If you’re planning to fund a video game on Kickstarter – and judging by the spam in our inbox, plenty of developers are still trying – then you may want to consider converting the project into some kind of table-top title. A new report reveals that only one in four games tends to reach their target on the crowd-funding platform these days, and spend on games is down to $9.4 million in the first half of 2017 compared to $28 million at its peak during the same period in 2013.
It’s table-top board games that are doing the business: data shows that you’re actually more likely to launch a successful project in this category than fail. And campaigns like the Resident Evil 2 board game have been hugely popular, with that specific example making over $1 million. In fact, Kingdom Death: Monster 1.5 which launched earlier this year is the fourth most funded Kickstarter project of all time at $12 million – that’s double what even Shenmue III managed to accrue.
Why is this? Well, some of the early users of the site like Double Fine have moved to alternative platforms like Fig – but there’s no question that consumer confidence has taken a hit. Projects like the ill-fated mini-console OUYA or even the highly anticipated Mighty No. 9 have failed to deliver on their promise, and while there are many Kickstarter success stories, these high-profile flops have taken their toll.
Are you still a regular user of Kickstarter? Have you ever backed a project on the site? Do you think crowd-funding still represents a great way to get games made? Put your money where your mouth is in the comments section below.
[source gamesindustry.biz]
Comments 21
I've backed five things on Kickstarter and still haven't received anything.
Never backed a Kickstarter - never will!
Doesn't bode well for Shenmue III...
@get2sammyb You're an absolute madman! XD
like you said consumer confidence has taken a hit, far too many failures and games not being what you was promised has burned people
they simply don't trust them any more
I've actually backed a few things on Kickstarter. The first was what turned into Broken Age, which was obviously pretty successful. Yooka-Laylee was next and while it did deliver on the initial promise, the final product wasn't quite as good as I was hoping for.
The latest game I've backed is Knights and Bikes, which just looks super lovely and I can't wait to play the final product.
Interesting statistics, though. I don't think crowd funding will completely go away, but clearly people are more cautious nowadays after games have either disappointed, arrived vastly changed from the initial idea, or never materialised at all. It's a shame, because for as many failures, there are some great examples of Kickstarter titles. Hyper Light Drifter, Divinity: Original Sin, the aforementioned Broken Age, Shovel Knight...
Edit: Undertale!
I've backed shantae half genie hero, hyper light drifter, bloodstained, shenmue 3, and system shock 3. From the list I think only shenmue 3 that maybe doesn't live up to the hype, I really satisfied with shantae (already platinum it) and hyperlight drifter, bloodstained looks good too.
To be fair, the things I've backed are still active projects with updates.
I actually backed Friday the 13th: The Game which did come out, but I pulled my pledge right on the last day because I couldn't quite afford it at the time.
So if I'd followed that through I'd have got something.
Hyper light drifter was a great Kickstarter game and I'm still waiting for kingdom come.
I pledged for a few board games that all shipped, but generally disappointed by unrefined gameplay. Even dark souls tbg didn't translate as well as I hoped.
I've backed a bunch of board games and been generally very satisfied. I won't do a video game though, it's just too risky.
There's a good chance I'll never pledge on Kickstarter. I always tell my self I want to wait and see the final product and buy the game when it's fully released.
@get2sammyb In your defense though, the Taylor Swift Summer Lesson Quintology was always going to be a hard sell...
Reminds me of Little Devil Inside. The game looks great, but it's still in development after three or four years...
Well at least kickstarter has allowed me to get a new Fear Effect game so I'm pretty grateful for that.
@adf86 Conceptually it's still a great idea I think; the idea of being able to put your money where your mouth is and directly fund games that would never exist otherwise.
But there's always going to be a problem with expectations, and generally I think games are way more expensive to make than most people realise.
@BLP_Software Agreed.
Only invested twice, battalion 1944 and shenmue III, both coming along very well and we're back very well, neither scraped by.
I've backed a few games, but the inevitable delays along with some games not meeting expectations has made me reluctant to back any more.
I backed:
Mighty No 9
Shantae HGH
Lobodestroyo
Hex Heroes
Hive Jump
The first 2 released, 3 and 4 are in limbo and I am waiting for my backer key on the last one, nearly a month after release.
Because of this I never backed Yooka or Shenmue. Nor anything else.
@get2sammyb you went on a splurge like I did 5 or so years ago. I spent a relatively large amount of money and was fairly happy and content.
That happy and good feeling soon dissipates when one of the games is crap and you dont get your copy of an expected finished game. Then one of the success stories makers wants to sell you dlc to get the full experience. Grrrr. So yeah Ive binned kickstarter and all closed alphas and such, would rather wait for a finished game these days.
I would also like to add that kickstarters are now somewhat misused from the initial big wave of games.
Asking for peoples dough for a record or book is pretty annoying. These are things an individual can do in their spare time. I saw a kickstarter for a restaurant to be propped up by an already successful restaurant business. Its crazy really. Ask the bank!
Never backed any project. I've never seen anything that I'm so interested in to do so. It just doesn't seem worth it to me in the end
I've backed a few but not many. Just backed Resident Evil 2, will be a long wait for that I'm sure. Kickstarter is all about boardgames these days, it's true.
Only video game I tried to back was the spiritual successor to Rollcage but it failed and how to go via Steam green light instead.
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