Fans of Japanese RPGs for the Sega Dreamcast have spoken. Loudly. With their wallets.
Shenmue 3 is now the most financially successful gaming Kickstarter in the crowdfunding site's history, passing the $5 million mark Friday with less than 12 hours to go before its deadline. The title was previously held by the recent Kickstarter for the Castlevania re-imagining Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.
You may think that Castlevania's rebirth by one of its original creators would have more mass appeal than Shenmue 3, but you can't count out the many factors playing in the newer game's corner. The first two
Shenmue titles, hailed as early examples of open-world gaming done well, were released on Dreamcast -- a console that met its untimely demise after Sega decided to get out of the hardware business for good in 2001. It's the third game promised in a series of seven, with the last title -- Shenmue 2 -- ending on a dramatic cliffhanger.
It also probably didn't hurt that Shenmue 3's Kickstarter campaign was announced/kicked off during Sony's E3 press conference in mid-June, when tens of thousands of people were tuned in online. Kickstarter's site briefly flagged under the crush, and the game met its $2 million goal within a few hours of launch.
It's clear the developers also had a roadmap for even more fundraising, as Shenmue 3's Kickstarter has stretch goals that go up to $11 million. In the project's FAQ, its creators said they have secured additional funding to make the game happen -- but if the Kickstarter hadn't succeeded, Shenmue 3 wouldn't go forward.
Shenmue 3 is supposed to be delivered to backers by Dec., 2017, for PC and PlayStation 4.