I've noticed that a lot of people are trying to turn Kickstarter around these days and saying that people are investing in a product. I guess that's some sort of lame code for "this may or may not take off and if so it isn't their fault". A perfect example is the Megatokyo Visual Novel game that has yet to show much of anything despite being over two years in.

I think I see now why people are so mad at Sony being involved. It's kind of obvious at this point that Sony seems to have done some sort of deal which makes the game exclusive to just PS4 and PC, probably in return for their help. I still can't understand why Yu would go along with such a deal knowing how many people wanted this game and that not everyone owns a PC or a PS4. Especially with the new revelation that XBox One allows backwards compatibility with 360 and PS4 is stuck on stupid, I think many bought an XBox One the moment that was announced and left the PS4 in the dust.

I can see that the hype train still rides on, people are still saying "please contribute" just to get the game realized despite others saying that they want certain things first. I understand being hype for a game. I was very hyped as well. I want this game just as bad as everyone else but once I sat back to go over expenses I realized it made no sense. I put I don't know how many posts about why I'm not donating. That dead horse has been beaten. But what I still can't get is why those backing don't ask these questions as well. They're on Kickstarter right? Why can't they message Yu asking about Remasters and DRM? They can post everywhere asking people to donate so why can't they spam the messages as well? If these backers want everyone to donate why don't they try to get some of these 'demands' realized or some better answers? Again I go on Reddit alot and all I see is people being called names, 'entitled' even, as if they're asking for freebies and not kicking out money as well. We should donate to get a game realized? Why if we can't play it or have to sign up for a site we'd rather not? Makes no sense.

See the problem is that even if I pledged I'd end up with a DRM version right? I refuse to use anything with DRM because I've been burned that way many times before and am currently dealing with it in regards to another old game I recently found. But let's say someone like PaulTheTall ports it right? I'd still have to deal with the DRM issue. IIRC the way his ports work is that I'd get the wrapper, try to install and then it'd take me to Steam to log in. I'm not trying to bother with all of that mess. It appears that my only real hope is the physical disc version but how could someone like Paul make a port of that? He doesn't take special requests and I wouldn't send it to him just for him to make a port so that's out of the question. BootCamp is not an option either because I've heard that once one opens their Mac up to Windows they also open it up to all the viruses. I've lost too many computers from viruses that came from nowhere, that's why I got a Mac to begin with. My friend just lost hers to viruses as well. I'm not switching back to Windows nor using BootCamp. So it appears I can't play the game.

I still haven't received an answer to my message about DRM so as it is I'm keeping my money. Another poster said they'll pick it up in a bargain bin and I feel the same way. Maybe by the time it's dirt cheap I'll own a PS4.

This entire campaign was junk from the start, Shenmue deserved better and everyone involved should be ashamed of themselves. They were their own downfall.

Because whatever they may protest, they know in their hearts what's going on and have decided to go along with it.

Kickstarter is, in essence, a really bad offer to pay vast amounts of money in order to maybe receive something in return years later. If you accept that offer without saying "Wait a minute, I have terms as well, in fact, the Kickstarter community has some ground rules for distribution", you have accepted that really bad offer and broken the Kickstarter spirit.

And Sony now knows that they can produce and release even the most inferior product, it will still be successful. Indeed the massive Kickstarter success may have disproportunately reduced the sum Sony's going to invest in the title.

The DRM question was asked and, well, answered in a way. I'm not certain that anyone, particularly among backers, has heard that "We're looking into it" and interpreted it any different than a clear cut "Fuck you".

Indeed you are right. My understanding is that they are doing this one way and one way only. They ask the question, they get no answer or a stupid answer and they urge others to donate under the hope that they'll get what they like or just plain to support the cause. So right now people are to donate in hopes that the game isn't DRM'ed, in hopes that the Remasters might come on down the pipeline because they'd be stupid to not release them, and if we donate enough maybe they'll see that there is interest which might just cause them to release said Remasters. Who knows?

I don't have the money to waste on stupidity like that.

Not only that I can't understand how it got to this. Over on NEOGAF they're really hoping for this game to beat Bloodstained for highest funded ever. I feel as if this game has no right to go after that award. People have gotten to the point that they admit this Kickstarter campaign has been horrible but please, for the love of Yu, donate so that his vision can be realized! Don't penalize Yu because his Kickstarter campaign to fund his game is horrible! Please fund him anyway! It's pitiful! They haven't made so much as one effort to cater to those donating money besides the physical PS4 disc which had to be common sense. Bloodstained went above and beyond. That Kickstarter was a well oiled machine! They heard fan demands! They catered to fans! What system is Bloodstained not coming on minus 3DS? They're even doing Wii U which was requested by many people and backers! People ask for other consoles with Shenmue and are outright ignored. The tiers of Bloodstained were enticing and decently priced. Shenmue keeps dropping ridiculously overpriced tiers for dudes who have thousands to spend and to heck with those giving under $250. I've read many people saying on various sites that this is just plain stupid because they need to appeal to those who donated, say $25. They need to get those people who donated to donate more not keep going for big spenders. Do they care? Nope. And on tiers, are they even listening to people in regards to them? Because this "Be an NPC" and "Have your name written here" mess is getting old fast. Did they so much as consider replica dragon and phoenix mirrors? And it's too late now. We have a little over two days left. The damage is done.

People have said before they don't think this game is going to do very well and I wouldn't be surprised if it crashed and burned. I'd love to be wrong. I'd love for this game to do amazing. But I'd be surprised if it isn't a cult favorite once more and IV never gets released. They messed up big time with this Kickstarter because nothing was ready and it's going to be hard to draw people in without the Remasters. Supposedly Yu spent three years debating if he wanted to crowd fund. What he should've done was decide he wanted to do that early in, put things together much better such as a way better video and a definitive budget. Asking for 2mill then getting that overnight and jumping it to 10mill was ridiculous. He should've budgeted everything out from the beginning and if so asked for 5mill. Already fans are swearing this isn't Yu's vision as if they're only getting half a game. I expect this to be the excuse if the game fails horribly. It would be even better if he had a short demo like that other Kickstarter I checked out but I'm sure that's asking entirely too much. But even so nothing was handled properly with this Kickstarter and I'm afraid it will not only impact the sales of the game but also any chances of the fans getting Shenmue IV.

I'm sorry to repeatedly post on this but the whole fiasco just angers me. I'm a Shenmue fan from way back. It was one of, if not, my first Dreamcast games. I have fond memories of joking with friends as I played it, joking about sailors and the way to Wong Zhau. Now here we are oh so many years later and the dream can finally be realized. I have money I want to give them but I'm the bad guy because they basically told me to screw myself with my simple requests. And many communities have taken that same opinion. "If you don't back screw you, you aren't entitled to jack deadly from anyone if you pledge". How is someone acting entitled if they have a few requests or even questions before they give money? How are they acting entitled if they expect a certain something for said money? I thought that was just plain good business. I thought this Kickstarter was a perfect example of a crappy business. Clearly I thought wrong.

Well, I'll have to play devil's advocate in here. I'm very anti-DRM, and pro-Free Software, but I can't expect to dictate how these guys run their business. It is their choice, after all.

"You release it without DRM and I'll buy it. Otherwise, I'll keep my money." That is what I told them. I hope they'll treat these messages as a sort of survey. The people who forked already don't count, since they already took their money.

I can understand if they think that the game will be more profitable if it was DRM'ed. That is why DRM is a moral issue for me (as well as a technical one). If I don't like how you do business, I won't buy from you. That is how the market works, and why we need to spread the word on the anti-DRM movement.

In this case, as in many others, I'll wait and see. But just like you, I don't trust them with my money.

Japan is always a few years behind when it comes to their cultural mind-set. Seeing as the rest of the world is still on the fence about whether or not DRM is a good or bad thing, why would anyone expect Japanese developers to be pushing DRM-Free games? Remember when all publishers thought that, if they made their games without DRM, everyone would just pirate the game? Most Japanese publishers still think that!

The battle for DRM-Free games has certainly made some strides in recent years, especially thanks to GOG and its passionate customer base, but the war is far from over. Steam is still the breakaway leader in digital games distribution and, since many people don't even look at Steam as being a form of DRM, it will be a colossal task to change global perception on this matter.

Bringing it back on topic, Ys Net's response to DRM-Free questions changed from "No way!" to "We're looking into it." in just a month's time. Plus, this is technically a new developer, one with console sensibilities, so DRM has been ingrained into them as being a great, life-saving technology. Additionally, looking at the reward tiers, far more people are backing for a PS4 version of the game than a PC version. Therefore, Ys Net is going to act quicker on the desires of PS4 backers (which is why they got a physical copy a couple weeks ago) than their PC backers. Still, having said that, they are listening. Their response time to KS messages has gotten a lot faster as well. If they say they are looking into it, I believe they are looking into it.

Having said all of that, it is quickly becoming clear that Ys Net will not be announcing a DRM-Free option before the campaign ends later today. So, if you've been holding out for a DRM-Free option, don't back this project. In the event that they announce that at a later date, then set your money aside and buy the game upon release. I was ready to do the same thing before they added the physical PS4 copy. I much prefer a physical game to a digital one and, as I am getting a PS4 later this year, I was happy with this addition. I will still continue to spam the comments and Twitter with #Shenmue3DRMFree and will definitely let you know if any news on the matter is released in the future. For now, as I said, save your money.

I think the community and this guy that made Republique and introduced Yu Suzuki to Kickstarter will convince him to release a DRM free version.

I am so happy to see the numbers getting closer to 6 million. Shenmue is the highest funded videogame on Kickstarter although the campaign was really bad and amateurish (the logo for example and many other things). Fans know what the series is about but for someone that never played the previous games this campaign did nothing until it exceeded Bloodstained's record. There were also too many updates and too many confusing rewards. But I have faith in Yu Suzuki and some of the former AM2 guys and I am sure we will see a fantastic continuation of this great saga and I am really happy. And I am sure PayPal and a japanese payment solution will be offered afterwards.

Here is a beautiful sketch of my all time favourite scene in videogaming:

https://twitter.com/Jackie_Fhan/status/622053912430800896

The kickstarter has ended, and Shenmue III officially broke the record for most funded videogame on kickstarter.
It was funded with 6.333.295 dollars by 69320 backers (old record: 5.545.991 $ by Bloodstained).

The following stretchgoals have been reached (to get the remaining stretchgoals a Paypal option will soon be available).
http://img5.fotos-hochladen.net/uploads/final1dbb7cc467m17c682hxk.png


You can check for updates on the game here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ysnet/shenmue-3

AND THUS THE SAGA... CONTINUES

With the Paypal option now open I see no reason as to why they cannot or will not reach 11mill.

Looks like people can still back if they so desire.

https://shenmue-3.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
Sega is talking big about making other PC remasters but for right now nothing has been said about Shenmue I and II. If they released all three in a bundle on PS4 I'm sure that'd sell well.

How did you find this? There was no KS update mentioning this.

Is it possible to pay by PayPal on Backerkit?

How did I find it? Boredom.

I had backed another project and saw that it had a Backerkit. It had links to other Backerkits underneath it and I checked a few out. I noticed the URL had most of the original URL to the Kickstarter in it and started doing some experimenting with the URL then I found this.

I'm not sure if they allow Paypal on here or not but if not they should be doing it soon. Ever since the Kickstarter ended I stopped following Reddit and the forums so I have no idea what's going on with it these days.

I did some research. It seems only stripe as payment method is supported. I never heard of it but it is not yet available in my country. Is stripe big in other countries and a an adequate alternative to PayPal?

Stripe appears to be some sort of credit card service. Here in America we have many people that process credit card orders so it doesn't surprise me. I have also never heard of Stripe but that wouldn't stop me from donating.

What is a concern, however, is this. Many people were hype to donate to get the physical copy and backer case. I kept clicking options on this site and found out that the only one with a special backer case is the PC version. In fact if you click on "PRE-ORDER S3 WORLD TELECOM" you'll see what I mean.

PRE-ORDER S3 WORLD TELECOM

S3 WORLD TELECOM Get an international phone card (in-game item) to call Nozomi, Guizhang Chen, Ine-san, Joy, Fuku-san, or other characters from Shenmue 1 & 2. This item will unlock phone conversations and flashback scenes available only to Kickstarter Backers. Keep your friends close with S3 World Telecom. Also, choose either a physical copy of Shenmue 3 in an exclusive, backer-only case (PC Only), or a digital copy for PC or PS4. Estimated delivery: Dec 2017

Notice that it says the "exclusive, backer-only case" is PC only. I'm not entirely sure people knew or know that right now and instead might be expecting a nice backer case for PS4 as well.

Crazy. Backerkit site is down.

its not crazy, but looks more fishy to me