Sony has just confirmed that now that the Kickstarter goal has been reached they are in fact helping with funding and development of Shenmue 3

[thismeintiel]

FragilE^ said:

Roronaa_chan said:
I still don't get why they thought this was necessary. It was always going to reach 2M, come on. Am I missing something?

They just wanted to squeeze some money out of the fans. That's it. And now that all of those people invested real money in the game, they will make sure to defend their decision and promote the game. Money!

You act as if they don't get anything in exchange for their money.  That's not the case.  Many are getting a copy of the game.  Others who gave less money get to help guide its development.