In the newest blog update to Ys.Net, Yu Suzuki disclosed that development for Shenmue III has entered its final stages, and that new videos will be published for public viewing early next year. Work on Shenmue III is gradually shifting from development to the production, though the development team is also still working hard on motion capture and voice acting tests.
As the release of the long-awaited entry into the Shenmue franchise nears, the new media to be released next year will offer viewers a chance to observe development progress and ascertain what the final product may be like.
New media releases have been inconsistent; the recent update on music for Shenmue III was itself filmed during the past summer. Nevertheless, we can probably expect a heavy promotional push within the coming year.
In the meantime, the blog update also contains three new screenshots! View them below.
Preorders for either the Playstation 4 or PC version (alongside certain other reward purchase options) of Shenmue III are currently open at the Slacker Backer link. Backer surveys to solicit shipping information and reward preferences will be sent out during the summer of 2017.
I don’t get those screens at all, for one they say they only have modelled the world and are into motion capture, which means the game is not a thing yet, and then, to make the screens more fake, they (poorly) paste Ryo’s face on top of an action scene. I don’t really know how a game should be made, nor if there is only one way to make a game, but from all kick-starters I’ve followed or backed, this one is the only one that each update generates more doubts on top of the old ones.
We need some gameplay soon, real gameplay, not cutscenes or moving cameras around scenery. I’m happy if the game comes at all, however it comes, but it’s hard to see the internets joke about the project because they are not updating properly or showing progress at all.