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Shenmue 3 for PlayStation 4 hurtles toward its $2 million Kickstarter goal

Sixteen years after it first debuted, the third installment of the Shenmue 3D adventure game is nigh -- if backers want it badly enough. Based on its rapid Kickstarter backing, it's evident they do.

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Officially launched at E3 2015, Shenmue 3 embarked on a blazing Kickstarter campaign. Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

What is turning out to be one of the most-quickly funded Kickstarter campaigns, supporters of Shenmue 3 for PlayStation 4 stampeded to Kickstarter on Monday in an effort to back the franchise's third installment.

After playing the trailer at Sony's keynote presentation at Los Angeles' E3 gaming convention, legendary Japanese game designer Yu Suzuki's, the title's designer, took to the stage to launch the $2 million Kickstarter goal, the sum to ready Shenmue 3 for the PlayStation console.

Garnering $100,000 in roughly the first 15 minutes, $250,000 by the 23-minute mark and $500,000 -- a quarter of the requirement in about 40 minutes -- Shenmue 3 is well on the way toward reaching its goal. As of 8:21pm PT, Suzuki's project has pocketed $932,023 from 10,761 backers about an hour and a half after launching. And the numbers keep climbing.

If Shenmue 3 keeps up its rapid fundraising pace, the gaming title is on track to become one of the most quickly funded crowdsourced projects ever, along with the Pebble Time smartwatch.

The Kickstarter campaign represents the Shenmue franchise's first appearance on Sony's console. The original title played on Dreamcast, followed by Shenmue 2 for Dreamcast and Xbox.

Follow all the latest news from E3 2015 on CNET and GameSpot.