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Penny Arcade Kickstarter
- Thread starter LiK
- Start date
HERP DERP (This is Tycho)
http://penny-arcade.com/2012/06/29 - Promotes two Kickstarters
http://penny-arcade.com/2012/06/04 - Promotes a Kickstarter
http://penny-arcade.com/2012/05/25 - "I do have a Kickstarter problem"
Penny Arcade's Actual Statement on Kickstarter said:
http://penny-arcade.com/2012/05/11 - Promotes a Kickstarter
http://penny-arcade.com/2012/05/08 - "I was sort of bummed when the Kickstarter succeeded because I loved going back for updates and seeing what people were building."
http://penny-arcade.com/2012/05/04 - "Despite not wanting to be the Kickfather, it seems like it keeps happening. Not every time I want it to, of course: it’s not actually something I have control over."
http://penny-arcade.com/2012/05/02 - "Still on my Kickstarter thing, and there’s a couple really, really successful ones we need to take a look at: Zombicide and Ogre: Designer’s Edition."
http://penny-arcade.com/2012/04/25 - Promotes a Kickstarter
http://penny-arcade.com/2012/04/13 - Promotes a Kickstarter
PA Report Feature on a Kickstarter
Do I need to go further? Sit down and eat your crow.
The ads don't really bother me, but I hate subscriber crap, paypalls and etc. I like their idea about a totally add free, no nagging for me to subscribe website. I'll pitch in a buck.
The lower end rewards are a bit lame considering. The tweet ones are funny but should have had something actually decent with them as well.
The lower end rewards are a bit lame considering. The tweet ones are funny but should have had something actually decent with them as well.
hey_it's_that_dog
benevolent sexism
A lot of posts in here are making it sound like if one is a fan of Penny Arcade then one simply has no free will to decide not to contribute to this KS. That might be even slightly reasonable if they were threatening that PA would change should they not meet their funding goal, but they aren't. They say outright that nothing will change if this KS fails.
Are fans of anything being exploited when they pay money to support said thing?
Are fans of anything being exploited when they pay money to support said thing?
GamerVoice
Banned
Yeah. See: Giantbomb.
Zuh? They already have a bunch of money, they don't need any of this. It has to be a statement on Kickstarter.
Honestly, it's their comic strip come to life
I guess technically the kickstarter on the strip isn't dishonest or misleading either.
Even the rewards are similar. Motherfucker.
This is insane and pointless.
notworksafe
Member
Oh whoops! Well there you go. That makes me feel much better about this Kickstarter.
Pie and Beans
Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
what. the. fuck.
I forgot about CP. The fact that they run a charity makes this cash grab all the more pathetic, if they are for real, that is. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that is a big joke.
Shining Sunshine
Banned
Wait, this is a joke, right?
Next thing you know, Kobe Bryant starts a kickstarter.
Next thing you know, Kobe Bryant starts a kickstarter.
Mister Negative
Member
On another note, the video was pretty funny.
notworksafe
Member
Well they have a decent amount of people working there who will need salaries, health insurance, etc plus site bandwidth and other costs. It's not that surprising of an amount.
I don't plan to contribute, but I also don't mind ads. That's the trade off for free content.
Gentleman Jack
Member
The $2000 tier would be less of a ripoff if it were some kind of all-access pass to PAX instead of a regular pass. On the other hand, it already looks like someone has paid for not having to deal with two (or more) shows that sell out in minutes of tickets going on sale for the next five years.
They are, they just want to be richer without the contractual attachments to their marketing partners I guess.
The thing is, they will reach their goal. They know they will because they have a rabid fanbase who will throw them money when asked, even if they get nothing in return. I think they are kind of exploiting both that fanbase, and a site that has a whole different purpose than this i.e. get other projects that really really can't get done without support. Maybe exploiting is the wrong word as this is optional, but certainly unneeded in the first place.
I don't know, this rubs me the wrong way. There's no reason they need to do this. I'm sure there are other ways of running ad-free if they really wanted. Heck, their massive conventions and side projects should already allow them to do that, I think. I think they shouldn't even be using kickstarter for this, but I'm also sure those folks are already counting the money and don't mind at all either.
Meh.
cheaper than eBay I guess since you get all lower tier rewards.
LumpOfCole
Member
I'd rather donate to Child's Play and still have ads on Penny-Arcade.
Ironically, it does cross my mind that this would be excellent for a small indie dev to exploit for... advertising.
hey_it's_that_dog
benevolent sexism
You'll have to elaborate. If the example is simply GiantBomb doing the same thing that I am defending here, then I'm not going to see it as an argument against my position.
GamerVoice
Banned
Why do they need to employ people to make webcomics.
It can't be that hard to draw three pictures a week
notsureifserious.jpeg
They run PAX twice a year and Childs Play (the charity), plus the Merchandising warehouse...
hey_it's_that_dog
benevolent sexism
Now you're questioning the way they want to build and structure their business? You'd have a point if they were asking for money they couldn't get otherwise. Obviously, don't run a business you can't sustain. But they can, and they have, and now they want to explore a different funding model. If you find it an indecent proposal, then all you have to do is not contribute and nothing changes.
two of those things make lots of money
Meatvillain
Banned
This is really weird. Some of those pledges feel like they're taking the piss, which I guess speaks to the fact that they're aware the whole thing is just kind of crazy.. But sure, why not experiment with the idea, it doesn't particularly bother me one way or the other.
notworksafe
Member
They do a bit more than that now. They run a store with a decent sized warehouse of items, do book deals, run a charity, run multiple conventions, plus license out to stuff like card games and video games plus other stuff I'm probably forgetting.
Also this.
Zuh? They already have a bunch of money, they don't need any of this. It has to be a statement on Kickstarter.
Honestly, it's their comic strip come to life
I guess technically the kickstarter on the strip isn't dishonest or misleading either.
Should be in the OP, this is what they're doing. A dumb joke ("Kickstart my bank account! lol") snowballed, and they convinced themselves it would be a worthwhile experiment. Start writing some Kickstarter jokes, ask questions like "what is a retweet worth?" and "wouldn't it be great to just be paid in a lump sum every year?" and now that it's live, they kind of look like scumbags who want to fire their ad people and not honestly reward their backers to me.
Again, Giant Bomb - $50 a year, no ads + a ton of other stuff. And not just the banner ad at the top of the screen either. No experiments about the value of a fan's money, just a business proposition.
2 Slice Toaster
Member
Indeed they do, the ads are the pillar the rest of the stuff were funded on (it was Khoo's first business model he implemented). PAX and Childs Play may only pay for themselves in the long run, the ads are all profit.
Getting rid of that funding must be daunting but I think they want the site to be ad free.
notworksafe
Member
Diprosalic
Banned
is this really that hard to get? they ask the fans if they want to pay for the site and have it ad free. if not its okay. if they want thats great.
kickstarter has gone from supporting small teams working on interesting projects to paying everyone's salaries at mid sized organizations
welp, think it's run its course
NervousXtian
Thought Emoji Movie was good. Take that as you will.
You seem to have intimate details about Mike and Gabe's personal finances.. care to share?
..or do you think they are rollin' in the cashola just because?
250k to replace ad revenue sounds reasonable to me, and spread over quite a few employees and both are married with kids.. that ain't getting rich money.
They don't make money off Child's Play. PAX might make them money, who knows.. doubtful though it's getting them rich.. it's a pretty huge undertaking and a huge time sink.
I don't read PA all that much anymore, but I've been a reader for years. I've never really seen them through all my years to be the types to completely take advantage of their fans.
Here's your future consumer, content creators. Good luck with that!
diffusionx
Gold Member
It reminds me of the Republique Kickstarter - "we can get funding for our game, we just don't want to sign over the IP."
Kickstarter has millions of dollars flowing through it. Of course it's going to be exploited outside of its original purpose. I am sure the scammers are right around the corner.
Kickstarter has millions of dollars flowing through it. Of course it's going to be exploited outside of its original purpose. I am sure the scammers are right around the corner.
If I do nothing, nothing changes.
If I do something, something changes.
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Agreed. I do find it a little odd and I'm not interested in donating anything but they made it clear why they are doing this. I don't have a problem with it.
Seraphinianus
Banned
I think people misunderstand the concept of kickstarter. Hint: it's not "here's our idea, fund it or we'll kill your whole family"
Not every idea or project is going to follow the "dying/starving dev team desperately wanting to make a legitimate sequel to a PC game that was popular 10 years ago" narrative.
They need money to run the site. Ad revenue is an important source but limits them creatively and might annoy some people. They want to kick ads without going broke themselves. Thus, kickstarter: the crowd funding site that doesn't threaten to kill your whole family if you don't want to pay. And with this one, you either benefit from other people's contributions or the kickstarter fails and nothing changes.
how is that bad/evil
Not every idea or project is going to follow the "dying/starving dev team desperately wanting to make a legitimate sequel to a PC game that was popular 10 years ago" narrative.
They need money to run the site. Ad revenue is an important source but limits them creatively and might annoy some people. They want to kick ads without going broke themselves. Thus, kickstarter: the crowd funding site that doesn't threaten to kill your whole family if you don't want to pay. And with this one, you either benefit from other people's contributions or the kickstarter fails and nothing changes.
how is that bad/evil