At last, we can finally see the end of the story. Been waiting for this for so long.

There's no way they could make Shenmue 3 for $2 million. They are probably getting some financial support from Sony (hence the console exclusivity for PS4), so why does this Kickstarter campaign need to exist in the first place?

NO! Kickstarter campaign. So fund, let the man know that you would like to see it here and point the other japanese games that came on GOG lately.

Sega gave the rights back to the Shenmue creator (though i doubt that was for free or because they are such nice guys)

"If this project reaches its funding goal, Shenmue 3 will be available on the PS4 and PC. "

As for why the Kickstarter...I really doubt that Sony handed them the needed funds or any funds at all. So far this is heading towards one of the most succesful KS campaigns ever.

The PS4 exclusivity might be because XBox was always only a small fraction of the japanese market and had trouble to penetrate it. So, if he wants the game to sell in Japan, that was a good move, as he's gonna reach as many customers as he wants. The japanese devs were always reluctant to release their games on western platforms. We are lucky that he boarded the PC trend that is going now on the japanese market and in West.

But in the corner of the screen for gameplay footage, SEGA's name is there. So SEGA is involved in some way.

That trailer seems to be based on the older Shenmue games, if i'm not mistaken (my memories are fuzzy after so much time). And Sega still owns the publishing rights for the originals.

no
yu suzuki bought the rights to shenmue a while ago from sega

i never play shenmue? is good?

Hmm. Nice. I heard the series is good. I never play Shenmue 1 & 2 before. Is it really good (at that time) ?

I wonder if I can play the previous with emulators.

I never heard about She-n-me.

btw is it me or they all look same? (o_O)

I voted on GOG wishlist and sent a Kickstarter inquiry requesting DRM-free, GOG preferred.

I'm against Kickstarter, but I'm happy Shenmue 3 is real. Long time Shemue fan, I was waiting for this, but now we need Shenmue 1+2.

Says who? All Im seeing is news articles from back in 2012 saying he is trying to, and in 2014 when the IP expired because SEGA did not do anything with it.

says suzuki http://segabits.com/blog/2014/11/13/yu-suzuki-shares-details-of-shenmue-iii-and-beyond-in-new-shenmue-dojo-interview/

http://shenmuedojo.net/new/extras/interview1114.html

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/system-wars-314159282/yu-suzuki-teases-shenmue-at-e3-32137696/

and if thats not good enough
why in the hell woudl he hold a kickstarter for shenmue 3 if he didnt own the damn IP ?
just to curry favor with sega ?

I hope that there is a stretch goal where Shenmue I & II are remade. Without those two games, Shenmue III would lack context and impact for new arrivals.

I don't think there's a point to Kickstarter except to help get money for projects. In this respect it reduces the amount of money that otherwise needs to be invested. Traditionally publishers were also investors, giving the money to developers in exchange for the rights to the game. So Kickstarter can remove that from the equation. The publishing aspect is often still handled by publishers, especially if there's need for physical copies, because it makes sense for developers to offload this part of the business to someone who's familiar with it.

As I see it, typically the money from campaigns doesn't cover the game's expenses, so there's always need for further investment, either by the developers themselves or outside investors (which may be publishers). But a big up front sum enables this kind of investment, which otherwise won't happen, and allows to further the scope of the game.