Shenmue 3 announced at E3, launches Kickstarter

Another one of this is not a drill moments came from the Sony conference when they announced Shenmue 3 alongside the Final Fantasy 7 remake. They also announced the start of a Kickstarter with an initial goal of 2 million USD over a 31 day funding period. The Kickstarter has an estimated delivery date of December 2017 and stretch goals of up to 4 million.

The Shenmue series was largely seen to be one of the jewels in the crown of the Sega Dreamcast’s repertoire. When the first Shenmue came out in 2000 it boasted a detailed open world with never before seen elements such as a night/day and weather system. It also featured realistic brawling on top of a deeply enthralling story, not to mention a large dose of quirkiness as it followed the adventures of Ryo Hazuki as he seeks to solve a mystery greater than himself and to find out what really happened to his father.

Shenmue’s sequel largely lived up to its predecessor, but this is where the series found itself ending prematurely. The series has been plagued by its high development costs (it still ranks as one of the highest costed games to develop.). Despite being critically acclaimed, it had never really recouped costs. This coupled with Sega dropping out of the console game, Shenmue 3 was largely seen as a pipe dream that would never come to reality. It has been the subject of long running jokes between Sega fans and the general gaming community, with many believing that Ryo’s story would never be completed.

Until today. As of writing, the Kickstarter has reached its halfway goal of 1 million USD in funding and continues to rise. Whether it will knock Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night by Castlevania director Koji Igarashi for fastest funded Kickstarter, is yet to be seen.