Kickstarter Update #100 - Shenmue III delayed until November 19th

Most fans I've seen don't care about waiting 3 months, but get worried about the amount of competition the game is going to have.
I don't think that Deep Silver pulled the release date out of their ass, the game probably needs the 3 months to polish it (let's be sincere, the trailers looked rough in various places), but THQ is juggling with a lot of games being developed/published, and they're not the only investors, who knows what place of importance they put on SIII to not bother other games they have.
I think that the perspective is also skewed because the release date of Death Stranding is still very fresh (and I bet there's quite a bit of overlap between Kojima's and Shenmue fans, at least in terms of "quirky japanese games").
Hell even Pokemon might be released around that time, the new CoD that hasn't showed much and expectations are really high, Star Wars, I hope Shenmue can push through, because the release window is the bulk of the sales (specially in consoles).
It's not only gamer's attention/budget, but also media attention, I really hope the fatalistic view is only that, a skewed perspective.
 
It was quite a blunt update, I mean they know they've got a fan base that might be more lenient than others, but still. You'd have thought they would have buttered us up a bit, few new screens, nice teaser and then maybe Yu himself at the end just having a one to one with the fans to just soften the blow.

Instead it was more like, "not ready, November now".
 
Well this wasn't very surprising news to me, I was dead set there will be another delay. But the timing and presentation they chose feels like a kick in the head. No screenshot or artwork or anything to hold us over? It leaves no positive note for the average guy.

Of course to me this just means the game will ultimately be even better yet again, so that is very positive. Also the release window is now more in line with when the Dreamcast games landed. Speaking of that, I'm not putting my money down for this newest release date either. Some might hate me for keeping this thought throughout all the waiting but Shenmue III should just release on the 29th of December, the 20th anniversary of the original...
 
BlueMue said:
Well this wasn't very surprising news to me, I was dead set there will be another delay. But the timing and presentation they chose feels like a kick in the head. No screenshot or artwork or anything to hold us over? It leaves no positive note for the average guy.

Of course to me this just means the game will ultimately be even better yet again, so that is very positive. Also the release window is now more in line with when the Dreamcast games landed. Speaking of that, I'm not putting my money down for this newest release date either. Some might hate me for keeping this thought throughout all the waiting but Shenmue III should just release on the 29th of December, the 20th anniversary of the original...
Click to expand...
I'm not one for the fatalist view but even I will tell you a December launch is just dumb. Most people do their Christmas shopping in Novemeber and are broke afterwards. Plus it is the 29th 4 days after Christmas the average Joe is not buying any games then they're playing the gifts they recieved. If they got gift cards/Cash they'd probably grab a AAA title considering the season or something other than a game. I hope I am not rude.
 
While a 29th December release would be poetic I'm not sure it's a good idea either.

Then again from what i gather pretty much Q3 2019-Q2 2020 is going to be busy so when is a good time?
 
spud1897 said:
While a 29th December release would be poetic I'm not sure it's a good idea either.

Then again from what i gather pretty much Q3 2019-Q2 2020 is going to be busy so when is a good time?
Click to expand...
Honestly August was the best time so November is the new best frankly. It will be a little worse off but not by much. Also since it is the holiday season almost all games will have a small boost because some mom who kniws nothing about games may look at the shelf and say "Billy would sure love this Shenmue game" even if Billy is actually a die hard FPS fan in reality. Ya know the mom that thinks Nintendo is a catch all term for gaming.
 
BlueMue said:
Well this wasn't very surprising news to me, I was dead set there will be another delay. But the timing and presentation they chose feels like a kick in the head. No screenshot or artwork or anything to hold us over? It leaves no positive note for the average guy.
Click to expand...
I think they said exactly what they needed to say.
I'm not deffending them, but to show things so that the fans don't get "sad" or "mad" it's a week attitude IMO.
 
I think we should consider that the perfect time for the release will never come, because there is no perfect time. August was quite good, because there were not many other games that could interfere with S3. The November release is making Things more difficult. But if they could finish the game till then they should release it. Because the further we go into the future the more uncertain Things get. Nobody knows yet what 2020 has in store for us Gamers. It is supposed to be the year of many overhyped titles, like Last of US 2, Ghost of Tsushima, Cyperpunkt 2077. FF 7 could also be released in 2020. So there are many games S3 has to fight in 2020.

In November it is just Death Stranding. And although Death Stranding is overhyped it still less hyped than the other titles I have mentioned. The other title are not so weird like Death Stranding, and therefore they will get the Attention of more People than just the loyal to the end Kojima fans. I used to like Kojima too, but after he ruined MGS 5 for my liking I lost faith in the man. Death Stranding is just too weird for me. I won't play it.


In the other titles I have managed I am more intersted, although I did not jump on the Hype Train at all.


So maybe facing against Death Stranding is better for S3 than fighting the other titles... Who knows..

only time will tell.

We have to be just realistic, that there won't be a perfect release date.
 
Last edited:
For what it's worth, Shenmue III's success won't be determined by its opening week alone. Games have a much longer shelf life nowadays, and the strength of ongoing sales contribute heavily to the overall success of a game. People often bring up Titanfall 2 as a victim of launching in a busy period, but it went on to sell around 4 million copies. Different style of game with different sales expectations, but still. There are plenty of other examples of games selling better in the longterm.
 
Since they ditched August,and November is horrible with quite a few AAA titles,next best date would be January. Correct me if im wrong,there is zero big titles that month. Also, Deep silver did huge numbers a couple years ago on a January with Yakuza 0,another title set in the 80s.
 
I think Shenmue III could have legs and prove to be a cult hit. A lot of games like that don’t sell gangbusters out the gate. I trust in Suzuki and Deep silver.

The positive news is that due to the new KS 101 update we know that Deep Silver still has plans for marketing. So we might still be on for a marketing rush once E3 starts.
 
Not surprised in the slightest. Honestly though. I doubt it’ll even hit that November date. That’s only 3 months away from August. I’m expecting another delay with a February release date at this point.
 
There are 0 titles in January 2020 because E3 hasn't happened yet..

The likelihood of some serious earlt 2020 powerhouses is very, very likely. TLOU2 is coming then, according to Jason Schreier, whom I trust more than most journalists.

That is not the only Sony title that could be out in these time frames. People forget that Dreams could launch it's full version soon; we also haven't seen Bluepoints game(which is probably the heavily rumored Demon's Souls remake/master)

Square-Enix financials suggest FF7-R Part 1will be hitting before March 2020. A lot of people have a laugh at that, but more people are and have been working on that game than any other title in their history. It is definitely a lot further along than people think..

Capcom will have something surprising I'm certain of that.

Also, there is absolutely 0 guarantee that Death Stranding will even be that good. Kojima is good, but hes on his own now.
 
spud1897 said:
While a 29th December release would be poetic I'm not sure it's a good idea either.

Then again from what i gather pretty much Q3 2019-Q2 2020 is going to be busy so when is a good time?
Click to expand...

When it's ready. Call me selfish or apathetic, but I am so done with playing armchair release date strategising. I know we all want SIII to have the best chance of success as possible in order to help secure a Shenmue IV, but I think we just need to stay calm and do everything we can to promote Shenmue 3. There's a good possibility Q1 of 2020 will be stacked too. It's unfortunate, but it's too early and too over the top to now write off Shenmue 3 or demand Deep Silver change the release date again to a time when there's very few other big releases.

And just remember how the media and public might react to yet another delay... just remember how well that went down with previous KS projects.
 
Valascaziel said:
Also, there is absolutely 0 guarantee that Death Stranding will even be that good. Kojima is good, but hes on his own now.
Click to expand...

100% agree with this. There is every chance that Death Stranding or Star Wars will flop. Maybe I'm clutching at straws, but it happens more than people think with AAA games (just look at what has happened to Bioware with Anthem and the last Mass Effect game, or the recent Days Gone game that reviews were lukewarm for). Then it could actually work in Shenmue 3's favour... with people writing off one of (or both) the aforementioned games and wanting to pick up something, anything up in its place... and then boom, they see the hype for "that Shenmue 3 game" and give it a try. Haha maybe.
 
Whilst I don't really see the new release window as a massive problem, even if it were to theoretically affect sales, I think there's a trade off to be made.

If they released an unpolished and/or buggy product in August and more people played it, the game's reputation could take a sizable hit and go down as another 'Kickstarter failure'. But if they spend these extra months really polishing it up and release a polished and optimised experience in November, even if marginally less people play it, those who do will have a better first impression and it'll help solidify Shenmue as a competent franchise.

Success isn't based off sales alone. Millions of people could buy Shenmue III, but if it's a buggy unpolished game with a bad reputation, that doesn't bode well. That's why I'm glad they're taking this extra time to deliver the best experience possible.
 
So let me not be fatalistic and negative for a moment. We fought and brought back shenmue from the dead after 14 years. We all need one last push! Whenever shenmue 3 is released we need to buy the s**t out of it. I've pre-ordered on Amazon and will buy digital version on top of the 100s I put into the Kickstarter. I'll buy another copy to keep sealed. So 3 copies minimum for me. Imagine if shenmue does compete or even beat some of those big titles? I don't know I just think this is the last chance for Shenmue we need to have no regrets. If any fanbase can do it we can!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top