So why is kickstarting games a thing?

[SvennoJ]

It's a thing because people are getting tired of playing the same thing over and over.

Sure there are indie titles filling the niches but it's not scratching the itch enough. An adventure game or space sim or traditional rpg made by the heroes from yesterday sounds very appealing. Giving someone creative freedom feels good. And ahem I still owe these guys some money for playing their games for 'free' back in my younger days.

Supporting a well known developer with a big sum of cash also feels like you'll be getting a better deal in the end. Otherwise you'll end up with a low budget niche game again, which there are plenty of already.