Castle Magus

Meh. I went ahead and bought it on Steam, despite all the bullshit headache it had caused me in the past.

It's available right now at a 66% off sale for $22.09 USD (if you want the "digital deluxe" version, that is, aka the full, un-chopped-up-into-DLC game). Since $22.09 is less than the roughly $30 or whatever that I'd paid on the Kickstarter that I got refunded, I just said meh fuck it, and bought it (after checking to make sure it didn't have Denuvo, of course, and given that it's also available on GOG [with the same 66% off discounts, currently], I didn't think it would, and it didn't, so at least they are that smart, if nothing else).

Given that I already bought Shenmue I & II a while back, as well, I may just do a Shenmue playthrough at some point soon. Even if they didn't bother to implement a save import feature from the previous games in Shenmue 3.

The "normal" price for the "digital deluxe" version is $64.99, though, and if I'd checked Steam (or GOG) and saw it at that price, rather than the $22.09 it is right now, well, they couldn't have kissed my ass and died fast enough to suit me. As it is now, basically, I got Shenmue 3 for less than I would have if I'd just stuck with the Kickstarter bullshit, and that's just fine with me. I mean, sure, I could have and probably should have waited for an even steeper discount, like 75%-plus or some shit, but meh, whatever.

(EDIT) Oh, and apparently the Steam key that Kickstarter backers got is just for the "standard" edition, not the "digital deluxe" edition. I.e. if I'd stuck with the Kickstarter shit, I'd have had to buy the DLC in addition to the $29 I'd already paid into the Kickstarter, assuming I wanted the full game. So... really, I got the game for way cheaper this way, i.e. having refunded the Kickstarter shit and just buying it on sale for $22.09, than I otherwise would have if I hadn't refunded the Kickstarter horseshit, which would have been $29 plus $7.17 for the DLC (at the 60% off sale price, or $17.97 at non-sale prices). Kickstarter backers got fucked six ways to Sunday. (/EDIT)

I mean, yeah, I guess it's good that they're no longer exclusive (in a way) to Origin, but I'd say that this would be about as asinine as if all those Epic Games Store bullshit exclusives came back to Steam, yet still required you to download and install the Epic Games Store client. (EDIT 2) And hey! Wouldn't you know? That's a thing now, too! Go fuck yourself raw, Epic Games. (/EDIT 2) That would still be an absolute dealbreaker for me as far as buying any of those games, up to and including Shenmue III, even if the games were, technically, on Steam at that point.

Well, the Epic Game Store thing, if it were to happen like that, would be way worse, at least for me, if only due to the fact that I finally caved a few years ago and installed Origin for The Sims 4, so anything on Steam requiring Origin would not be as much of a dealbreaker for me. Honestly, I find that I am far more antipathetic toward Epic Games Store than I ever was toward Origin (though, don't get me wrong, I thought [and, even as I've used it, still think] that Origin was pretty fucking stupid, as well). I guess it's because Origin only made EA's own games exclusive to them, as far as I'm aware, whereas Epic Games Store is making too many (i.e. a non-zero number) of other devs/pubs games exclusive to them. If I'm not willing to cave in and use the piece of shit Epic Games Store for Shenmue III, of all things, then I'm not going to cave in and use it for anything.

In any case, I don't recall the last time I even launched Origin, let alone bought anything on it. No, wait, I do remember the last time I bought anything on Origin. It was November 2016, when I bought The Sims 4. (EDIT 2) And now, Origin no longer really exists, as it was replaced with the blandly named "EA App." But it's still the same bullshit. (/EDIT 2)

(EDIT)


"EA games are returning for sale through the Steam store."

---

What I learned from this video is that if Pat Contri ever made a game, I almost assuredly would not buy it, because he would gladly sell out to Epic Games Store, or so he claimed here.

(/EDIT)

Fuck Epic Games Store.
Fuck Deep Silver.
Fuck Ys Net.
Fuck Shenmue III.
Fuck crowd-sourcing/crowd-funding/whatever the hell you want to call it.
Fuck video game exclusives, timed or otherwise, especially to worse-than-useless store clients I will never use.
Fuck potentially good games being ruined, at least for me, for shitty, stupid, tangential-to-the-game-itself reasons.
Fuck the modern video game industry.
Fuck disingenuous, dishonest, nigh-fraudulent (if not, perhaps, actually fraudulent), money-grubbing, hubristic shitheads.

This isn't the first time that I've decided to forego buying and playing a game that I had been extremely hyped about playing, at least prior to the surge of superfluous, extraneous dumbshit related to said game, and... well, I was about to say "and it probably won't be the last, either," but, no, I think at this point it probably will be the last, because I very seriously doubt that I will ever become even remotely as enthusiastic about any given new video game in the same way that I once was with Diablo III and Mass Effect 3 and Shenmue III, before those games went to shit for asinine reasons mostly unrelated to the actual games themselves...

...and that's actually kind of sad and depressing to contemplate, honestly.

(For reference, even though it should be, you know, right there below this post... at least if you're viewing this post on my main page anyway. If not, then, well, there's the link. >_>;)

From the email update I just received: "*If selecting either the PC Physical or PC Digital version, an option to also receive a Steam key one year later will be available. Backers must manually select this option in the survey to receive the Steam key."

In other words, it looks like I'll be waiting an additional year to play Shenmue III on Steam, because I am not using the Epic Games Store. I'm okay with that. I still think their reasons for not making a Steam key available on launch is goddamn dogshit, but... whatever. I don't actually care, as long as I get my Steam key. I've got too much other shit to play in the meantime to give much more of a thought about Shenmue III, since I've already waited almost two decades now, and I can wait another year. This has really soured me on the whole thing, though, and I will almost assuredly not be backing whatever inevitable Shenmue IV campaign comes along at all, especially if Epic Games or Deep Silver are still involved with it. Fuck Epic Games. Fuck Deep Silver.

And, of course, in the comments, the first thing I saw was some moronic asshat (double-)posting troll shit like "You pc master race are a bunch of pussies" (for being mad about Epic Games Store and wanting refunds).

Also, I just left my own comment in response to that update: "I just had Fangamer resend me my survey so that I could make the manual change (wait an extra year for a Steam key) that you mentioned in the above email. Strangely, however, in the survey link that was then sent to me, the choices for distribution are still only, explicitly, "Steam" and "Playstation® Digital Download." No mention whatsoever of "Epic Games Store" or anything like that. I left my choice set to "Steam," for now. If this is not the proper survey, or if the above mentioned additional choices have not yet been implemented, I don't know. In either case, I just find that to be tellingly odd."

I'll be checking the survey again later, in the coming days, for whenever they make that change they mentioned, because I am absolutely going to "manually select" the option for a Steam key.

And, of course, I've already got asshole apologists replying to me on there. *weary sigh* Incompetence all around. Seriously, just in general, the fanboi scrotumsuckers and/or reputation management drones are out in force today.

What would have really enraged me, though, is if I'd spent the extra money for a "physical copy" of the game on a disc, and then this horseshit:

"PC Physical version

"The PC Physical version will be delivered on disk. However, the disk will contain the Epic Games Store installer and not the actual game data."

So... what is the fucking point, then? So glad I only gave them just enough money to get my Steam key in a year. (Granted, I'd have been equally as pissed if it had just been a disc with nothing but a Steam installer on it. *shrug*)

As someone else pointed out in the comments, here is what they said in a previous update from not quite a year ago about the physical disc version:

"PC & PS4 Physical Version Disc Data

"We would like to address the many inquiries concerning the physical version disc data. Development is moving forward to have all necessary data to play the game contained on the disc. Please rest assured that the disc will not be just a prompt for an internet download."

So, they explicitly lied/backpedaled on that between then and now. Again, fuck Epic Games Store and fuck Deep Silver and fuck Ys Net.

Oh well, at they very least, they claim they'll be honoring refund requests for those who want them now, unlike what they were saying before.

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.

Here are two bits of video gaming news I just found out about via owsf2000 (via PM).

The Last Guardian is apparently still a real thing and not total vaporware. Though, as I feared, it has indeed been bumped up to the PS4, meaning that if I ever do want to play it, I'll have to get my hands on one of those someday, which at this point in time is not something that is at all a given. (Though it's not like I still own a PS3 anymore anyway, so it wouldn't matter much to me now if it did still come out for the PS3, which it won't.)

Secondly, and more importantly, there is a Kickstarter project for an honest-to-goodness, proper Shenmue 3. Finally. Despite my previous misgivings about Kickstarter in general, and despite my usual stance about games overall lately, I almost assuredly will be backing this at some point (and I've already placed a reminder on it), it's just a question of whether I'll be backing at the $29 or $60 level. It has, of course, already achieved the initial $2,000,000 goal that it asked for.

So yeah, thanks for this, owsf2000. I honestly don't follow gaming news much at all anymore, so unless I'd just happened to hear this mentioned in a SBFP video or see it trending on Twitter (and I just checked and "Shenmue 3" at least is indeed the top trending item on Twitter at the moment) or something, I might have missed it.

(EDIT) And I found this one on my own. They are apparently remaking Final Fantasy 7. Huh. How about that. Honestly, though, given the pretty shitty reputation Square Enix has built up for itself over the past 5-10 years or so, this news doesn't excite me nearly as much as it might have... well... 5-10 years ago. (/EDIT)

(Original link to 1up.com changed to something that actually works because 1up.com is shit.)

I am shocked, shocked, I say, that this crappy thing apparently didn't do very well.

Hopefully they'll get around to making a proper Shenmue sequel now? I won't be holding my breath, sadly.

"Shenmue Finally Gets A Sequel…Sort Of"

"Young Ryo Hazuki's tale might not be over, however."

Elated!

"Earlier today, Yahoo! Japan and the Japanese-based web service provider, DeNA, announced a partnership to develop a new community-based Internet game portal. The companies also announced that one of the first titles for the service would be a new Shenmue game. Titled Shenmue Machi (which translates into Shenmue Town), this title is being planned as a new kind of 'social game.' Whatever that means."

And.... elated no longer.

I don't want this Yahoo! Japan "social game" crap. I want Shenmue 3.

Are they sure that this is even related to the real Shenmue games at all and isn't just some crappy thing that happens to share the same name? I notice it doesn't say that Sega or Yu Suzuki are involved in this at all.

(EDIT)

I guess Sega might be involved after all. Still, all I can do in response to this is give the heartiest of "Meh"s.

(/EDIT)

(EDIT 2)

I'm seeing people ruminating over the possibility that this might be Sega attempting to "test the waters" to see if there is still interest in Shenmue before committing to something more substantial.

Here is why that is a bad idea: If most other people are like me, then they most definitely do want another Shenmue game. However, they want another real Shenmue game, one that continues the story that ended on a blatant cliffhanger at the end of Shenmue 2. They don't want this barely related "social game" BS.

As such, ifwhen it appears that nobody gives a crap about this particular new Shenmue game, they will get the very mistaken impression that nobody cares about Shenmue at all, in general. Thus, they will likely conclude that it is not worthwhile to invest further in the Shenmue franchise.

It was the same deal with that racing game that came out a while back that had Ryo Hazuki in it. Including him in that was also apparently a "testing the waters" moment. Well, yeah, sure, as far as I'm concerned it's great that he's in it and all, but I'm not buying some crappy racing game that I otherwise don't give a rat's ass about just because it has Ryo Hazuki in it. Again, I want Shenmue 3, not "Generic Sega Version of Super Mario Kart, featuring Ryo Hazuki."

Anyway, this new thing seems like it's going to be a Japan only game anyway, so it doesn't really matter one way or another to me, as such. Maybe the Japanese will be all over it. *shrug* Then again, that might give them a different mistaken impression that they need to make more games like that, instead of a real Shenmue 3.

Well, in any case, the bottom line is that they need to make Shenmue 3. Period.

(/EDIT 2)