So why is kickstarting games a thing?

[HoloDust]

So far, most successful Kickstarters (with few exceptions) were either classic Adventure games or cRPGs - all pitched by industry veterans that are considered one of the best in the industry. Their reason for going Kickstarter route is publisher's lack of interest in those genres or publishers wanting too much control (thus interfering with quality of game).

Specially in the case of inXile (Wasteland 2, Torment: Tides of Numenera) and Obsidian (Project Eternity), which are filled with people from late Black Isle, arguably the most prominent cRPG devs beside Bioware (both were under Interplay, whose founder is also founder of inXile), Kickstarter proved to be great way to revitalize genre, without having to worry for mass market appeal...and by the amount of money they managed to get, I'd say there's more than enough interest for them to go that way in the future too.

BTW, cRPG fans, Torment is near 3mils, if they reach 3.5mils Chris is joining them...:D