It looks like Shenmue III, the highly anticipated (by fans) continuation of the 2001 title, is not doing very well. The game debuted at number 17, and sold 50% less compared to Shenmue I & II remaster in the UK. The game also sold less than 18.000 units in Japan and received the fourth place in the console charts.
The game was first funded through Kickstarter with more than 80.000 backers. Sadly, the developers made a few decisions that upset many people. Also the game is very archaic in every form. Meaning fewer people will find interest in something like that in the year 2019.
Personally I was a big fan of the series and also a backer, but Ys Net disappointed me in every possible way.
Pieter’s review is in the works so stay tuned for that.
Thanks Metro.
Chris was born in the early 80’s along with the very birth of home gaming. After spending many maaany drachmas on arcades, his father decided to buy him a PC instead of going bankrupt. He lived through the advancing and development of the gaming industry, having played TONS of games on all platforms. He is always honest and will never hesitate to give his true opinion on a game no matter what. Loves stealth games and dislikes microtsansactions, DLC and pre-ordering…who doesn’t after all?!
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Who could have imagined that!
definitely not you, you fcking ugly weeb.
Oh god, a weeb insult. Jesus…t-the…I GOT THE POWER OF ANIME AND GOD ON MY SIDE DAGOAT!
Lmao, jesus.
Lmao. It’s on EGS, what else have they expected?
These are physical copy sales of the console version, nothing to do with EGS.
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saved
Yes, it does. Another epic fail. Crappy games tend to have crappy sales. Especially if the crappy game goes to the most hated store.
Hmm, do you have a facebook account mate?? If yes sorry but no sane person can take you seriously
Are you f**king r3t@rded or what?
I see you didn’t answer to my question so I can’t answer to yours. Unless you really don’t care how your arguments look to other people , you just want to talk to yourself.
Jesus Christ, the stupidity on the internet will never cease to amaze me.
ha ha ha, you are really funny. Man, not all internet users are as stupid as you would wish too. Keep making us laugh.
Not all internet users are as stupid as i would wish, yet, you prove me exactly the opposite.
Its a sh*t game, EGS doesn’t really matter in this case. Only hardcore fans would play this boring, outdated garbage and they already payed for the game through kickstarter
Can’t be a sh*t game. Sweeney promised no sh*t games on the anti-consumer Epic store.
Epic, make piracy great again.
Do you have a facebook account mate?? Because if you do you are obviously a huge hypocrite…
There are a lot of types of games for a lot of people. Shenmue is all about immersion and a lot of people really liked that. Shenmue 1 and 2 sold pretty well, but having played through those games some things were really tedious to deal with like how the characters turn. I haven’t played Shenmue 3 yet, but I assume I am going to at least enjoy it, and I appreciate that they have kept the story going.
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Especially after how the original financial backers were treated.
Not really
I mean is this really shocking? Not to mention theres no consequences because it’s a Kickstarter game
They had investors outside of kickstarter too, so I would wage they have some people to answer to about the sales actually.
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Even if it won’t sell Epic buys enough copies so it will be marketed as success like all those other exclusives
I wonder what all those companies that went to epic will do when they have no fans and epic is dead, cause the way I see epic is gonna die.
Sadly its us who are dying. Zoomers in their diapers are supporting Epic and won’t care as long as their favorite console can play Fortnite 🙂
Couldnt play it since it was not on steam, get cucked with your epic garbage platform
absolutely shocking news /s
Excellent!
It doesn’t really surprise me, it’s like Mirror’s Edge, a lot of people pretend to like the game but they’ve never played it and aren’t interested in buying a sequel.
Mirror’s Edge is a unique game and to be honest it didn’t need a sequel or the no one ask for shity re-boot. The 1st mirror’s Edge is a fantastic game, really…. a very good game.
Reboot was awesome WTF. I seriously dont understand the dislike for a great game.
Woulda sold 700k already if it came on Steam. The bribe better have been good.
It wouldn’t. It’s junk.
We’re not expecting this at all, i’m shocked…
“The game also sold less than 18.000 units in Japan and received the fourth place in the console charts.” That’s retail only. What kind of reporting is this?
“Bombed” or “flopped” is a term where the game or movie doesn’t recoup its budget. I see no evidence that that’s the case and for this sensationalist headline. It very well could be, but because it had exclusivity funding, I highly doubt it.
This article is garbage.
I can’t find a reference to the definitions you just made up, so maybe the article isn’t garbage it is your assumptions.
“any film for which the production and marketing costs exceed the combined revenue after release is considered to have “bombed””.
It’s a popular enough concept.. I heard it in like 7th grade in regards to Waterworld back in what, 94 or something.
Indeed, poor reporting.
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Nice argument.
It’s an EXCELLENT argument. ?
I assume everyone who really wanted the game already paid for it via the crowdfunding campaign. Everyone else is living in 2019 where games have evolved.
The competition is stiff right now and selling a relic is only viable to those nostalgic for it. New customers don’t exist.
O.K. So what does the very vague, poorly written part of the article reference?
“Sadly since then, several not very cool things happened, which did not sit very well with many people.”??
You are right, it was crap. It has been changed. Thank you.
He’s right.. your article is amateur hour written by someone with a clear bias. You say it flopped but you proclaim that based on a measure of one region and only it’s digital sales. You don’t have numbers from Epic or other digital services. I’m okay if it actually flops because I don’t give a damn about what it sells, but you suck at writing and are intentionally misleading people. You are an absolute phony!
I’m glad you like the article, thank you. ?
There you go clearly incapable of interpreting what was written in front of you. Phony.
It’s amazing there are people like you out there, who refuse to see the writing on the wall. You’re the type of guy who refuses to admit someone is throwing a punch at you, until you’re picking your teeth up off the floor. Game is a bomb, and rightly so. Nobody needs “numbers from Epic” or anywhere else, to realize it at this point. The sooner you tuck away your tender feelings, and just accept it, the better for you it will be.
What writing on the wall? You mean your gut feeling / your want for it to bomb and so you will agree with anything that helps support your opinion? You have that little of critical thinking? I feel sorry for you if you take a PHYSICAL SALES in two smaller markets in NOVEMBER and that’s all you use to call the game a commercial bomb. There’s a difference in having trouble accepting something and being someone who falls for some bs. Seems like there’s more and more suckers like yourself everyday.
Why does it matter so much to you, Cilvar?
Improved, but you still didn’t mention anything in particular. ha ha. What were people upset about???
I did not mention anything because we have already posted several articles regarding Steam, exclusivity, delays and refunds.
Someone catch me. I may faint.
would have bought it if on Steam
Should of been on Steam on day one, feels bad Man.
good, weebs deserve to die.
Not that I’m gonna reply anymore to your dumbf*k a*s. But you do realize this series is as far from f*king Anime as you can get right?
Wait, no of course not because you’re a f*king idiot.
gaylo reach on fitgirl…let’s gooo.
All your eggs in the Epic store basket. Looks like Lan Di wont be paying after all.
HAHAHAHA GOOD
So that’s what happened when you backstabbing niche audience. Sad, Shenmue DESERVE better.
You go epic you get nothing
And i got my money back from them teach them right
https://youtu.be/MI9EISn8K0Q
Worth the watch…
Wll the money in the world yet trash game. Just like Scam citizen.
I prefer not to watch obese blowhards rant for 25 minutes.
They went full Inafune with this
Mighty No. 9 was a critical flop, averaging a 50 on Metacritic.
Shenmue 3’s averaging 70, with a fair share of positive reviews from critics and an even higher share of positive reviews from users. Not quite.
Stating that due to how the game and IP were handled, not by the review scores.
Is it wrong that I’m actually glad about this?
i would be more glad if its death streanding.
Not at all.
I mean, its shetty to be grateful for other people’s failure. Its something only shetty people do, IMO
Sure is. But trust me, this one simply deserved to fail.
Damn that hurts
That depends entirely on the people who you want to fail. If you don’t want to see crappy trends start to take shape, then ya, you hope it fails, and the people started them fail. In this instance here? I’m sure plenty of people are glad they failed, and I’m one of them.
Nope. I don’t have a dog in this race but it sure serves them right after how they basically left original backers high and dry.
Hahaha fake news, the original backers were promised a pc release, steam wasn’t added until AFTER the game was funded.
But I want to thank everyone who backed Shenmue 3, especially the people upset, thanks dummies! Me and all Shenmue fans are very thankful for helping the Shenmue fans get Shenmue 3, and we love it!
Fully expected tbh and why crowd funding exists in the firstplace the game had a niche market and it delivered what was expect of it. All this means is another sequel will need to be crowd funded as well.
they already collected their money
i don’t think they plan anything else
it was cash and grab like Tim who started the scam
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Chances you know anything about the creator or anything else he’s done: 0.
Please, don’t bother Googling him and pretending you do know something. I already know you’re clueless.
^ This
Learn what a scam is
Do you want a lollipop sir
Mr Suzuki now can slap continuously the guy who has an idea to make a deal with Deep Silver…
How can a new game look so bad? I don’t know why some people justified it by saying that it’s supposed to be oldschool. What a BS excuse.
Well deserved, actually it went even too well for them, after what the did i’d love to see the whole dev team crash and burn and stop being programmers.
Imagine spending your life being that angry at a store front. What a pitiful sad pathetic f*king life you must have.
Ok boomer. Go cry somewhere else.
Yeah..they scammed by taking your money and giving you a game in return….Worst scam ever! is your generation really this f*king stupidly blind, easily manipulated and weak and pathetic?
YoUr GeNeRaTiOn lmao. Ok boomer.
Yeah anyone could’ve seen this coming. As a Shenmue fan this sucks, but I’m not surprised. Yu had ALL THESE YEARS to wrap up the story in 3. Gotta give him credit though, dude is stubborn as f*k. But you’re f*king kidding yourself if you think you’re getting a 4th game let alone an 8th one lmao. Nothing even f*king happened in 3 story wise.
Should have released it on Dreamcast. In 2000.
Shame comes in 3
How do we know it’s a complete sales flop from just those two territories. What about North America? Where are those numbers?
Horrible game – horrible sales. It’s normal.
Sad to read this. Given the hate that EGS gets it was inevitable. I have a copy on PS4. I’ve played very little but what I did play didn’t give me the warm fuzzies. Seems like updated graphics with the same tank controls. Maybe it gets better the more I play it.
This discussion is just full of a
ngry, immature comments. The game runs perfectly well on Epic, and if your main argument is it not being on steam, that’s just juvenile behaviour.
Shenmue plays just like it should, and everyone saying it is sh*t clearly can’t give an honest critique without having actually played the game.
As for the author saying he was a fan, I very much doubt it, as this entire article aims to ridicule every aspect of the campaign to ensure the games success.
I wouldn’t jump so quick into conclusion and say the game has flopped just because it’s not in the top 10 on it’s first week. Obviously the game’s case is unique since it was crowdfunded and a good portion of those backers probably got the tier which grants them access to the game from day one.
Like a comment pointed out on the Metro site – it is an indie game that was made for a specific audience. It was in no way trying to compete with all the other big titles that are coming out. If anything the game is probably doing well on the PS4, no.17 isn’t bad for a niche franchise. It would have sold a lot more if it came out on XONE and Switch too since there are fans or newcomers who would prefer to play the game on those systems.
Of course the game would have done a lot better in terms of PC sales if they didn’t go along with Epic’s proposal. But yeah I’m not sure about it being a failure.
this is what happens when EPIC and other dumbasses try to interfere with the development process of games. Glad this failed, maybe EPIC will stop interfering with games and allow the games to be on all platforms equally.
A video game sequel sold less than its 2 predecessors made like 18 years ago.. No S@#%. Maybe we can go back to Shenmue vs Yakuza articles which were only slighly less stupid.
Even if only because “lack” of funding and resources, they did the series a favor by sticking to its orignal style. It was funded by and made for us fans which are few and far between.
I almost failed high school because of Shenmue. Playing S3 made me forget i was an adult. I bet we could fund the 4th if necessary. I hope it is because if they have to sellout, it’s just going to be another 3rd person cookie cutter. It might finish the epic, but it wouldn’t be the same.
Why are gamers so ignorant these days? The game was backed by kickstarter. Everyone who backed it got the game, so obviously it sold poorly in stores. And all these comments about it being a “sh*t game” are probably not even old enough to know what this game is or was back then. All they know is their COD, fortnite and minecraft’s that they play on their over priced PC’S. Graphic wh*res.
The kickstarter funds were largely poured into the games budget.. does it really count?
Being a Shenmue fan, I also agree that the game is indeed sh*t. Not in quality, I like the systems and mechanics in place but rather the story and characters are sh*t.
The story was written long ago, so it is not really the fault of the team this time out
Really terrible journalism. Learn how to write an article, anything that’s anticipated is anticipated by “fans”.
Ending your article with how YS Net disappointed you “in every possible way” without stating one of them is also pretty sh*tty journalism.
“in every possible way” is a huge overstatement. If he really was a fan he would have loved many aspects of Shenmue 3. In fact, I would argue that the reason that Shenmue 3 reviewed and sold badly was because it was catering too much to fans. It’s a similar story with Yooka Laylee. I was very happy with the game, but I can see how it was too fan servicy for the mainstream. I haven’t played Shemue 3 yet, but I think it is mostly what fans want and what could be expected for the budget of the game.
It’s really weird that the reviewer and everyone complaining is talking about Shenmue 3.
The game is for the fans.
It’s a great game, For the fans.
It’s exactly what all Shenmue fans hoped for.
Shenmue fans don’t care about Epic Games Store, we play Shenmue 3 anyway we can.
Fake geek girls, everyone complaining.
Ohh wow Shenmue didn’t sell well? Duhh. The first 2 didn’t sell well either and was a massive financial loss 20 years ago.
That’s why it was a kickstarter, every Shenmue fan backed it, and we even suckered a bunch of fake geek girls to help out, thanks for that.
We’ll need your money to back Shenmue 4 too, and I fully support YsNet to do any business decisions necessary to get the funding. I’d buy Shenmue 4 on Google Stadia if it was exclusive to that, haha.
Eat sh*t piss babies, we(Shenmue fans) got the game we wanted and you got ripped off lmao
Never seen so much r3tard@tion in a comment.
You don’t like the series based on your other comments, you don’t like epic game store… Why do you give a sh*t? They game sold well enough to be made, that’s the entire point of kickstarter.
The fans of the game aren’t crying about it, look at the review scores.
My point is that the game was funded by the fans and made for the fans.
Your point seems to be “game I don’t like did a deal with a company I don’t like because China. I’m so angry!”
Imagine whining about something you don’t care about
As a fan, I don’t even mind that the story isn’t finished yet.. it’s the fact that nothing happened in the damn game that bothers me.
If you were a real fan of Shenmue, then you’d know that it is supposed to be 4 of 5 games
I’m definitely going to buy Shenmue 3 at some stage.
It is absolutely fine to keep to the plan for four or five games, and no games don’t have to have more content instead of having sequels. In general games are too bloated and have far to much content that just gets repetitive. I haven’t played 3, but the pacing of the story in 1 and 2 was good. I hear that the story doesn’t progress enough in 3, it really depends on how compelling the rest of the game is. The novelty of playing a sequel in one of the most iconic series is enough for me to find a certain amount of enjoyment of the game.
It’s definitely awkward that Shenmue is pitched as an epic quest, but is a pretty low budget game. It has a proven track record of not being a good investment.
I don’t care about the Epic store exclusivity. Also so many companies have gone Epic exclusive that it’s strange that Shenmue has been singled out.