NVash: I'd say the drop in donations is also due to the stretch goals.
Vainamoinen: Possibly. 11M stretch goals are insane... still, Kickstarters that really fuck up their PR get more heat than that. I've seen Kickstarters with negative donation days... i.e. pledge withdrawals higher than new pledges.
Maybe when they announce 20M stretch goals! ;)
And that alone was sheer stupidity. Why in the World did they announce stretch goals up to 11mill when they couldn't get over 3.5mill? Who came up with that bright idea? Now IIRC it was around eight days ago when they were struggling to get over the 3.5mill hump. Now here we are with seventeen days left and they can't break 3.8mill. And you know it wouldn't be that bad if the goals were decent but they were basically "more mini-games on islands" when no one asked for that. Whoever thought of that should be fired. It may be Yu's vision but he asked for 10mill he'll be lucky to see half of it. Unveiling those helped no one because really the only thing backers can say is "please help Yu to realize his vision" when asking people to donate. Having a port or something else like that is a much better incentive then more mini-games.
Everyone everywhere wants to say it's because Sony was revealed to be helping them out with funding and others thought that their donations weren't needed. I think that's malarkey and an outright excuse. It's the fact that the Kickstarter is run terribly, the stretch goals suck, the rewards are even worse and the only reason people are really donating is due to loving the game. Others are willing to chip in but they still aren't giving people what they want so they aren't getting any money. It's a good thing that Yu has admitted in that Twitch that he's aware what people want such things as physical PS4 discs, no DRM and the remasters but he better hurry up with the negotiations because I doubt it'll help anyone if he drops them after the Kickstarter is over.
I'm reminded of that Bard's Tale IV Kickstarter. I saw they had the first three games in there free when the person pledges over $20. I threw $25 at them. I'm not rich but I was willing to make that investment if only for the four games. I'd get the first three plus the new one when it came out and they'd all be on Mac. No argument here. Now think of if Yu came out with new rewards like, $60 and above gets the physical discs, $100 and above gets the remasters, no DRM period on the games. All he'd have to do is kick back and watch the money roll in. Remember backers are already saying they'll add more if only physical became an option so that's people who have already donated and are willing to give more. Easy money! And who knows how many are holding onto their cash due to wanting remasters or the game to be DRM free? Then there's the elephant in the room, other consoles. He hasn't said a peep about that. Reading on the Kickstarter the Bloodstained people listened to what people said. They wanted a Wii U port and they were willing to cut the game if need be for them to have it. Soon after they announced a Wii U port and donations increased for that.
On the goals, do you think it could be due to the fact that many people don't care? Myself, I played both Shenmues. I enjoyed walking around the city and talking to people but I was moreso into trying to find Lan Di. I couldn't have cared less about mini-games. I understand this is part of Yu's vision and many fans want it that have already backed but does anyone think that the casual person really cares about another island with more mini-games? I seriously doubt it. Could that also be affecting funding? Think of someone who doesn't know what Shenmue is. Like myself and Bard's Tale, I had no clue what that game is. Anyone think they might come in, see mini-games as a stretch goal and say "so what" then move on to something else? What if they don't have a PS4 or PC? It seems people want people to donate anyway just to help but who wants to give money to something they can't benefit from? This isn't a charity, this is a video game and if someone can't play it why would they donate?
Also on the Kickstarter they are saying the rewards are overpriced. I agree with that. The only one worth buying is the jacket IMHO and I still don't get why I have to give $250 for an extra costume in the game.
Anyone hear about that $30 on the 3rd thing? Where everyone is supposed to chip in $30 on the 3rd? I don't think it'll end well and even if it does I doubt they'll see a substantial increase from it.
Judging from the Kickstarter there's a big update coming so I'm kinda anxious to see what he has in store for everyone. Surely he knows what people want so maybe he'll start giving them what they want.
