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[yurinka]

Gaming 'journalism'

 

[marrec]

Why is any of this an inherently bad thing though? In the case of Shenmue, it's a beloved but niche franchise. Does a big company have the money to make the game? Probably, but the return on the investment is uncertain. Why and how is it in any way shady for a company to enable the game's development, by gauging fan response with hard dollars first? After all, you're entitled to a refund if you're not furnished with the promised product right?

If Kickstarter can be an avenue for big and established companies to take risks with new products they wouldn't have otherwise, I'd say that's a good thing.

I don't know if it's a bad thing or not. I can definitely see where, between Suzuki and Sony and Shibuya and whoever else has money in on this, it will get fumbled with little accountability toward fans.

To be clear, I don't WANT that to happen, but it's happened with other Kickstarters and while Yu Suzuki is clearly a giant of gamings past, that doesn't mean he can't fuck this up.

 

[mjc]

I think we should view the development process with as much skepticism as any other Kickstarter game. Could go great, could crash and burn. Take a look at what's happening with Inafune.

 

[DannyDanger]

They announced the campaign on Sony's stage? Seems like a good reason to approach Sony about it.

The fuck?

So any 3rd party games announced on Sony's stage are Sony's responsibility to report on now?


You maybe had point right after the reveal... But now? All the info has been coming from Yu Suzuki's team

 

[dark_inferno]

Those who want to save the gaming industry with meaningful games that are art will be shown as bad.

Those who just shove us shit down our throat are called good and will never be blamed.

 

[Sumio Mondo]

I think we should view the development process with as much skepticism as any other Kickstarter game. Could go great, could crash and burn. Take a look at what's happening with Inafune.

Inafune is a business man. Yu Suzuki is one of the greatest game creators of all time. He easily surpasses Miyamoto for me.

Completely agree with OP.

Even Destructoid (one of my favorite sites) publishes crap like this:

http://www.destructoid.com/-6m-isn-t-enough-to-make-shenmue-3-gorgeous-visually--313944.phtml

Totally ignores the rest of the article which again, is really good.

I don't understand...its Yu Suzuki, he gave us OutRun and Virtua Fighter...cut the man some slack.

Unfortunately a lot of people just aren't old enough to appreciate what Suzuki did for games or they just hate Shenmue and its success as a Kickstarter. How dare he create a game for fans.

 

[RoyalFool]

This is why game journalism isn't taken seriously, they would rather print a headline grabbing story with a bunch of mistruths than, you know, actually wait and see how it turns out.

Fortunately for Yu, the Shenmue III backers have all been through so many ups and downs just getting to this point, that I don't really give a shit. I trust Yu to do a decent job with the game, I've given him my money based on this trust. They can print what they like but I'd still rather give it a chance than you know, moan about no shenmue for another 10 years.

If Sony want to throw some money in too? all the better if you ask me.

If the Box art is a bit shite? fine - I'd rather more budget went into the actual game

If Yu is asking for more donations? why the hell not if I get more game for my money at the end of it all.

Just hope Yu ignores them too and doesn't let them affect his decisions.

 

[Krabboss]

"Us", as in Shenmue fans. I really don't understand what you're getting at here.

You have as of yet gained literally nothing by the Shenmue III kickstarter being successful. The only people who have benefitted from it are the the developers thus far and that will remain the case for quite some time. You don't know how the end product will turn out or if it will come to fruition at all.

 

[bishopcruz]

I'm not sure it's shameful to hold a kickstarter to account.

They asked for a shitload of money, but not big-budget-game money. It makes sense to be skeptical about their finances and it makes sense to check if the project is going according to plan after they profited off of a lot of people's goodwill.

So where in these articles do we get the investigative journalism that shines light on whether or not Yu Suzuki is going to run off with our money. There are times to hold a kickstarter to account. The stuff with Mighty No. 9, hell the stuff with Broken Age was kinda crappy too, but when there were issues that were being called out, it was at least AFTER DEVELOPMENT HAD BEGUN!

We have no reason to expect that development will go badly right now, we have no reason to expect it will go swimmingly either, it's just revving up now.

 

[nib95]

You have as of yet gained literally nothing by the Shenmue III kickstarter being successful. The only people who have benefitted from it are the the developers thus far and that will remain the case for quite some time. You don't know how the end product will turn out or if it will come to fruition at all.

The chances of them just running off with the money and not actually working on the game are next to none. The game is now in development, and has the funding to be made. That's what fans of the franchise have gained, the game being made and having a substantial budget to work with. That's the most important thing, and certainly better than it not existing at all.

 

[mjc]

Inafune is a business man. Yu Suzuki is one of the greatest game creators of all time. He easily surpasses Miyamoto for me.



Unfortunately a lot of people just aren't old enough to appreciate what Suzuki did for games or they just hate Shenmue and its success as a Kickstarter. How dare he create a game for fans.

Still doesn't change that he's rolling the dice as much as any other creator that came before him.

 

[Shenmue]

I think what you should do in this sort of situation is to end the main story with the new game but don't do anything final like killing off the main character. That way, you give fans completion and you give yourself an out if the game doesn't do well, while at the same time, you can always go back to the world and make more (new story, same world & characters) if it's a success.

This is exactly what i think he'll do. TV shows do this all the time because they aren't sure they'll get another season.

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

I can think of several old-school developer who created amazing games in the past whose more recent releases have been less than impressive like From Dust, Amy, Moebius: Empire Rising, and Godus. I can also list great old-school developers who returned to Kickstarter and then got stuck in development hell with games like Spaceventures & Hero-U. You can say that the cost to make something like Shenmue 2 is drastically lower now than it once was, but by the same measure, you can also say that the skills involved in making an expensive AAA game for a major platform holder many years ago are very different than the skills involved in making a great independent game now. I don't think there's any point in complaining that some people are skeptical about this whole project.

 

[Sumio Mondo]

^I think it would be best to actually save that skepticism until they actually roll out press materials/trailers, since they've only just begun development recently. They've been open with the fanbase about the game thus far.

You have as of yet gained literally nothing by the Shenmue III kickstarter being successful. The only people who have benefitted from it are the the developers thus far and that will remain the case for quite some time. You don't know how the end product will turn out or if it will come to fruition at all.

Actually, we just had an update a few days ago outlining that they hired a fan on the project who was creating the fanmade "Shenmue HD" using Unreal Engine 4. Hiring a chap like him who understands Unreal Engine 4 will mean he's a great asset for the team as well as being a passionate Shenmue fan.

I personally have faith in Yu Suzuki since he created a lot of the best arcade game titles made by SEGA and pioneered a lot of innovation in the industry, but that's just me.

 

[marrec]

I think we should view the development process with as much skepticism as any other Kickstarter game. Could go great, could crash and burn. Take a look at what's happening with Inafune.

Yep, for sure. Of course there are some people in games journalism that will take the opportunity for click (I love ya Kuch but come on) a lot of the reporting is perfectly fine.

 

[Killing_Joke]

Seeing how this is now the "overreact and bitch on the internet" generation. Nothing really surprises me.

All they did was annouce the KS and confirmed support for a PS4 version. Thats all we need to know. But for some reason the media thinks they have the right to know exact splits and contract deals.

 

[Mass_Pincup]

How did it not? Boye's admitted it in the interview with Gerstmann and Suzuki said as much in his update on June 24th.

Also, while Bloodstained was also being used as a gauge of public interest for further funding, it wasn't announced on during the Sony E3 press conference. As I said in my post, that kind of shady crowdfunding campaign had been done previously, but not so blatantly.

They never admitted anything of the sort, they gave a marketing push (the reveal at E3) and that's it, and as for Suzuki's update I just read it again and there is nothing relating to it as well.

 

[Krabboss]

So where in these articles do we get the investigative journalism that shines light on whether or not Yu Suzuki is going to run off with our money. There are times to hold a kickstarter to account. The stuff with Mighty No. 9, hell the stuff with Broken Age was kinda crappy too, but when there were issues that were being called out, it was at least AFTER DEVELOPMENT HAD BEGUN!

We have no reason to expect that development will go badly right now, we have no reason to expect it will go swimmingly either, it's just revving up now.

When they tried to figure out Sony's involvement after their vague statements at E3. When they reported on Yu thinking $6M isn't enough when that's a lot more than the original Kickstarter asked for.

Probably those times.

The chances of them just running off with the money and not actually working on the game are next to none. The game is now in development, and has the funding to be made. That's what fans of the franchise have gained, the game being made and having a substantial budget to work with. That's the most important thing, and certainly better than it not existing at all.

I said nothing about them running off with the money. You shouldn't act like the KS being successful means you've got a game to play.

^I think it would be best to actually save that skepticism until they actually roll out press materials/trailers, since they've only just begun development recently. They've been open with the fanbase about the game thus far.



Actually, we just had an update a few days ago outlining that they hired a fan on the project who was creating the fanmade "Shenmue HD" using Unreal Engine 4. Hiring a chap like him who understands Unreal Engine 4 will mean he's a great asset for the team as well as being a passionate Shenmue fan.

That doesn't mean the game will be good or that it won't go through development problems.

 

[walltowall]

He mentions in this one, that was recorded (or at least published) 2 days later.

He even explains why the kickstarter model was chosen, give it a watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dL198n2d0o

Thanks, so in this one he also says they are putting some scratch in as well, and helping to market it, but Yu is going to self publish.

Doesn't seem like Sony was being very clear about exactly their involvement is.

 

[Sumio Mondo]

^It's because it's good PR for Sony, they've realised the Shenmue fans dream by helping with it, even if it is in a small way. They did what they could against the brute force of SEGA who weren't wanting to help make it at all.

When they tried to figure out Sony's involvement after their vague statements at E3. When they reported on Yu thinking $6M isn't enough when that's a lot more than the original Kickstarter asked for.

Probably those times.



I said nothign about them running off with the money. You shouldn't act like the KS being successful means you've got a game to play.



That doesn't mean the game will be good or that it won't go through development problems.

Buddy, there aren't many games that don't through "development issues" that's just part and parcel of the industry. And it doesn't mean the game will be "bad" either.

 

[Sakujou]

iam sorry, but its not just the fault of the press, its fault of sony as well as of the fans:

1. the press couldnt do better: who is covering the costs? which platforms? is sony behind this? if yes, why do they still need kickstarter? you cant pledge for game like shenmue. shenmue cost back in the day around 50m so, even if suzuki is going for a low-tech engine, a few millions arent enough!

2. sony didnt tell anyone why shenmue 3 and how they are behind this. yoshida told us, they were working one something but this....? iam still confused: is this an exclusive sony title? will this be available on the x1 or pc? or even wii u? i dont know.

3. so called fans NEVER support a game, when it releases. hundred decades later, people whine about why a certain franchise died off. guess what? you should have bought it back then day1. its the same about shenmue1+2+2()XB version) nobody, except sega fans gave a fuck.

i bought the shenmue games dirt cheap in 2003, just for my collection.

years later, those games go for bucket loads of money.

i promise you, bayonetta 2 right now is on sale für 5-10€ here in germany, in 10 years, we will see people demanding a bayonetta 3 game....

so, this time its not the fault of the media.

have a look at the media coverage, if you want to witness true terror: the wii u and the 3ds.

both of them were simply not covered enough by the media. most people didnt understand the significant feature of those new systems. both bombed hard.

while the 3ds fought its way back to life, wii u lives the most miserable life of all existing consoles of the last 15 years thanks to the media.

 

[protomouse]

We don't even know if Shenmue III would have existed without Sony's involvement. What difference does the latter make?

Well, clearly this isn't a very reasonable assumption, since Sony are not providing funds to help realize the project. I think that the cult status of the Shenmue IP combined with an effective social media campaign would have hit the market effectively, without the added baggage of Sony's name attached to the project. It makes all the difference for me personally, between feeling comfortable with backing the project and... not so much.

 

[Krejlooc]

I can think of several old-school developer who created amazing games in the past whose more recent releases have been less than impressive like From Dust, Amy, Moebius: Empire Rising, and Godus. I can also list great old-school developers who returned to Kickstarter and then got stuck in development hell with games like Spaceventures & Hero-U. You can say that the cost to make something like Shenmue 2 is drastically lower now than it once was, but by the same measure, you can also say that the skills involved in making an expensive AAA game for a major platform holder many years ago are very different than the skills involved in making a great independent game now. I don't think there's any point in complaining that some people are skeptical about this whole project.

The skills involved in making a AAA game today are the ones Yu Suzuki himself pioneered with Shenmue. Modern game development, the ones you allude to being beyond Yu Suzuki, are following his game plan.

And there is certainly a point in complaining about agenda setting, FUD, and all the other sort of crap people are putting this project through.

 

[marrec]

They never admitted anything of the sort, they gave a marketing push (the reveal at E3) and that's it, and as for Suzuki's update I just read it again and there is nothing relating to it as well.

The Boyes interview was clear in calling the kickstarter an interest gauge.

 

[Maintenance]

have a look at the media coverage, if you want to witness true terror: the wii u and the 3ds.

The media is to blame for the Wii U's software drought? That's new.

 

[nynt9]

It always baffles me how journalists whose actual jobs are to follow video game happenings are often less informed on the things they're reporting about than people who browse forums and game as a hobby.

A lot of the modern games media is generally extremely disinterested in the subject matter which disappoints me. Of course, click revenue encourages people to write quickly about scandalous subjects without really deeply understanding the topic, which greatly exacerbates this issue.

 

[TheChillyAcademic]

The space between NO SORRY GUYS SHENMUE III, NEVER GONNA HAPPEN...OMFG ITS HAPPENING WHATAREGOD OMFGBBQ...SWINDLERS! THIEVES! CORRUPTION!!
Will be a fascinating thing to explore.

 

[nib95]

I said nothing about them running off with the money. You shouldn't act like the KS being successful means you've got a game to play.

It exponentially increases the chances of me being able to eventually play Shenmue 3, in some capacity, which is what matters most, especially after the franchise has been dormant or considered dead for over a decade.

No Kickstarter, no Shenmue III to play. Post Kickstarter, Shenmue III is now in development, and there's a high chance we'll get to play it in future. Whether it's good or not, remains to be seen.

Well, clearly this isn't a very reasonable assumption, since Sony are not providing funds to help realize the project. I think that the cult status of the Shenmue IP combined with an effective social media campaign would have hit the market effectively, without the added baggage of Sony's name attached to the project. It makes all the difference for me personally, between feeling comfortable with backing the project and... not so much.

So your main issue with it is Sony's involvement? Or that it's a Sony/PC exclusive? Do you not think Sony giving it mass stage presence, getting it together and offering to publish and market it is a good thing?

You realise without the latter they'd need millions more in funding, or simply another publisher altogether (who may have given them a worse deal), and would probably have received a lot less in Kickstarter funding and coverage too?

 

[Sakujou]

The media is to blame for the Wii U's software drought? That's new.

the media is responsible for making people think that this is simply updated hardware.
something like the 3ds and new 3ds.

people thought this is still the same thing except that there is now a tablet attached.

 

[Sumio Mondo]

The space between NO SORRY GUYS SHENMUE III, NEVER GONNA HAPPEN...OMFG ITS HAPPENING WHATAREGOD OMFGBBQ...SWINDLERS! THIEVES! CORRUPTION!!
Will be a fascinating thing to explore.

I seriously doubt the same journos were enthusiastic and excited by Shenmue 3's announcement, somehow. If anything, they were proven wrong for being so doubtful over it ever happening.

 

[Tinfoilhatsron]

Jeff Gerstman was right. Old school Sega fans really are the worst :/

There is nobody to blame here but Suzuki, the team behind the Kickstarter and Sony. They are responsible for the absolutely terrible messaging and for providing weeks and weeks of mixed messaging regarding the financing of the game.

You know what would have been shameful? If the media would have just bought into the hype of OMGSHENMUE and blindly told people how amazing everything about it is going to be.

I mean, think about it. They created the kickstarter, asked for a certain amount of money to make shenmue 3 and then, after a few days and after they already got money from many, many fans Suzuki came out and straight up told people that, nah, they will only be able to make a REAL Shenmue 3 if they got at least 10 million. Seems like they kind of missed to tell us that when announcing the kickstarter?

The campaign was a disaster, the PR was a disaster and, to this day, the messaging is a disaster. When you end you kickstarter campaign and then come out a few months later saying "Yeah, well, actually, we could need a lot more money to make it look not terrible", no matter in what context, then that project deserves to be criticised for it. If there was ever one kickstarter that was shady from the very get go, it's this.

The fact that Shenmue fans don't wanna see this because, hey, it's Shenmue? Fine. I can accept that. But the way they pile onto the media because they dont blindly buy into the hype, stay wary and ask weridly unanswered questions is pretty - yup - shameful.

Also:



and yet



What am I missing here?

This post is so sad, I don't know if I should laugh at it. Confirmation bias is a great thing isn't it? Perhaps dear poster you may explain the Eurogamer article? The Kuchara piece?

 

[Tom Nook Sawyer]

the media is responsible for making people think that this is simply updated hardware.
something like the 3ds and new 3ds.

What? That was a consumer problem; not a media one. Very few outlets actually made the mistake of conflating Wii U with a Wii accessory--and especially not video game-based ones

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

^I think it would be best to actually save that skepticism until they actually roll out press materials/trailers, since they've only just begun development recently. They've been open with the fanbase about the game thus far

That's the problem. There's very little to say about the game itself at the moment that would be interesting to the general gaming public but the media wants to cover the story since it's the biggest video game Kickstarter to date, had a surprising reveal at Sony's E3 conference (second only to the reaction that FF7R got), and is the return from mobile of one of the most impressive & respected developers of all-time. Since they can't preview the game itself, there's not much else to talk about other than things like funding. And when you have a game series that is best-known by non-fans as being ridiculously expensive for its time, it's natural to raise an eyebrow when a sequel's budget is a small fraction of the previous game's.

 

[Dreadx_Jecht]

People tried so hard to shit on shenmue 3, lmao. Glad they failed.

 

[Krejlooc]

There's very little to say about the game itself at the moment that would be interesting to the general gaming public but the media wants to cover the story since it's the biggest video game Kickstarter to date

this isn't true, last year Yu Suzuki dropped a ton of never-before-heard information about Shenmue that the public at large ignored. Hell, when the video of the "early footage" quote resurfaced (in actually, some publication just stumbled upon a link that was a year old) it got reprinted.

Just publish everything about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amu0_EunHmM

and they'd have shitloads to talk about. The vast majority of people reading about shenmue the last 3 months have never heard any of this stuff.

 

[Sumio Mondo]

That's the problem. There's very little to say about the game itself at the moment that would be interesting to the general gaming public but the media wants to cover the story since it's the biggest video game Kickstarter to date, had a surprising reveal at Sony's E3 conference (second only to the reaction that FF7R got), and is the return from mobile of one of the most impressive & respected developers of all-time. Since they can't preview the game itself, there's not much else to talk about other than things like funding. And when you have a game series that is best-known by non-fans as being ridiculously expensive for its time, it's natural to raise an eyebrow when a sequel's budget is a small fraction of the previous game's.

But it's not. They're using Unreal Engine 4, so they don't have to create an engine from scratch like last time. Suzuki has Produced a lot of games, he knows what he's doing.

 

[Myggen]

the media is responsible for making people think that this is simply updated hardware.
something like the 3ds and new 3ds.

people thought this is still the same thing except that there is now a tablet attached.

That's Nintendo's problem for naming it that, it was a terrible idea for a name. The media isn't supposed to be the marketing arm of Nintendo.

 

[Shenmue]

That's the problem. There's very little to say about the game itself at the moment that would be interesting to the general gaming public but the media wants to cover the story since it's the biggest video game Kickstarter to date, had a surprising reveal at Sony's E3 conference (second only to the reaction that FF7R got), and is the return from mobile of one of the most impressive & respected developers of all-time. Since they can't preview the game itself, there's not much else to talk about other than things like funding. And when you have a game series that is best-known by non-fans as being ridiculously expensive for its time, it's natural to raise an eyebrow when a sequel's budget is a small fraction of the previous game's.

But that's the thing there are things to cover. The excellent Eurogamer article is one example (and would be super excellent if they hadn't clickbaited the title).

The addition of the guy who modernized some of the scenes from the original Shenmue is another story.

I wonder what was the budget for a Rare game back in their prime. I'm guessing it was higher than what Yooka Laylee got. Why not the skepticism there?

 

[Panajev2001a]

I'm going to write using proper punctuation for once, to show you that I mean it.

What Shenmue 3 has shown me, is that the dividing line between message board poster and video game journalist is a lot narrower than anybody ever thought.

Eurogamer's recent article is really great. It is. It tells the story of a game developer icon emerging from a decade in the background. Revitalised by his fans, a creative given back his medium to work in. Someone who has recovered their purpose in life.

But the headline is of course "I could do with a bit more money!"

A single quote, from a very small part of the article. There's a great story in the article as a whole, there truly is. Sadly, that story has been sacrificed for clicks.

They don't want you to read about a man who is enriched by the support of fans and looking to pay them back with something they've wanted for so long. They want you to read about this imaginary greedy man rubbing his hands to get your money.

Because outrage gets page views. Even if there's nothing there to be outraged about. And so the headline gets passed around, and people think that's the whole story. Then you get awful opinion pieces like Ben Kuchera's. His baffling, weird, confusing opinion piece where you can't figure out what the point is, besides a character assassination on Yu Suzuki for purposes unknown.

Some information about Shenmue 3 has been confusing. Some quotes taken out of context, some information that wasn't immediately clarified. The campaign wasn't perfect, the fans know that better than anybody.

What's awful is that the misinformation continues to spread, even after issues have been clarified. Despite best efforts of fans who have been following Shenmue 3's development closer than pretty much anybody in the games media. When we get annoyed or angry that a journalist has cited their own opinions about it as fact, or just disappointed us with a poor title choice like Eurogamer did, suddenly we're 'outraged fanboys' and Twitter post fodder for some game journalists to sneer at.

I've seen Shenmue called a sacred cow. It's anything but. Shenmue has been openly ridiculed for years and years. Sometimes for valid reasons, and sometimes just because. It's only in the last couple of years we've seen articles like the great Guardian piece where the writer looked past the meme-bait voice acting and reputation for being 'boring walking simulator' to find a game they really liked, even without any nostalgic factor on their part.

People like Colin Moriarty writing the game off three months into development is just dumb. Nobody doubts making Shenmue 3 is a monumental task, but Yu Suzuki is a video game icon that this industry owes huge amounts to. Just as much as Miyamoto and others.

Yu Suzuki seems revitalised, energised, and creatively refreshed. That's something to be excited about. An industry great, stripped of his old superstar status, but given new purpose by his fans. It's a lot of pressure, but I definitely think he can handle it.

But nobody wants to read about that, right?

QFT

 

[Sakujou]

That's Nintendo's problem for naming it that, it was a terrible idea for a name. The media isn't supposed to be the marketing arm of Nintendo.

lol?

so what about the xbox one?

the media was alright about that, though they fucked microsoft hard (in germany the media asked themselves if kinect is spying everyone since the NSA-thing was a huge blow for germans).

yet the wii u has the worst cut.

Gaming 'journalism'

true.

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

I wonder what was the budget for a Rare game back in their prime. I'm guessing it was higher than what Yooka Laylee got. Why not the skepticism there?

Honestly, I'm really shocked that Yooka Laylee didn't get much skepticism. The budget they asked for was ridiculously small for what they were proposing. I thought people would ridicule that project to no end (besides the unrealistic budget, I thought the character design was really bad as well) and was shocked that it was nothing but sunshine and roses.

 

[lyrick]

That's Nintendo's problem for naming it that, it was a terrible idea for a name. The media isn't supposed to be the marketing arm of Nintendo.

Everything about the Gaming Media is nothing more than a marketing arm of the industry.

 

[Krejlooc]

Honestly, I'm really shocked that Yooka Laylee didn't get much skepticism. The budget they asked for was ridiculously small for what they were proposing. I thought people would ridicule that project to no end (besides the unrealistic budget, I thought the character design was really bad as well) and was shocked that it was nothing but sunshine and roses.

They were using the kickstarter to gauge interest. They actually were upfront about it. they have other funding.

Which is a good thing.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Marrec, what in your opinion is the relevance of Sony's involvement, if it's as minor as they say?

Do you just think they're straight up lying about sony's role?

I'm wondering how you could parse that quote that marrec posted and come to any other conclusion than Sony is helping to fund the production of the game in some way.

 

[Tom Nook Sawyer]

Everything about the Gaming Media is nothing more than a marketing arm of the industry.

The irony of this post being in a thread about the media's coverage of Shenmue being "shameful" is so good.

 

[GavinGT]

You have as of yet gained literally nothing by the Shenmue III kickstarter being successful. The only people who have benefitted from it are the the developers thus far and that will remain the case for quite some time. You don't know how the end product will turn out or if it will come to fruition at all.

Knowledge that my favorite franchise isn't dead (and is in fact still beloved by tons of people) isn't nothing. Following the Kickstarter over the summer and watching it succeed was among the happiest times of my life.

 

[Replicant]

Doesn't surprised me. The gaming media have revealed themselves to be self-serving asses post Xbone's anti-consumer policy.

 

[Tom Nook Sawyer]

Doesn't surprised me. The gaming media have revealed themselves to be self-serving asses post Xbone's anti-consumer policy.

Is that actually true? I recall the media generally criticizing that move, with only Ben Kutchera really standing out as one in favor of it.

 

[Shenmue]

Honestly, I'm really shocked that Yooka Laylee didn't get much skepticism. The budget they asked for was ridiculously small for what they were proposing. I thought people would ridicule that project to no end (besides the unrealistic budget, I thought the character design was really bad as well) and was shocked that it was nothing but sunshine and roses.

That there is exactly the problem.

Nobody is saying the Shenmue KS shouldn't have a healthy serving of skepticism. What's the saying? Everything should be approached with a healthy bit of skepticism?

The problem is twofold. First of all as you can see in those articles it's gone far beyond just skepticism as journalists, the people who have a professional and ethical responsibility to present news factually and accurately, are twisting words, making up misleading inflammatory titles for their stories, and writing in a completely unprofessional, sarcastic and snarky manner, all the while foregoing real investigative journalism.

Secondly, they target their "skepticism" on this KS when other projects that are also very visible are not only left out of their crosshairs, but are actually praised. Yooka-Laylee isn't even the only example. What about all of those CRPGs? Did Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment really cost less than a mil or two to make back in the day? Did the Castlevania games cost as little to make as Bloodstained as well? The CRPG projects turned out great, but why no skepticism before we knew how they would turn out?

I'm not saying the writers need to write a story every single time any issues pop up with any KS started by some joe schmoe, but if one's issue is that kickstarted sequel to an expensive franchise seems underfunded, shouldn't they continue to raise it when more prominent examples of this arise? If their gripe is a systemic one with how KS projects do not have to be 100% transparent with their outside funding, shouldn't they write an article squarely targeted at Kickstarter and their terms, rather than singling out Shenmue?

Finally, the usual pattern the game writing industry has followed thus far has been to start the inquiries (and rightfully so) when 1) games start missing their estimated release date; or 2) when people start leaving the team; or 3) when communication breaks down. Shenmue 3 has not met any of those 3 criteria. If and when Shenmue 3 misses that December 2017 date or if Yu Suzuki leaves the project to make Shenmue 4: The Movie or if we get no updates in 6 months, and a huge wave of negativity appears from the writers, I'll totally understand as that's how all the KS projects have been treated and at that point it really will be about protecting the backers.

 

[Skux]

The headlines all sound like the same people here who were mad about the funding sources. There isn't much difference... or much professionalism.