Shenmue 3 Kickstarter Campaign Adds Boxed PS4 Version For $60 Pledge

Shenmue 3 is a game that was 14 years in the marking, and thanks to a record-setting Kickstarter campaign (the game raised $2 million in just 9 hours), we’ve seen that fans of the popular game series are still willing to show their support for creator Yu Suzuki.

When the Kickstarter campaign was first initiated, gamers were only able to pledge their support for a digital copy of the game at a cost of $29. However, Suzuki has something up his sleeve for extremely dedicated fans of the series:

This is one of the most requested items on the list, and we are very happy to be able to include the Shenmue 3 PS4 Kickstarter Backer’s Edition as a Reward. If you are a Shenmue fan and PS4 gamer, this is the reward to have to commemorate the occasion!

For those that long to take home a physical disk wrapped in paper and plastic for your PS4, it will set you back $60 — twice the price of the digital download. $31 seems like a lot to pay for something that doesn’t really add to the experience of the game, but I’m a cheapskate, so what do I know?

The announcement of a physical game disk for Shenmue 3 comes just a few weeks after Suzuki posted a blog addressing the backlash he received for using Kickstarter in the first place instead of relying on Sony’s deep pockets. But as Suzuki explained in late June, the money raked in from Kickstarter backers is earmarked primarily for the development of Shenmue 3. “It is also important to note that your funds are going strictly to Ys Net for development of Shenmue 3,” said Suzuki, hoping to clear up any confusion regarding Kickstarter funding. “Sony and Shibuya Productions are not seeing a cent of your Kickstarter dollars.”

Shenmue 3 is currently on track for a December 2017 release and has so far raised over $4.3 million of its original $2 million Kickstarter goal. At the $5 million mark, a new gameplay mode will be added, and if the $10 million threshold is reached, “a much larger, completely open world will be yours to explore.”

Needless to say, we can’t wait to try out the finished product and we hope that Suzuki and his crew can reach their stretch goals.