I dont pay for alpha games. Sell me something when its done. The only kickstarters I pay for are for charities or people doing things for fun (such as Cataclym DDA). Companies love the kickstarter funding source because its free money. In the past companies got funding from 3 sources (I have an MBA, its in the textbooks), your own money, loans, or venture capital investments.
Venture Capital investments require equity in the company which is part ownership. Kickstarter allows vendors to go hat in hand to potential companies and say 'please give us money to make you a game, we will make it uber cool'. This is not an 'investment', its a handout. Wasteland 2 raised several million dollars this way. There isn't any legal obligation for them to spend it wisely or pay appropriate salaries. The owners of the company could pay themselves very large salaries and make mistakes spending the money. The people who 'fund' kickstarters have no write to a refund.
Paying $60 for an 'alpha' game is similiar to kickstarter. You are paying early so that people who do not want to invest their own money, get a loan, or get investors can develop a product on your dime. This is essentially free money.
If they have a marketable product than they can go look for venture capital investors and give up equity in their company. This is typically a last resort, because they are not giving up a fixed percentage. So if the game is a huge success the venture capitalists make more money. Unlike people who pay for 'alpha games' or kickstarters they expect a return.
You're making a HUGE assumption that the creators of these games are even
attempting to make a marketable product. Most of the teams on Kickstarter have more in common with artists looking for patrons than entrepreneurs looking for investment.
When it comes to tech startups, the vast majority of VCs are looking for exit plans that end in acquisition (or, very seldomly, IPO). Indie game development is really not an appropriate industry for VC funding, and generally falls short of the revenue and user expectations that interest VC firms. Indie game developers are pretty much limited to Angel Investment, and even then most indie games don't have the sort of financials that mesh well with your average Angel Investor (5 year financials are the SHORTEST I've ever submitted to an AI in a proposal).
Indie game development is apples and oranges to both regular startups and AAA studios. Game development, with perhaps the exception of top AAA development/publishing houses like EA and Blizzard-Activision, is a fairly low revenue, razor thin margin industry, where the majority of products stop bringing in any meaningful revenue within 90 days of their release. I don't know any developer whose motivation was to make a large profit that stayed in indie game development; it's far easier to take that skillset and get a cushy job somewhere else. The indie game developers I've met that are in it for the long haul are there because they want to create art.
Just look at the 'towns' abandonment (alpha game where the developers got bored and took people's money) or the various kickstarters that never get done. Show me a finished product and then Ill decide if Im going to buy. The threat of 'we will charge you more' doesn't work on me. You will charge me less because I won't buy your product. Besides eventually all games get marked down as they age anyway. I am patient and can wait before spending my money.
Honestly, I'm with you on this. I have no interest in being a patron for artists who may or may not create worthwhile art.
That said, as the video game industry has become increasingly commoditized, there are a fair number of people that are interested in donating towards the development of niche products (for all the perks and window dressing, crowdfunding is still pretty much a donation). I find crowdfunding to be a fascinating twist on a funding model that hasn't been in widespread use for a good century.
At the end of the day, you and I are not Kickstarter's target audience and there's nothing wrong with that. I certainly respect the fact that Kickstarter fits better for other people, though, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to play some of the niche games that would have never been released if not for crowdfunding.
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Topic: Wasteland 2! (Read 34638 times)