Back in 1999, Sega released a an open world adventure title for its Dreamcast console called Shenmue — the first in what was supposed to be four games. Although it was a critical success and sold 1.2 million copies, Sega still considered it a failure, because it didn't earn enough to cover the game's development costs.
After the release of Shenmue 2 in 2001, Sega axed the series and all was lost.
Or so gamers thought — until E3 2015, where the game's director, Yu Suzuki, announced that he wanted to make Shenmue 3, and started a Kickstarter project to fund the game's development on PlayStation 4 and PC.
This announcement had fans so excited that the Kickstarter project gained $1 million during its first hour and reached full funding at $2 million in its first day — making it one of the top ten most successful Kickstarter projects of all time.
A documentary film, A Gamer's Journey: The Definitive History of Shenmue, is also in the works, and it will explore the making of the Shenmue game franchise. The first trailer was just released, which you can watch in the video below. The production on the film started before Shenmue 3's announcement, but it's likely that it will cover events after that as well, especially given the success of the Kickstarter campaign.
Meanwhile, Shenmue 3 has a new stretch goal on Kickstarter: $10 million — the amount Suzuki believes is necessary to create a true open world experience.
With just 10 days to go and only a little over $4 million raised, the campaign might not make it. Gamespot asked Suzuki if that would disappoint him.
"I am grateful that there's another chance for a new Shenmue," said Suzuki. "I will make what I can within the budget from your money."
There is still time to donate, so if you're wanting to make the game bigger and better, open up your virtual wallet and head over to Kickstarter while you still can. A simple donation of just $29 gets you a copy of the game.
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