We already know that Yu Suzuki wanted to turn to Kickstarter to partially fund Shenmue, but it wasn't going to be anywhere close to properly funding the project. Sony got involved and is helping fund a sizable portion of the project, but still launching the Kickstarter campaign for multiple reasons. To gauge public interest, acquire more funding, and have outside influence help shape Shenmue III. They probably knew there would be a lot of passionate fans that would spend major amounts of cash to make this game a reality.
It should be noted that pledging at least $5 or more grants donators to partake in polls and surveys that help shape the game. They're still fairly early in development if they're offering that to all that are donating. The estimated delivery date shows Dec 2017, but I'm fairly certain it gets pushed back a good 3-6 months. By the way, I wonder what video game (not named Star Citizen) has the highest single day donation amount, and how much?
Shenmue signature change incoming!
