In an interview withGamesindustry.biz, Koch Media’s Klemens Kundratitz says he isn’t concerned aboutShenmue IIIlaunching this holiday season.
“We moved the release date from the end of August to November to give him more time to polish, to make it a high quality experience from the get-go, says Kundratitz. “Then the fans will decide. From a timing point of view, I’m not too concerned because this year is a light year on big releases. Compared to last year and even what’s coming out next year, I think we’re in for a lighter Christmas period.”
Shenmue IIIwas announced back at E3 2015 with a December 2017 release date on PlayStation 4 and PC. Additionally, there was going to be a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the game’s development. The campaign goal began at $2 million with extra stretch goals. It became the fastest game to reach $1 million on Kickstarter, making that much in an hour and 44 minutes. It also broke the record for the fastest game to reach $2 million in just eight hours and 43 minutes. With over 69,000 backers, it became the most crowdfunded game in Kickstarter history.
“It’s been a long development, there’s a large community of Kickstarter supporters and fans that loveShenmue– and they all have their own vision of what it should be,” says Kundratitz. “To fulfill everyone’s vision of what it should be is not always easy. But I would say [director Yu] Suzuki-san is right at the helm. He’s a visionary, he’s running the studio and making the game according to his own beliefs and for the fans. As a publisher, we can only support him in every way we can in order to bring out the game in the best possible light.”
Shenmue IIIlaunches on November 19 on PlayStation 4 and PC. Additionally, it’ll beexclusive to the Epic Games Store. If you want to see where it all started, you can pick up the current generation remaster ofShenmue I & IInow. You can also check outShenmue III’s launch trailer below.
