Why is kickstarter different than Wall st where if you give someone money you own stock in the company, but in kickstarter your just another customer who gets a tee shirt?
Because that's the terms of your investment.
In Kickstarater you're a donator with NO guarantee to get anything except for pledge rewards.
Kickstarter is donation based because of laws for investing in securities, which is what ownership would require.
This is the reason why kickstarters like this https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nbrianna/massively-overpowered make me very uncomfortable. It's just a bunch of guys who wanted to strike out on their own, which is great, but why are people paying for it? Donations will amongst other things ensure that the future site can develop with steady revenue streams to maximize profit FOR THE GUYS RUNNING IT. Is that of any interest to me as a reader? I mean, I would obviously be interested in keeping their particular service on the market, but I should want that as cheap as possible. Why should I make a donation for their future profit?
Also there's an inherent assumption here that kickstarters manage their projects better without the influence of actual investors. In actuality the opposite appears to be true. Simply put, investors are good at bringing products to the market because it is tied to their exit strategy.
Even the pledge rewards aren't guaranteed.
This is why my rules for Kickstarter are never invest money I don't mind losing unless I trust the developer implicitly (such as the Skullgirls kickstart or At the Gates- two devs who had good track records)
Once upon a time in the early days of the net some bloke had the bright idea to post....
"This is your last chance to send $1 to blahblahblah [his name/address].
That's all it said....didn't offer anything in return.
He made a shitload from idiots.
Kickstarters too require idiots.
Their inherent translation...donate money to me...and I might do something....but meanwhile I'll have more money than you.
....and in small writing at the bottom...
"Sucker".
Only give money to anything and/or anyone that you do not expect to get back in return - ever.
Some kickstarters are much more likely to pan out than others. I mean, random sucker - yes, $10 max, but someone like Jon, I'd risk more because of his track record.
That's not being an idiot.
What if the produce dept started a kickstarter ?
"You want fruit? Gimme a dollar ..I'll come back with some fruit"
Games should be funded by the people who make them...
Don't even get me started on Early Access...
The recent articles about Peter Molyneux stated that the extra rewards (pledge awards?) that you get when you donate extra money HAVE to be delivered. I couldn't find anyting about it on Kickstarters site nor a googling of it though.
I'd definitely get independent verification before taking the word of someone that starts an interview off with "Do you think that you’re a pathological liar?", thinks the definition of pathological liar is someone who lies unintentionally, and doesn't think he's being confrontational...
Considering the guy has a track record for completely blowing budgets and timelines, I'd think his rabid fan base that funded him would be expecting 7 months to be completely unachievable from the get go...
https://www.kickstarter.com/terms-of-use
Sections 4 and 5 cover funding and projects, there is no implication that rewards or timelines are guaranteed.
Star Citizen should be a game I lust after but I cant seem to find any game there. A bunch of modules with no story to connect them. CR started the kickstarter on a whim and now he has all this cash with no clue what do do with it....
Might have been talking about Backerkit. They don't charge until the extras ship, if the project is using them. It can be an easy way to get in on rewards without making a real commitment (back for $1 to get access via Backerkit, and pledge there). Though obviously not all rewards are available that way.
You could argue that it is a waste of money, but if the product will not be made without the funding, it's not like you have the option of going to the competition. You don't give money to a kick-starter in hopes of getting a return on your money, you give money in hopes that whatever you are funding will be created in the first place.
... you don't have to pay tax on your "returns"
You give money to charity....like the Guide Dogs, Deaf-Blind...et al.
You do that so the charity helps people.
Giving money to a dreamer so you can have a 'I-spent-500-and-all-I-got-is-this-bloody-Tshirt' tee shirt is only useful if you are out of tee shirts and want an expensive one...
...or rather a cheap-arsed one for a lot of money...
I think Jafo might've gotten burned on a couple of kickstarters.
Can't wait till Kickstarter, Early Access and MMO's become one product...lol
YOU fund it.
YOU pay to beta.
YOU pay to play.
I'm investing in my child's education. Who knew it was a scam this whole time.
Be careful of what you wish for... You just might get it.
I only invested (donated, or whatever) on 2 kickstarter games. Planetary Annihilation, and Star Citizen. Why? because i did trust the developers to produce a decent product. The former i am disappointed with, but not to the point of "nerd rage". It's just an average "ok" game. The "awesomeness" factor they pushed went out after the first asteroid strike. Now its just Total Annihilation on spherical maps with a Starcraft paced frenzied click fest added to it that gives you absolutely NO time to think. Not my cup of tea. No biggie. I pledged the minimum, and i don't consider it a loss.
Star Citizen on the other hand does have the "awesomeness" factor from what little i played of it on my system that it just barely works on, because it doesn't have the specs. Still the love that is going into that game SHOWS, and when i can build a system that can run it smoothly i am going to be spending a lot of time on that game. So i consider that a very Good Investment.
There are many kickstarters that seem "shady". I do think some of the pledge prices are ridiculous. Why would you want to pay $100 for something that may never happen? (and has "never happened" lately with quite a few games). That they don't even have any alpha footage, or one line of code written for it yet? Just so you could get the rhetorical "T-Shirt"? or whatever their so called "super package" offers? HELL NO!! Show me a damn product FIRST! Show me proof that you will follow though with your "claims", and not cave in, and shut down after you get 10 grand, or else I will keep my money thank you very much.
The phrase holds true for this as in anything else... Buyer Beware. Do your research before you invest.
(Don't even get me started on the lack of education system)
I have invested in over 20 games on Kickstarter, and I am happy with my return. As long as you understand that you are NOT an investor (you dont own a share of the company) and that all projects have risks, then you know what to expect.
I have way to many early access games on Steam right now, but I would like to recommend one that I play every day. Rebuild 3 is FANTASTIC (dont know if it was ever a kickstarter though).
Nope...but I am jealous of the bloke with the idea 'this is your last chance to send $1...'
Truly inspired....
What about Early Access from established companies which your paying to be their beta tester?
Or SOADA which is FTP ...but with an EA charge? I cant even wrap my head on that one......
I just want to play my games when there done. The smart PC gamer stays a year behind the games curve and on top of the hardware curve.....
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