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

[Puppyroach]

And why would Yu even need to convince Sony that fans of Shenmue wanted a sequel when that has been common knowledge for the last 15 years? This was Sony trying a PR stunt at the cost of the fans and Kickstarter. I sure hope Kickstarter can prevent this somehow and Sony can pay for it with their own cash instead of exploiting fans.