as some people good with video editing software to make it flow and be pleasant on the eyes. Out of all of the Kickstarters that I've seen, this is the one with the biggest, most passionate fanbase, and if any fanbase could do it, it's this one.
To be clear, I'm not saying that the fault should be placed on the fans. It's certainly up to those managing the Kickstarter to make sure what they need to happen happens. But, I know the fans are already putting tons of effort into this campaign, and I just wanted to give my suggestion to where I think their energy would be better placed.
Also, I apologize if something like this is already in the works. I haven't kept completely up-to-date on all of the goings-on, but I'm definitely interested in the game.
I agree with all of this, but Shenmue has a huge Portuguese-speaking fanbase.
better step up the pledge if you can then
¯\_(ツ
_/¯i don't get the fatalism of some posters in here. yu suzuki said it himself, "the fate of shenmue is in your hands now". if you want shenmue 3 to be the best it can be, spread the word, up your pledge, and promote the kickstarter right to the end. don't sit on your hands and just assume it won't be any good.
Theonik
Member
If it does that and Yu then opens the PayPal floodgates I'll be ecstatic. The game really becomes a much more tangible thing and a much easier thing to peddle to people at that point. I've been pushing my Twitter followers to donate all of last week.
Well with that attitude we are certainly not having it. You know, it was better when people thought about nebulous investors than people thinking we won't get a full Shenmue III which we will, none of the stretchgoals are about introducing details rather introducing more depth, some being above and beyond what we got on previous games. They are what will make this a truly worthy, better sequel than the previous games.
On that note the early communication was a mistake as was pushing the notion that the true Shenmue III comes at $10m which is not really true but will be nigh impossible to dispel and we share part of the blame for this.
Don't compare this with Yooka btw. It was a much longer campaign so it bottomed out completely differently. It's harder to keep momentum for longer and it also had strong competition in the spotlight via bloodstained.
It sounds like it from the video as it will be points of the story embedded within them. Just they may feel a little bit more bland compared to some of the locations in Shenmue 1 + 2. Plus the areas might have less story telling premise to them, for example excluding the part time job would mean less time spent at that location.
The trend is somewhere between 4.2 and 5 million. Why would you end up at 8.6?
i think we're going to see a significant boost at the end.
all the people hoping for ps4 physical, an xbox one/wii u release, and old fans who haven't yet donated will realise that it's really now or never. we're getting shenmue 3 but it needs all the money it can get from fans to make it the game we've been dreaming of.
all the people hoping for ps4 physical, an xbox one/wii u release, and old fans who haven't yet donated will realise that it's really now or never. we're getting shenmue 3 but it needs all the money it can get from fans to make it the game we've been dreaming of.
MassiveNights
Banned
The stretch goals are completely pointless without more pledge tiers.
Agree on that and I would like to add that I meant for a poll for backers possibly after the campaign if it will be extended via paypal (as I said in the video). Some would be easier to drop, like subtitles. That is $400000 that maybe a large part of the demographic that will benefit from the subtitles might want to invest into something else? Voting for stretch goals in any order would not do, but I believe from what YS has said that for example fleshing out Baisha would do a lot for the final product.
Jo Shishido's Cheeks
Member
they're coming.
Mikey Jr.
Member
Kinda not surprised no publishers funded this over the years. Shenmue fans are very vocal, but doesn't seem to be translating into this kickstarter. It will probably cap at 50k backers and at 5 Mil. A fully funded $15 million budget would probably lose you money hand over fist, so no surprise it had to come to kickstarter.
It sucks, but the proof is there.
It sucks, but the proof is there.
Theonik
Member
Proof of what. Show me the gaming kickstarters pulling people in by the millions. In the REAL world not some fantasy reading world which people use to interpret Kickstarters into consumer interest, Kickstarter games frequently pull several times the numbers of sales compared to Kickstarter backers. There is a hard cap on the people who contribute on these things.
As far as I've been able to gether we don't really know that we will be getting a game on pair with the old ones if we don't get to 10 milion. They have been very vague in all statements about this. Using words like a true shenmue experience, true to it's name and the like. It's very open to interpretation. And I'm falling on the "it will be a simplifield Shenmue lite" side of it.
Of course I hope I'm wrong.
SpaceHorror
Member
Sony is assisting with publishing. They are probably going to foot the bill for the physical copies.
Either way, the physical copies should not be a stretch goal, they should be a reward for the 60 dollar tier and up like the PC physical copy.
Maybe they will announce it during the twitch stream today, maybe not.
Tricky I Shadow
Banned
Not happening sadly. 6.5 million is the absolute most this will bank - and even that is stretching it.
This needs to happen! Honestly, I'm a little disappointed/frustrated that something like that hasn't been done yet. The $30 on the 3rd is a step in the right direction, but where the hell are all the other campaigns? The fan-art? A twitter/Facebook campaign? A fundraiser with flyers? New creative/funny videos that might go viral? I feel like we can do so much more. Once it's too late I don't wanna look back with regrets. : (
Crimson_Justice
Member
I think getting people excited for the game with something like my previous post on this page would do well enough to at least make them forget about the BS. Further, it would get them to look at the Kickstarter page once more and see the facts that are now out there. Sure, not all of the dissuaded people could be swayed, but I think a large chunk of them could be.
Theonik
Member
The problem is it's very hard to answer these questions. In a way I think going against the controversy has been a mistake and then opening in the way they did. Looking at it in terms of demographics, no-one actually gave a fuck if Sony were indeed bankrolling the whole thing.
The feeling that 'The Shenmue experience' was assured pulls in casual backers and people who are curious about what the fuck that even means. The people who might be swayed by such allegations are possibly fans, but they are backing it anyway so they have effectively scared casual backers off for no reason. (in part because of Shenmue's legacy magnifying this fear) 'You are making this $70m game with 2m with kickstarter? This is impossible! Is much more off putting to the backer than 'We put in $4m we get more game and Sony puts in another $60m SCORE'.
In the end of the day they'd pull in as much money as they could and then worry about delivering on people's expectations which is easier with more money. They'd also avoid the arguments coming from people who have no idea how much Shenmue actually cost or how much Shenmue III is going to cost which is a subject they can't answer.
Not that I blame them. This was a particularly nasty shitstorm they fell into.
Edit: There is a Twitch stream tonight, your questions will be answered there.
crazyrabbits
Banned
I know people want subtitles, but that's something that could have been folded in with the other subtitle stretch goals around the $2-3 million mark. In this case, the size of a certain demographic makes no difference or prominence over another type of language or the quality of the subtitles.
Were I them, I'd do the following:
- lay out a set of social media achievements (tweets, retweets, fanart, etc).
- if not today, add more tiers/merchandise options
- spur their fanbase to drive visibility as much as possible; there are scattered efforts to make banners, videos, etc. and they need to be unified through the KS
- open up Paypal support
- clearly lay out what it would mean to get to $10 million and beyond
Famous YouTubers only care about games that are catered to them and their audience; I expect them to have no connection to this at all.
I don't think it will get close to that. I'd be very surprised if it gets above $5m. It would need a big bump at the end of that to happen. With the way this KS has played out, I just don't see it. It's impossible for the end to get the same exposure that the start had, so I just can't see it getting the Bloodstained-style bump it needs at the end.
Everybody are most welcome to contribute with what they can but it is not so easy to get the ball rolling for just anybody. One thing that maybe could be done towards the end is to setup a fanmade pre-stream before the (probably coming?) official final hours-stream? Potentially this could be done among the shenmuedojo/teamyu/shenmue500k etc. people jointly and maybe have it advertised on the Kickstarter. Maybe involving Corey Marshall, maybe moderated by someone like Adam Koralik or similar? But this is not a trivial thing to setup and it has to be somewhat professional to attract a larger audience. As the KS became an E3-surprise for everybody it was expected to take a while before the community had time to mobilize in a more serious way.
Well, people were petitioning for Portuguese subtitles, and they listened.
Also, "Magic Maze" is apparently Yu Suzuki's name for procedural generation. This could have a huge effect on the game world indeed.
Yes, they already used it in Shenmue 2 for the Kowloon buildings, and perhaps the forest scenes at the end.
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