As Shenmue III has over seven million dollars in backing (Kickstarter + Slacker Backer combined), the game is going to expand with the AI Battling system.

It was announced by Ys Net, and their description of it is the following: „This control system lets you automatically unleash the perfect technique in response to the opponent’s positioning and distance. R&D for this system is based on Yu Suzuki’s concept for players who are not used to fighting games or for those who want a full immersion battle experience. This battle system is highly compatible with, and will be an extension to the current battle system.” In other words, it’s going to be a helping hand for beginners.

On Fangamer, Shenmue III’s Toy Capture Box Set limited edition also surfaced, costing 450 dollars. It’s going to contain all four capture figures (Ryo, Shenhua, Chai, and Forklift), an original Shenmue III illustration, an exclusive in-game Arcane Technique scroll, another in-game skin-change feature for Ryo’s jacket, the soundtrack on CD, an art book curated by Yu Suzuki, another in-game scroll (Advanced Technique), twenty Capsule Toy tickets in-game, a Shenmue III T-Shirt, Shenmue‘s soundtrack on MP3, a digital art book with unreleased illustrations, Shenmue III‘s digital trial version on PC and the full version either physically or digitally on PlayStation 4, and our name will also show up in the credits. That is a massive list.

They also have talked about the backer surveys that they sent out in June. Quoting them, „there are three fields in which to input your name for name credit rewards. The first is English only and is required. The second and third are optional and accept other languages. If you choose to enter your name in the second or third field in a language other than English, these optional names will take precedence. This will not apply if there would be a systems conflict or if deemed to be against public decency. […] 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. An internet connection is a planned requirement for the purposes of game updates and reward activation.”

Shenmue III will launch in 2019 on PlayStation 4 and PC.

Source: Gematsu