crowd funding
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Star Citizen achieves Kickstarter goal with 26 days to spare
Chris Roberts' Star Citizen title is well on its way if the project's Kickstarter performance is any indication. Wait, Kickstarter? Didn't Roberts set up a crowd-funding initiative directly on the game's official website earlier this month? Why, yes, yes he did, but due to the overwhelming demand generated by thousands of starving space sim fans, the site had trouble handling all the traffic. Roberts Space Industries thus opened an ancillary Kickstarter project with a $500,000 target. When coupled with the $1.3 million raised so far on the main site, Star Citizen is within striking distance of its original $2 million goal with a lot of time left on the clock. Check out yesterday's Massively Speaking podcast for an interview with Chris Roberts himself.
Jorno inventor Scott Starrett talks to TUAW about Kickstarter and crowd-sourced funding
Scott Starrett is an inventor with a dream -- to manufacture a pocket-sized folding Bluetooth keyboard making it simple for anyone to have access to a "real" keyboard when using an iPhone, iPad or other mobile device. With about a day to go in his Kickstarter fundraising, Starrett still isn't assured of reaching his US$100,000 goal -- the Jorno project is currently about 90 percent funded. I talked with Starrett today to ask him about the Jorno project and crowd-sourced funding in general. TUAW: With a little over a day to go, I see that you're at close to 90 percent funding. Are you confident that you'll make it to your funding goal? Starrett: We don't take anything as a given, so we're doing everything we can to get to our funding goal. We are so grateful for the enthusiasm and support of all the donors to date. TUAW: How long have you been trying to get the Jorno concept funded (i.e., Did you try another source of funding prior to Kickstarter)? Starrett: We've been pursuing various funding options for about a year. TUAW: What made you want to try Kickstarter for funding rather than traditional methods (getting friendly with a VC with deep pockets, selling the idea to a manufacturer, etc...)? Starrett: Kickstarter was really the last resort. We pitched countless VC and "angel" investors, and despite a nice set of early orders and a great design, they all turned us down. Hardware is not considered a "hot" investment right now. Ironically every single VC guy told us he would buy a Jorno unit as soon as it's on the market. TUAW: If funding for Jorno doesn't make it through, will you try again with a lower goal? Starrett: Yes, we may go back to VC/Angels and see if they can close the gap and then we can try again with a lower goal. It is a great data point that we were able to capture $90K in hypothetical sales over the course of just one month. That is a testament to the need for Jorno and the solution that Jorno offers. TUAW: Would you consider redesigning Jorno with different components to achieve your design goal of a pocket-sized foldable keyboard, but with a lower cost of manufacturing and hopefully a lower funding requirement? Starrett: The funding requirement is really related to the fixed cost of plastic molds, not the per-unit-cost. So a lower cost of manufacturing wouldn't help us, since even a simpler design would still have significant tooling/mold costs. TUAW: Do you have any suggestions for other inventors who may be interested in using Kickstarter, Indiegogo or other crowd-sourced funding sites? Starrett: Just do everything you can to connect with possible donors. It's easy to get lost on the Kickstarter platform if there is nothing calling attention to your project. Working with the Max Borges Agency was extremely helpful to us in getting the word out. TUAW: Anything else you'd like to say to TUAW readers? Starrett: Would love their support if they want to check out our campaign! (http://kck.st/O8aYRn) Also, many of us would not have a chance if it were not for crowd-funding -- so thank you for your ongoing enthusiasm for our project and other crowd-funded projects. Many thanks to Starrett for agreeing to an interview at a stressful point and time, and best of luck to everyone involved in the Jorno project. Be sure to check out our previous Jorno post for a video of the pocketable keyboard in action.
Kickstarter brings crowdfunding to the UK on Halloween
Whether you're currently keeping calm, or simply carrying on, we've got some good news for you steadfast Brits: Kickstarter makes its official launch in the UK on October 31st. Sure, its arrival was rather inevitable, but All Hallows' Eve will mark the first time that inventors outside of the US can take part in the crowdfunding website. Kickstarter visitors will find UK projects listed alongside those in the US, and inventors who think they've stumbled upon the next great mousetrap may begin work on their listing today. Naturally, Insert Coin fans are bound to find some nifty projects work their way across the pond, but in the meantime, you can check out the commerce-related details at the source link below.
ioSafe takes to Indiegogo to raise funds for the N2, its new disaster-proof NAS
ioSafe makes hard-drives so sturdy that it can reduce fire, electricity and Terrence O'Brien to tears at the mere thought of them. Now, it's producing a new disaster-proof NAS, but as a small business, needs a cash injection from consumers to make it happen. As such, it's taking to Indiegogo to raise funds for the ioSafe N2, a private cloud Synology-powered NAS that'll keep up to 8TB of data protected from the elements. On the outside, a steel body that'll take a building collapsing onto it protects a chemically bound fireproof insulation and water / heat barrier will stop your discs flooding or melting, depending on the catastrophe. The company's planning to have the units shipping by January next year, when the 23lb box will set you back $600 without discs -- and if you're hard enough, you can find PR after the break.
Campaign to build Nikola Tesla museum hits $500k in less than 48 hours, hopes to raise $850k
Nikola Tesla may not have gotten all the credit he was due in his lifetime, but his stature has grown considerably since, and many of the inventions he dreamed up are now finding new life in today's technology. Now, a new effort is underway to truly cement his place in history -- even moreso than having David Bowie play him in a movie. Two days ago, Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal comic strip launched an Indiegogo campaign to help fund a Tesla museum at the site of Nikola Tesla's laboratory in Shoreham, New York, and it's now already raised over $500,000. That money will go directly to the non-profit Tesla Science Center, which has been attempting to buy the property for $1.6 million, half of which will be covered by a matching grant from the state of New York (meaning the goal for the campaign is $850,000, although anything raised above that will go toward the actual building of the museum). As Inman notes, however, even raising "just" $850k will ensure that the property isn't sold to someone else and demolished, as others have been looking to do. Those interested in contributing can find all the details at the links below.
OUYA console pre-order now available for non-backers starting at $109, slated to ship in April
Miss out on your chance to snag the Android-based gaming console during OUYA's Kickstarter tour-de-force? Worry not, friends. The outfit has opened up pre-orders it promised for those who didn't take the plunge initially via on its website. While you will have to wait another month to get your mitts on a kit of your very own, the second round of advance purchasing will set you back $109 for US customers and $119 for those abroad. Included in the aforementioned price tag is the console, a single controller and the requisite shipping costs. Hit up the source link below to part with your funds and begin the waiting period.
OUYA's Kickstarter funding is complete: over $8.59 million raised, starts shipping in March
It's a wrap! Suffice it to say, it's a been a relatively short, yet astoundingly fruitful -- and initially record-breaking -- funding run for OUYA, the hackable, Android-based gaming console. With just 29 days to work with since being announced, the Yves Behar-designed system has raked in over $8.58 million thanks to just under 63,300 backers on Kickstarter as of its official 1AM ET funding deadline today (You'll find the final tally below). Those who opted for developer editions will be able to start tinkering with their own units around December, while the majority of backers should receive the console as early as March 2013. Missed the Kickstarter bandwagon? Don't fret, because OUYA plans to take pre-orders from the general public over the web soon, expecting those units to arrive at doorsteps near April. The numbers are only part of the picture, of course. If you'll recall, OUYA swiftly acquired a slew of partnerships from companies like OnLive, Square Enix, XBMC, Vevo, and Robotoki -- and as if that wasn't enough, just yesterday Namco Bandai and Plex officially joined the content-providing party as well. What's more, we now know that each console will support up to four of those touchpad-equipped controllers for local multiplayer action. Even with all that, this story is far from over, as Joystiq points out that Julie Uhrman and company "promise" to have more updates before its official launch. Naturally, it still remains to be seen how OUYA's (literally) tiny, Tegra 3-powered footprint will fare against the big three in gaming, but we're cautiously optimistic. So, while the final, mass-produced product is still months away, in the meantime you'll find a recap of all the highlights from OUYA in the nifty saga module below. You can also hit up our friends at Joystiq here for extra insight from the company about its successes so far. Update (1:15AM): Despite the timer hitting zero, it appears that pledges are still being accepted past the 1AM deadline -- better be quick! We'll be sure to update the numbers again as soon pledging is officially halted. Update 2 (7:30AM): It took a bit of time, but OUYA's Kickstarter is officially not accepting any more pledges. The final numbers? 63,416 backers helped to raise a final sum of $8,596,475.
Gamesplanet Lab: Kickstarter's 'crowd-creating' competitor
As Kickstarter has taken off like – well, a popular Kickstarter project – over the past year, especially in the gaming sector, backers have noticed a few inconsistencies with the platform. For one, projects aren't vetted for plausibility or quality outside of a standard registration form; your grandmother could accidentally promise the world 500 pounds of brownies if she raises $5, and there's nothing holding her to following through or using that money for brownie-related purposes.For another, Kickstarter is US only. Creative ventures outside of the US can't begin a crowd-funded project, though anyone with a major credit card can donate to a project and watch its success with yearning in his heart. Also, Kickstarter caters to a wide range of products and ideas, making its reach broad but its expertise in handling any one industry dim.Gamesplanet Lab is a new crowd-funding platform that handles only gaming projects, has a strict vetting and follow-through contract, and is based in Europe but is able to host projects from around the world. Yes, that does sound like everything you ever wanted in Kickstarter. The only thing Gamesplanet Lab needs now is proof that it can work – it needs a breakout crowd-funding success.
Kickstarter sends some love to Europe, will support UK projects beginning this fall
Kickstarter's US-based micro funding site has seen measurable success on this side of the Atlantic, and it looks like the company is planning to capitalize on that momentum, bringing its service to the United Kingdom later this year. A company spokesperson was unable to comment on the move beyond what was offered up in an earlier tweet, but judging by the 110 characters you see above, it appears that Kickstarter plans to open the site up to UK projects beginning this fall, with more information to come at a later date. That 140-character limit is hardly to blame for the micro-size tease, with much space to spare even beyond that rather informal sign-off -- it seems that the site just wants to get its ducks in a row before revealing more. For now, feel free to hit up the source link below to read the post and share your thoughts on Twitter.
The Daily Grind: How do you feel about Kickstarter MMOs?
Kickstarter is all the rage these days, particularly when it comes to indie sandbox MMORPGs. Recently both The Repopulation and Embers of Caerus unveiled crowd-funding drives, and we're always pleased to see other in-development MMOs join the parade. Massively's inbox has been flooded with tips about these games, and yet as of press time, EoC's drive boasts under 300 contributors while The Repopulation's has yet to top the hundred backer mark. Due to the way Kickstarter works, the devs are still able to meet funding goals thanks to large donations, but we have to wonder if hundreds of backers quicken the pulses of venture capitalists who know that MMOs need thousands of players to flourish. What say you, morning crew? Are you encouraged by crowd-funding initiatives, or are you a bit skeptical? How do you feel about Kickstarter MMO projects? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Embers of Caerus partners with Havok Engine, seeks more sandbox supporters
The good news continues to roll in for fans of emergent MMOs and the little-indie-sandbox-that-could, otherwise known as Embers of Caerus. Forsaken Studios has released a PR splash noting that it is making use of the Havok Vision Engine to power the forthcoming fantasy epic. If you've been keeping abreast of this story, you probably know that EoC is riding a wave of positive buzz following on from its successful Kickstarter campaign, which has already met its initial funding goal and then some with 19 days left to go. Forsaken is now seeking to galvanize additional sandbox fans, a demographic that creative director Rob Steele says is ready for EoC and games like it. "It just shows that the audience is out there, hungry for the kind of game that we're making -- one where the players take control of the world and make it their own," he says. [Thanks to flintwicktog for the tip!]
Kickstarter hits a million backers, impoverished design students rejoice
Despite these shaky economic times, people still have the time -- and money -- for modded Arduino kits, iPhone lens and air guitar mods. Kickstarter users have now pledged over $100 million to projects, with the number of backers leaping from around 250,000 in September last year to over one million. The crowd-funding site is marking the occasion with visualizations of its vital statistics, showing, among other things, that one-time backers make up the bulk of investment. With over 13,000 projects green-lighted so far, projects still vying for our investment dollars include a caterpillar-tracked smartphone robot, a bike light that attaches to your spokes generating an 8-bit light show and an energy recovery unit that picks up on heat from a dryer exhaust. If the idea of heat exchanges gets you all hot under the collar, check out Kickstarter to help give the creators a fiscal foothold.
