Shenmue III OT - I CAN believe that it's bad!

[Cindi Mayweather]

Imagine being a Shenmue diehard, finally getting a sequel and continuation to your favorite game, and it ends up going down in flames.

I really need a pat on the back.

[Chooky]

imagine missing out on a series revival because of a controversy manufactured by school shooters

[Cindi Mayweather]

imagine missing out on a series revival because of a controversy manufactured by school shooters

?

[Trent Dole]

Imagine being a Shenmue diehard, finally getting a sequel and continuation to your favorite game, and it ends up going down in flames.

I really need a pat on the back.

A Sega adjacent thing ending in fuckery? Well I never!

[Mr Gilhaney]

imagine missing out on a series revival because of a controversy manufactured by school shooters

imagine wanting more shenmue

[Momo]

Someday someone competent will buy/run Sega and Atari, I'll be dead by them but I will shed a single tear and nod my head from above in the great spaceship while playing coop games with xenu

[Kara]

Imagine being a Shenmue diehard, finally getting a sequel and continuation to your favorite game, and it ends up going down in flames.

I really need a pat on the back.

Dan - Be brave and stay calm to make the right decision

[MMaRsu]

Oh so enjoying all your games in one place, ease of access, ease of features, choice of where to purchase and a centralized friends list

so... a pc? 

Yeah until this exclusivity bullshit started

[Kara]

Bitters, 2013: Keep dreaming, they'll never make a Shenmue 3. A Lunar sequel is just as likely.

Bitters, 2015: Sure thing, Yu Suzuki is going to deliver on this.

Bitters, 2017: Vaporware!!

Bitters, 2019: Now that Shenmue 3 is definitely coming out I am VERY passionate about DRM platform exclusivity.

[Cindi Mayweather]

HOLY FUCK 13 MINUTES OF SHENMUE III GAMEPLAY

[BisMarckie]

It looks like a game from around 2006.

Yet I don‘t think that‘s a bad thing somehow in this specific case.

[Cindi Mayweather]

[MMaRsu]

Bitters, 2013: Keep dreaming, they'll never make a Shenmue 3. A Lunar sequel is just as likely.

Bitters, 2015: Sure thing, Yu Suzuki is going to deliver on this.

Bitters, 2017: Vaporware!!

Bitters, 2019: Now that Shenmue 3 is definitely coming out I am VERY passionate about DRM platform exclusivity.

well I personally have zero attachment to Shenmue 3 I just hate exclusivity on the pc platform, holding games hostage so it is sold nowhere else. That doesn't incentivize me to use your store at all. So Epic can fuck right off with their bullshit.

[Spieler1]

having an inexplicable fetish for this  =/= holding hostage. You can play it any time on the platform you own 

[team filler]

should be switch exclusive

[Bebpo]

So I watched the trailer and gameplay footage and why does this game still look like a DC/PS2 game with PS3/X360 graphics? Like the animations and models look like an indie game but doesn't this have a decent AA budget?

I sorta see games like Darksiders as medium budget AA games and they look way better than this visually. This looks like a 3 person indie team in a garage working for a few years on a $500k budget.

[Kara]

Cindi... these clips you posted. We're here at last.

And best of all it looks like something from an alternate timeline where Dreamcast won that console generation.

[BisMarckie]

And best of all it looks like something from an alternate timeline where Dreamcast won that console generation.

That's what I wanted to say with my 2006 comment, it works for this game.

[Cindi Mayweather]

This is so peaceful and chill. Holy fucking shit Shenmue really is back.

[Cindi Mayweather]

The videos are missing music because of the way the streamer played it. Apparently he turned it off.

Dojo folks have added music and bah gawd. It's so peaceful and relaxing, the way Shenmue should be.

[Svejk]

YUSSSSSS

[nachobro]

this game is gonna be fuckin great

[Kara]

This is so peaceful and chill. Holy fucking shit Shenmue really is back.

Richard Epcar?!?!?!

[MMaRsu]

having an inexplicable fetish for this  =/= holding hostage. You can play it any time on the platform you own 

Stop this moronic line of arguments that Im a steam fanboy. Fuck off if you dont want to read

[Huff]

lol MMaRsu making a run at being more of a dipshit than rituous

[Momo]

I agree with MMaRsu about 95% of this stuff, where we split is having time to argue over bullshit like this.

[Cindi Mayweather]

https://m.ign.com/articles/2019/06/12/shenmue-3-feels-more-like-a-video-game-than-its-predecessors-a-e3-2019 

Omg I just read a preview for Shenmue III! Pinch me!!

[Kara]

https://m.ign.com/articles/2019/06/12/shenmue-3-feels-more-like-a-video-game-than-its-predecessors-a-e3-2019 

Omg I just read a preview for Shenmue III! Pinch me!!

A new element Shenmue III brings to the series, is that Ryo now needs to eat. Ryo’s stamina decreases when he runs as well as when he gets hit during battles. To regain stamina he needs to either sleep or eat. If you don’t recover your stamina, it means that you’ll be going into battles with less HP, and Ryo will lose the ability to run while exploring. On paper that doesn’t sound fun at all, but simulating Ryo’s everyday needs of food and sleep feels like a natural evolution for the series.

We're gonna eat, y'all.

“I see these mini games as a form of meditation. There’s many different ways to achieve your goal in Shenmue III. If you’re not sure where you want to start, you might want to give it a thought while chopping some wood or performing the horse stance for a while.”

[Cindi Mayweather]

I hate this guys inflectiONS....but I like, his, video.......

[MMaRsu]

Hello Everyone,


We want to make sure that the Backers are aware that we are listening to their concerns. We kindly ask all our fans to have some patience, we are currently at E3 demoing the game and need to get back to our respective offices to assess the situation and together find a way forward to justify the trust you placed in us.



Thank you for your patience and support.

[MMaRsu]

[Kara]

I'm sure you got that backer email.

[MMaRsu]

I'm sure you got that backer email.

Nah I didn't back this shit but I just wanted to post it here for all to see

I was gonna buy this on Steam though

[Kara]

That was sarcasm, it's obvious you don't give a shit about the game and are doing console warZzz shite.

[MMaRsu]

Uhh ok? I played the original on Dreamcast back in the day. But thanks for your hot take. I haven't ever backed a game, but I do buy games that were kickstarted.

[Cindi Mayweather]

If you are going to come to this thread just to shit and troll please fuck off.

[Cindi Mayweather]

btw, I do feel betrayed. I've lost money and am not getting what I specifically paid for. But I still have hope they will make right of this and give out steam keys to those who ordered them.

[Svejk]

I'm thinking they will...  I got an email stating that they aware of all the concerns and are going to do their best to address it. 

BELIEVE

[Cindi Mayweather]

Either way I will be double and triple, maybe even quadruple dipping.

Copies bought and paid for so far:

ps4 ks art book edition
regular boxed pc

Waiting to pre-order:

limited run game collectors edition
 
who knows after that.

[Kara]

I used to care about having everything on one platform, then I stopped PC gaming (other than card games) regularly. Now no matter what platform I fire up I have to install patches out the wazoo so functionally it's the same crummy user experience no matter what.

That said, I'm sympathetic to actual backers who care.

If you didn't back, then go play a game of lucky hit before I hop in a black car and merc your pops in his dojo.

[Cindi Mayweather]

My issue is this:

1. I paid for a steam copy specifically. So did many others.

2. I was going to build a pc specifically to play Shenmue III because my current computer is unable to run something like it.

3. Egs is exclusive for a year. The copy is ordered will come with an EGS code. I don’t want to play it on egs, which has sketchy practices. Once that year exclusive deal is over I will not have a steam key still despite having bought it for steam already. I will have to buy another copy of Shenmue III on pc which is utter bullshit.

4.they even said originally that the pc version would be a physical version with an actual disc. Turns out this was not true and it’s just a code. Why would I, a Shenmue fan, want a physical code? I want a physical version to future proof my purchase so I am not beholden to digital storefronts. I believed it would be an actual disc that could be applied so I could also own it on steam. I have done that with pc games in the past.

Everything related to the pc version has been fucked.

Thankfully also ordered a PS4 version.

[Stro]

Did you order both in the event one of them fucked you over? If so, 

[nachobro]

I went with the PS4 version cause at the time that was the only physical edition. I didn't even own a PS4 at the time but I wanted physical. Kinda glad I didn't swap to PC now even though I'd prefer Physical Steam to PS4 even if it'd just be an empty box. I just never use my PS4 and I really dislike the controller.

[Cindi Mayweather]

Did you order both in the event one of them fucked you over? If so, 

No I went with both because PS4 would be nice but PC would be ultimate version because of fidelity and mods. When it comes to Shenmue I buy for all systems, no fucks given. I had II on DC and Xbox for example. Need to rebuy II DC since I sold it years back for cash. I needed the money. I turn into full on Bork collector mode when it comes to Shenmue. I'm buying multiple copies of the retail version for instance. Gamestop has a pre-order bonus and I will be getting that version for the bonus. Limited Run Games has a Collectors Edition coming and I will be buying that version because it looks like a good collectors edition. So in the end I will end up with 4-5 copies of Shenmue III.

[thisismyusername]

Playing Shenmue 1 and I'm enjoying it more than my last replay. so that's good.

Just wait until you reach the job area.

Worst part of both games. Two games running.

[Cindi Mayweather]

Best part.

[The Sceneman]

I'd better get my ass into gear and play through Shenmue 1&2 on Xbone while theyre on GamePass. I need to get ready for todays forklift race

[nachobro]

So the new kickstarter email offered some new options. They basically said they can't do steam keys at launch but they will now offer refunds OR you can opt to get a steam key after one year.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ysnet/shenmue-3/posts/2553891

[Tasty]

So the new kickstarter email offered some new options. They basically said they can't do steam keys at launch but they will now offer refunds OR you can opt to get a steam key after one year.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ysnet/shenmue-3/posts/2553891

It sucks but I kinda applaud the transparency, we usually don't get any details about these "deals" until they're expired, so the fact they're definitively pegging it for a year is somewhat refreshing. It's a while out but at least they're not like "Yeah sometime in 2020 probly."

They can still be criticized for the initial decision regarding EGS, but that ship sailed and so the question now is "how to move forward."

In a year, Shenmue 3 will be on PS4, Epic Games Store, and Steam (and by then, probably half price or less.) I'm not sure who can complain about that.

[nachobro]

I'm sure someone will find a way

[Coffee Dog]

I just hope that enough refunds are processed that it materially hurts the game. Everybody threw money at the screen because Sony told them to without considering the game that was being made or understabding the fluid and unreliable nature of kickstarter projects. Now people saw slow gameplay and low budget graphics and remembered that they didnt want shenmue, all this epic stuff is a bigger deal than the game itself because everyone already wants to avoid paying money for it in the first place and is looking for an excuse to do so.

[Tasty]

I just hope that enough refunds are processed that it materially hurts the game. Everybody threw money at the screen because Sony told them to without considering the game that was being made or understabding the fluid and unreliable nature of kickstarter projects. Now people saw slow gameplay and low budget graphics and remembered that they didnt want shenmue, all this epic stuff is a bigger deal than the game itself because everyone already wants to avoid paying money for it in the first place and is looking for an excuse to do so.

On the surface this seems like a wild theory, but it might actually have some merit.

Plugging the KS at the Sony conference was definitely weird and I wouldn't ever want to see something like that again; on the other hand, if Shenmue 3 wouldn't exist without having done that, then it's hard to criticize.

[Cindi Mayweather]

Well at least I don’t have to rebuy what I paid for.

Also, people now have to wait an entire year to play a Shenmue game as it’s held hostage by some shady deal.

Lol things never change. This game is fucked. We will not be getting Shenmue 4 unless epic or someone finances it. Which is unlikely because that’s why they needed to do the KS to begin with, which isn’t another trick theybcan pull off. This games rep is so tainted with such bad PR and marketing that I do not see it hitting 1 million, much less 200k. I’m going to enjoy the ride and thank Deep Silver and Epic for killing Shenmue - AGAIN.

I just hope that enough refunds are processed that it materially hurts the game. Everybody threw money at the screen because Sony told them to without considering the game that was being made or understabding the fluid and unreliable nature of kickstarter projects. Now people saw slow gameplay and low budget graphics and remembered that they didnt want shenmue, all this epic stuff is a bigger deal than the game itself because everyone already wants to avoid paying money for it in the first place and is looking for an excuse to do so.

At this point the game is published by Deep Silver who gave fat stacks and Epic. Lol it’ll be fine in that regard.

What you should be worrying about now is how this will impact the game sales long term as Steam was a good place to sell such a niche product.

[Coffee Dog]

I just hope that enough refunds are processed that it materially hurts the game. Everybody threw money at the screen because Sony told them to without considering the game that was being made or understabding the fluid and unreliable nature of kickstarter projects. Now people saw slow gameplay and low budget graphics and remembered that they didnt want shenmue, all this epic stuff is a bigger deal than the game itself because everyone already wants to avoid paying money for it in the first place and is looking for an excuse to do so.

On the surface this seems like a wild theory, but it might actually have some merit.

Plugging the KS at the Sony conference was definitely weird and I wouldn't ever want to see something like that again; on the other hand, if Shenmue 3 wouldn't exist without having done that, then it's hard to criticize.

The game was going to get savaged on release for being a game about chopping wood and slowly mastering martial arts stances. At least now everyone who doesnt enjoy the series can just take their money and gtfo months in advance, the discourse around the game will be a thousand times better as a niche bomb than some colossal hype juggernaut that pisses off eight million dollars worth of people simultaneously.

[Tasty]

Shenmue 2 bombed so hard it put the series in a coma for almost two decades, and was also notoriously difficult to attempt to port (for technical and/or legal reasons; I know a 360 port was in the works but canned at some point.)

I kinda doubt Shenmue 3 will do that much damage, especially if Coffee Dog's prediction comes to pass and the launch is just Shenmue uber-fans lapping it up. I also have to think Deep Silver will try porting the game to anything under the sun that can run it, going into the future. We might see Shenmue Trilogy on PlayStation 5 or Switch 2, etc.

The series still has a future, it's just not particularly clear what it is yet. But at least there's hope, which I'm not sure you could say after Suzuki got "corner desk'd" and the Dreamcast died.

[Cindi Mayweather]

The game would be fine as a kung fu simulator.

Who cares about the Kickstarter?

You have to convince at least a million people to buy Shenmue III in order to get a IV.

These controversies do not help.

We live in a gaming environment where Animal Crossing is considered a top tier franchise, a game like Life Is Strange has an audience. Niche games have never been more successful than now. A game like Shenmue had more cards on its table to be enjoyed and find its audience now than in 1999/2001 when it was stuck on the Dreamcast. This is partially why Steam was a great choice: it’s full of niche successes. It’s the platform that Valkyrie Chronicles, Dark Souls, and Ys extremely popular and a big tent.

Pissing people kickstarters off?

Not only that but they pissed off consumers by pissing kickstarters off by proxy on top of not putting it on a safe bet platform on release.

This game will not be successful. Not because it’s not niche - after all we live in a  gaming landscape where games that allow you to work as Uber Drivers or Fascist regime border suppliers exist - but because of the utterly horrific marketing and controversies. Now that they have pissed off the majority of pc gamers - a massive of slice of sales this game was relying on - you basically only have PS4.

This game is fucked and it’s not because it has you training in horse stance.

[Cindi Mayweather]

Fuck Deep Silver and Epic.

[Coffee Dog]

Games like Life Is Strange and Animal Crossing are hardly niche; Animal Crossing is a massively successful multimillion selling market leader interior design game and Life Is Strange is a critically successful drama that made way more money than anyone writing the sub-Degrassi high script deserves because the market constantly craves for an influx of barely interactive "narrative games". These games have massive commercially viable hooks and have massive playerbases because of it.

Shenmue is an extremely slow walking around town talking/punching people game in an industry clogged full of massive open worlds and no shortage of games with more exciting melee combat. It's not a "sexy" game in the least. Yakuza games are the sexy version of Shenmue and I'm sure even Judgement will dunk on Shenmue 3 in terms of sales.

Its not like the Shenmue pc ports caused a resurgence of articles like "go back and play Shenmue, its a classic". It was a lot of "these games are weird and old and make me fall asleep, I hope Shenmue 3 learns a lot of lessons from it". Remasters/remakes are a huge deal in getting people hyped, and their reception was pretty indicative of how a faithful and authentic 3rd game would be received. It's not worth entertaining the possibility that in 2019 Shenmue would become some big breakout success with content creators gushing over how magical the experience is; we're already past that point. Shenmue is a real niche, not some 5 million seller my girlfriend wants to play like Animal Crossing. It's more in common with those train simulator games that the press passes over every year than anything commercially viable for a large audience.

[Cindi Mayweather]

Some niche game where you stamp papers.



Some game that has literally no action.



Some game where you play as a cyberpunk bartender.



I personally think you have to be a fool to think Shenmue III would bomb naturally just because it has you chopping wood. That, or grossly uninformed about today's gaming.

There's no denying it's a niche product. But today's gaming is all about successful niche products.

It's all a matter of:

A. the game being good
B. marketing

So far they have completely stumbled the marketing and show nothing but story sequences when they should be showing Shenmue to be the kung fu simulator its always been. There's been less than 10 seconds of actual gameplay in the trailers for the game. The E3 impressions were mostly good and  a lot of people liked it. Of course, there were the people who didn't, but Shenmue has always been divisive. The point is the gameplay made a good impression on people.

In order for this game to be successful riding its intricacies was the safest best to selling to the most diverse audience Shenmue has ever had access to.

Instead, they decided to piss off an entire platform, one the game was definitely relying on for success. GG.

[nachobro]

We will not be getting Shenmue 4

we never were