There's a Reddit AMA happening tomorrow (Friday) with Yu Suzuki; although we don't know when or where on Reddit it'll happen.EDIT: Confirmed to be happening from 12:30pm EDT/ 9:30am PST/ 5:30pm BST. In addition, a former Metal Gear Solid 4 producer was supposedly the guy who convinced Yu to give Kickstarter a shot.
Firstly, bullet point recap of Yu's Reddit AMA via SEGAbits (under spoil tags below, it's pretty damn long):
Click to reveal
Yu Suzuki is considering accepting PayPal donations after the project is funded.
Apparently Shenmue is now down to eleven chapters.
The story will span 4-5 games.
The day/night/weather cycles from the previous games will of course be in the new one.
Ryo’s face from the trailer is not what we’ll see in the final version. Yu Suzuki isn’t happy it with it yet.
Shenmue III will feature a more user friendly interface.
No decision has been made on what the capsule toys will be.
There will be a Japanese dub for Shenmue III.
Yu Suzuki didn’t tell the story of Shenmue in book form so that it wouldn’t ruin the story if he were ever able to complete the game. However, he did consider it.
Shenmue’s story was inspired by Yu Suzuki’s trips to China when he was location hunting when designing Virtua
Fighter. Our first mention of a retro game this AMA.
Practicing moves and the FREE battle system will return in Shenmue III.
Yu Suzuki is considering allowing players to have access to both English and Japanese voice overs in the game, but he hasn’t decided.
Yu Suzuki is considering putting a special option in the game where Ryo’s face bandage could be removed.
Yu Suzuki would like to bring the journal back and will look into it.
Yu Suzuki believes that the popularity of mobile games in the Japanese market is causing game budgets to decrease, making it harder for designers to express their vision. His hope is that the console and PC markets will gain in popularity to reverse this trend.
Shenmue III might contain something like a 1 horsepower bike. Perhaps an actual horse?
The essence of an arcade game is that there is only a 3 minute window to express what the game is.
Something resembling a co-op or vs. mode is being considered for Shenmue III.
In Shenmue III the “Rapport System” will govern changes in Shenhua’s actions depending on your conversations with or actions towards her. The “Character Perspective System” will highlight different characters personalities as they go through the story.
Shenmue III will contain part time jobs. It’s hinted at the stretch goals may include the forklift job. Edit: Now confirmed.
It looks we’ll get the most complete version of Shenmue III if the $10 million mark is hit.
Akira would defeat Ryo in a fight.
Possible return of duck racing.
Yu Suzuki declines to reveal whether or not Ryo will ever use a sword.
Yu Suzuki answers one of my questions. “I had fun making all the games I worked on, and can’t say one was better than another.”
Shenmue is set in the 80s instead of the present day to “put forward the differences in culture and values between the two periods.”
Yu Suzuki’s favorite song from Shenmue is the Tomato Mart theme.
Expect more funding tiers for the Kickstarter, in particular between the $500 and $3000 mark.
Shenmue IV is contingent on fans liking Shenmue III. “If the fans are not happy with 3 there will not be a 4. So I please hope we can together make this game the best it can be.”
Dreamcast is Yu Suzuki’s favorite console.
When directly asked if arcade games will return in Shenmue III, Yu Suzuki responds, “I plan on making plans.” Very ambiguous. Possible yes?
Why does Yu Suzuki create? “Why does one climb the mountain? The shark cannot breath when it does not swim.”
Yu Suzuki has three Yorkshire terriers and a turtle as pets.
Sega would be responsible for any remasters and re-releases of Shenmue I and II.
Details about Chobu and Bailu villages.
The villages mentioned in the stretch goal are already in the game. The stretch goals are to add extras to them. Not to add the villages.
Ryo may one day return to Japan, but it won’t be in Shenmue III.
Secondly, Yu addresses the controversy surrounding the Kickstarter. Why people are saying Sony is co-funding development and that all the peoples' funding are going to naught is just absurd. And I'm saying this not as not much of a Shenmue fan either.
There have been many questions concerning Shenmue 3’s budget and what outside sources will be added to the money collected through Kickstarter. I apologize for not having been more forthright in this area and would like to take this opportunity to help clarify the situation.
Ys Net and I have been putting in many long years trying to find a way to bring back a sequel that so many fans have waited so long for. After learning of Kickstarter, I knew it would be possible to get Shenmue 3 started. Wanting to make the best game possible, I also knew that I would have to look to more traditional means to obtain all the funds that would be needed to create the game I had envisioned.
Sony and Shibuya Productions have been wonderful partners because they believe in Shenmue and want to see the best for the fans and the game. Their investment in (and support of) Shenmue have helped to realize a sequel that will stand proud with its predecessors. While it is not business practice to discuss the specific details of such arrangements, I can say that with their assistance on the production and marketing end, and in Sony’s case with some publishing support as well, Ys Net is able to use more of the money we collect through Kickstarter purely for Shenmue 3’s development. It is also important to note that your funds are going strictly to Ys Net for development of Shenmue 3 – Sony and Shibuya Productions are not seeing a cent of your Kickstarter dollars.
The outpouring of support from all of you, the backers, has been so inspirational. I cannot thank you enough. Having reached our funding goal, I am excited to say that the Shenmue story will go on, and our journey with Ryo and Shenhua will continue. Fans will be able to enjoy the sequel they have waited so long for, and newcomers to the series will be introduced to a unique gaming experience.
Of course, like with any Kickstarter, additional funding will only help us make a better game. On top of everything Shenmue 3 will already bring, the Stretch Goals that I have laid out will add extra quests, events, and new gameplay systems that will make the game even more immersive and take the series to the next level. At the $5 million mark, there will be an all new gameplay feature I would be excited to be able to add to the Shenmue legacy. If we should make the $10 million Stretch Goal, a much larger, completely open world will be yours to explore.
Even if these Stretch Goals are not reached, Shenmue 3 will already be a sequel true to its name, and one we can all be proud of. It is my hope though, that together we can make this Shenmue just as revolutionary as the first two were.
I understand this statement may by late in coming. Going forward, we wish to be as open as possible concerning the game’s development. I would like to again ask for your cooperation and support in helping make Shenmue 3 the best that it can be.
TheChaosBlue wrote:So apparently the Q&A wasn't that great?
The presentation is what was the problem. Sound quality wasn't good at all (one table mic and it was far away from Yu and the others looked like) and the guy on the right looked like he was out of it for much of the stream. Not sure if it was of too much Fanta or something else.
Anywho, I'm a little disappointed that the whole Sony issue has slowed funding down on this - it's like people were very excited to back this, and then went "wait, hang on..." for no real reason. Because of that, it's lost all steam, and any Stretch Goals over the $4-5m mark look like nothing more than pipedreams.
It's a real shame, because if it had kept on at its original pace over the first 4 or 5 days, it'd have got to $11m or more quite easily.
The Sony situation put a damper on progress for sure. All those sites and people saying that the game's funding is shoddy due to its involvement clearly wanted to point the faults with that right out of the gate.
It's too soon to get discouraged (I feel like I'm repeating myself from the ToeJam & Earl 4 KS... because I am ). Kickstarters often chug along slowly after the first week. It should pick up again (successful ones often do), and we could see some major action during the last week or so of the campaign.