"Ripple" effect in crowdfunding

[Vaeris]

I think a key thing to look at outside of the DF kickstarter is that, at least from what I've seen, the majority of the video game kickstarters that have name recognition are those created by "old school" developers that are pitching "old school" type games. We have Obsidian Entertainment, of course, making PE that is described as being in the mold og BG, IWD and PS:T. Then there is Wasteland 2, Shadowrun: Returns and now Star Citizen. I believe that it's the type of games being made that made these Kickstarters happen (Star Citizen is currently going but at it's pledge rate it's 100% guaranteed to make). Despite that alot of gaming companies thinking that the current gamer doesn't have time or isn't...well...intelligent enough to want sophisticated, complex, deep games, these kickstarters are showing that there is a sizable audience out there that still craves that type gameplay.

 

The influx of numbers to Kickstarter's site I think in large part has to do with word of mouth and those gamers seeking that type play telling their friends that "Hey, those type games we used to have but that most companies won't make anymore because publishers and investors steer them toward easy, plain mode...yeah, those good old games we want we can get them via Kickstarter and crowd funding and skipping the publisher." The word is most certainly out. I've backed 5 projects so far, the majority of which are old school developers who made games I've played and enjoyed in the past. I will continue to back future projects from developers I've known from previous years (pre 2003) that made games I enjoy if their project is a continuation of the forumla they once used.

 

Like others I hope Kickstarter brings back some of those older devs to continue IPs from the past. Especially in the land of RPGs. Crowd funding is the way I want to go as it lets me feel like I have some say in getting the games I want developed. It also opens up a wider buffet of games to choose from.

[Jymm]

It is definitely interesting how the old school devs / games are what is funded. My inner economist says that this was an idea whose time had come: the people who grew up playing these old school games are now in their peak earning years and frustrated that publishers continue to target the teen (male) market almost exclusively. They weren't willing to bet that we still played enough to make these games profitable. So we're voting with our (now more plentiful) dollars. And a guaranteed sale before the game is even launched is worth well more to them than a hypothetical sale later. So the developer can sell to the consumer directly a promise to deliver the game for a fraction of what it would retail for if funded traditionally.

 

Kickstarter also gives them unprecedented ability to perform price discrimination / differentiation. Traditional boxed retail is one game at one price. Then they have added various collectors editions that toss in a small crate of extras for 50% more to get a bonus from hardcore fans. Kickstarter takes that to a whole different dimension. There are tiers for every conceivable level of excitement for the project. So they can extract from the contributor a much larger percentage of what they would be willing to pay for the product than any retail game ever could. I might be willing to pay $500 for someone to make a new Twilight 2000 game, but I have no control over that in traditional publishing. They either make it or don't, and if they do then I pay only $50 retail for it and dance in the street. But the truth is it never gets made and so my money goes uncollected. Kickstarter frees up that potential.

[Veeno]

I might be willing to pay $500 for someone to make a new Twilight 2000 game, but I have no control over that in traditional publishing. They either make it or don't, and if they do then I pay only $50 retail for it and dance in the street. But the truth is it never gets made and so my money goes uncollected. Kickstarter frees up that potential.

 

Not to mention that only a minuscule portion of those 50$ actually go to the developer.