Wasteland 2 "pre-order" - $15 on Kickstarter

[rsrlawman]

Wasteland is the 1988 predecessor of the Fallout Series, and Brian Fargo who originally created both Wasteland and Fallout has announced Wasteland 2 via Kickstarter. In just 2 days, they've already surpassed the $900,000 goal to produce the game, so it will definitely get made. Obviously, there is no release date at this time and don't expect to get it any time soon.

For $15, you get a digital copy of the game. I expect it will be at least double that on Steam when it comes out, if not your typical $59.99. I think using Kickstarter to fund the production of a game and thereby bypassing the influence exerted by the mega-studios is the coolest concept. Now Wasteland 2 will be developed completely for the fans rather than being watered down for a mainstream CoD/Halo audience. Love it!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/wasteland-2

 

[warreni]

[quote name='vherub']I think some of you are missing the point of kickstarter. It's not a storefront, like amazon, where you see something and buy something or preorder a good. Or it is, but that's not the driver.
Kickstarter is a chance to support an idea, product, group that you like, it can be a chance to communicate with that person or group from a planning phase until post-production and it is a platform to create unique pay items or events that you wouldn't get from traditional online or storefront retail. It is a combination of patron/consumer/beta/investor/enthusiast.
Many of the kickstarted projects retail afterwards on a site, or even in stores. But some of them aren't about retail at all, they are about farming, or the environment, education or public policy.
Of the many I have supported, sometimes I was disappointed with the final product. Sometimes the final product was very delayed either due to unexpected factors or the person(s) being inexperienced in some of the phases of running a business. Sometimes I've given just a few dollars if I like an idea, product or concept. Sometimes I've supported a project, and completely forgotten about it until months later when it is delivered to me. Occasionally I have contacted the person directly with an idea or suggestion, given feedback or asked for a specific request for my own reward.
It's ok to think of kickstarter as just a pre-order site, just as someone might think of steam as merely a content delivery system. But there is a greater depth there to access.[/QUOTE]

Also very true, although I suspect most people who contribute to projects do so at a level to gain a digital or physical reward, so it's as much about the product as the process for most people.

Speaking for myself, I wouldn't mind contributing at the $1 level to a lot of things, but I'm not convinced that my $1 is really going to help someone meet a goal.

 

[Mooby]

If you have reservations about games using Kickstarter... don't contribute to them. Pretty simple. I'm glad the option is there for people who are interested.

 

[blitztwn36]

[quote name='Mooby']If you have reservations about games using Kickstarter... don't contribute to them. Pretty simple. I'm glad the option is there for people who are interested.[/QUOTE]

And alas - why Kickstarter symbolizes the heart of capitalism, and I love it. Kickstarter is a way for somebody to test their product/idea to see if there's really a market out there for it.

"Hey - anybody out there have any interest in *insert next big boom/bust*, if so, throw me some cash and I'll go do it!"

Kickstarter actually helps to take some of the guess work out of new products being successful, and actually lessen market risk. If you don't get sufficient funding (provided you actually had decent exposure to at least inform people it was out there), it was *probably* bound to flop. On the other hand, if you're successfully funded, you get make your product, and the backer should be happy (provided you actually make/produce what you promised).

All-in-all, if you're donating money to a project, you're taking a gamble that (1) the product actually is ultimately made, and (2) you get what was originally promised. However, the point of taking that risk is, in the end, you get something you otherwise probably wouldn't have gotten in the first place.

The people that rage or have bad things to say about Kickstarter shouldn't matter one bit - because everybody gets to vote with their all-mighty dollar.

*Steps off of Kickstarter soapbox*