Although the announcement of Shenmue 3 essentially broke the internet, there was something decidedly off about the way the game was being presented to players. Announced on a huge stage at Sony's E3 conference, it wasn't the sequel itself that was unveiled, but a Kickstarter for the sequel. Overlooked in the first week or so until the euphoria of players around the globe died down, the actual Kickstarter itself quickly came under heavy scrutiny, as both fans and journalists questioned the ethics of such a large crowd-funded game. First up was the mystery around the developers' relationship with Sony, as representatives from both companies gave mixed messages over the financial nature of the relationship. Next came the stretch goals and their unclear and vague descriptions. They weren't quite as bad as Red Ash's, because, well, they actually at least had a description, but many players were still in the dark as to what this extra money was going to. The most annoying part of the whole endeavour was the way the developers constantly tried to guilt players into giving them more money. Smashing the $2 million goal in no time at all, it was then said that the money needed to create the "true" vision of the title was closer to $5 million, which then jumped up to $10 million. Enough was simply never enough.
