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[Hex]

Me personally? It felt kind of underhanded and sneaky. They bring the poor guy out on stage in front of all those people and let him beg for Kickstarter funds to save his game. Then the next day they proclaim that they're helping fund the game after all.

It would have been much more honest to come right out and say they want to use Kickstarter to gauge interest in a Shenmue sequel. I think people would have been more receptive to that.

Yes, many say that.
All of the sudden so many people are interested in the budget side of gaming, all of the sudden so many people suddenly care where the money for a game is coming from.
Those of us who funded, or at least me know exactly where my money is going.
I bought a digital copy of a game for a great deal less than what retail would hit on it.
No mystery at all.

 

[Three]

I want to know the budget? When did I say that?

I want to know who is funding said budget.

OK, it's Sony. What would that tell you about the game? realistically, nothing.

 

[PsihoPerihelion]

I don't even care about the game and find no problem on not knowing the budget. If Sony is putting money into it, who cares how much if the KS campaign is just there to test waters? We never get the budgets of many games anyway.

 

[Darryl M R]

Quick Discussion Please

Polygon has one of the best looking website for game journalism, but when did it be considered poorly written and click bait infested (based on comments and responses in multiple gaf thread). I do not read there but I have it on my Feedly because I feel like I should read from there (this was 1 year ago).

 

[Cave Johnson]

This article is the very definition of concern trolling. Ben emphasizes on the start that kickstarters like Bloodstained are logically not spending just the kickstarter's money and yet he comes full circle and tries to get hone in on the 2 million "budget" is what Shenmue 3 needs irrelevantly comparing them to the budget of the past.

While Polygon occasionally does good well researched articles, this comes off as something deliberate , far from a post on NeoGAF or other message boards, Ben's poisonous rambling is making headway to over exaggerate problems for the sake of. It's pathetic. The quality of Polygon is being diminished with idiots like him.

 

[Vena]

OK, it's Sony. What would that tell you about the game? realistically, nothing.

Is it though? If it is, why don't they just say that upfront to begin with? I'm of half a mind in thinking that Sony supplied just enough money for their exclusivity (and no, I don't care about that, I will be playing this on PC) and are providing some muscle to the development.

This goes back to the whole idea of kickstarting a project like this at all, where a funding source existed before anything was even said and done, and they weren't upfront about it.

 

[Littlefang]

And if the people are willing to give that money without having these details, you shouldn't be concerned with what those people are doing with their money.

The bolded only actually really matters when it's your money you're talking about. If a bunch of people want to give their money to this company without having these details then it doesn't really matter if they're giving that information or not. It's none of your business.

Again, if you have a problem with them not giving these details don't give them money and you don't have to worry about it. But right now you're literally arguing on behalf a bunch of people who don't care if they have these details or not. So what you're saying is kind of a moot point.

See but that's just the thing. It is my business. They are asking me for money, I want to know what they will do with that money. Whether I decide to fund it or not is irrelevant. They are still asking me to spend my money on them.

Who cares.
You know where the money is going, it is going into the game. It is going into marketing.
Since when did people become so interested in a game's budget to such a degree?

I care because they are asking me to spend my money on helping them develop their game. I care just as equally when someone wants me to donate to their charity on the street.

 

[Pathfinder]

This article probably would not exist, nor #concern, if it was on all platforms.

I think you're wrong about that.

This is not about platforms, especially since its not exclusive to PS4 but will be on PC as well.

 

[ZettaiSeigi]

Why is it wrong to be concerned about what is clearly becoming a change in the industry? I think this kickstarter is shady and therefore I am calling it out on being shady. I think it is a problematic approach to throw money at a

You want to finish that one.

But anyway, what is this "clearly becoming a change in the industry" you speak of? I only see dead franchises and very niche games being given a chance at getting made through crowdsourcing (and I think it's great). It works because only those who want them bother to donate for them and those who do are more than aware of the risks involved. Nobody is pointing a gun at your head in any of those initiatives.

 

[Jabba]

It's astonishing, so many people are THAT angry a game most people, supposedly didn't care about, is getting made.

 

[Spyder_Monkey]

No it's not Polygon, shut up.

 

[Coxswain]

As has already been said by many people, this isn't Shenmue 1.
Witcher 3 had a development budget of 32 million dollars. That game is larger in scope than Shenmue is. Now while you can say wages in Poland are less than those in Japan, Witcher 3 most likely had a larger development team than Shenmue 3 will.
Developing Shenmue 3 on a budget of 20~30 million dollars is not outside the realm of possibility. A large part of many games' budgets is marketing.

For the record, my personal stake in this is the opposite of a lot of people's: I'm interested in a lean, efficiently-developed Shenmue with a modest budget. The ideal result from this, for me, is something where the budget is, say, "$10 million, plus Kickstarter funds", and I'd like to see a game with early-2000's era art assets (made much more cheaply in 2015 with modern techniques and production software) - basically something that looks like the preview from the pitch video. I'd like Shenmue 3 to be an example that proves that there's still a viable market for games of this scope that have modest budgets (ie: dated assets) and achieve modest sales.

I'm much less interested in it if they AAA it up and give it $40-50m, or tell Suzuki to just keep developing until it's done because it's a dream project, or whatever. And even though I don't think it's very likely that they'll go nuts with it in that way, I'd very much value the transparency if they gave a ballpark estimate of the funding they're aiming for, and how they plan to decide the game's scope and fidelity.

In any case, don't fund the kickstarter if you are not confident.
I don't see the big deal. Nobody is forcing any body to spend money on it.

I'm just going to quote my own post from upthread on this one, for why I don't think "If you care about how this is going to work, just ignore the project" is a very reasonable response:

Nothing in this industry happens in a vacuum - unless you're going to sit here and tell me with a straight face that you think a Shenmue 3 Kickstarter for a Sony-published Shenmue 3 would have happened if not for the influence of the many, many video game Kickstarters that have come before it - and everything from the exact nature and proportion of crowdfunded-to-publisher-funded money, to the overall scope and fidelity of the resulting game, to the audience reception, to the level of transparency offered from Ys Net, Sony, and any other outside investment, is going to have a similar influence on projects that come later, whether I back Shenmue 3 or not, and whether I even play Shenmue or not. To think otherwise is to lack a fundamental understanding of what's even going on here.

 

[Ghost Slayer]

I think you're wrong about that.

This is not about platforms, especially since its not exclusive to PS4 but will be on PC as well.

Maybe because it's not on Xbone

 

[Skyzard]

It's astonishing, so many people are THAT angry a game most people, supposedly didn't care about, is getting made.

Some of us want it made really well. I think it should be okay... hope they get more if they need it.

 

[DeepEnigma]

I think you're wrong about that.

This is not about platforms, especially since its not exclusive to PS4 but will be on PC as well.

I don't, because people have posted the plethora of big corporate funded Kickstarter games that are high profile, multi-platform, and no Kuchera fluff piece or as much outrage until now.

 

[ZettaiSeigi]

See but that's just the thing. It is my business. They are asking me for money, I want to know what they will do with that money. Whether I decide to fund it or not is irrelevant. They are still asking me to spend my money on them.

Did you hear your name singled out? You are clearly not the target of the Kickstarter campaign in question so they are not asking you for your money. It is a choice, not a mandate.

 

[...Scatter...]

I wont lie, I want to know the budget. One reason only: I want to know the scope they're aiming for.

I don't give a rats ass who funds it (hopefully Sony is opening the checkbook), I just want to know it will get proper funding to be a proper AAA Shenmue. I don't want to think I'm going to be getting steak and end up with a house salad.

 

[DidntKnowJack]

See but that's just the thing. It is my business. They are asking me for money, I want to know what they will do with that money. Whether I decide to fund it or not is irrelevant. They are still asking me to spend my money on them.

Nonsense. If you donate nothing they owe you nothing.

 

[Pathfinder]

Maybe because it's not on Xbone

Honestly, all the complaints I've been reading about it, all the articles and video game personalities that have covered the topic, I don't get that vibe at all for the most part.

 

[maquiladora]

Is it though? If it is, why don't they just say that upfront to begin with? I'm of half a mind in thinking that Sony supplied just enough money for their exclusivity (and no, I don't care about that, I will be playing this on PC).

But they are upfront about it. In the very first interviews and on their own stream less than 24 hours after it was announced they openly stated that they are assisting in funding and marketing. If people who have already pledged don't like this they can easily remove their funding at any time over the next 30 days. There is no attempt to hide this from people.

 

[Sakura]

Both of these points in the kickstarter indicate that they desire to make a complex game that will exceed the funds of the kickstarter. So I'd imagine they have a certain vision in mind and if they are unclear in what the budget will be, it's possible that they will not be able to secure the entirety of the funds needed to create what they had in mind when they created the kickstarter. And yes, it may not be any of my business if the project does not have enough funding, but it is still my opinion that any developer that is obtuse about the budget of their kickstarter game is doing something dishonest.

Of course it will exceed the funds of the kickstarter. Nobody with an ounce of intelligence thinks 2 million dollars would fund a brand new game like Shenmue in its entirety.
There is no reason to doubt they will not be able to afford to make what they say they will make.
Nor do they have any responsibility to disclose that information to the public. People who back products on kickstarter are not investors, and he isn't having a meeting with you convincing you why you should spend 29 dollars on his project. You are not writing a cheque for 2 million dollars believing he will somehow create the game with that budget. Your paying them 30 bucks, with the promise that you'll receive a copy of the game when it releases. He doesn't have to have a detailed business plan to convince you it is viable.
If you require that, then don't spend the money.

 

[border]

Whoa man, you're comparing Yu Suzuki to Dirty Pete? Blasphemy!

Now, now, Molyneux's had a history of bullshitting long (long) before his Kickstarter shenanigans.

The point is not that Yu Suzuki is Molyneux 2.0 (though Shenmue is not exactly a solid spot on his resume).

The point is more that sometimes the most talented game designers are not the best planners, budgeters, or managers. Sometimes it is not the best idea to give creative people a ton of cash and no oversight. If Shenmue needs money, then I think they ought to be more forthcoming.

 

[Skyzard]

But they are upfront about it. In the very first interviews and on their own stream less than 24 hours after it was announced they openly stated that they are assisting in funding and marketing. If people who have already pledged don't like this they can easily remove their funding at any time over the next 30 days. There is no attempt to hide this from people.

Was it a plane ride and a spot on e3 for his kickstarter or was it $50 million.

 

[Littlefang]

Did you hear your name singled out? You are clearly not the target of the Kickstarter campaign in question so they are not asking you for your money. It is a choice, not a mandate.

By making a kickstarter they are literally asking everyone in the entire world to fund their game. Of course only a small section of the world will fund their game, but they are literally asking everyone who watched E3 and everyone with an internet connection to fund their game. It's not like they just asked Shenmue fans, they asked everyone.

 

[NoMoreTrolls]

By making a kickstarter they are literally asking everyone in the entire world to fund their game. Of course only a small section of the world will fund their game, but they are literally asking everyone who watched E3 and everyone with an internet connection to fund their game. It's not like they just asked Shenmue fans, they asked everyone.

This line of reasoning is fucking asinine. That's like saying that commercials and shows don't target a specific demographic because everyone with eyes and access to a television could theoretically watch them.

 

[Oersted]

I don't even care about the game and find no problem on not knowing the budget. If Sony is putting money into it, who cares how much if the KS campaign is just there to test waters? We never get the budgets of many games anyway.

Lets put it this way:

"Hey, its Sony. We founded the game and will help the development, but because we have no faith in it, give us your money to prove your interest it."

vs.

"This game depends on your funding budget. Who is Sony?"

*actual words may vary

 

[maquiladora]

Was it a plane ride and a spot on e3 for his kickstarter or was it $50 million.

Huh?

 

[Skyzard]

Huh?

They're vague.

In the other thread they mentioned just now the ks was updated to say something about other funds secured that they can't talk about. Can't make an open world game with 2million.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=168759093&postcount=3558

Can you make an open world game for just $2 million?

No, we cannot make an open world game for $2 million. Shenmue will be produced using both the funds raised from the Kickstarter and through other funding sources already secured by Ys Net Inc. We are very sorry, but due to contractual obligations, details of outside investments will not be disclosed.

 

[Littlefang]

This line of reasoning is fucking asinine. That's like saying that commercials and shows don't target a specific demographic because everyone with eyes and access to a television could theoretically watch them.

Commercials are expected to be truthful or people will call attention to those discrepancies. That's exactly what Polygon is doing here. Yeah we know that commercials lie all the time, but it's stupid to accept something like that because "everybody does it." Polygon is actually raising questions that should be answered here.

 

[PBalfredo]

I am talking budget numbers. There is a lot of false numbers out there.

Install base has a lot to do with it, because they would have more than likely made money if it wasn't released on the DC to die with only 10 million worldwide console numbers, and then even worse, the sequel, in Japan, on the OG Xbox.

PS4 and PC will have a much larger market for sales, than what he had to deal with back then. As well as better management with engine platforms and Sony in the mix.

There are two figures for Shenmue's budget, $70 million and $47 million, both come from Suzuki himself. It's up to you to believe if the $70 mil quote was him hyping up Shenmue, or if the $47 mil figure is him downplaying its expense. I don't know if $47 mil still would have made it the most expensive video game at the time, but it's still mad expensive.

Hopefully your right about having a wider audience for the game once it gets made. But first it has to get made within whatever its final budget ends up being. He has better middleware these days, and hopefully better project management, but he's not kickstarting a 2D platformer here; the components of a Shenmue game (3D combat, fully voiced cinematic cutscenes, QTEs and highly detailed environments) have only gotten more expensive in the HD era than they were for the Dreamcast. I hope they make it, but even after getting funded it's going to be an uphill battle.

 

[Coxswain]

Huh?

It's not being "upfront" about the publisher's involvement if you won't disclose information on even the order of magnitude of the funding they're giving.

"Sony is helping to fund our game" could mean they basically gave their Kickstarter stage time at E3 and paid for rent on an office building, and left everything else up to Ys Net, or it could mean that they're intending to throw $50 million at it to make a AAA Shenmue, or it could mean anything in between, and we don't even have a rough indication of where Sony falls on that enormous spectrum.

 

[superseohyun]

But do they ask for funding from consumers? If they do then they should be much more transparent.

and if they wont, people who find this problematic will withdraw their money. Then they will only be funded by consumers WHO do not need the transparency. And that's a problem because?

 

[NoMoreTrolls]

Commercials are expected to be truthful or people will call attention to those discrepancies. That's exactly what Polygon is doing here. Yeah we know that commercials lie all the time, but it's stupid to accept something like that because "everybody does it." Polygon is actually raising questions that should be answered here.

This is a total non sequitur. What does this have to do with your original post or my response?

 

[schaft0620]

here's your transparency-- your $100 bought coffee for 5 days and paid a guy to come up with a preliminary idea about how to animate a kick. there's your transparency.......mo'fucka.

Case closed, someone get this man a job at Polygon.

It's not being "upfront" about the publisher's involvement if you won't disclose information on even the order of magnitude of the funding they're giving.

"Sony is helping to fund our game" could mean they basically gave their Kickstarter stage time at E3 and paid for rent on an office building, and left everything else up to Ys Net, or it could mean that they're intending to throw $50 million at it to make a AAA Shenmue, or it could mean anything in between, and we don't even have a rough indication of where Sony falls on that enormous spectrum.

Shenmue 3, $30 that's all that matters, everything else has no effect on any of us.

 

[Gamespawn]

I'm just upset that I can't donate now. My card expires at the end of the month so it won't let me. I just have to hope my new one comes before they close donations.

 

[Littlefang]

This is a total non sequitur. What does this have to do with your original post or my response?

I was responding you to bringing up commercials. Of course the game is targeting a specific demographic, but by putting themselves both up on kickstarter and the E3 stage, they are opening themselves to being scrutinized which is what Polygon is doing here.

 

[Coxswain]

Shenmue 3, $30 that's all that matters, everything else has no effect on any of us.

At least I'm getting some serious mileage out of this post:

Nothing in this industry happens in a vacuum - unless you're going to sit here and tell me with a straight face that you think a Shenmue 3 Kickstarter for a Sony-published Shenmue 3 would have happened if not for the influence of the many, many video game Kickstarters that have come before it - and everything from the exact nature and proportion of crowdfunded-to-publisher-funded money, to the overall scope and fidelity of the resulting game, to the audience reception, to the level of transparency offered from Ys Net, Sony, and any other outside investment, is going to have a similar influence on projects that come later, whether I back Shenmue 3 or not, and whether I even play Shenmue or not. To think otherwise is to lack a fundamental understanding of what's even going on here.

 

[Zen_Arcade]

See but that's just the thing. It is my business. They are asking me for money, I want to know what they will do with that money. Whether I decide to fund it or not is irrelevant. They are still asking me to spend my money on them.



I care because they are asking me to spend my money on helping them develop their game. I care just as equally when someone wants me to donate to their charity on the street.

No, it's only your business if you actually GIVE them money. Them giving these details might sway you to help them with their business, but they don't OWE it to you until you've actually given them something to help with their business. Which you don't have to do. Maybe if these people were reaching into your pockets and taking money from you without your permission, you'd have a point. But they're not, they're asking for something, and you have the choice to give to them or not give to them.

Would it be better, and possibly more beneficial for them if they detailed their plans? Probably. Could it get more people interested and help them get more money for the project? Possibly. But that doesn't mean it's your business to know what they're doing with their business just because you want to know. And considering they didn't even need to give these details to meet their goal, I'd say them running their business the way they see fit, even if it's at the expense of not getting your support isn't exactly a back breaker. Because it just broke a world record for fastest video game crowdfunding. They didn't need you to help them, they got it done the way they wanted to get it done.

Like I said, them not providing details is a perfectly reasonable reason for you to not want to give your money to them. It's why I personally don't give my money to a lot of Kickstarters. But at the same time, if these companies don't want to give out this information, it's not their obligation to. If they think they can meet their goal without giving this information (Which Suzuki and his company obviously thought they could, and eventually DID) then it's their choice to do it this way. It is no way "A problem" as this article claims it to be. It may be a personal problem for YOU, but that doesn't mean it has to be for the 40,000 people who funded it, and it doesn't mean that the whole situation is some kind of sketchy mess. It's up to the individuals who helped fund Shenmue III to dictate what is, and isn't a problem in relation to what is being done with their money. Not some jackass Polygon writer.

 

[maquiladora]

It's not being "upfront" about the publisher's involvement if you won't disclose information on even the order of magnitude of the funding they're giving.

"Sony is helping to fund our game" could mean they basically gave their Kickstarter stage time at E3 and paid for rent on an office building, and left everything else up to Ys Net, or it could mean that they're intending to throw $50 million at it to make a AAA Shenmue, or it could mean anything in between, and we don't even have a rough indication of where Sony falls on that enormous spectrum.

As I said above, anybody who does not like Sony's involvement for whatever reason is free to remove anything that they have pledged. There is no attempt to "gotcha" people by hiding it until the Kickstarter ended.

As for exact amounts of funding etc. we don't hear Nintendo or Microsoft speak about exact numbers when they give funds to bring a game to their platforms do we? And this game is 2+ years away from release, I'd imagine the budget and the amount of help Sony will provide is not a fixed amount right now.

 

[Sakura]

For the record, my personal stake in this is the opposite of a lot of people's: I'm interested in a lean, efficiently-developed Shenmue with a modest budget. The ideal result from this, for me, is something where the budget is, say, "$10 million, plus Kickstarter funds", and I'd like to see a game with early-2000's era art assets (made much more cheaply in 2015 with modern techniques and production software) - basically something that looks like the preview from the pitch video. I'd like Shenmue 3 to be an example that proves that there's still a viable market for games of this scope that have modest budgets (ie: dated assets) and achieve modest sales.

I'm much less interested in it if they AAA it up and give it $40-50m, or tell Suzuki to just keep developing until it's done because it's a dream project, or whatever. And even though I don't think it's very likely that they'll go nuts with it in that way, I'd very much value the transparency if they gave a ballpark estimate of the funding they're aiming for, and how they plan to decide the game's scope and fidelity.

10 million dollars for a game like Shenmue 3 is not a modest budget. It's not realistic at all. What you are saying you want is an impossibility.

I'm just going to quote my own post from upthread on this one, for why I don't think "If you care about how this is going to work, just ignore the project" is a very reasonable response:

I'm sorry, but it is a reasonable response.
If people get burned by projects failing to have enough money outside the kickstarter funding, then people will stop backing projects unless more detailed information is provided on funds and their allocation.
It is on the individual that wants the money, to convince enough people to spend it on them.
If Suzuki said he couldn't provide details on outside funding, then people refused to kickstart the project because of that, then that would be on him.
If Suzuki said he couldn't provide details on outside funding, and people still provide him with enough money to meet his funding goal, then that is on the people that spent the money. If they get burned, they will learn. If other people try copying Suzuki but fail to deliver, then people will be less confident in these kinds of projects, and you'll see projects becoming less vague and more detailed convincing done. If other people copy Suzuki but do deliver as well, then there is no problem.
In either case, I believe it will work itself out one way or the other, and you should be concerned about what you spend your hard earned dollar on, not others.

 

[blackjaw]

Lol polygon...the game has been "real" for 48 hours and they are already throwing up click-bait troll articles

Cmon guys...just stop

 

[Oersted]

As I said above, anybody who does not like Sony's involvement for whatever reason is free to remove anything that they have pledged. There is no attempt to "gotcha" people by hiding it until the Kickstarter ended.

As for exact amounts of funding etc. we don't hear Nintendo or Microsoft speak about exact numbers when they give funds to bring a game to their platforms do we? And this game is 2+ years away from release, I'd imagine the budget and the amount of help Sony will provide is not a fixed amount right now.

You are completely missing the point.

 

[superseohyun]

You are completely missing the point.

i cant imagine what the point is. Would you explain a bit? If you had, could you link me to your previous post?

 

[NoMoreTrolls]

You are completely missing the point.

...which is?

 

[Sojgat]

You are completely missing the point.

Go on.

 

[DeepEnigma]

You are completely missing the point.

I will add tot he pressure, do tell.

 

[Littlefang]

No, it's only your business if you actually GIVE them money. Them giving these details might sway you to help them with their business, but they don't OWE it to you until you've actually given them something to help with their business. Which you don't have to do. Maybe if these people were reaching into your pockets and taking money from you without your permission, you'd have a point. But they're not, they're asking for something, and you have the choice to give to them or not give to them.

Would it be better, and possibly more beneficial for them if they detailed their plans? Probably. Could it get more people interested and help them get more money for the project? Possibly. But that doesn't mean it's your business to know what they're doing with their business. And considering they didn't even need to give these details to meet their goal, I'd say them running their business the way they see fit, even if it's at the expense of not getting your support isn't exactly a back breaker. Because it just broke a world record for fastest video game crowdfunding.

Like I said, them not providing details is a perfectly reasonable reason for you to not want to give your money to them. It's why I personally don't give my money to a lot of Kickstarters. But at the same time, if these companies don't want to give out this information, it's not their obligation to. If they think they can meet their goal without giving this information (Which Suzuki and his company obviously thought they could, and eventually DID) then it's their choice to do it this way. It is no way "A problem" as this article claims it to be. It may be a personal problem for YOU, but that doesn't mean it has to be for the 40,000 people who funded it, and it doesn't mean that the whole situation is some kind of sketchy mess. It's up to the individuals who helped fund Shenmue III to dictate what is, and isn't a problem in relation to what is being done with their money. Not some jackass Polygon writer.

Okay that's fine that they don't owe me anything. But there is transparency that should be involved when any developer or organization asks for funding for a project. Of course charities or organizations that do fundraisers aren't required to disclose what they spend their donations on, but the expectation is there that they disclose it. I don't see why a kickstarter should be given more leeway in this regard.

 

[VibratingDonkey]

I'll pledge and be some degree of content regardless of anything, because it's this game by these people and that guy in particular, but I would like to have an idea of what I can realistically expect this to end up being, i.e. what the budget range is.

Also, is Sony really funding the game? Did some Sony person actually say "We are funding Shenmue 3"? The official word I've heard is they're partners, supporting, helping and all this. But then it's weird because then how did it take two years to come up with this plan, why is it PS4 console exclusive, why did Sony only reveal they're "helping" after the goal was reached etc. But if they are funding it, why won't they say so? Are they afraid of some backlash or something?

I guess the thing would be that they used Kickstarter to gauge interest instead of just wholly funding the thing themselves. And to that I'm just sort of...so what? Not like publishers were lining up to throw money at Yu Suzuki through these past 14 years. If this was the only way to make it happen, then that's fine. Getting all cynical with your Kickstarter concerns and what it's "meant for" when it's making goddamn Shenmue 3 happen is just crazy to me.

Although with that said, it would've been much simpler had Sony just announced they're funding the whole thing. All this stuff that's happening now is just annoying and confusing.

 

[ramuh]

Personally I'm fine with this. We are getting Shenmue III, something I can't believe I'm saying.

 

[Sakura]

Okay that's fine that they don't owe me anything. But there is transparency that should be involved when any developer or organization asks for funding for a project. Of course charities or organizations that do fundraisers aren't required to disclose what they spend their donations on, but the expectation is there that they disclose it. I don't see why a kickstarter should be given more leeway in this regard.

A charity says what they spend their money on, because that is what gets them donations.
For just one dollar a day, this little girl can have clean water... This is what makes people spend money, that's what they want to see.
For just 30 dollars, Suzuki-san can have a fresh cup of coffee for 30 days... Nobody gives a shit.
Kickstarter is not a charity. It's not donation. If I give 30 bucks to the project, I get the fucking game. If I give 30 bucks to a charity, I get only the knowledge that I helped someone somewhere. It is completely different, and I don't know how you can compare.