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Not trying to be mean here but don't you think some of these backers might have serious issues. The promise of an infinite alternate reality in space that will

Not trying to be mean here but don't you think some of these backers might have serious issues. The promise of an infinite alternate reality in space that will be everything you want it to be is alluring, especially to people who aren't having the greatest run in the real world. I think this is predatory and terrible. I love video games, I love the escapism, I love nerd culture. People willing to pay $1000 for a virtual spaceship are people I care about, and they deserve better.

fluffything 7y ago
Do they? People investing money through crowdfunding are just that, investors. If you invest 50$ and get 50 hours of game play, then the investment was good, independently of whether the game was released or not. If you invest 20.000$ and no game is ever released, and you don't get a % of the sales, then it was probably a bad investment. Being a bad investor is not an illness. Just because we don't die easily anymore does not mean that our environment isn't hostile, that natural selection does not exist. Some people want to have fulfilling lives that make the world a better place and become doctors, and nurses, and teachers, and cops, and firefighters, ... and work long hours, with little holiday, for little pay. Others want to enjoy their every moment on earth, learn to exploit their environment for profit, and this is how it looks like nowadays. There are always people that are smarter than you, and there are always people that aren't. Crowdfunding is great because it gives you access to thousands of non-professional investors that have too much money and don't know what they are doing. People who want a game go and buy a game, but these people made an investment. If that's bad, it is IMO their own fault.
- rnernento 7y ago
  All I would say to this is that there are plenty of very successful companies that I do not consider predatory. A $10 ticket to Avengers:Endgame is a downright bargain, so is $15 a month for HBO. I give $60+ dollars on the regular to companies like Rockstar and From Software with a huge smile on my face and then line up to do it again. It is very possible to be successful and not rely on predatory practices. I think part of the problem is that as a society it is our responsibility collectively to punish the true predators. We seem to be getting worse and worse at this and the predators seem to be getting hungrier and hungrier...
- raesene9 7y ago
  I wouldn't say crowdfunding is in any way a financial investment. Investment implies monetary return. so if the thing you're investing in is financially successful, you actually make more money than you put in. that doesn't describe kickstarter/indigogo style crowdfunding. A campaign that says "give us x money and we will give you y reward with an intended time scale of z" (which is most kickstarters) is clearly (IMO) a sale. You are a customer, paying money for a product. There are crowd-funded investment platforms, which have different, more stringent, requirements, but Kickstarter is not one of them.
bacon_waffle 7y ago
You've described someone in my family exactly. I agree that it's predatory and terrible; maybe it wasn't intended to be, but perpetuating the situation doesn't seem like the right approach.

fluffything 7y ago

Do they? People investing money through crowdfunding are just that, investors. If you invest 50$ and get 50 hours of game play, then the investment was good, independently of whether the game was released or not. If you invest 20.000$ and no game is ever released, and you don't get a % of the sales, then it was probably a bad investment. Being a bad investor is not an illness. Just because we don't die easily anymore does not mean that our environment isn't hostile, that natural selection does not exist. Some people want to have fulfilling lives that make the world a better place and become doctors, and nurses, and teachers, and cops, and firefighters, ... and work long hours, with little holiday, for little pay. Others want to enjoy their every moment on earth, learn to exploit their environment for profit, and this is how it looks like nowadays. There are always people that are smarter than you, and there are always people that aren't. Crowdfunding is great because it gives you access to thousands of non-professional investors that have too much money and don't know what they are doing. People who want a game go and buy a game, but these people made an investment. If that's bad, it is IMO their own fault.

rnernento 7y ago
All I would say to this is that there are plenty of very successful companies that I do not consider predatory. A $10 ticket to Avengers:Endgame is a downright bargain, so is $15 a month for HBO. I give $60+ dollars on the regular to companies like Rockstar and From Software with a huge smile on my face and then line up to do it again. It is very possible to be successful and not rely on predatory practices. I think part of the problem is that as a society it is our responsibility collectively to punish the true predators. We seem to be getting worse and worse at this and the predators seem to be getting hungrier and hungrier...
raesene9 7y ago
I wouldn't say crowdfunding is in any way a financial investment. Investment implies monetary return. so if the thing you're investing in is financially successful, you actually make more money than you put in. that doesn't describe kickstarter/indigogo style crowdfunding. A campaign that says "give us x money and we will give you y reward with an intended time scale of z" (which is most kickstarters) is clearly (IMO) a sale. You are a customer, paying money for a product. There are crowd-funded investment platforms, which have different, more stringent, requirements, but Kickstarter is not one of them.

bacon_waffle 7y ago

You've described someone in my family exactly. I agree that it's predatory and terrible; maybe it wasn't intended to be, but perpetuating the situation doesn't seem like the right approach.