Kickstarter - Are you worried?

[Malpheas]

Articulated well.

[Seronx]

I wouldn't care it is all about supply and demand with marketing. There will always be buyers and sellers(mostly buyers).

[Void(null)]

Originally Posted by Seronx

I wouldn't care it is all about supply and demand with marketing. There will always be buyers and sellers(mostly buyers).

If that were true, Iron Lore, Troika and Bullfrog would still be with us.

[matthewfarmery]

interesting article I found about kickstarter and it lists some of the projects that are getting funded, worth a read

Classic Game Developers Flocking to Kickstarter to Avoid Publishers
http://www.lockergnome.com/news/2012...id-publishers/

so maybe if classic games can be remade without publishers, then there is a bright future ahead, yes publishers make and want lots of money, but they have lost their way when it comes to funding a small amount of titles now, or should I say, genres, even though Legend of Grimrock wasn't KS funded, it shows that it has hit No 1 seller on both steam and GOG that is a hige demand for old classic games that publisher aren't interested in anymore

so yeah, the above KS funded games, if they are successful, I hope will start something really good, I hope this trend continues, it needs to to get more older classic types of games out of the door, the more games that can be made without publisher funding / influence the better, but anyway the article is an interesting read

[LostSoul]

The problem has never been that the money "wasn't there". The problem has always been accessing that resource reliably and effectively. Hell, the money IS there to even make AAA game like Mass Effect(s). You need to look no further than the amount of money the PUBLISHER makes vs what the development studio actually earns from it.

Take a step back for a moment and imagine this.

The big-guys at...let's say Bioware. They all leave EA, form their own studio, use their own money to buy the rights to Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights and all the other IPs that Bioware is famous for.

Who wouldn't poney up $35-40 bucks to crowd fund a full on return to Baldur's Gate? I would. I'd wager knowing who's behind it, most of the folks here on these boards would as well. How about a party-based isometric version of Mass Effect (the whole trilogy in one game)? $50? Take my money...

What's been the fence keeping "big games" out of being fan-funded has been the initial overhead. It costs a LOT of money to get a "big game" going and keep it running for the entire production timeline. Sure, I'd bet it cost $200m or more to develop Mass Effect 2. It also turned a profit within a few weeks or so. And keep in mind, its turning a profit AFTER you include the overhead cost of the Publisher as well, not just the cost of the actual development. Clearly, there was NO issue with the actual money available to "fund" a big project.

The problem is getting your customers to part with their money upfront before you ship the product. How do you reach all of your potential customer base in a reasonable span of time to put together the kinds of cash flow necessary? Kickstarter has shown that people can and are willing to pay in advance, and in some cases pay far more than the actual developer ever sees on a per-customer basis as well (look at some of the top-end door prizes for Wasteland, Shadowrun, or Banner Saga and you'll notice that they've moved quite a few of those). I think Kickstarter is...an opening, the tiny of sliver light off in the distance. It's not the avenue, but it may very well pave the way for something bigger and more solid and reliable for really big-name games to get a new lease on life away from the stagnating, stifling, and strangling influence of the dinosaur publishing model.

And the problems that took down Ironlore have somewhat been lessened in the new DLC era. Imagine where Titan Quest would be today had DLC been more widespread back then? Okay...you haven't found a backer for "the next project" but while you're waiting and looking, your staff are busy building and selling additional content for your other products....instead of burning a lot of capital from one day to the next as you wait (well, maybe not "instead" but rather it could/would severely reduce the impact).

And then when the "Big-time Kickstarter" funds roll over you're off on the next big project.

[durruti]

but i explicitly stated that the whole crowdfunding works differently from our current market economy - especially in light of its resorting to simplified explanations and observations regarding its own mechanisms. try being more creative with predictions (and for that see john cleese...)

[Roros]

Then there's projects like this which get successfully funded in just a few days.

While attacking the author in the way they do is out of line, I'm still not sure what to think of such a project getting backing. All the power to him I guess, but I'd be surprised if there's not some form of drama at some stage.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...-classic-desig

[Asgardhora]

Originally Posted by Roros

Then there's projects like this which get successfully funded in just a few days.

While attacking the author in the way they do is out of line, I'm still not sure what to think of such a project getting backing. All the power to him I guess, but I'd be surprised if there's not some form of drama at some stage.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...-classic-desig

Omg i had quiet a laugh reading this one. But i cried thinking of the people that funded this garbage!