I think you are right and that trend is a dangerous one.

It probably is, but this is what people were waiting for

As long as it actually gets released. It might be a decade before it's actually seen.

Kickstarters are garbage.

No way in hell Shenmue 3 only costs 2m. Sony is obviously co-funding, this is just raising some funds and gauging market interest.

What I find incredibly funny is how a vgc member made a thread a few months ago with a similar topic. He said that it'd be a good idea for even big companies to use kickstarter to gauge interest and, if memory serves, every single person who posted shot the idea down. The poor thread died a quick death.

And here we are.

Anyway, I hope it's successful for its fans. Whether it's marketing or not, I don't see why you'd call it shady.

Except when they aren't.  Not all Kickstarters are inherently garbage and to say they are is quite arrogant. 

I believe Sony didnt want to fund it, nor Sega (do they still own it?) because there was a possiblility of it not making any profits.

I think it's what most people said, everyone knows Shenmue is a huge financial risk:

1) Sega died because of it
2) Sega & Shenmue fans didn't support it much at all on the Xbox leaving the trilogy to die
3) Shenmue 2 cost $70,000,000

It's a huge financial risk and more importantly it's a way to get fans to put their money where their mouth is. $2,000,000 is pittance considering how much Sony will be putting behind this if the kickstarter goal is met. This I think is just to see how much interest there is in a Shenmue 3 being made, whether people outside of core fans will buy into it and if there are enough core fans that will actually back it.

I've been waiting to see the end of this saga since Shenmue 1 was released on the Dreamcast. $29 for the game is nothing and if they offered a physical copy I would have happily paid $60. The fact Sony has managed to arrange for this to happen by navigating licensing issues, building a team around Yu Suzuki to bring it to where it is and to fund 90%+ of the game is a miracle in its own right.

Businesses don't fund projects they don't know will sell. Shenmue, while loved isn't a massive series. Kickstarter is the best option.

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!