Is your main objection with Kickstarter? I agree that a lot of people are burned out on KS. But most of the same criticism can be used on any project. And yeah, not all the details are out yet, if the KS looks sketchy, I (and other reasonable people) won't back it. I'll use my best judgement when new details emerge.
The guy who is doing project has already had 2 successful Kickstarters that were produced and delivered so I think if funding is met this will be shipped. But all Kickstarters are "Backer Beware" so I still don't see that anyone is going to be hurt unless they have no idea what KS is or it's history.
Actually the ones running the Kickstarter could be hurt. They already invested in the Jaguar molds and if doesn't ship or live up to expectations it will ruin their reputation and probably take down their print magazine. I think they have a lot to loose and little to gain by trying to deceive people.
It is indeed important to be cautious. And also to criticize. It keeps people honest and informed. But some of the negativity in this thread (and I'm not calling you out here) has just been mean spirited. It's fun to bash something that we personally think is a dumb idea. And if the project had stated that this was going to be an "Xbox One or PS4 Killer" I would be right there with everyone ripping this to spreads. But as it stands it is an extremely niche product for an extremely niche (but devoted) crowd.
Hmmm... *scratches chin*... Actually, yeah, when I really think about it Kickstarter is a big reason I have a problem with this project. But my opinion shouldn't be discounted just because of that. I should remind you the thread title is "New cartridge based non-emulated "Retro" console
being kickstarted!" And that's been the title since May 9th, almost two months now. There are plenty of Kickstarter projects that get posted on GAF the day they go live and I skip over them without even clicking on the thread. The fact that this console intends to appear on Kickstarter is a huge part of this project and this thread.
And guess what? I'm probably the market for this thing. I'm a huge retro gamer, I own and collect retro consoles and games. Plus, now get ready for this, this is really going to knock you off your feet- I'm a subscriber to Indiebox and I think it's the best thing since sliced bread, I love that service!! But that shows you exactly why I don't think this will succeed. I love Indiebox but if they told me I had to buy an actual game console in order to enjoy the games they deliver, I'd be completely cold to the idea just as I am to the Retro VGS. Instead I get to enjoy indies in a physical release, I can play them on my crummy low-spec laptop with a generic USB controller, and that whole operation seems to work just fine for them, the indie developer and me. And guess what?
They didn't even need a Kickstarter to pull that off! Why? Because it's actually a pretty damn good idea that a lot of people can get on board with. They didn't need to invent a game console for their idea to work, every game card includes Windows/Linux/Mac versions, it's genius.
I think a lot of the perceived negativity isn't intentional, but it just comes off like that because a lot of people have difficulty responding to an absurd idea. Take five seconds out of your day and say this out loud: "I want to buy a game console from the 90's that uses cartridges and an Atari Jaguar shell." The idea is absurd, it's like Kickstarting a sailing ship to sail around the world just because
that's retro.
There's a lot of crap that gets on Kickstarter but actually the vast majority of the projects are pretty good ideas. For instance, a lot of them are musicians or game developers who have a good idea and the skills to do it but they can't get money from a record label or a publisher because their idea gets lost in the sea of good ideas. Those projects could conceivably
never need Kickstarter if they could just find the right investor to hear them out. The Retro VGS on the other hand, is an idea that would get you laughed out of a room full of investors. It's an idea that
could only exist on Kickstarter. It's an idea for a product that even Sky Mall wouldn't touch.
Also, "Backer Beware" is just an excuse to ignore the risk and the bad decisions projects can make. Everyone buying a plane ticket knows that there's a risk of crashing but that doesn't make it okay when it actually happens because "buyer beware." Any project that fails is going to create a shitstorm because it was funded under the assumption that they could competently pull it off, otherwise no one would have backed it. Warning others that a Kickstarter is risky and they might want to think twice before taking on that risk is a perfectly fair form of criticism. And, yes, he took a risk in buying the Jaguar molds, but as a businessman I'm sure he's included that cost into the Kickstarter goal. So again, the risk transfers to the backers. Speaking of which- it'll be worth it to ask whether any of the funds raised are going to reimburse the cost of acquiring the molds, because that will affect their budget as I'm sure the molds weren't free.
I am aware of his two prior Kickstarters, mostly because I backed his first. I backed for one year, 6 issues. Simple, right? Well, each issue was late enough to where you just didn't know if you had missed an issue or not and sure enough- I only got 4 out of the 6 issues delivered and I wasn't the only one like that either. I didn't enjoy that and didn't back the year two Kickstarter because of it.
I don't think I've been mean spirited, I've always explained myself and I don't knock anyone for liking this idea, I just don't think they'll find enough backers and I've always stated that.
There are multiple ways that this project can fail. I'll still be surprised if this can make its Kickstarter goal. I know there are some of you out there that are passionate about wanting to collect for a neo-90's game console. I just don't think it'll be enough to reach the Kickstarter goal. But that's just me and how I read the market.
