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Shenmue 3 Refunds Are Limited-Time Only

You only have two weeks to change the version of Shenmue 3 you receive.

28 Comments

Things have been rocky for the long-in-development Shenmue III, and developer Ys Net revealing the action-adventure game's Epic Games Store exclusivity has not sit well with Kickstarter backers expecting Steam keys. While Epic CEO Tim Sweeney confirmed that refunds will happen, the process seems confusing and only lasts for a limited time.

Ys Net published an update on Shenmue III's Kickstarter page, revealing the steps necessary for backers to receive an alternative package or a total refund. Sometime in mid-September--Ys Net did not specify when--backers will get emails from video game collectible site Fangamer notifying them of their current selected version of Shenmue III. These emails will contain surveys for those who want to amend the version they've chosen. The survey period only lasts two weeks from the time backers receive the Fangamer email.

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Now Playing: Shenmue 3 - A Day In Shenmue Trailer

From then things get a little messy. Ys Net explains that refunds "may take up to 20 business days to 3 months from the time the refund request is made until the refund transaction is completed." This means backers could be waiting anywhere from 3-4 months for refunds to process and finalize.

Ys Net apologized for the complications backers have to go through to process refunds saying the length of Shenmue III's development, plus the complexities of transactions and payment arrangements, may impact the "processing times [for] individual transaction circumstances." Further, altering in-game rewards is "difficult at this stage of development," Ys Net said.

Ys Net is planning a trial version for Shenmue III, though It's unclear if the trial is exclusive to PC. It will release in the second half of September--Ys Net did not specify a date as of yet--and is playable for one hour. Ys Net said the trial will feature a stand-alone act within the game's first area and there are "lots of activities to experience" in that hour of game time. Saves will not carry over to the final versions when Shenmue III launches on November 19 for PC and PlayStation 4.

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Naylord

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Edited By Naylord

Meh, I've gotten freaking Celeste and Axiom Verge for free on the epic store, so it's alright in my book. And taking some dumb kids battlepass money and funnelling it into other devs seems like a positive thing. This just seems like fanboyism but in the PC space rearing its head hard.

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JustPlainLucas

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Kinda of a shame that a long awaited follow up to a classic franchise is being drug through the mud of Kickstarter and Epic controversy.

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KumaTenshi

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20 business days to 3 months? What a crock of shit. I guarantee you, they're doing that so it doesn't affect the initial release take of Shenmue 3 to investors and crap like that. >.> God damn Epic.

Ys Net needs to hang their heads in shame at this. This is absolutely absurd.

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silv3rst0rm

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All that Steam / Ubi / Epic launcher bullcrap is making me happy I decided to give up on PC gaming to take it back to console.

Now I can do my daily computing on a pretty simple laptop and when I want to game, I can just start my consoles and play!
No fuss, no mess, no multiple launchers, no harrassing when I launch my gaming platform.

I tought I'd miss PC gaming.
I probably would've had I been a shooter/RTS games kind of guy but since I'm not, consoles suits me just fine!

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lonewolf1044

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The biggest problem that could have been avoided if Shenmue 3 was allowed to remain with Steam as it was initially offered on Steam. Now after people started paying for pre-orders for the game on Steam, Epic wants to now pull the game which in this case I find it unfair. If Epic wanted to sell it in thier store they should have not allowed it to be advertised on Steam.

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deactivated-64efdf49333c4

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It's really not that hard to issue a refund.

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Jinzo_111887

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@Barighm: This is Epic you're talking about. Even implementing a shopping cart feature in their store seems too hard for them.

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Nabinator

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Edited By Nabinator

This Epic issue is trivial. Steam has just released an application that allows all non-steam games on their platform/interface. So people don't have much cause for complaint now.

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Talinthis

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Edited By Talinthis

@nabinator: does that even work ? i would imagine at the least you would need epic store open to launch it with the steam program if it even works at all or else there is no such thing as exclusive if you dont have to use or open their platform other than buying a game.

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lonewolf1044

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@nabinator: You are addressing an situation that is not even related to what is going on.

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SbargoVox3

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@nabinator: Does this application also make it so that crowdfunded games that promise Steam keys don't suddenly take money from another company to trash that promise? Does it also mean you can buy games off of that application and not have any money go to Epic, thus padding their numbers and show them exclusivity is a viable tactic? Does it stop developers being condescending dickholes about a move they know will piss off a lot of folks? I don't think so.

Besides, you've always been able to launch non-Steam games and use the interface etc. That's so not the issue at all.

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Thanatos2k

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Thanatos2k  Online

And there's the rub. Make it as confusing and inconvenient as possible, reject as many claims as you can. The Epic Way.

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videogameninja

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Oh, Shenmue.

Such a shame that a long-anticipated title is now being tainted by the Epic game controversy.

I just hope, like many long time Shenmue fans, that the finished product at least brings back in some way the nostalgia of the first 2 entries.

-SAILORS REFUND NINJA APPROVED-

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DoomsdayHell01

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@videogameninja: People need to stop whining and bitchin? There is no controversy just buy it from where it is that's been sold. To me I don't really care if i buy it from Steam, Epic or GOG.

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lonewolf1044

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@doomsdayhell01: Oh boy another person making an post that is not related to what has happened and probably failed to read up on it. Sorry Charley this is about folks that paid money already to play on an platform and now have two weeks to get an refund as it is not being offered no more even though they paid thier money.

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DoomsdayHell01

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Edited By DoomsdayHell01

@lonewolf1044: I was talking about in general brainiac? Games that are being sold in Epic are always met with bitching and crying because is Epic and not crooks Steam

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Cydie

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@doomsdayhell01: the thing i you don't get, i bought it being SOLD on STEAM not Crapic

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BeefoTheBold

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@doomsdayhell01:

You do not equal everybody. What works and is just fine for you is good on you, but that does not invalidate the criticisms or concerns of others.

Some people don't like a storefront that is feature bare to the extent it lacks basic things like forums, achievements, user reviews, etc. Perhaps you don't use these things, but maybe they are valuable to others? There's a long list of other concerns that people who don't like the Epic store could list, but in the interest of brevity I'll stick to the one example of the Epic launcher being woefully feature incomplete against Steam and move on.

Just saying, your own comment could just as easily be applied in reverse. Stop "whining and bitching" about a non controversy that does not impact you?

But really the single most blatant reason why Shenmue 3 in particular is a singularly bad place to draw a line in the sand on is that it's a crowdfunded game that for YEARS promised people a copy on the launcher of their preferred choosing (Steam) only to pull the rug out at the last minute.

They took peoples' money up front, initially refused to give refunds when they changed the deal, and now are making it overly complicated and time-limited to get refunds. This is scummy.

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SbargoVox3

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@doomsdayhell01: Good on you. But you're not everyone; some people have standards.

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JackNief

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Two weeks.... when? There's two months left before the game releases, and there's supposedly up to three months of waiting for it to even be processed?

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alucardswrath

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My interest in this game was for a limited time as well

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lonewolf1044

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@alucardswrath: One reason I do not do pre-orders I see an lot of platform changes happening.

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Goldenageplayer

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@alucardswrath: Same. Epic bull crap aside... It does still feel like a rather late sequel as well. Kind of reminds me of anchor man 2 or joe dirt 2. Similar to diablo 3 or star craft 2. The sequel took sooo long and ended up being corrupted in some way coupled with the fact that people just sort of got tired of waiting for its release and sort of moved on. Moved onto bigger and better things in a lot of ways...

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Cydie

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@goldenageplayer: more i look into the game, more like it a game they coded in 2001 and just forgot to release and they are doing so now. shemnue ii looks better then 3

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Goldenageplayer

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Edited By Goldenageplayer

@cydie: Want to know somethin kind of messed up Cydie? I wouldn't even know what you're talking about as I haven't even bothered to do much of a graphics comparison myself because well... I don't really care lol. I'm one of those guys who stopped caring and stopped waiting basically... If the game comes out and turns heads I might turn my head as well but for now... I just don't care much lol.

But since I'm here and we're talking about this game lolz...

(Just did a graphics comparison)

Oh boy... I think you got a point... For todays standards this looks pretty NOT pretty by comparison lol. I wonder what the deal is. Last time I saw people compare a game of this year to graphics of the early 2000s generation was crack down 3 lololol. What a joke...

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mrdinghat

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They could have avoided the whole mess had they not gone with the Epic Store. The backers wouldn't have felt betrayed so there would have been no need to seek refunds.

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Cydie

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@mrdinghat: i feel betrayed, but the more and more i look into this game, more and more it looks like a flop, they went the epic route to get guarantee # of sales because they know the game will suck

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Goldenageplayer

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@mrdinghat: Agreed. That gosh darn fart nite getting too big for its own good is smothering the quality and likability of other games and other devs...

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