Comments on Kickstarter Update #93: Final Campaign Tallies

Comments on Kickstarter Update #93: Final Campaign Tallies

With less than 10 months to go until the Shenmue III release on 27th August 2019, a new Kickstarter update for Shenmue III was released today. It has been a while since the last one - around two months - which is not surprising as the development team is hard at work, with Yu Suzuki even sleeping over at the office, as he revealed during September's Tokyo Game Show.

The final totals for backer funding across the Kickstarter and Slacker Backer campaigns has now been confirmed:

Backers: 81,087
Funding Total: $7,179,510

The team expresses their thanks to all backers, saying: "Seeing the final numbers, all of us here can't help but feel all over again the immensity of the support everyone has given to make this project come true! Thank you!"

Also shared were photographs of some of the rewards being prepared. Here is our quick breakdown of the images presented.


First, we see... a lot of watches! These are not the well-known Timex model that Ryo wears in the game, but a digital model that has been branded with the Shenmue logo.

They are part of the "Vintage Grab Bag" reward tiers, of which there were three: the $1,000 "Project Berkley" tier, the $2,000 "Dragon's Don't Sleep" tier and the $5,000 "Keep Those You Love" tier, as described on the Kickstarter rewards page.

The $1,000 reward tier includes a Blue wristwatch, while the two higher levels include both a Blue and a Silver wristwatch.

The watch is a Timex Atlantis digital model, with the Shenmue logo inscribed on the strap (the YS logo is inscribed on the opposite side).

This image from an old Ebay listing shows the blue version of the watch.

The silver version of the watch.

These watches were apparently given as promotional items to members of the press and at media events, and are a rare item to find on auction sites these days. (And no wonder, as it would seem SEGA or Yu Suzuki has been hoarding them!).

Corey Marshall received one after finishing his voice work for the Shenmue project (source: Shenmue Dojo)

The update states that the watches have all had a new battery installed (likely sent in bulk to electronics chain store Yodobashi Camera, based on the box that more watches are sitting in nearby).

The next photo shows several other reward items. Apart from the watches, a boxed Shenhua figurine, mouse mats with character sketches (Niao Sun, Shenhua and Ren) and some large spiral-bound notepads can be observed:

These items were sold or distributed almost 20 years ago at events such as the premiere of the original Shenmue in Japan, so it is quite remarkable to see them here in such pristine condition.

Again, some of these match up with the Vintage Grab bag rewards:

One interesting observation is the glimpse of an orange item at the back with what looks to be the official Shenmue III logo on it... could this be the bag into which the goodies will be put? (Others have suggested it is the Shenmue III T-shirt, which would make sense! It is a reward for the $160 Bonus Pack tier and above.)

Finally, there is an image of a "Dice Dude" capsule toy:

This was the reward at the $700 "Dice Dude Capsule Toy" tier, described as follows on the Kickstarter rewards page:

• Be in the newest Shenmue capsule toy collection as your own block figure for the in-game capsule toy machines.
• Give an idea for the toy's name. 
• Receive the 2D digital illustration of yourself.

If we zoom up on the image, curved roofs and buildings can be observed:

These are reminiscent of the style found in Choubu - also perhaps the most likely location for the capsule toy machines to be stationed in the game.

That's all for our run-through of the latest update. If you recognize yourself as the example Dice Dude, please leave a comment!

Link to update at Shenmue.link

Become a Patron!