Topic: The PlayStation Fan Thread

You are right.

They take their movie or idea to smaller business/production people (i.e. the kickstarter audience) get some financial backing, then they go to the big studios and say "we have $10 million in backing, this is our movie, and if you like it, would you help us out?"

I'm glad I could give you an education on how the movie business works.

Yup. I'm sure by this afternoon people on here will already be talking about how they pre-ordered the new Nintendo game at Gamestop or Amazon even though it won't be out until 2017. I know they aren't putting the cash down up front, but I bet if it was a requirement that many would still do it.

Hell, if Nintendo announced a Kickstarter to produce amiibo based on the entire Star Fox and Fire Emblem casts, I'm sure this site would have a meltdown due to excitement.

Am I the only one who pay after eating what I ordered? Basically, "pay than eat" only works with fast food, where you already know you're buying a pile of junk.

Ah! I see what you did there. You witty devil.

Do you take home a tv, buy a car, or move into a house and then pay for it when you are finished? Or don't you pay up front for those things?

The only thing your rule always applies to though is when hiring an escort.

Don't mistake snark for wit. False equivalencies are easy to make. Shenmue is at 2.4/2 million so it's getting made and the fans can rejoice. At least they'll get their closure, whenever they choose to pay for it, and that's a good thing.

I see what your getting at but we will have to agree to disagree here. I'm not knocking Sony as a whole. The press conference was pretty great actually. I just feel like the kickstarter move was slimy and a abuse of the platform. Kickstarter is not about multimillion dollar company's making sure they are not taking risks with an investment. At least it shouldn't be.

@faint

My feeling is that this shenmue Kickstarter was going to happen regardless, maybe Suzuki approached Sony or they caught wind of it, then Sony told him 'we will help promote your Kickstarter at E3 if you promise to release it on PS4, at least as a timed exclusive'. He agreed, then Sony did their part. It benefits both of them.

If it gets a lot of money, maybe Sony will decide to pay for the whole thing and keep it on PS4 only, or maybe they will front some cash, another publisher will contribute too, and it will come to PS4 and PC first then maybe another console afterwards.

I don't think that Sony decided to do this Kickstarter first. I think the idea was already out there, they found out, and used it to their advantage.

Uhm...what. I knew he/she was being snarky... so was I.

Oh snap.

Hang on, was the OP you? I'm too lazy to go back and check.

dude you're very loud.
Why would you need financial backing to convince the studio to invest on your movie? They are either interested in the idea or they are not. It's not that a couple million dollars would convince them.
You need financial backing if you're going to pitch a finished product or a demo. You don't need 10 million dollars to present a script or an idea.
There have been a number of examples where the big studio comes in either during production or post-production because they see people's interest during the crowdfunding. And usually these attempts get bashed by the audience.

Shenmue is different because the "big studio" doesn't come in after they see the potential, but they are behind the project all along. You are asked to fund a 2 million $$$ project even though you know that 2 million bucks are not even enough to add voice acting to the game (the subtitles alone have a stretch goal of $400.000 - who ****ing writes them, Bob Dylan?!).

As I said this is just an unnecessary pre-order campaign under the guise of crowdfunding. They just want to make sure enough people will be forced into a definitive sale many years before the game gets released. The game would be made anyway. They are just selling it - they are not collecting the money to make it.

Sony is backing Shenmue III and the fact that such a big company is asking the money upfront is risk-free crap. You think it's fair? Brilliant. I'd rather support some independent developer who doesn't have the luxury of being backed by a big studio and really needs the money to get his game out. And I'm telling this as the biggest Shenmue fan in Italy. Peace.

http://nofilmschool.com/2014/08/film-finance-101-equity-pre-s...

Read this and then you can come back and apologize to me

@Faint @HollywoodHogan Preeeeeeetty certain people have been preordering Xenoblade Chronicles X and Zelda Wii U on Amazon since January 2014 at least...it's already happening.

Copy and paste from Neogaf:

Sony is officially helping with funding and development with Shenmue 3
It was just announced by Gio Corsi during their Live from E3 Stream on twitch. It was something to gauge interest and since it hit it's goal they are officially partnering up to help fund and develop with YS Net.

So as myself and others felt, the Kickstarter was used to gauge interest in the game, which there was a ton of, and now Sony will take the lead. Pre-order/donate to the Kickstarter if you want, or wait and buy the game at full price at a later date. No harm, no foul.

@CanisWolfred

I know people did that, which is why I mentioned it. What I was wrong about though was that I felt people would be preordering Wii U games revealed during today's E3.

Sadly, there were no games though.

it's very long and I don't have the time to read it all, but it looks like it deals with the instance I mentioned before: you need cash if you want to pitch a finished product. This is pretty obvious. I myself have pitched finished music to various record labels during the years and I had to use my own money to produce it myself. You want to pitch a fully made film? You have to use your own money. But if you want to pitch an idea (as you said) or a script, you only need a typwriter. I can send a script to a producer and I don't need to have part of the budget already in my pocket. Why would I?

In the case of Shenmue III it's very different anyway because:
A) The money they are raising won't pay for production. There is no way this is "production money". This is just a pre-order with payment in advance.
B) Unless Suzuki says that he can make a perfectly modern Shenmue III with just 2 million bucks, I must think there's somebody else behind this paying for the game. And if there is somebody already willing to pay, why trick people into thinking that by pledging more than the game's retail value ($70?) they are helping more?!
C) Yu Suzuki doesn't need the money to pitch Shenmue III to Sony. Sony is already "in", thus making funding absolutely pointless production-wise.
But yeah of course it's a product people are dying for (although only few people cared back then) so nobody will notice if this is just blatant marketing (and a bit of theft).

EDIT: I was typing as you sent your last message and I didn't read it. My point still stands: they didn't need to take people's money to prove the game's financial viability. Yes I have pre-ordered Zelda but I haven't paid for it yet.

Imagine a future world where we (the audience) have to pay in advance and reach a certain level of donations to minimize risks for publishers and producers for every game. Production of Half Life 3 doesn't start until we pledge X money. Production of Street Fighter VI doesn't start until we pledge X money etc. And then we're not even free to not want the game anymore. Hope this doesn't start a dangerous trend.

Big difference between guaranteed hits and a sequel to a niche Dreamcast exclusive from 14 years ago. Shenmue III was in a unique position.

Imagine a world where the guys who are actually in charge can't see how much people want a sequel to a 16-year-old game that leaked money over the fat stacks of cash they're making on recent "blockbuster" games. I call this world: reality.

yeah because Ubisoft, Capcom, EA, Valve etc wouldn't want to minimize risk on their products. I really believe that. Yeah.
Also, not much of a niche game - 3 million bucks in 24 hours seem pretty "hit" to me.
Shenmue has always been one of Sega's most requested franchises. Here's proof.

Shenmue has also been a financial failure in the past. The game has a track record advising against making another one. It's reasonable to want proof for it.

So now you finally see the point of this campaign? Good.