E3 2015 may be without new hardware announcements but it’s still quite possibly be the best Electronic Entertainment Expo of all time! First, we had the Final Fantasy VII remake announcement and now, Shenmue 3 has finally be handed the opportunity it deserves!
Shenmue 3 is alive but who would have thought a journey starting with Sega, would’ve not only jumped to Microsoft, but finished with Sony?
The additional surprise here, is that Shenmue 3 will be Kickstarter funded. So, why did Yu Suzuki choose crowd funding? The first (and main) reason, would be that Shenmue 3 has nothing to do with Sega. This development may have Sega’s blessing (who still own the rights to the first two Shenmue games), but Sega are in no way associated with development of the 3rd game.
While a skill tree, mini games and rapport system sound amazing, we all know how easily these milestones will be meet. Will YS Net add more as funding grows?
How are Sony involved in the Development of Shenmue 3?
Another shock is that Sony are now behind development of Shenmue 3, making the game’s launch exclusive to PC and PS4!
Although Shenmue 3 is Kickstarter-backed, Sony must have invested in the project somehow. Our money would be on Sony purchasing the license from Sega to make this happen. But could Sony have also funded development so far, or could they even have a deal in place that adds to whatever is raised? (let’s be honest here, $4m does seem a little shy for a next-gen Shenmue).
While Shenmue 3 being linked to Kickstarter and Sony, begs many questions, one thing is for sure…the gaming community will help publish Shenmue 3! That’s a pretty awesome thing when you think about it, right?
You know what? If any game deserved to surpass Star Citizen’s funding crown, it’s Shenmue 3.
Head to the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter page. Let’s all fund this project to the moon!
