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Crowdfund Bookie: Inafune's mighty $3.8 million haul
The Crowdfund Bookie crunches data from select successful Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns that ended during the week and produces pretty charts for you to look at. The power of Keiji Inafune's name couldn't be more evident than in this highly-profitable week in crowdfunding, which covers the Kickstarter projects for Mighty No. 9, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, Sunless Sea, DCS WWII: Europe 1944, Neverending Nightmares, Penguemic, Mysterious Cities of Gold, Hot Tin Roof: The Cat That Wore A Fedora, Data Hacker: Corruption and Neo-Victorian Skirmish Squad. Mighty No. 9, the action platformer project from the Mega Man creator earned the most money this week ($3,845,170) and had the highest number of backers (67,226). LearnDistrict Inc's educational game Penguemic: Word Domination had the highest average pledge per person of the group ($160.81). Head past the break to see the week's results and our set of fancy charts.
Mighty No. 9 concludes funding with over $4 million
Keiji Inafune's Mighty No. 9 has ceased asking for donations on Kickstarter, managing to secure over $3.8 million in a month's time. That's beyond some of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns yet, including Double Fine's $3.3 million for the Broken Age adventure game, $1.2 million for Massive Chalice, and the close to $2.3 million pulled in by Cryptozoic Entertainment's Hex. That $3.8 million figure is just counting Kickstarter donations, though. With additional pledges through Paypal, which Comcept says make up $186,380, the final amount is $4,031,550. Mighty No. 9 is perhaps best described as Inafune's spiritual successor to the Mega Man series. It's a retro-inspired action-platformer starring a robot boy named Beck who must battle a series of robot bosses infected with a mysterious virus. The game is planned for launch sometime in the spring of 2015 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, 3DS,Wii U, Mac, Linux and PC.
Mega Man 2 composer joins Mighty No. 9 as funding campaign concludes
Mega Man 2 sound composer Takashi Tateishi (above, right) has joined Keiji Inafune's team at Concept, and will help score the Kickstarter-funded Mega Man spiritual successor game Mighty No. 9. Composing under the pseudonym "Ogeretsu Kun," Tateishi's works helped define the 8-bit era, and his Mega Man 2 soundtrack is particularly memorable. If you want to sample Tateishi's creations (assuming that they aren't running in a near-constant loop inside your brain already), Wily Stage 1 is a good place to start. Air Man's a classic, too. I'm all about Bubble Man, personally. The Kickstarter project for Mighty No. 9 recently crested $3 million in pledges, and has entered its final 48 hours. In addition to previously announced releases for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC, and Mac, Mighty No. 9 will also hit the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 if funding reaches $3.3 million by the campaign's conclusion.
Call out your favorite design for Mighty No. 9's co-op character
Mighty No. 9 has hit its $2.75 million stretch goal, which means the game will feature an online co-op challenge mode starring Beck (the titular No. 9) and robot pal Call, whose design will be chosen via popular vote. There are nine designs to choose from on the Mighty No. 9 Kickstarter page, and everyone - backers, non-backers, potential cosplayers, robot enthusiasts, etc - can vote between now and October 1, when the Kickstarter ends. The three most popular designs will be announced on October 1, after which they'll be colored and put up for a second round of voting, which will only be available to backers. Until then, there's a variety of designs to choose from, including one seemingly inspired by flight attendant attire and a nerdy archetype with huge glasses. Hey, we just met her, and this is crazy, but you'll decide soon: how Call will look-zy.
Mighty No. 9 adds Vita and 3DS to stretch goals
Mighty No. 9 will head to 3DS and PlayStation Vita if its Kickstarter project reaches $3.5 million, a project update revealed today. Comcept has raised over $2.6 million in its crowdfunding campaign so far, which is scheduled to end on Tuesday, October 1. Meanwhile, the campaign's previously announced $3.3 million goal would bring the game to PS4 and Xbox One, and the game will already come to PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii U thanks to reaching its $2.2 million goal. Mighty No. 9 is a 2D side-scrolling platformer from Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune. The retro-inspired Mega Man spiritual successor includes a Boss Rush mode and will seek a balance between old-school difficulty and fair, modern gameplay. Comcept noted that, providing the $3.5 million stretch goal is met, Abstraction Games will be in charge of the Mighty No. 9 port to handheld systems, the same developer that brought Hotline Miami to PS3 and Vita.
Watch the first mega Mighty No. 9 documentary episode
The Mighty No. 9 Kickstarter isn't even over and there's already a documentary. Made by 2 Player Productions, who you may recognize from similar films for Mojang, Double Fine, Penny Arcade, and Sony, the first episode captures the lead-up to the Kickstarter's launch around a month ago. If it seems weird to see a documentary for something still being fundraised, bear in mind this is for Keiji Inafune's spiritual successor to Mega Man, and that it's already achieved nearly $2.6 million with four days to go. It's weirder for me to see Inafune in the famous Super Potato retro gaming shop in Akihabara, as only last week I was lucky enough to discover it/nearly lose all the money I have to it. Talking of all the money, by reaching $2.55 million the Mighty No. 9 Kickstarter cleared stretch goals for a challenge mode and an extra end stage and boss. The big stretch goal, however, remains the PS4 and Xbox One versions at $3.3 million. As it stands, Inafune's Comcept is set to bring Mighty No. 9 to PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Mac, and Linux in 2015.
Mighty No. 9 reaches $2 million, lets you cut to the front of the boss line
The Kickstarter pledge drive for Mighty No. 9, Keiji Inafune's new retro-inspired 2D platformer, has exceeded $2 million. As a result, Boss Rush mode, a time-based attack mode where players fight all of the bosses in rapid succession, will be in the game when it launches in 2015. No more waiting for Mighty No. 9's hero, Beck, to navigate an entire stage before your climactic battle, boss types! Mighty No. 9 made its debut last month at PAX Prime and quickly secured its desired $900,000 in funding. If Mighty No. 9 is able to secure $2.2 million, then Inafune promises ports to Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U, while reaching $2.75 million will secure an online co-op mode for players. Finally, $3.3 million guarantees Xbox One and PS4 ports.
Mighty No. 9 adds PS4, Xbox One ports to stretch goals
Keiji Inafune's Mighty No. 9 will come to Xbox One and PS4 if the ongoing Kickstarter campaign earns $3.3 million in funding. Presumably this figure would help developer Inti Creates overcome its unfamiliarity with next-gen systems. If the $3.3 million figure is reached, all backers eligible for a download of the game may choose from Xbox One, PS4, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Mac, Linux or PC. Handheld ports are also on the table, though the Kickstarter post mentions that Comcept, Keiji Inafune's company overseeing production of Mighty No. 9, still has to work out some of the logistics. Comcept hopes to have an update regarding this possibility sometime next week. Mighty No. 9 was announced during PAX Prime and quickly reached its funding goal of $900,000. During our interview at PAX Prime, Inafune said Mighty No. 9 would feature some of the old-school challenge, but would still be a fair game.
Mighty No. 9 console stretch goals lowered by $300K
Among the stretch goals announced for Mighty No. 9, Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune's Kickstarter project, was a $2.5 million goal originally set in order to bring the game to PS3, 360 and Wii U. A recent update on the project's page notes that stretch goal has now been lowered to $2.2 million. Inafune said at PAX Prime that Mighty No. 9's developer is "not familiar with next-gen," explaining the stretch goal's lack of PS4 and Xbox One options. He also added that the game will be challenging like older games were while also being "fair." The Kickstarter project is currently just above $1.5 million, over $600,000 above its funding goal, and will end on October 1.
Inafune: Mighty No. 9 looks like Mega Man due to my art style
Mighty No. 9 could present some legal issues due to its similarity, both in terms of art and gameplay, to Capcom's Mega Man series. When it comes to the former, Keiji Inafune told me at PAX Prime it's because he created both Mega Man and Mighty No. 9 – and it's only natural the two should share some resemblance. "If you really do look at something that a lot of people really don't realize, that character – Beck – may look similar to Mega-Man at a precursory glance, but it's because I created it. Artists have their own style and they get comfortable in that style, so the things they make look very similar," Inafune said. "Picasso paintings look like Picasso paintings, so that's my style – I can't help it, that can't be changed, it is what it is." Inafune elaborated that despite the style, Beck and Mega Man are two very different characters, "from the color, from the fact that one has a cannon on his arm and the other doesn't, from the eye size, from the headgear – it's very different." On the note of legality, Inafune admitted he had some concern how Mighty No. 9 may be perceived, but reiterated the game is "one hundred percent, from the ground up, built originally" and doesn't take anything from previous Mega Man games. "I can't say I have absolutely no worry but it's really impossible to say how one side is going to view something. There was no ill will and ultimately I think if it did come down to any sort of legal issue, it would be like: Did I actually have ill will towards Capcom when coming up with this concept? And to that I can one hundred percent say no that is not the case. So for me, it was merely, one hundred percent, I heard the voice of the fans and I've always been somebody who likes listening to them and that's what I'm trying to do with this project."
Mighty No. 9 will have old-school challenge, yet still be 'fair'
One of the chief concepts relayed by Keiji Inafune in his Kickstarter pitch video for Mighty No. 9, a new side-scrolling 2D action platform game from Comcept, was his intention to combine old and new – the classic gameplay sensibilities of the past paired with modern conventions. "Finding that balance is the true innovation of this game, I think – what makes it original," Inafune told me during a PAX Prime interview. "If you are just making an old classic style game, the formula is already set pretty much in stone and you don't need designers to try and come up with anything new; you can just imitate one hundred percent the classics. However, if you make something that's too new and doesn't have enough of the old, obviously the people who want to play these classic games are going to feel left out – some of those are the key fans who have supported us on Kickstarter." For Inafune, Kickstarter is what will drive this balance between old and new, since backers can directly engage with the creators and proclaim what they want from Mighty No. 9. Of course, one can't bring up classic gaming without talking about difficulty. The original Mega Man games are some of the toughest out there. "It will be challenging, as far as the old games were, but it will be fair and have some of the newer, modern game mechanics that allow people to – even if they die – continue to restart and basically rely on their skill and not have to backtrack and do annoying things over and over and over again," Inafune added. "But again, this is something that, with game balance, you have to continually tweak and tweak and tweak. And with Kickstarter, we'll be able to be tied into our fans and they'll help us tweak it with what's the perfect balance." Mighty No. 9 reached its funding goal a mere day after its unveiling. The Kickstarter campaign has earned nearly $1.4 million so far with 28 days to go. The game is slated to launch in 2015 for PC on Steam, but if $2.5 million is raised, Comcept promises console ports on Wii U, Xbox 360 and PS3 – sorry, no next-gen.
Mighty No. 9 stretch goals ignoring Xbox One, PS4 due to tech unfamiliarity
Mighty No. 9, the new Kickstarter campaign from Keiji Inafune, has numerous stretch goals, one of which is console ports for Wii U, Xbox 360 and PS3 if pledges make it to $2.5 million. Since the game is being developed for PC, wouldn't it make more sense to port to Xbox One and PS4? Both of which are built on x86 PC architecture. "One of the clearest reasons is that the developer, who is developing the core of the production, is Inti Creates, and they're not familiar with next-gen," Inafune told Joystiq during an interview at PAX Prime. "So with trying to learn that technology, with trying to understand a new piece of hardware, to get a new development kit, all of that comes with it an associated cost and all of that makes the stretch goal a lot more expensive." Inafune, while not alluding to any possibility of next-gen ports for the game, added that the beauty of Kickstarter is that it allows for direct interaction with the fans – to "reflexively" adapt to what they demand. "It allows us to see how excited they are, what they really want, how vocal they are about certain parts and it allows us to, reflexively, adjust some of what those stretch goals are. What we can say is we're always listening and seeing what they say, but it will forever – and this is the way Kickstarter has to be, unless you're going to be lying to the end user which is what we will absolutely not do – it has to be a balance of what the production realities are and what the fans want." Mighty No. 9, a 2D action platformer harkening back to the classic games of yesteryear, is seeking $900,000 through Kickstarter for its base financing. As of this post it's incredibly close to achieving its goal and will launch on PC through Steam sometime in 2015.
Keiji Inafune's 'The Mighty No. 9' hits Kickstarter
Mega Man mogul Keiji Inafune has launched a Kickstarter to fund the development of his latest game, The Mighty No. 9. The fundraising campaign seeks to raise $900,000 within the next 30 days. If successful, the game will launch for PC sometime in the spring of 2015 via "Steam and DRM-free digital distribution methods." Mac/Linux versions will be produced if the $1.35 million stretch goal is reached. Likewise, Xbox 360, Wii U and PlayStation 3 versions will be developed if the campaign manages to raise $2.5 million. The game's development team includes Mega Man series alumnus Nayoa Tomita and Manami Matsumae, who served as level designer and composer (respectively) on the original Mega Man, in addition to artist Shinsuke Komaki, whose resume includes character/mecha design work on Mega Man Legends. Mega Man 9/Mega Man 10 developer Inti Creates is also involved, with CEO Takuya Aizu listed as being responsible for "executing on the designs his company and Comcept create together for Mighty No. 9." The game is a side-scrolling shooter, which concerns a robot named Beck – the ninth in a series of robots called the "Mighty Numbers." The other eight Mighty Numbers have gone rogue due to a virus, and it's up to Beck (and his female robot companion Call) to stop them. Each defeated Mighty Number grants Beck a new power, but Beck also has the ability to transform his limbs into various tools (giant magnets, tank treads, etc) to dispose of enemies and traverse the environment. You know, call us crazy but this sounds kinda familiar.
Yaiba 'is its own thing,' Team Ninja would love to make Yaiba 2
Although it's set in the Ninja Gaiden universe, Team Ninja looks at Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z as its own entity, separate from Ryu Hayabusa's outings and able to develop into its own property. Speaking to Joystiq at Gamescom, studio head Yosuke Hayashi said his team would love to make a Yaiba 2, but it needs to ensure the first Yaiba is a success first. "It's not a sequel or a spin-off, it is its own thing," Hayashi said, "And so the systems are very different. We want to have it open to another audience, to people who like zombie games. The target is a little bit different, but it should still feel like a good, solid action game." Yaiba isn't just a ninja meets zombies crossover, it is also a worldwide collaboration between three separate games studios: Ninja Gaiden dev Team Ninja and Keiji Inafune's Comcept from Japan, and California-based Spark Unlimited. It's an unusual collaboration to say the least, but one Inafune believes has worked out well. "It's been interesting to see the Comcept team, the Team Ninja team, and the Spark team working together on this project," Inafune said. "First we were being careful with each other and respecting each other's boundaries, and stuff like that. But it really has become an open dialog between the teams, respecting the strengths of each team, and bringing out those strengths through discussion and through open and honest collaboration. To see that happen that between Team Ninja and Spark has been something that's really good for Yaiba."
Free quests and bosses arrive on Soul Sacrifice
As has become a trend with Soul Sacrifice, the game has another set of free additional content available now via PSN. Players that download the DLC's unlock key will receive eight new quests and two bosses, Cat Sith and Beelzebub. In true fashion for the game, the bosses are pretty creepy. PlayStation Blog notes that more content for Soul Sacrifice is on the way, with The Cobbler Triplets and the Old Master arriving on August 20, The Iron Lady's Tears of Red coming September 3 and The Fall of the Gods landing on September 17, though each release date may change.
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z trailers won't cost you an arm and a leg
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z stars Yaiba Kamikaze, a ninja killed by primary series star Ryu Hayabusa during a duel. We're not sure how Yaiba came back from the dead, but at least we can see how he died.
Putting the 'Yaiba' in Ninja Gaiden Z
Yaiba means "the blade of a sword," Keiji Inafune explains in this developer diary for Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. It is, somehow, the subtler component of the protagonist's full name: Yaiba Kamikaze. Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is being developed primarily by Spark Unlimited, the Los Angeles-based studio also responsible for Lost Planet 3. In the video, Inafune says the studio is "exactly what we wanted" because they were able to bring a unique perspective to the ninja, unifying Western and Eastern visions on the classic archetype. "To appeal to both, it made sense for us to work together." Inafune then goes into an astute metaphor about how game development is like building a house – at least, we think it's astute. We've never built a house before.
Soul Sacrifice gets more free DLC next week, includes ... this thing
One round of free DLC just isn't enough for Soul Sacrifice, it seems. Come June 11 (the first day of E3!), fresh DLC will add eight new quests and two new bosses, including an ogre and the thing seen above. It's labeled "dwarf," as you can see, but that can't be right. Just like last time, the DLC will be free, requiring you to sacrifice nothing but your spare time.
Soul Sacrifice review: Escapism encapsulated
Soul Sacrifice is a steady ascent to superiority over your captor, a mad sorcerer named Magusar. You can provoke and challenge him from within your fetid cage at any time, but ultimate victory requires toil, repetition and mastery of the same magic that imprisons you. You'll have to play the game to get out, which makes you wonder what the real trap is. Freedom through power is your goal in the game's fiction and function, with progression framed in a living, speaking journal covered by a contorted face. The cheeky diary, named Librom, recalls the inner turmoil and exploits of Magusar's former partner, from whom you acquire magic and memories packaged as short, perfect-for-portable quests. Discovering the author's identity and exploits is an intriguing, incremental accompaniment to your own gestation as a powerful conjurer. Soul Sacrifice is a game you play more for the beach than for the sand. Like other sagas that spin around the aggressive acquisition of beastie bits, there is less reward in the act of fighting than the result – and in the case of bigger battles, "epicness" is often conflated with "duration." Soul Sacrifice has no pretense of exploration or towns, just a distilled drip-feed of enclosed arenas and creature extermination that enables new spells, augmented magical prowess or a greater life expectancy for the next challenge.%Gallery-177521%
Soul Sacrifice sequel already pitched to Sony, says Inafune
Talks of a Soul Sacrifice sequel are already "ongoing" between Sony and Comcept's Keiji Inafune, just a month after the action-RPG hit Japan. In an interview with IGN, Inafune said he'd love to make the follow-up and "drive Vita sales even more.""Soul Sacrifice is something I specifically designed for Vita using [the] hardware's specific features," Inafune told IGN. "To drive Vita sales even more, I have an idea for a Soul Sacrifice sequel. I'm actually approaching [Sony Computer Entertainment] regarding this project.""Let's say the talks are ongoing and I'd love to make it happen," he added.The likelihood of a sequel can only be boosted by SCE Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida retweeting IGN's story earlier this morning.According to IGN, Soul Sacrifice shifted 150,000 units at retail since being released in Japan on March 7 - that figure excludes digital sales. Of course, Japan is always a bit fond of a monster hunt, so it'll be interesting to see how the Vita game does in the west - and we should find out soon enough. Soul Sacrifice comes out next week in North America and Europe, on April 30 and May 3 respectively.
