The Shenmue 3 Kickstarter has drawn controversy from two groups of people: people who know little about game publishing (and even less about Kickstarter), and those who want to cash in on ignorance to get easy clicks. I concede that some members of the former might be members of the latter, because being a member of the games press requires regrettably minimal qualification.
Meanwhile, genuine confusion has arisen for actual potential Shenmue 3 customers, who aren't sure what defines Yu Suzuki's exact "open world," and don't have a strong grasp on what certain stretch goals mean.
Check out the podcast with the streaming link above (via GameRevolution's YouTube Channel), or download the MP3 right here.
The Best Video Game Podcast Top SEO Search Result
Episode 5: 10 Million Dollars00:00 – Intro
02:04 – Shenmue 3 Kickstarter Close-up
02:44 – Defining stretch goals before development is hard
04:33 – Fan-centered language in Kickstarters
08:03 – The ambiguity of "True Open World"
12:07 – Shenmue 3 PR gaffes and Hanlon's Razor
14:42 – Awesome Japan's Kickstarter management history
22:09 – Awesome Japan lacks the native English speakers to handle a project this size
25:26 – Initial Kickstarter Goals: Large vs small
27:53 – School For Babies Who Don't Read Things: Kickstarter Edition
29:55 – Kickstarter is not always the only source of funding, and that's OK!
33:20 – The Oxford dictionary defines "kickstart" as…
35:57 – Game companies are not swimming in money
38:56 – The staving artist/sellout false dichotomy
41:30 – Writers fanning controversy
44:10 – The dangerous precedent of demanding financial details
47:46 – Hopes for Shenmue 3
Thanks as always for listening. If you have any comments or questions, I invite you to keep them to yourself because I don't give a shit.
But if we all want to pretend I do, you can leave a comment here or tweet @TheHeathHindman on Twitter. Maybe we'll do something where we read shit during one of the podcasts or something. I dunno. I haven't thought that far ahead.
If you didn't hear our previous episode that involved Kickstarter, check out this episode where we talk about Bloodstained.
