Shenmue III

Shenmue III

Promotional Kickstarter image for Shenmue III
Developer(s) Neilo[1]
Ys Net[2]
Publisher(s) Ys Net
Director(s) Yu Suzuki[2]
Keiji Okayasu
Producer(s) Yu Suzuki
Cedric Biscay[2]
Artist(s) Kenji Miyawaki
Manabu Takimoto[2]
Writer(s) Yu Suzuki
Masahiro Yoshimoto[2]
Composer(s) Ryuji Iuchi[2]
Series Shenmue
Engine Unreal Engine 4[2]
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 4
Release date(s)

‹See Tfd›

  • WW: December 2017[2]
Genre(s) Action-adventure, role-playing, life simulation
Mode(s) Single-player

Shenmue III (Japanese: シェンムー3 Hepburn: Shenmū 3) is an upcoming open-world action-adventure game developed by Neilo and Ys Net, scheduled for release in December 2017 for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4. It is directed, written and produced by Yu Suzuki. The third game in the main Shenmue series, Shenmue III follows teenage martial artist Ryo Hazuki in his quest to find his father's killer in 1980s China.

The previous two Shenmue games were developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for the Dreamcast in 1999 and 2001 respectively. The original Shenmue was the most expensive video game ever developed at the time, with an estimated production and marketing cost of over $47 million USD, though this also covered some of Shenmue II and groundwork for future Shenmue games. Despite attracting a cult following and appearances in several "greatest video games of all time" lists, the games were commercial failures and Shenmue III spent over a decade in development hell.

At the June 2015 E3 conference, following years of speculation, Suzuki launched a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund Shenmue III, with Sega having licensed Shenmue to Suzuki's company Ys Net. The campaign met its initial target of $2 million USD in under eight hours, making it the fastest Kickstarter campaign to reach that amount. It ended in July 2015 having raised over $6 million, making it the highest-funded video game and the sixth highest-funded campaign in Kickstarter history. Crowdfunding resumed via the online payment system PayPal and the Chinese crowdfunding platform Alipay.

Premise

In 1987, following the events of Shenmue II, teenage martial artist Ryo Hazuki has journeyed from Yokosuka, Japan to the mountains of Guilin, China in search of his father's killer, Lan Di. There he met Ling Shenhua, a mysterious girl who previously appeared in his dreams. After learning the legend of her village which foretells a united path between them, Ryo and Shenhua embark on a new journey which will reveal their shared destiny. Lan Di will return, with a new antagonist Niao Sun.[2]

Shenmue III begins in Bailu Village in Guilin. According to the game's Kickstarter page, the second area, Choubu, is "a riverside village with lots of shops, souvenir stores, hotels and temples", and the third area, Baisha, will feature a "siege game reminiscent of the Warring Kingdoms."[3] Ryo can make phone calls to Japan to catch up with the lives of characters from previous games.[4]

Background

Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki speaking at the 2011 Game Developers Conference

The first two Shenmue games were directed, written and produced by Yu Suzuki, developed by Sega AM2, and published by Sega for the Dreamcast in 1999 and 2001 respectively. Described by IGN as a "revenge epic in the tradition of Chinese cinema",[5] Suzuki plans the series to cover at least four games.[6] With a level of detail then considered unprecedented,[7] the original Shenmue was the most expensive video game ever developed at the time, reported to have cost between $47 and 70 million USD, including marketing. The development also covered some of Shenmue II, which was completed for a "much more reasonable sum", and groundwork for future Shenmue games.[8] Despite attracting a cult following and appearances in several "greatest video games of all time" lists,[9][10][11][12] the games were commercial failures and Shenmue III entered a period of development hell lasting over a decade.[13] Suzuki remained at Sega working on various projects which failed to see release,[14] including a PC MMORPG spin-off, Shenmue Online, now believed cancelled.[15][16]

Fans petitioned for Shenmue III,[17] and in 2005 the BBC series VideoGaiden ran a campaign asking Sega to develop it.[18] In 2008, Sega of America president Simon Jeffery stated that it was one of the studio's most requested titles.[19][20] That year, Suzuki established his own development company, Ys Net, while remaining part of Sega.[14] In 2010, he said that "the concept for Shenmue III already exists"[21] and that the game would expand "not outward, but inward", focusing on the relationship between Ryo and Shenhua.[21] In January that year, Sega said that though sales were a concern, they would "love" to develop Shenmue III given the opportunity.[22] They also announced another spin-off, Shenmue City, a social game for Japanese mobile phones; the game was shut down in 2012.[23]

In November 2010, Sega West president Mike Hayes said: "While at present we have no plans for the franchise ... the Shenmue legacy ignites a lot of passion among fans. Never say never."[24] On March 2, 2011, Suzuki spoke at the Game Developers Conference and said that Sega would be open to the project if the budget were feasible.[25] In September 2011, Suzuki left Sega to focus on Ys Net.[14] On January 4 2012, he suggested that Sega could license Shenmue to Ys Net to develop Shenmue III independently.[26] In March 2013, news arose that Suzuki was considering crowdfunding or console exclusivity to fund Shenmue III.[27] He gave a presentation on the franchise at the 2014 Game Developers Conference and said he was researching the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.[28] During the conference, Sony Computer Entertainment approached Suzuki about Shenmue III as it was one of the most requested titles in their Twitter campaign asking fans what games they want to see on PlayStation.[29][30][31] In March 2014, Xbox head Phil Spencer said Shenmue III was the most requested sequel from Xbox owners.[32] In May, Sega renewed the Shenmue trademark.[33] On September 28, 2014, Suzuki restated that Sega would allow him to make Shenmue III if he could fund it independently.[34]

Announcement and crowdfunding

Shenmue III was announced at E3 in June 2015.

On June 14, 2015, the day before the Los Angeles E3 press conference, Suzuki tweeted "E3" with a photo of a forklift, a reference to a minigame in the original Shenmue, sparking speculation that an announcement was imminent.[35] During Sony's E3 conference the next day, Suzuki announced a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to develop Shenmue III for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4 with a tentative release date of December 2017.[36] The surprise announcement drew considerable publicity,[17] winning the "Best Debut" award from GameTrailers[37] and generating a surge in sales of pre-owned Dreamcast consoles.[38]

The initial Kickstarter funding goal, the amount necessary for the campaign to succeed and development to begin, was $2 million USD. "Stretch goals", additional goals to encourage further donations, included a "rapport system" at $3.2 million, which alters non-player character behavior depending on the player's actions, and a "character perspective system" at $5 million, which "highlights character personalities".[39] Suzuki said that for Shenmue III to be a "true" open world game, the campaign would need to raise at least $10 million; nonetheless, he said he would not be disappointed by a smaller figure and would "make what [he] can within the budget."[40]

The campaign raised $1 million USD in an hour and 44 minutes, making Shenmue III the fastest game to raise that amount through crowdfunding, and met its initial goal of $2 million in eight hours and 43 minutes, making it the fastest Kickstarter campaign to reach that amount.[41] It ended on July 17 having raised $6.3 million USD from over 69,000 backers, becoming the most funded Kickstarter video game campaign and the sixth most funded Kickstarter campaign of all time.[40] On September 17, 2015, crowdfunding resumed using the online payment system PayPal, and on March 15 the project began accepting pledges through the Chinese crowdfunding platform Alipay.[42] By November 2016, Shenmue III had raised a total of over $6.6 million USD from over 73,000 backers across multiple crowdfunding platforms.[43]

Development

Shenmue III is under development by Suzuki's development studio Ys Net with several key members of the original Shenmue development team, including sub-director Keiji Okayasu,[44] writer Masahiro Yoshimoto, character designer Kenji Miyawaki, composer Ryuji Iuchi, and programmer Tak Hirai.[45][1] Masaya Matsukaze and Corey Marshall will reprise their roles as the Japanese and English voices of Ryo respectively.[2][46] Sony and Shibuya Productions are providing production, marketing, and publishing support.[43][47] The game uses Unreal Engine 4.[36]

In November 2015, Suzuki visited China to promote the project and research the locations, traditional clothes and martial arts of Guilin. In a presentation at China's Chuapp conference that month, he stated that Shenmue III's story and "composition" were complete and that "baseline research" with Unreal Engine 4 had begun.[48] In late 2015, the team began using Shenmue II characters to run simple battle and conversation tests.[49] In February 2016, Suzuki demonstrated the game's weather effects, lighting, and music at the Monaco Anime Game International Conference.[50]

References

  1. 1 2 Nakamura, Toshi (June 18, 2015). "What We Know About Shenmue III So Far". Kotaku. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Shenmue III Kickstarter". Kickstarter. Kickstarter. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Shenmue 3". Kickstarter. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  4. ↑ Hester, Blake (2016-06-09). "Yu Suzuki, Tim Schafer and others discuss hype in game development". Polygon. Retrieved 2016-06-09.
  5. ↑ "IGN Presents the History of SEGA - IGN - Page 8". IGN. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
  6. ↑ Good, Owen S. (2015-06-20). "Shenmue creator: Story has 11 chapters, ideally '4 or 5 games' in the series". Polygon. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  7. ↑ "'90s Making of Shenmue documentary gives glimpse into legendary game". www.gameskinny.com. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
  8. ↑ Diver, Mike. "Shenmue – discovering the Sega classic 14 years too late". the Guardian. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  9. ↑ Readers' Picks Top 100 Games: 81–90, IGN, 2006
  10. ↑ "7. Shenmue - The 100 Greatest Video Games Of All Time - Empire Online". empireonline.com.
  11. ↑ "IGN Top 100 Games 2008 | 10 Shenmue II". Uk.top100.ign.com. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  12. ↑ "51. Shenmue II - The 100 Greatest Video Games Of All Time - Empire Online". empireonline.com.
  13. ↑ Gillett, Nick. "E3 2015 round-up". the Guardian. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  14. 1 2 3 "Yu Suzuki At A Time Of Transition". Retrieved 2016-11-24.
  15. ↑ "Shenmue Online canceled: Who will move all of these online crates now?". Destructoid. August 4, 2007.
  16. ↑ Arendt, Susan (August 7, 2007). "Rumor:Shenmue Gone for Good". Wired.
  17. 1 2 Stuart, Keith. "Shenmue III is gaming's highest funded Kickstarter – what happens now?". the Guardian. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  18. ↑ "videoGaiden returns with Shenmue 3 appeal - VideoGamer.com". VideoGamer.Com. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  19. ↑ 7/16/08 2:40pm 7/16/08 2:40pm. "Sega: No Plans For Shenmue III, Seaman 2". Kotaku.com. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  20. ↑ 7/23/08 6:20pm 7/23/08 6:20pm. "E308 Simon Jeffery Destroys All of Your Hopes For Dreamcast 2, Shenmue 3, and Seaman 2". Kotaku.com. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  21. 1 2 "The Disappearance of Yu Suzuki: Part 2 from 1UP.com". 1Up.com. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
  22. ↑ "Story: Sega talks Shenmue III". PS3center.net. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  23. ↑ Gantayat, Anoop (October 7, 2010). "Shenmue Goes Social on Yahoo's New PC Service". Andriasang.
  24. ↑ Reisinger, Don (November 2, 2010). "Sega: 'Never say never' on Shenmue 3 | The Digital Home - CNET News". News.cnet.com. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  25. ↑ "GDC: The Future of Shenmue - IGN". Pc.ign.com. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  26. ↑ Dutton, Fred (January 4, 2012). "Suzuki: "We can obtain Shenmue license from Sega" • News •". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  27. ↑ "Sega Considers Shenmue III Options, Trade Exclusivity for Funds - Page 1 - PS3 NEWS - PlayStation 3 News - PS3 Hacks - PS3 CFW". PS3 NEWS. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  28. ↑ Robinson, Martin (March 20, 2014). "Yu Suzuki is looking into Kickstarter for Shenmue 3". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  29. ↑ "Sony Are Helping Create Shenmue III". Siliconera. June 16, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  30. ↑ Romano, Sal (June 16, 2015). "Sony Is A Partner In Shenmue III's Development". Gematsu. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Between Shu Ferns: PlayStation Experience clips tease #BuildingTheList announcements". Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  32. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (2014-03-31). "It's games first for Xbox One under new management". Polygon. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  33. ↑ GameCentral. "Sega renews Shenmue trademark as Nintendo registers Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. | Metro News". Metro.co.uk. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Shenmue Dojo - Shenmue Series Extras". shenmuedojo.net. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Is Yu Suzuki teasing something Shenmue related at E3?". Destructoid. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  36. 1 2 Fingas, Jon. "'Shenmue III' will come to PC and PS4 with your help". Engadget. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  37. ↑ "E3 2015 : Best Debut". GameTrailers. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  38. ↑ "Dreamcast console sales spike following Shenmue III reveal". MCV UK. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  39. ↑ I am Yu Suzuki. New Posting!, Reddit
  40. 1 2 "Shenmue 3 Kickstarter Ends at $6.3 Million, Most Ever for a Video Game". Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  41. ↑ "Japanese videogame designer Yu Suzuki accepts certificates for Shemue 3 crowdfunding records". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  42. ↑ "Ys Net Launches Official Shenmue III Chinese Language Website, Continues Crowdfunding with Addition of Alipay | Business Wire". www.businesswire.com. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  43. 1 2 "Slacker Backer Campaign!". Shenmue3 Official Website. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  44. ↑ "Update 58: Keiji Okayasu Returns for Shenmue III · Shenmue 3". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  45. ↑ "Shenmue III: List Of Key Returning Staffs Revealed, Yu Suzuki Wept Backstage At E3 2015 Seeing Kickstarter Success". www.gamepur.com. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  46. ↑ Crecente, Brian (July 1, 2015). "Original Shenmue voice actor returns for Shenmue 3". Polygon. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  47. ↑ Finnegan, Lizzy (June 22, 2015). "Understanding Sony's Role in Shenmue 3". The Escapist. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  48. ↑ "Update 48: CHUAPPX Expo Review & PayPal Rewards Poll · Shenmue 3". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  49. ↑ "Shenmue 3 Creator Gives Small Update on Its Progress". Retrieved 2016-07-02.
  50. ↑ "Shenmue III environment screenshots". Gematsu. Retrieved 2016-02-27.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.