Star Citizen Studio Reconsiders Kickstarter

[Andy Chalk]

Star Citizen Studio Reconsiders Kickstarter

Roberts Space Industries wants to know if fans would like to see Star Citizen take a shot at Kickstarter.

Roberts Space Industries is crowdfunding its new Star Citizen [http://www.robertsspaceindustries.com/star-citizen/] project, but rather than run it through Kickstarter it's raising the money all on its own. The studio explained in the FAQ that by going it alone, it can better connect the "crowd" with the creators.

"By building a crowd funding component directly into our site we can insure everyone who wants to back the game can - we provide multiple payment options to make sure that wherever in the world you are there is an option that can work for you. It means you just have one destination to support the project, read updates, and most importantly participate with other members of the community!" it says. "Kickstarter, as great as it is, can't deliver this experience, which is why we've decided to go it alone."

Flying solo has led to some issues, as the rush to throw money at the new game from the guy who did Wing Commander overwhelmed the RSI servers, but that all appears to be smoothed out now. Even so, it appears that minds might be changing, as a message posted last night on the Roberts Space Industries Facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/RobertsSpaceIndustries] asked fans what they thought of the idea. "The opinion of all of you as a community is paramount to us and we are listening," it says.

So far, over 900 people have expressed their desire to see Star Citizen on Kickstarter by "liking" the post, a relatively small amount compared to the 9300-plus who have already pledged to support the game. Even so, I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen; Obsidian's Project Eternity recently blew past the Double Fine Adventure to become the most successful [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120139-Project-Eternity-Sets-Kickstarter-Record-as-Most-Funded-Videogame] videogame Kickstarter ever, so that well obviously hasn't run dry yet.


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[Slycne]

A somewhat similar system actually worked quite well for Mechwarrior Online. One of the developers was commenting earlier that their Founder's Program actually raised more money than Project Eternity.

 

[Johnson McGee]

This is tempting, but I'm still chewing through the first of the three X3 games I bought off Steam some time ago. On the other hand maybe I'll have finally scrounged enough free time together by 2014 to actually be ready for a new game.

Woe is adulthood.

 

[GoaThief]

I'd like some more information on the various packages offered, eg; what do the different ships do exactly?

Everything still seems a bit sketchy so I'm holding off backing for now despite the overall promise of the game sounding good. The devil will be in the details.

 

[TeletubbiesGolfGun]

I'd like some more information on the various packages offered, eg; what do the different ships do exactly?

Everything still seems a bit sketchy so I'm holding off backing for now despite the overall promise of the game sounding good. The devil will be in the details.

this is also my only problem so far, i want more details on it, it seems it could make or break the game depending on all that.

if they put more stuff up, i'll check it out and possibly do it, otherwise for now i have like 8 kickstarters i've pledged on, i need to slow down a bit.

 

[Frost27]

Anything they tell you 2 years from release, won't matter and won't still be relevant when it finally gets released, tested, balanced, etc.

A lot of folks are urging them to approach penny arcade as well for added publicity, though that is a bit pointless since I'm sure they already know about it and will talk about it if so inclined..

I'm donating the $125 for a fighter next paycheck and since they are currently earning about $5,000 an hour on their own funding site, they will likely have no trouble reaching their goal.

 

[Scars Unseen]

Well they're also planning a Reddit AMA(Ask Me Anything), so we'll almost certainly get some answers to some of the questions people have been having by then.

 

[Baresark]

I have to say, I was so wrapped up in fervor for another game from Roberts, that I bought into it and not at a cheap price. I wanted it to happen so bad, that I didn't stop to think. And now that I have bought in, they have my money and the security net that is offered by whether or not their goal is met does not exist. So, they have it and I don't know if it will even be completely funded, nor how $2Mil could possibly fund a project like this. I would love for them to hit up a kickstarter if it means I'm more likely to get the game I already paid out of pocket for.

My own fault, but still. Damn fervor for Chris Roberts games! CURSES!

 

[IrradiatedFish]

nor how $2Mil could possibly fund a project like this.

To put your concerns at rest regarding this, it's been stated that they already have private investors lined up to provide additional funding. The $2M goal is to not only generate funding of course, but to prove that there is a demand for the game so that the investors will feel comfortable getting on board and thus will contribute several million more to the project. So yeah, $2M is certianly not the total budget of the game.

This is the first thing I've ever made a pledge to as a financially poor student, but the reason I pledged wasn't so much for the fact that I wanted them to have my money, but because I wanted to help show that there are people like me dying for an awesome space game that this has the potential to be!

 

[Frost27]

nor how $2Mil could possibly fund a project like this.

To put your concerns at rest regarding this, it's been stated that they already have private investors lined up to provide additional funding. The $2M goal is to not only generate funding of course, but to prove that there is a demand for the game so that the investors will feel comfortable getting on board and thus will contribute several million more to the project. So yeah, $2M is certianly not the total budget of the game.

This is the first thing I've ever made a pledge to as a financially poor student, but the reason I pledged wasn't so much for the fact that I wanted them to have my money, but because I wanted to help show that there are people like me dying for an awesome space game that this has the potential to be!

The $2mil was the goal for the crowd funded portion. The total projected budget as I understand it, is $6 million, the rest of which is to be covered by private investment. If they earn more than the 2 million crowd fund goal, the more the better. Less to have to pay back to investors, more budget for the game.

Edit: also, considering they are at $873,000 at the time of this post after only 6 days out of the planned 30, it doesn't look like meeting the goal is too broad of a goal.

 

[Monsterfurby]

Project Eternity gathered about 127% of their minimum amount in the first three days (that's way over 40% of the final amount!) - whereas Star Citizen only got 35% of the minimum amount in the same time.

As much as I want this to succeed (and I do, I'd give an arm for this to reach the full-featured 5mil), I believe that this might prove there is only a limited pool of capital people are willing to put into crowdfunding at the same time.

 

[saleem]

I have no doubt that they will hit the 2mil mark, but despite the fact that I really want this game to happen, I am not going to make any pledge for its crowd sourcing campaign. The reason for this is that I doubt I'll even be able to play the finished product due to its crazy system requirements.

I really do wish that Cris Roberts would make his games more accessible in terms of system requirements but I do wish him the best nonetheless.