Yes, we do use Kickstarter to help bring new ideas to the market.
We feel that the process (if done right) can bring about much MORE in the way of new and exciting games and expansions for those games.
And, we especially like the fact that this can happen in a way that the fans of those games are involved and taking ownership of that creative process as it unfolds.
Here is a historic list of Kickstarters we have done, beginning with the most recent:
The Remaking of Police Precinct
FINAL THOUGHTS: At the end of the day (if done right) Kickstarter benefits ALL parties. This is our opinion, and we recognize that this is a hotly debated topic. Many say that retailers are being left behind in this new world of Kickstarter. We believe that, while they are hurt in some ways, they are also helped in many ways. Furthermore, the small publishers can create and deliver MUCH more while utilizing Kickstarter than without.
Retailers Benefit by…
1. The Kickstarter process feeds their market with a wider variety of great games that (after the Release Date) can be bought in great game stores all over the world.
2. The Kickstarter process helps build after-market demand as backers share their feelings about the games they received.
3. The level of success (or failure) of a Kickstarter campaign helps retailers gauge demand, and thus helps make buying decisions easier.
4. Many new gamers have entered the niche hobby of designer games because of Kickstarter. It’s a way of getting the word out about a whole new world of games that the average person would love, but does not know exists.
5. They can back one of our projects and gain great advantages from doing so (see “Retailer Package” reward description in The Heat project as an example of this).
Real Life Example…
EXAMPLE
If you take the 1st Edition of Police Precinct and examine how it played-out (see “Birth of Police Precinct” link above), then you can see just how much retailers benefited. With that item, about 200 backers got a copy of the game though the Kickstarter campaign. This gave us the ability to print 2,500 copies, and allowed retailers to sell over 90% of the run! Also, keep in mind that without those backers, the game would have even exist.
For more of our thoughts on Kickstarter and how it affects retailers, please click here.
FUN FACTS
We just thought this info was interesting, so have a look…
(note that the following info was gathered on or about 3/13/14)
The day Kickstarter launched = April 28, 2009
Biggest single day EVER = March 13, 2013
Total amount pledged so far = $1 billion!
More than half of the total pledged, came in during the past 12 months.