Shenmue III didn't manage to reach its $2 million Kickstarter goal in the half hour between its announcement and the end of Sony's E3 press conference — but it got more than a quarter of the way there.

And it reached the $1 million mark a few hours later, faster than any videogame project in the funding website's history.

Yu Suzuki's ridiculously long-awaited sequel to a series that started its life on Sega's long-defunct Dreamcast console is already in development. Presuming the Kickstarter succeeds, the game will be released for PC and PlayStation 4.

Shenmue and Shenmue II are both Dreamcast games (the sequel was also released for Xbox) that follow protagonist Ryo Hazuki on a quest for revenge after his father is murdered. The killer is Lan Di, a powerful martial artist who sought out Ryo's father in his search for an item known as the "Dragon Mirror."

The two Shenmue games are hailed as early examples of open world adventure gaming, with story content supplemented by an assortment of everyday activities and basic human needs. The earlier games follow a linear story arc that end with a cliffhanger at the close of Shenmue II.

The excitement around Shenmue III, then, signals continuing hopes among fans for some measure of closure.

The Shenmue III Kickstarter lists a release timetable of December 2017, though that is of course subject to change. Suzuki returns to direct the sequel, though the Kickstarter clearly notes that development "will not go forward" if the $2 million funding target isn't met.

With 31 days remaining in the funding period, Shenmue III is well on track at this point to blow past its target and hit some stretch goals, which include additional language support, new cinematics and more.