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Kickstarter has fewer video game projects, and that's a good thing
Video game projects may have found their stride in the crowdfunding world. According to ICO Partners, fewer games are being pitched on Kickstarter, but a greater percentage are reaching their goals. And the total amount raised by gaming campaigns is up year-over-year.
Kickstarter warns creators against calling projects 'the world's best'
Kickstarter is asking its users to tone down the hyperbolic language and to layoff the misleading imagery. In an attempt to promote transparency, the now 10-year-old platform issued new rules and guidelines aimed at "honest and clear presentation."
‘ToeJam & Earl’ is more Diet Coke than fine wine
When I was young -- and I mean young, around six or seven -- my extended family would get together at my grandmother's house nearly every Sunday. And often on those days, for at least an hour or two, my cousin and I would play on her Sega Mega Drive (aka Genesis) together. Our go-to game was ToeJam & Earl, I think mostly because we needn't fight over one controller and it was co-operative, rather than competitive. Though my memories of the game are fond, the sequels released over the following decade completely passed me by. That's why I've had my eye on ToeJam and Earl: Back in the Groove -- an homage to the '90s classic that secured initial funding on Kickstarter in 2015. As it turns out, though, some memories are better being just that.
Crowdfunded Nanoloop synth doesn't need a Game Boy to make beats
Nanoloop has been a cornerstone of chiptune music for years, but using one has meant either owning a Game Boy or making do with a mobile app. You won't have to make those compromises for much longer. Developer Oliver Wittchow and crew are crowdfunding a dedicated, handheld version of the music-generating wunderkind. You'll still have a gamepad-like interface, four-channel synth and 4x4 matrix sequencer, just in a form factor that frees up your other gadgets.
Meet Macaulay Culkin, retro video game nerd
Macaulay Culkin is roughly 10 years behind when it comes to video games. The most up-to-date console he owns is an Xbox 360, which he plugs in mostly to beat Mass Effect 2 again or blast through swarms of zombies in Left 4 Dead with his younger brother. The most modern game in his rotation right now is 2014's South Park: The Stick of Truth, which he's about 15 percent of the way through. "I play more old-school kind of things," Culkin said. "I play a lot more Nintendo and Super Nintendo games than I do probably anything else."
My other life as a Kickstarter scammer
I have the process down to a tee. I start by browsing Kickstarter, looking for projects with active campaigns. There's no specific selection criteria. Perhaps I find one that's just gone live, or one coming to the end of its fundraising window. I reach out with a message, explain who I am and invite the project contact to book in an interview. On the call, I feign interest, ask the right kind of questions and promise a write-up on Engadget in the near future. I leave it a day or two and reach out again, saying I've heard great things from others about a specialist that can increase a project's exposure for a daily fee. A highly unethical move for a journalist, but I set to profit from it, so what do I care? The Engadget article never materializes, of course, because this person isn't me.
The Pix Backpack is a wearable screen for the hypebeast generation
We've seen a couple of attempts at marrying screens with attire to create endlessly customizable fashion, but so far none have actually made it to market. At first glance, the Pix Backpack looks like another one of these intriguing accessories that never escapes the concept stage. The Kickstarter pitch promises a backpack with a retro-aesthetic display you manipulate using -- you guessed it -- a mobile app. The app features a library of images, animations, widgets and even games that populate the low-res color screen, or you can make your own pixel art through a simple editor. The Pix Backpack isn't just a quirky idea destined for the halls of vaporware, though.
Kickstarter hands Drip crowdfunding platform over to XOXO founders
Drip, Kickstarter's subscriber-based crowdfunding platform designed to compete with Patreon, is shutting down in its current form after launching just one year earlier. It will continue operating for a year before it is transformed into an entirely new project headed up by the team behind XOXO, a festival for independent artists and creators.
Soundbrenner watch includes a metronome, tuner and decibel meter
Soundbrenner is far from a household name in the music industry, but having apparently sold over 50,000 Pulse wearable metronomes with endorsement from notable musicians, this Hong Kong startup isn't doing so bad. Today, the company hopes to make a bigger bang with a follow-up model. Using the original Pulse as the foundation, the new Soundbrenner Core adds three functionalities in the hopes of making life easier for musicians: It's also a watch, a tuner and a sound level meter. "We see ourselves as one of the few players in the music-making space... that solve real problems," said Soundbrenner CEO Florian Simmendinger. "Our goal is to create a must-have companion device for musicians, from beginners all the way to professionals."
The Das Keyboard 5Q's fingertip notifications aren't that useful
We deal with an utter firehose of information in our daily lives, and sorting through it all is a huge task. It's not uncommon to miss important messages or forget some key task. Das Keyboard's new 5Q and X50Q -- both out today -- are aimed at taking your notifications and reducing them to something incredibly simple: the blinking of the keys under your fingertips.
FTC investigates $700,000 crowdfunding campaign for fraud
The FTC hasn't publicly investigated crowdfunding fraud outside of one case, but that doesn't mean it's inactive. The Verge has learned that the Commission is investigating Doug Monahan's crowdfunding campaigns for the iBackPack, a smart backpack that included a mobile hotspot, battery pack and connectors. Monahan raised over $700,000 between Indiegogo and Kickstarter in 2015 and 2016, but hasn't shipped the backpack in question. Supporters only ever received pre-release accessories, and the Kickstarter campaign's last news update was in March 2017.
'Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night' delayed until 2019
Things were looking rosy for the upcoming release of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night -- the game had even gotten as far as a private beta demo. But, citing similar reasons to its previous delay, the team at ArtPlay has announced it'll be held back again, this time until somewhere in 2019.
Oddball is a drum machine controller you toss around to make beats
Making beats with various drum machines and sequencers can be a fairly sterile affair. Typically, you hit some buttons on a rectangular box or click grid squares in a software interface, looping the pattern again and again until you've created a beat you're happy with. A new Kickstarter project, however, changes the game completely with Oddball, the beat-making ball that you can bounce, hit and toss to create beats kinesthetically.
This USB-C dongle adds Bluetooth audio to the Nintendo Switch
Want another option for using wireless headphones with your Nintendo Switch? Maybe take a look at the Kickstarter for Genki, then. It's a $39 USB-C Bluetooth dongle for Nintendo's hybrid console. You can pair two headsets to it, if you'd like, and apparently the whole setup shouldn't add much too lag (40ms) between what you see on screen and what you hear like a traditional Bluetooth audio signal would. One downside, however, is that the Genki draws power from the Switch itself, which means if your battery goes low on a flight, you can't recharge the system and use the dongle simultaneously.
This day in Engadget history: Ouya is a Kickstarter smash hit
Engadget has been around for 14 years and counting, which means our archives contain a veritable treasure trove of technology history. From notable reviews and news to the more mundane or ridiculous finds from across the internet, there's a lot to explore here. "This Day in Engadget History" will take you on a historical voyage as we look at what made the headlines in years past. Join us, won't you? Six years ago today, we stood on the precipice of an exciting gaming development. The Ouya console smashed through its $950,000 Kickstarter funding goal in under 12 hours. At the time, it was the biggest first day for a project in Kickstarter's history.
'Chasm' brings its Metroidvania action home July 31st
Coming in just four years after its initially projected release date, 2D action-RPG Chasm has a July 31st release date. Five years ago its Kickstarter closed with $191,897 pledged towards the creation of this Metroidvania-style game with procedurally generated levels. Now, early access backers on Steam will get access on the 16th, while gamer-come-latelys can buy in at the end of the month for $20 on PC, PS4 or Vita.
This day in Engadget history: Blockbuster Video tanks in a big way
Engadget has been around for 14 years and counting, which means our archives contain a veritable treasure trove of technology history. From notable reviews and news to the more mundane or ridiculous finds from across the internet, there's a lot to explore here. "This Day in Engadget History" will take you on a historical voyage as we look at what made the headlines in years past. Join us, won't you?
Crowdfunded 3D headphone startup Ossic closes its doors
It's a sad time if you're a fan of 3D audio. Ossic, a startup that crowdfunded a pair of headphones that personalized 3D sound for your ears, has shut down due to a lack of funds. It successfully shipped a handful of developer-oriented units in January, but didn't have the money to mass-produce the devices for most listeners. There's no mention of customers getting refunds, although that's typical for crowdfunding efforts given that contributions are considered investments rather than guaranteed purchases.
'Shenmue 3' will apparently arrive in 2019
At this point, it seems like driving a forklift in the world of Shenmue again is even more of a pipe dream. Development on the third entry in the groundbreaking series kicked into gear in 2015 after a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign; after the last postponement, Shenmue 3 was scheduled to drop in the back half of 2018. However, another delay means you'll have to wait until 2019 for the next part of Ryo Hazuki's story.
Ascape Audio's earbuds boast wireless sound in a convenient package
If you want to put a little Motown in your ears, the Kickstarter campaign for Ascape Audio's newest Detroit-designed fully wireless earbuds and charging case has finally launched. The pitch is as follows: The AmpPack is a charging case that holds and charges the AscapePod fully wireless earbuds. The AmpPack automatically starts charging the twist-to-lock earbuds as soon as you secure them into the cradle near your phone's earpiece. The case's internal battery has enough power to charge them 20 times, or, it can double the life of your phone battery.
