Live data from Hacker News

Sony reaches $2m Shenmue III game target on Kickstarter within hours

bbc.co.uk

11–20 of 55 posts

Re: Sony reaches $2m Shenmue III game target on Kickstarter within hours

#12
I am beyond excited! I never thought Shenmue 3 would be released. I remember when Shenmue 1 came out, it was billed as Yu Suzuki's opus, and at the time the world's most expensive game at 70 million USD. To leave your opus unfinished must be hard, so I'm glad he's getting to finish it up properly (or, given the success, continue it).

For a certain generation of gamer, Shenmue isn't just a game, it's an event. It's a game I've often thought of over the years, to me it felt like a truly adult gaming experience. And to this day I still feel like it's one of the best examples of using gaming as a storytelling medium. I thought I would have to go my whole life not knowing if Ryo Hazuki would get revenge on Lan Di, and now, finally I'll get some closure.

Re: Sony reaches $2m Shenmue III game target on Kickstarter within hours

#13
Shenmue I was the most expensive game ever created at the time, costing around $70 million, on Dreamcast hardware. It took five years to develop.

Realistically, how is $2 million going to be enough to fund a PS4-era sequel, presumably with completely new technology (based on the trailer)?

Re: Sony reaches $2m Shenmue III game target on Kickstarter within hours

#15

Shenmue I was the most expensive game ever created at the time, costing around $70 million, on Dreamcast hardware. It took five years to develop. Realistically, how is $2 million going to be enough to fund a PS4-era sequel, presumably with completely new technology (based on the trailer)?

From a simple technology point of view, game development for PC and PS4 using 2015 tools like the Unreal engine is a hell of a lot cheaper and easier than developing for the Dreamcast using 1999 era tools.

Re: Sony reaches $2m Shenmue III game target on Kickstarter within hours

#16
They got a fair amount of time to promote this at Sony's E3 event, so I imagine that the value of the marketing already put into Shenmue III is worth more than those 2 million, which begs the question. If Sony is willing to promote this so much, why aren't they willing to invest?

Or to put it bluntly: it fucking sucks when studios use Kickstarter when they are in no need of crowdfunding.

Re: Sony reaches $2m Shenmue III game target on Kickstarter within hours

#17

They got a fair amount of time to promote this at Sony's E3 event, so I imagine that the value of the marketing already put into Shenmue III is worth more than those 2 million, which begs the question. If Sony is willing to promote this so much, why aren't they willing to invest? Or to put it bluntly: it fucking sucks when studios use Kickstarter when they are in no need of crowdfunding.

The title should be updated since Sony is not actually part of this Kickstarter, they simply provided the creator with a platform to promote his project because they are fans of his work.

That isn't to say that they aren't potentially part of the follow-on funding deals though (which we know nothing about), since everyone is pretty sure that this Kickstarter is a "proof of interest" gate for further funding. You could never make Shenmue 3 with only $2 million dollars.

Re: Sony reaches $2m Shenmue III game target on Kickstarter within hours

#18

They got a fair amount of time to promote this at Sony's E3 event, so I imagine that the value of the marketing already put into Shenmue III is worth more than those 2 million, which begs the question. If Sony is willing to promote this so much, why aren't they willing to invest? Or to put it bluntly: it fucking sucks when studios use Kickstarter when they are in no need of crowdfunding.

Why does it suck that they use Kickstarter? It's validating the idea, and helps to confirm that the market exists.

Despite Shenmue's critical acclaim, it's not certain that the market exists. For comparison , Yakuza 1 and 2 (Yakuza is basically a spiritual successor to Shenmue in many ways) only sold 30k and 50k in the US market.

Re: Sony reaches $2m Shenmue III game target on Kickstarter within hours

#19

They got a fair amount of time to promote this at Sony's E3 event, so I imagine that the value of the marketing already put into Shenmue III is worth more than those 2 million, which begs the question. If Sony is willing to promote this so much, why aren't they willing to invest? Or to put it bluntly: it fucking sucks when studios use Kickstarter when they are in no need of crowdfunding.

> Or to put it bluntly: it fucking sucks when studios use Kickstarter when they are in no need of crowdfunding.

Well, Kick Starter is now mainly a marketing tool anyway. It helps increase "engagement" with Brands. Nothing wrong with that. Other projects aren't going away. And there are still other crowd funding platforms.

Re: Sony reaches $2m Shenmue III game target on Kickstarter within hours

#20

Shenmue I was the most expensive game ever created at the time, costing around $70 million, on Dreamcast hardware. It took five years to develop. Realistically, how is $2 million going to be enough to fund a PS4-era sequel, presumably with completely new technology (based on the trailer)?

Nobody said kickstarter is the only funding.

Sony is paying something for the exclusivity, I imagine. They might also be matching 2:1 or something. Who knows?

The kickstarter is only a day old, this amount of press will grow that $2M.

Plus they're using UE4, saving a lot vs the custom engine of Shenmue I.

We only have one piece of the financial puzzle, here.

Post reply on HN