Maybe I'm just yelling at clouds here, but I always thought that a business' job was to provide a product that the consumer base wanted, and that the consumer's "job" was to purchase completed products tha fulfill a need or desire. Company makes a car public wants, public buys it. Developer makes game people want to play, people pay for said game. Simple enough, I figured.

So with that in mind, why is it that so many developers are now requiring the public to pay for a game before the game's development has even begun? It seems like every other day sees yet another developer pitching a new game project on Kickstarter. Said developer puts what I presume is even less energy into pitching a game to the public than it would to a publisher, and if their game gets funded they get to own 100% of the rights at the end of the day. Great deal for the developer, but why exactly are the consumers now having to not only hold up their end of the deal, but also do what the developer/publishers are supposed to do (without any of the actual rights that go along with said funding)?

While the fact that people are stupid enough to buy into this system is one thing, I'm also bothered by how this demonstrates that the current videogame industry can't be doing its job particularly well. Presumably, each kickstarter goal is enough for the game to break even. Also presumably, there's enough demand for every Kickstarted game for it to break even. And, presumably, there are additional people who will buy the title after release, so the game should be profitable. So...why aren't publishers funding thes things instead? Why is there such a demonstrative untapped market here?

People using kickstarter to make games is hilarious. I agree with you.

I wouldn't call people stupid for supporting kickstarter. Depending on the project and the developer who requests the support I would consider donating.

There is a positive aspect about it and that is allowing developers to take the control of the development process and getting rid of the companies that sometimes demand and dismiss some ideas from developers in exchange of financing said project. If a game is deemed too risky, or contains some aspect to it which the financing company believes won't let the game sell, they can demand that part out, they can take control of the creative process and sometimes impose themselves over what the developers want.

But with kickstarter the developers can go to the fans and tell them: "Hey, I want to make this game, it will have this and this, do you want to help me get it out?" It is a completely optional thing for consumers and I don't see how this does any harm if carried out properly. The gamers themselves can even help in the creative process.

But of course, not everyone can get away with starting a kickstarter. It will depend of the developers' reputation and how many loyal fans it has.

There is only one thing I am kind of on the fence about and that is that there is always a risk that the game won't end up being what was promised and that the people who pays may end up having a specific idea of what they want the game to become which in the end may not be fulfilled. That is why it is very important to pick what developers we want to support and be reasonable with the amount of money one is willing to give up while considering the possibility of disappointment.

Also, developers may underestimate the costs of development. A developer who does a kickstarter and then comes again with another one for the same project because the money wasn't enough may create distrust from the people who supported them to begin with.

you can't really get funding to make isometric RPG's, or adventure games. Or it's not particularly easy and kickstarters just a funding route they chose.

I don't fund these things, but it'll be interesting to see how many of these fall through. I hope Dreamfall: Chapters and Project Eternity don't for instance and will buy them when they finish them.

I think Kickstarter is a great way to satisfy niches. Or start unorthodox projects.

If there is something I really want but noone gives it to me I would back a project. Like Shen Mue 3. Or Secret of Mana 4 SNES style for Consoles. Or VR games when the time comes. Haven't backed anything yet but I would if its exactly what I want made by the right people.

I have argued with people in the past that kickstarter should be just that, a KICK STARTER for a new developer (or new company for other stuff they have on there) by pitching their idea at people (like a developer would a publisher). If people see value in that idea then they can choose to support that company to give them the opportunity to make something of themselves (i.e. become a decent indie developer or more).

Anything else should be banned.

why? 

People have the right to support anything they want to. And in theory you get a better deal if the game actually comes out as a lot of those games are cheaper than retail. The whole point of kickstarter is devs and their reputation and people deciding if they want the game or not, and if they think these devs with their reputation can deliver. There's nothing ethically wrong here, everything's upfront.

And again I don't share that philososphy and want my product when I put my money up for it. But I'll defend their right forever.

Maybe Nintendo should consider looking into kickstarter developers so they get some projects*g*


Kickstarter Projects are a great thing.
A few months ago i read a developer with a well known franchise couldn't get a publisher interested in financing this game cause their marketing people said "We don't know how to advertise it" - Especially in these days if you aren't creating a brainless FPS you have it pretty hard to get contracts and money from publishers.

Kickstarter is great for niche and W-RPGs that aren't made for casuals like Skyrim and so on.
Games like "Torment: Tides of Numenera" didn't even get a chance from publishers...
"RPG Fans" here are like "OMG MASS EFFECT IS SOO COOL and i know soo much about RPGs - Bioware is king 1337" - Yeah guess what?That kickstarter Project/franchise is ten times better and it is a real RPG.
Even in Franchises like Mass Effect that already startet out as a Gears of War with Choices you can see which direction they had to go > More Action and more Casual.

Kickstarter Projects are a great way to see if enough people are interested in such games.
You always hear "Oh man there are soooo many fans and we would love to get a sequel"...This of course is convincing for a publisher to put millions into a project cause soooo many people are interested int that game...At the end 5 people buy that and the developers don't have any jobs.
Port this here,translate that and omg so many fans are so desperate for the games!!!Yeah exactly
With the kickstarter way you can see the interest and of course you can finance projects that would have never ever been allowed by your boss.
Peter Molyneux is doing GODUS - Im pretty sure he asked Microsoft if they want to help him before he left the building.They probably forced him rather to advertise Kinect and milk Fable some more and said to him "don't be silly - No one wants a game like that...People want Kinect Fable..Trust us"

Personally im pretty interested in a lot of those J-RPG/SNES Style Projects that remember me of the good old Secret of Mana times.
And a lot of them get funded and behind them are developers who worked on those old franchises that aren't cool enough for those Online Soldiers this Gen created.

The stupid people aren't those who put money and hope into those projects.
Those people finance with THEIR OWN money games they want to play.

The stupid people are those who buy 25 Million pieces of Copy+paste every year while a tons of highquality games struggle to sell enough to make actual money equal to the effort they did put in.
You ask whats wrong with the gaming industry?Exactly this and kickstarter is a good way for people who want actual really good games to help and get them cause publishers and the big part of the "gaming" Community doesn't care anymore and is happy with buying games that could and SHOULD be 10$ DLC.
Buy 20 Million Units of Dark Souls,NiNoKuni,Journey and stuff...come on...or aren't those cool enough?Oh there comes the "new" CoD with NO INNOVATIONS!Here have my 100$ for the premium service where people can get old maps!!!yeah!
Oh you like RPGs?Well you will like them more with Guns and space marines!
This and only this is wrong with the industry.

Things cost money to make. And it's hard to convince investors that they will get their money back. The genius of Kickstarter is that the investors are the people buying the products. When you contribute to a kickstarter you are essentially preordering a product. The make then has the capital to make said product and send it to you while aslo selling the product at retail. The investor get's their investment back in the form of the product they wanted and the maker can go on to make profit on a product that would never have found a traditional investor.

Publishers don't want to make a little money on a little game. They want to make a ton of money off a giant game. That's why Activision pumps out COD games every year, but doesn't invest in indie style games that will at best sell a few hundred thousands copies. If it's a really good indie style game.

Games traditionally are made by developers who sell their work to a publisher who pays for a popular style game to be made so they can make a ton of money, pay the developer some of it and complain that used sales are killing them. Sorry I went off topic there for a moment. Some guy in his garage can make a game by himself, but it's rare for that game to go all Minecraft. Usually they are ignored it's less a business and more of a hobby. Kickstarter gives hobbyist game makers the opportunity to make their hobby into their dream job while at the same time getting the games that niche gamers want but aren't made anymore.

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.