'Shenmue 3' Creator May Fund Sequel With Kickstarter

Yu Suzuki, creative mind behind the cult-classic "Shenmue," may decide to crowdsource funding for the next entry in the series, "Shenmue 3."

According to a series of tweets from French industry journalist Sebastien-Abdelhamid, Suzuki says he's thinking about crowdsourcing his next game during an interview last week at the Monaco Anime Game Show. Abdelhamid also tweeted that Suzuki would also like to continue the "Shenmue" story, which has 11 parts including the events of "Shenmue" and "Shenmue II," as a manga or anime series.

"Shenmue" was released on the Sega Dreamcast in 2000, and was lauded for its very early take on an open-world setting. In the game, players controlled Ryo Hazuki, a teenager looking to get revenge on the crime lord who killed his father. While the game featured that core storyline, players were allowed to completely ignore it in favor of a variety of mini-games, ranging from mundane day-jobs to classic Sega arcade games. "Shenmue II" was released in Japan and Europe, but not North America.

With Sega's ever-narrowing towards "Sonic" and the "Total War" franchise, "Shenmue III" seems like one of the least likely sequels in gaming. Their last attempt, the social game "Shenmue Town," began production in 2010, only to be cancelled in 2011. 

Suzuki created his own studio for "Shenmue Town," which now seems to be in flux, and his connection to Sega-he's an independent "advisor"-is tenuous at best.

That said, it's better to stay positive. If "Leisure Suit Larry" can get another chance on Kickstarter, why not "Shenmue?"