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[Condom]

30k people raise over $2m. This triggers Sony to fund the rest of the development. But Sony will not sell the game to any of those 30k people as they already backed the kickstarter with a reward being a copy of the game. So Sony would fund on the basis that a lot of people that *didn't* care enough to back the kickstarter for $29, will instead buy the full game for $59? How does that make sense?

I might not buy the game for $29 but for $20 yeah I'll buy that.

 

[Nafai1123]

The hype is real.

 

[Eusis]

they were buying them.
but now eberyone want's the call of duty numbers
and the only result they get it's that their clones sell poorly and they use it as an excuse to go full mobile.
instead they should just give the people what they want,and be glad to make a profit.

That's kind of the issue at hand too though: Shenmue back then NEEDED CoD numbers relative to its budget. Now I'm hoping it can be made for cheaper, but unlike stuff like Yooka-Laylee it wasn't as if the predecessors really made a profit for how much they cost.

 

[Majukun]

30k people raise over $2m. This triggers Sony to fund the rest of the development. But Sony will not sell the game to any of those 30k people as they already backed the kickstarter with a reward being a copy of the game. So Sony would fund on the basis that a lot of people that *didn't* care enough to back the kickstarter for $29, will instead buy the full game for $59? How does that make sense?

no way the game is gonna be full price if 29 dollars give you a copy.
it will cost as much as the kickstarter one

 

[eXistor]

I backed it at the $60,- tier, because I want the game in some physical form or another, but I'd much rather have it on PS4 tbh.

 

[Megawarrior]

Should I wait and see if there is a physical ps4 copy?

 

[entremet]

Shenmue fans really had that thirst.

 

[gai_shain]

30k people raise over $2m. This triggers Sony to fund the rest of the development. But Sony will not sell the game to any of those 30k people as they already backed the kickstarter with a reward being a copy of the game. So Sony would fund on the basis that a lot of people that *didn't* care enough to back the kickstarter for $29, will instead buy the full game for $59? How does that make sense?

Im wondering the same, but marketing obviously can make a difference even though I dont know enough about shenmue and how much appeal it has outside of the hardcore fans

 

[Crocodile]

They never give those sorts of details. Bloodstained is funded. We still don't know who their publisher is do we?

Your third question has an easy answer, if they get their budget entirely through crowd funding, the game will be made that much bigger.

It's Deep Silver and we know they are contributing at least 4.5 million. Some of this information came from interviews external to the Bloodstained KS page but at least IGA volunteered it and the general publisher support when their campaign was starting. The Shenmue 3 KS doesn't even mention outside publishers (who we know by logic have to be involved).

 

[TimeEffect]

Well it was advertised on a huge stage

Wow so I guess this is coming to PS4. Is Sony covering the rest of the funding or what?

I was assuming this would eventually show on Xbox too, but if not,that's a pretty big console exclusive

 

[Violence Jack]

Well deserved. Great announcement.

Now let's get Silent Hills resurrected.

 

[qa_engineer]

Good to see a positive thread about Shenmue / Sony / and Kickstarter. There was another thread full of doom and gloom, how the end was near, and how everyone was so concerned about announcing a kickstarter at an e3 conference. It was brilliant and worked because it was an iconic game that was left for dead. However, if EA were to this with Madden or Ubisoft with Assassin's Creed you better believe there will be a nerd riot.

 

[Skellig Gra]

This seems like it is setting a horrible precedent that major publishers are going to exploit going forward.

 

[Burt]

no way the game is gonna be full price if 29 dollars give you a copy.
it will cost as much as the kickstarter one

The game'll be at least $40. That's the low end for mid-tier titles that launch at a discount.

30k people raise over $2m. This triggers Sony to fund the rest of the development. But Sony will not sell the game to any of those 30k people as they already backed the kickstarter with a reward being a copy of the game. So Sony would fund on the basis that a lot of people that *didn't* care enough to back the kickstarter for $29, will instead buy the full game for $59? How does that make sense?

You seem to be implying that Kickstarter games don't sell much beyond their initial backers. That isn't the case. This'll probably end up with around 80k backers, and judging by other Kickstarters in the same strata that'll in all likelihood lead to at least 250k additional sales.

 

[The Inventor]

Well it was advertised on a huge stage

Wow so I guess this is coming to PS4. Is Sony covering the rest of the funding or what?

I was assuming this would eventually show on Xbox too, but if not,that's a pretty big console exclusive

I made sure Phil saw at least a tweet about that matter. For the good ol' Xbox times.

 

[RoadHazard]

If this is really a "gauge interest and then get the real funding" thing, what's up with the stretch goals? Fake? Because they don't make sense to me if that's what this is.

 

[SolidSnakex]

This seems like it is setting a horrible precedent that major publishers are going to exploit going forward.

Is it really horrible if it allows for long requested games to be made?

 

[stn]

The Q&A at the bottom says that only the digital copy will be offered, just FYI.

 

[infiniteheteroskdasticity]

Good. I hope we see more companies use KS to ask fans to put their money where their mouths are. This was a pure market research play by Sony. The game will likely cost at least 20x more to make and I'm confident the 2m target was a level at which Sony and the others backers had promised to kick in a big chunk of that.

I think we need a list of dead/abandoned fanchises that major gaming companies need to similarly kickstart. I think Crash, Wipeout, Half Life, Age Of Empires, Crimson Skies and Silent Hills would all be perfect for a similar experiment.

 

[Sinatar]

Is it really horrible if it allows for long requested games to be made?

Is it horrible for a major publisher to try and wrangle $10,000 pre-orders? Yea it's gross.

 

[BadWolf]

Is it really horrible if it allows for long requested games to be made?

Seriously.

 

[Ashodin]

Dreams come true guys

 

[Krejlooc]

I think it was kotaku who wrote in their coverage that $2 million was very steep and that shenmue fans needed to temper expectations because it was in no way a done deal. Then like 3 hours later they had an edit, "hahaha it's already hit 1.5 million, holy crap."

So many people underestimated the demand.

 

[SolidSnakex]

Is it horrible for a major publisher to try and wrangle $10,000 pre-orders? Yea it's gross.

I'm just not bothered by it. It seems like a way that we can get games that we only once dreamed of.

 

[Skellig Gra]

Is it really horrible if it allows for long requested games to be made?

Yes it is. This is just a cash grab, they are clearly funding the vast majority of the game themselves. What will the excuse be next year when its not such a "long requested game" and the goal is 5 million instead of 3 million. They are putting more financial burden on us as the end user of their product.

 

[Journey]

Have they increased/added any stretch goals? Last I checked the last stretch was set at 4M, but they're going to hit that in no time. Hopefully similar to bloodstained, they have other things planned.

 

[Biker19]

Sweet! Hopefully, more money will come in so that we can do a lot of stuff for it.

 

[Krejlooc]

Yes it is. This is just a cash grab, they are clearly funding the vast majority of the game themselves.

Do you know what a feasibility study is?

 

[Future PhaZe]

I think it was kotaku who wrote in their coverage that $2 million was very steep and that shenmue fans needed to temper expectations because it was in no way a done deal. Then like 3 hours later they had an edit, "hahaha it's already hit 1.5 million, holy crap."

So many people underestimated the demand.

haters

they've been haters for years and there was nothing us shenmue fans could do except take it and shake our heads in frustration

we always knew this was a beloved fucking series well worth revival

 

[dehalcyone]

Fuck yeah it did.

I backed it and I'm not even a huge fan. This is just owed to gaming.

Edit- $100. I still enjoy playing 2

 

[infiniteheteroskdasticity]

I think it was kotaku who wrote in their coverage that $2 million was very steep and that shenmue fans needed to temper expectations because it was in no way a done deal. Then like 3 hours later they had an edit, "hahaha it's already hit 1.5 million, holy crap."

So many people underestimated the demand.

And this is why it was a great way to do this. Nobody had any confidence that anybody outside of a small circle of vocal fans would buy a sequel. Sony certainly wasn't about to commit tens of millions of dollars to fund something this niche. This showed that the demand exists and that its not as risky a bet as day imagined. I think its the perfect model to follow for niche games that are very hard to gauge potential sales for.

 

[Skellig Gra]

Do you know what a feasibility study is?

Yes I do. What's with the stretch goals if this is a "feasibility study"?

 

[Burt]

Yes it is. This is just a cash grab, they are clearly funding the vast majority of the game themselves.

So, I asked this in the other thread about Kickstarters and conferences, but what's your worst case scenario here?

That people who want to help a game that wasn't going to get made get made receive a tangible benefit for supporting it early, either in the form of a discount or exclusive bonuses that they feel are enough of a value to pledge over MSRP? Or that the Kickstarter fails and a game that wasn't going to be made continues to not be made?

This is going to become WAY too common. I can see it for previously dead franchises but I would not be surprised to see Call of Duty or Assassins Creed pull subverting like this in the future.

Guaranteed moneymakers are never going to be locked behind a crowdfunding paywall, especially when running an effective campaign requires selling the game at a discount and paying fees out to multiple third parties.

 

[The1Ski]

This is going to become WAY too common. I can see it for previously dead franchises but I would not be surprised to see Call of Duty or Assassins Creed pull subverting like this in the future.

 

[infiniteheteroskdasticity]

This is going to become WAY too common. I can see it for previously dead franchises but I would not be surprised to see Call of Duty or Assassins Creed pull subverting like this in the future.

No need - everybody knows what the potential market for these games looks like. Its the niche titles that wouldn't otherwise get made that this benefits.

 

[Seanspeed]

Why is the average contribution so high? This was obviously going to get funded.

 

[Iced Arcade]

Situations like this are the reason kickstarter is losing it's original purpose. Pretty sweet the game is coming but a corporation looking for money to fund a project. Seems more crooked than money hating games.

 

[laughingmood]

Eh, I was about to contribute, then I just fired up GTAV, walked around my house for 2 mins, realized I just played Shenmue3 and contributed to a charity instead. Money well spent.

 

[Pejo]

This seems like it is setting a horrible precedent that major publishers are going to exploit going forward.

But like, if we get the games we want, and we're paying 30 for a copy brand new, where is the downside? If they try to Kickstart Madden, and you can get the game for 30, why do you care? If they try to charge 60 and kickstart it, I sure wouldn't buy in, and I feel there would be some self regulation in that respect. But if I can get a game from a dead franchise, or a game I want that couldn't exist with current publisher views, It's a great great thing.

 

[Krejlooc]

And this is why it was a great way to do this. Nobody had any confidence that anybody outside of a small circle of vocal fans would buy a sequel. Sony certainly wasn't about to commit tens of millions of dollars to fund something this niche. This showed that the demand exists and that its not as risky a bet as day imagined. I think its the perfect model to follow for niche games that are very hard to gauge potential sales for.

I dont see how anyone could hate kick starter honestly. It has lived up to its goal and ambition. It's giving me things the game industry wouldn't have. Kickstarter has given me a new great giana sisters, a new mega man, a new wonderboy, a new tempest, a new castlevania, a new elite, a new wing commander, virtual reality itself, and now shenmue.

All thats left are jerks who like thumbing their nose about how much I am being taken advantage of because of how I choose to spend my money.

 

[Soi-Fong]

Why is the average contribution so high? This was obviously going to get funded.

I gave $310. No regrets. lol

 

[The_Inquisitor]

Eh, I was about to contribute, then I just fired up GTAV, walked around my house for 2 mins, realized I just played Shenmue3 and contributed to a charity instead. Money well spent.

Congratulations?

 

[Future PhaZe]

I dont see how anyone could hate kick starter honestly. It has lived up to its goal and ambition. It's giving me things the game industry wouldn't have. Kickstarter has given me a new great giana sisters, a new mega man, a new wonderboy, a new tempest, a new castlevania, a new elite, a new wing commander, virtual reality itself, and now shenmue.

All thats left are jerks who like thumbing their nose about how much I am being taken advantage of because of how I choose to spend my money.

.

 

[Krejlooc]

Yes I do. What's with the stretch goals if this is a "feasibility study"?

You typically present your investors tiered plans. Presumably the stretch goals are positioned to gain strategic additional funding from their primary investors.

Or are you one of those silly people who think the stretch goals are the exact prices of what they are listing?

 

[TheStruggler]

Anyone want to guess how much this will raise?

 

[DannyDanger]

I own an Xbox One and I'm extremely happy this happened anyway. So maybe there's no such thing, only good competition.

To be clear i'm not a soldier in the console war.

I just think those gifs are hilarious

 

[4Tran]

Why is the average contribution so high? This was obviously going to get funded.

Lots of rabid fans who went for the higher tiers right away. You would have gotten similar numbers if this had been for the FF7 Remake. The difference being that FF7 is a much less risky investment.

 

[Domcorleone]

I personally like the idea of the fans influencing whether games get made and how they are made with our money. Id rather that than a big publisher dumbing down an original vision to cater to the casuals.

 

[eso76]

Your third question has an easy answer, if they get their budget entirely through crowd funding, the game will be made that much bigger.

Or Suzuki will buy himself a new Ferrari.

And I would be totally ok with it. He fucking deserves one.
Actually I'd go fund a 'new Ferrari for Yu" stretch goal.

 

[Stinkles]

Anyone want to guess how much this will raise?

A LOT.


Impotant to remember that OG Shenmue cost (allegedly) $70M. On Dreamcast.

But this is genius, IMO.