Shenmue 3 sales disappoint in Japan and the UK

[Deleted member 2328]

All I can say is that I'm loving my time with the game. But then again, I'm a fan and a backer - the target audience. It was always going to be difficult for a direct sequel to attract a new audience.
Next year most it most likely will also be available on Xbox, Steam and maybe also Switch, depending on how much they're willing to compromise. Hopefully availability and a lower price will make make those curious about the series to jump in.

 

[Stef]

Not surprising, it was made for the fans, no marketing push.

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I still think it should have wrapped up the story in some ways.

 

[srtrestre]

The highly anticipated kickstarter follow-up to the last Shenmue, released almost twenty years ago in 2001, managed only 18,000 units in Japan, during a week ruled really by Nintendo's dual Pokemon releases.

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[Trickster]

Zero marketing and looking like it does will do that.

 

[Gambit]

I was on board when I thought they were going to wrap it up, but then they started saying they wanted to do more games.

I'm not going to get reinvested in the series again so that I can be frustrated again like I was after 2 at there never being an ending.

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same boat for me. I liked it well enough on Dreamcast (at least the second) that I would have got a conclusion but not just tread water till the next cliffhanger. For that I didn't care enough.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

LMAO. Yeah, sure buddy.

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LMAO I'm not wrong though? No need to get defensive when called out for posting 2 week old articles.

 

[shaneo632]

This is why the game probably should've moved the story on more. Banking on more sequels when a single game took so long to make was pretty silly.

 

[ianpm31]

LMAO. Yeah, sure buddy.

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Who goes looking to post a 2 week old article?

 

[MouldyK]

The only other post the OP has had in a Shenmue 3 thread in all of November / December is one post in the review thread where they posted one of the worst reviews of the game so it's clear what the agenda is.

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That was a Review in Progress...the full review on GamesRader was a 4/5.

Reading the blurb he showed...it weren't actually bad.

If you've not played Shenmue before, honestly it's probably best you stick to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, or any other decent modern title. This game feels like it's trolling modernity. It's ludicrously self-indulgent, constantly absurd, often beautiful, objectively awful and yet somehow wonderful. Personally I can't believe what I'm playing. Somehow Shenmue III is not only real, but it feels 100% authentic after all this time and against all the odds. I can't wait to see what happens next. Look out for the full verdict on Shenmue III later in the week. Should you buy it in the mean-time while it's full price? Fans should, newcomers should not. That's the truth of it.

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The guy seemed hopeful of his time with it and it turned out well.

 

[MilkBeard]

I don't think comparing sales directly to the remaster makes much sense. Inevitably, the same people who funded the kickstarter (and most likely did not buy a retail copy) would have bought the remaster, with some new people trying it to see what it's like. And, for example, if a Shenmue 4 was made, it's numbers would be higher, simply because the people who funded the game would have just bought a copy normally instead of funding it on Kickstarter.

That's not saying the numbers aren't disappointing. But the distinction should be made.

 

[CesareNorrez]

Yeah, we already knew these numbers last week when the article was made, it's just we needed another thread of people saying Shenmue 3 should have ended the series or that it was never good.

Because Shenmue Hate Threads always get seen more than Shenmue Praise Threads.

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I would not have Kickstarted the game if Yu Suzuki said he was ending the series with Shenmue III. I knew it was never meant to be the end and I did not want Yu to compromise the story here. I was already set to never see the end of Ryo's story after Shenmue II, so I was comfortable living in that space. If III is it, I'll be fine too.

 

[Poetic Injustice]

Who goes looking to post a 2 week old article?

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I read it now and saw that it hadn't been posted before, what's the problem with that? Mods can close the thread if they feel it's irrelevant.

 

[ShinobiBk]

Latest entry in game series that has historically sold poorly, sells poorly. News @ 11

 

[NotLiquid]

Yeah, and I probably have to look at the rest of the thread, but this doesn't seem like a big deal?

It's not an expensive game, it received tons of crowdfunding, so it seems more like it doesn't have to do KHIII numbers to be successful in its own right. There could be more to it for this game, but I can't imagine this game broke the bank.

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The crowdfunding was only part of the overall budget, and even if they broke even on that, if there was ever any hope for an eventual sequel, it's going to rely a lot on sales numbers, especially if they're hoping to court investors that can make up the remainder of the budget. I can't expect these numbers fill them with that much confidence.

Also as an aside, despite the common notion that "people will have already gotten the game" via crowdfunding, most of the successful Kickstarter games still end up selling a whole bunch of units well after people pitch in for it. Shovel Knight, Hollow Knight, a lot of similar games that were hyped up (and got a lot less crowdfunding/media press than Shenmue) ended up selling gangbusters through word of mouth and strong critical reception, so I don't really feel like Shenmue has much of an excuse outside of the demand for the game still not being there unfortunately.

 

[Ada]

Who would have guessed that online fandom doesn't always transfer into real sales.

 

[Stef]

(by the way, isn't this old news? We already discussed this past week)

 

[Burgess_101]

I appreciate when you want to tell a story, but to say that there are plans for many more, when Shenmue has historically sold pretty poor is shortsighted. This is the exact reason I don't know if its worth it bothering with 2 and 3. Not to mention the EGS stuff leaving a bad taste in the mouths of many.

 

[Fisty]

Who would have guessed that online fandom doesn't always transfer into real sales.

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It translated to one of the biggest Kickstarters in history, which is where most of the fans of the series got the game

 

[Cyanity]

Yahtzee was right: Shenmue is videogame outsider art.

 

[Bioshocker]

I don't understand how this could be a surprise to anyone. This was a fan made sequel all along, backed by fans and a game that was a straight continuation of a series that has been long forgotten in the public mind. I never expected anything from Shenmue III commercially. And I'm saying that as a fan who backed the game and waited patiently for it.

All this makes me wonder why Yu Suzuki didn't alter his plan more and make S3 the final chapter when he had the chance. Instead S3 turned out to be pretty much the game he had planned for all along (at least it feels that way).

S4 feels just as unlikely as S3 did before 2015. Miracles can obviously happen, but another Kickstarter does not feel likely.

 

[nsilvias]

this game a had alot of negativity around it from all directions so im not surprised

 

[MegaSackman]

Shocking. Truly. Shenmue will only sell to people who REALLY love it. The remasters did well off nostalgia alone

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I think the remasters put off any player that didn't played the games back then, those games are... outdated at the very least.

 

[Deleted member 721]

idk, the game budget isnt comparable to AAA games, so i dont think its fair to compare it to them, this game doesnt need lots of sales to be profitable, and lots of niche games continues to exist since its profitable to the budget they have, even if they dont rank in the top 10 rank sales.

 

[YolkFolk]

At least they managed to perfectly wrap up the story and bring closure to the series with part 3

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

I think the remasters put off any player that didn't played the games back then, those games are... outdated at the very least.

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I saw that some actually got in to the series thanks to the HD releases so it goes both ways to be honest.

 

[RPGam3r]

Shenmue is just a loud niche audience. [Insert there are dozens of us gif]. Should have been expected.

 

[Le Dude]

The game was pretty much fully funded before release wasn't it? If they want to make a Shenmue 4 they'll do exactly the same again

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It would be a tougher sell. They'd have a harder time finding companies like Epic and Deep SIlver to invest. There wouldn't be nearly as much hype driving the Kickstarter campaign, due to things like it no longer being a "dream" announcement, people upset over the poor handling of the PC release, and it failing to do much to progress the saga they'd been waiting to see the end of.

However, with a lot of the game already put together they could probably piece together a sequel on a lower budget and in less time, so it could still happen. I just don't think they can count on the same sources of funding anymore.

 

[SRO7]

Do we know digital sales?

I reckon a good proportion of sales is via digital

 

[ianpm31]

idk, the game budget isnt comparable to AAA games, so i dont think its fair to compare it to them, this game doesnt need lots of sales to be profitable, and lots of niche games continues to exist since its profitable to the budget they have, even if they dont rank in the top 10 rank sales.

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While we have the devs of Control talking about under 30 million euro budget we have Shenmue 3 made off a 12 million dollar budget. Game doesn't need to light up the charts to be profitable.

 

[OtakuCoder]

People saying "he should have wrapped it up with this one" will always mystify me.

Shenmue games have always been slow-paced and more about the journey than the destination. A game that skipped all that and jumped straight to the ending would have pleased nobody.

 

[ILikeFeet]

No marketing stupid exclusivity deals this was destined to have a soft launch. Should have been on everything under the sun including the switch

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and it still would have bombed. just slightly less

 

[Gestault]

I think anyone assuming Shenmue III would be a blockbuster performer is straddling the line of insincerity, considering the history around the series' original releases and re-releases.

And more notably, the central audience for the game would have already received the game via the Kickstarter. I'm doubtful the retail sales were targeted as particularly high. If boxed copies of Shenmue III were only released on PS4, selling half as many as the Shenmue I & II collection did as a multi-platform release would reasonably follow (especially given the fulfillment through the Kickstarter).

 

[SnatcherHunter]

Just disappointed that Yu didn't finish the story with S3.

He needed to skip forward and tell the story a different way. This is a shame, and it is looking likely that Shenmue will never properly conclude....once again.

 

[Destruction]

What were the terms of the console exclusivity?

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

Really should have done more to modernize the game imo.

 

[SnatcherHunter]

and it still would have bombed. just slightly less

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But the more exposure the better, hell, even Gamepass could have made them extra cash.

 

[MufausaThe3rd]

The game freaking dropped to $50 during BF in Canada. A measly 10 days after launch.

Shenmue means death.

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Shit.. that's $30 off.. Brutal lol. Anyone who buys video games in Canada knows that is a big price cut.

 

[Everywhere]

The game looks horrid. People were expecting it to sell well?

 

[Eumi]

I'd be surprised if they didn't see this coming. It was incredibly clear that the only people truly interested in the game would almost all have been backers.

Which honestly makes me wonder if this really matters at all for the future of the franchise. I mean, obviously strong sales would have secured it, but I'm not sure that was ever going to happen.

 

[LiS Matt]

This doesn't surprise me really. From what I've played so far its very much like the first 2, so to me the target audience is the people who backed it, and people who bought the hd remasters last year and were converted by them

It's a shame, as I want to see the conclusion of this story, but personally I never saw this appealing much beyond the people who helped to crowdfund it.

It really surprised me how many outside funders there has seemingly been, and have wondered what they saw to convince them on a return on investment

 

[Deleted member 17210]

People saying "he should have wrapped it up with this one" will always mystify me.

Shenmue games have always been slow-paced and more about the journey than the destination. A game that skipped all that and jumped straight to the ending would have pleased nobody.

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This is true. There's no way it could have wrapped up properly with 3. That said, I wish 3 had pushed the story along more than it did.

 

[Vaser]

Looks like Jim Sterling was right.

 

[Xater]

Not surprising at all which is why I am even more baffled Suzuki didn't just end the story with 3.

 

[Incite]

Having played the originals in their times I was naturally very interested in playing this.... Then I read that it barely moves the story forward.

After all this time not substantially moving the story forward is an interesting decision to say the least.

Now I'm fine with just waiting however long till I can get it for a heavy discount.

 

[SnatcherHunter]

Looks like Jim Sterling was right.

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Jim is never right. Especially when it comes to Shenmue.

 

[ThisThingIsUseful]

The crowdfunding was only part of the overall budget, and even if they broke even on that, if there was ever any hope for an eventual sequel, it's going to rely a lot on sales numbers, especially if they're hoping to court investors that can make up the remainder of the budget. I can't expect these numbers fill them with that much confidence.

Also as an aside, despite the common notion that "people will have already gotten the game" via crowdfunding, most of the successful Kickstarter games still end up selling a whole bunch of units well after people pitch in for it. Shovel Knight, Hollow Knight, a lot of similar games that were hyped up (and got a lot less crowdfunding/media press than Shenmue) ended up selling gangbusters through word of mouth and strong critical reception, so I don't really feel like Shenmue has much of an excuse outside of the demand for the game still not being there unfortunately.

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Hell yeah, stuff like Dead Cells and Shovel Knight do a lot better. But unless they're actually in the red, this microcosm of information doesn't really tell me much atm.

 

[ILikeFeet]

But the more exposure the better, hell, even Gamepass could have made them extra cash.

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exposure would have been nice, yea, but the question is what would be the end goal. breaking even should be something the current release will do, so more systems would just make that happen faster. but if the end goal was to secure the future of the IP, I don't think more systems would have helped that

 

[DrDeckard]

This is why I don't understand why he dragged the game out. I understand wanting and hoping for continued support, but surely the right thing to do would have been wrap as much story as you possibly can. it was obvious this was a kickstarter for the most hardcore fans.

 

[HeroR]

do PS4 games that aren't Monster Hunter even sell well in Japan anymore? i thought more or less everyone had moved to switch now

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PS5 Gold did well.

 

[Prine]

I thought Japan loves Shenmue?

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Originals fell well short of expectations

 

[angel_deamon]

I didn't know it was out already :/

 

[Deleted member 9317]

Hope ya'll are ready for another 18 year hiatus

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Giving them money on Kickstarter and EGS Exclusivity didn't help? Lol FOH