Shenmue 3 footage due 'early in the new year', PC pre-orders begin on Thursday

As a Dreamcast devotee in my younger years, I've had to pinch myself a few times during Shenmue 3's post-Kickstarter development. I sometimes can't believe it's actually happening, you see, thus it's always reassuring when series creator Yu Suzuki pops up with with tangible updates—the latest of which features in this week's Weekly Famitsu.

As translated by the kind folks at Gematsu, Yu Suzuki discusses Shenmue 3's development so far and its direction into 2017. "Development is entering the final stage headed towards full-scale production," he says. "Early in the new year, I think we’ll be able to show you things such as new videos. We will continue progressing with development so that our backers and those who experience the world of Shenmue for the first time can do so with pleasure."

Yu Suzuki adds: "Also, at noon on December 15, we will start pre-order sales for the PC version of Shenmue III, which received a lot of requests."

While I'd always advise against pre-ordering games—why not wait on the off-chance said game doesn't match your expectations?—I am looking forward to some proper footage of an actual working Shenmue 3 in the new year. I'm well aware nostalgia is a big driving factor for me, but I'm nevertheless cautiously optimistic it'll deliver.

Tim, on the other hand, isn't so understanding of the hype, which is why I'd like to turn this over to you guys—can Shenmue possibly be as good as I think it will be my head? Let me know in the comments south of here.

According to its Kickstarter campaign page, Shenmue 3's full release is expected in December, 2017.