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Just got a email from Kickstarter saying the following (among other things):
"PC Version Epic Games Store Exclusive!
We are happy to announce that Shenmue III for PC will be will be an Epic Games Store exclusive. Development for Shenmue III has been moving forward using Unreal Engine and the support we have received from Epic has been excellent. But most importantly, in looking for the most enjoyable experience on PC, it was decided together with Deep Silver after much discussion that the Epic Games Store would be the best distribution platform option."
I left the following comment on the Kickstarter page for that update:
"Why? This is asinine.
"I backed this with the expectation of it being on Steam, not on Epic Store. The Epic Store didn't even exist then, and to make Shenmue 3 exclusive to it now is incredibly vexing.
"If this is just a timed exclusive, then I'll just wait for it to come out on Steam, regardless. If not... well, I'm not going to ask for a refund, and I *guess* I'll eventually bite the bullet and install whatever I need to get it on the Epic Store, but I definitely won't be happy to do that, and I'll have to consider very carefully before I ever back any more projects from you in the future, and I'll probably opt not to do so, because of this.
"I really hope you reverse this terrible decision and make the game available on Steam on launch, though. I could not care less about the Epic Games Store."
So, yeah, since I'm on my blog now and can really cut loose... this is fucking idiotic dumbshit. Fuck Epic Games Store and fuck Deep Silver. Why the fuck does Deep Silver even have anything to do with this in the first place? I must have missed the update where it was announced that they (and Epic, apparently) had stuck their grubby fingers into the Shenmue III pie. This isn't the first time Deep Silver has pulled dogshit like this, either.
Hell, Shenmue III still has a fucking Steam page for crying out loud, at least for now, until it gets removed. Also, Shenmue I & II are on Steam, so that would make it even more inane if Shenmue III isn't. (Though Shenmue I & II was published by SEGA, and SEGA has nothing to do with this Epic Games clusterfuck, aside from allowing Ys Net to use the IP.)
Just another nail in the coffin for the shit I long ago stopped giving about the modern video game industry, I suppose. Also, more specifically, it proves yet again why Kickstarter and other "crowd-funded"/"early access"/whatever horseshit is horseshit. (Though, to be fair, this was not the fault of the Kickstarter platform, but the fault of scuzzbuckets using and abusing that platform. If Kickstarter can do something about this and hold these assholes accountable somehow, then my faith in the Kickstarter platform will be at least partially restored. That said, though, I've already long since decided that, from now on, a game company has to offer me a game that is already finished and that I can play that day, or they can go take a long walk off a short pier, because I am fucking done with crowd-funded games, and bullshit like this fuckery is why.)
As far as refunds go, irrelevant to me though they may be since I wasn't and still am not planning to ask for one, apparently the dev/publisher has already said that they will NOT be giving refunds over this, so that's another reason to give a big, hearty "FUCK YOU" to Deep Silver and Ys Net.
"PC Version Epic Games Store Exclusive!
We are happy to announce that Shenmue III for PC will be will be an Epic Games Store exclusive. Development for Shenmue III has been moving forward using Unreal Engine and the support we have received from Epic has been excellent. But most importantly, in looking for the most enjoyable experience on PC, it was decided together with Deep Silver after much discussion that the Epic Games Store would be the best distribution platform option."
I left the following comment on the Kickstarter page for that update:
"Why? This is asinine.
"I backed this with the expectation of it being on Steam, not on Epic Store. The Epic Store didn't even exist then, and to make Shenmue 3 exclusive to it now is incredibly vexing.
"If this is just a timed exclusive, then I'll just wait for it to come out on Steam, regardless. If not... well, I'm not going to ask for a refund, and I *guess* I'll eventually bite the bullet and install whatever I need to get it on the Epic Store, but I definitely won't be happy to do that, and I'll have to consider very carefully before I ever back any more projects from you in the future, and I'll probably opt not to do so, because of this.
"I really hope you reverse this terrible decision and make the game available on Steam on launch, though. I could not care less about the Epic Games Store."
So, yeah, since I'm on my blog now and can really cut loose... this is fucking idiotic dumbshit. Fuck Epic Games Store and fuck Deep Silver. Why the fuck does Deep Silver even have anything to do with this in the first place? I must have missed the update where it was announced that they (and Epic, apparently) had stuck their grubby fingers into the Shenmue III pie. This isn't the first time Deep Silver has pulled dogshit like this, either.
Hell, Shenmue III still has a fucking Steam page for crying out loud, at least for now, until it gets removed. Also, Shenmue I & II are on Steam, so that would make it even more inane if Shenmue III isn't. (Though Shenmue I & II was published by SEGA, and SEGA has nothing to do with this Epic Games clusterfuck, aside from allowing Ys Net to use the IP.)
Just another nail in the coffin for the shit I long ago stopped giving about the modern video game industry, I suppose. Also, more specifically, it proves yet again why Kickstarter and other "crowd-funded"/"early access"/whatever horseshit is horseshit. (Though, to be fair, this was not the fault of the Kickstarter platform, but the fault of scuzzbuckets using and abusing that platform. If Kickstarter can do something about this and hold these assholes accountable somehow, then my faith in the Kickstarter platform will be at least partially restored. That said, though, I've already long since decided that, from now on, a game company has to offer me a game that is already finished and that I can play that day, or they can go take a long walk off a short pier, because I am fucking done with crowd-funded games, and bullshit like this fuckery is why.)
As far as refunds go, irrelevant to me though they may be since I wasn't and still am not planning to ask for one, apparently the dev/publisher has already said that they will NOT be giving refunds over this, so that's another reason to give a big, hearty "FUCK YOU" to Deep Silver and Ys Net.
