14 DAY TRIAL // One of the biggest surprises of the recently ended E3 2015 is the announcement, made during the Sony press conference, that Shenmue 3 is in development and that the team working on it needed the backing of fans in order to make the project a reality.
Since the crowdfunding process has been launched, the team has managed to attract more than 3.5 million dollars (3.2 million Euro) from the player community, but it seems that much more is needed in order to realize the vision of Yu Suzuki, the director of the series.
Speaking to fans during a special Reddit Ask Me Anything session about the video game, he explains that "I will say this: if we reach the $5 mil mark, one of the things I really want to do with Shenmue 3 will become a reality. At $10 million, it will truly have the features of an open world."
It's unclear whether the Kickstarter effort can get access to the entire sum mentioned by the director, given that the initial enthusiasm of the fans seems to have subsided somewhat.
There are more than three weeks during which gamers can contribute to the development effort for the title.
Sony will be involved in the creation of Shenmue 3
Once the money are obtained via crowdfunding, the Suzuki led team plans to start work on the experience as soon as possible, and if they do not have all the funds they want, it seems that some of the features of the experience will be paired down.
The company hosted the announcement that took place during the E3 2015 event, but it is not planning to actually fund the team at the moment.
Sony might offer tech support and might contribute to the marketing effort before launch although the situation is not entirely clear at the moment.
Shenmue 3 will take place in the villages of rural China and protagonist Ryo Hazuki, and Shenhua will experience a wide variety of adventures that will use some of the core tenets of the series.
The developers have not said when the long-awaited new entry might be launched, and there are plans to deliver it on the PC as well as on the PlayStation 4.