Karagin
07/17/19 11:13 PM
72.176.171.47
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https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/450703636/battletech-clan-invasion
Go...support it!
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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Requiem
07/17/19 11:39 PM
1.158.219.174
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IN MY OPINION:-
You do realise that Kickstarter is “crowdfunding program” – Doesn’t this indicate a lack of capital funds (cash flow) or willingness by Catalyst to fund it in the box first place?
To me this indicates there is a financial issue within Catalyst that has yet to be disclosed.
If the company who is going to profit from its establishment is not going to venture capital the project you must ask why they are requesting the initial capital from the fans?
I can understand when the fans come together to request a variant upon an existing product such as getting a Japanese Anime dubbed into English.
However what we are looking at here is an entirely new product line that needs funding to be developed from the ground up.
Also remember the small number of box sets that was its predecessor as well as the limited availability of this box set.
First Catalyst needs to fix its supply chain to all game stores (throughout the entire world and not limit it to just USA or the net) who request it, and then they need to ensure an adequate numbers within the production run.
In addition I would also like to know if they are going to fix the many errors with the initial Clan invasion that have been ranted about so thoroughly within all the forums or if they are just going to go with the flow.
More information from Catalyst Please …. As is I am dubious about what is going on behind the screen (within Catalyst) as to why they need crowdfunding, there is an issue here we are not being told about.
Get thee to Coventry … Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious by this daughter of Tharkad … Our army shall march through. Well to New Avalon tonight.
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Karagin
07/17/19 11:41 PM
72.176.171.47
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Dude, the info is right there on the kickstarter page, CGL is the same company putting out Battletech right now, either you back it or you don't. And if you have to explain what Kickstarter is that tells me you have never backed one.
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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Requiem
07/18/19 04:00 AM
1.158.219.174
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The underlining issue … IN MY OPINION AGAIN:
The Artwork
The Box’s documents, rules, stories and maps should already exist …. Cost is next to nil then in producing the new box and its contents as far as that goes.
The only issue is the cost of designing and manufacturing new ‘Mech playing pieces which will then be subsequently used to create the molds that are used in the injection molding process – the designing / manufacturing new molds should be the main cost – injection molding however is not to be considered to be a major cost on a per unit basis.
Overall if the game box is manufactured in either China or Mexico, both should be able to produce a minimum cost per unit game box – the overall cost will thus be determined upon the total run number being produced to meet market demand.
If crowdfunding is being used to fund the establishment of the box's initial production run numbers the only question therefore lies in either catalyst’s –
Credit availability issue;
cash flow / capital outlay issue; or
Internal politics / lack of game development – where another department has angled for Battletech’s Budget – they have proven they are more cost effective / will produce a higher profit margin - if this is what is happening the board game / supplement books department will be soon dissolved unless they can demonstrate there is still profit to be had from the Battletech game. This can also be shown through the number of products that have been established in the last 18-24 months – if production numbers are low, compared with previous years, this can be taken as evidence that there is a problem.
Honestly, the 30th Anniversary is upon us and yet there is no real marketing to get new beginner’s into the game! A new supply chain into game stores world-wide is required - thus generating interest and new game players (increasing the overall target market numbers – people who want to play the game and know of the existence of the game) rather than just adopting a web based word of mouth approach to marketing. As it stands the market numbers should be considered to be platowing / decreasing over time without the addition of a new marketing campaign to increase sales numbers / number of additional people who want to begin collecting the game and all of its supplements / novels / models etc.
One of the biggest barriers to entry for a new player is the access to the source materials – there have been a considerable amount of books / models / novels produced – however access to all of these within a reasonable price range has yet to be addressed - people need the availability of these products through their local game store.
Just look at the resurgence of the Dungeon and Dragon Game Books / models etc – within my local store they now have an entire wall devoted to just this one game – indicating increasing popularity / profitability.
There is an issue here when a corporation moves towards crowdfunding via kickstarter to establish a product such as the Clan Invasion box rather than utilising its own capital outlay / credit availability.
The only thing is in determining what the issue is.
Unless it is addressed soon you may see the end of the board game / book supplement divisions of the game – leaving only the computer game to generate future profits.
So if you want to see the Battletech board game (and all of its supplements – books / models etc) survive another five years you may want to understand what Catalyst is doing now to increase numbers – and to act on the issue now. This can only be achieved if they know, the fans know, there is an issue that they desire rectified to ensure the continuance of the game for the for-see-able future.
Get thee to Coventry … Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious by this daughter of Tharkad … Our army shall march through. Well to New Avalon tonight.
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Frabby
07/18/19 05:06 AM
79.212.150.123
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This is how I understand the situation:
The critical work - design, art, etc. - has been done. The product as such is largely complete.
The bottleneck is actual manufacture (beyond prototypes, which are hideously expensive per item).
CGL aims to bring high-quality plastic miniatures. These are cheap in production, once production is set up - but it's very expensive to create the molds and set up production. So they have a product, but it is a product that needs a substantial headstart investment. This is nigh ideal for a Kickstarter project because you can raise that initial investment via Kickstarter, guaranteeing that it will amortize (it actually is already by the time the investment is made).
There are three major things that can go wrong in a Kickstarter:
- If you're funding creative or scientific/engineering work, nobody can guarantee that the outcome matches expectations. Sometimes you cannot even be sure the project is economically viable or technically possible. I've been told there are Kickstarter projects out there for inventions that seem to defy fundamental laws of physics.
This problem field clearly isn't applicable for the CGL Kickstarter. There's prototypes of the boxed set already, the artwork and design is largely if not completely done already.
- If you're overextending on stretch goals to the point where the entire project tilts into financially problematic waters.
Again, I can't see how this could be a problem in this case. The lynchpin of the entire project are the plastic miniatures, or more precisely, their molds and production setup. Once this hurdle is overcome, mass production is cheap and the economoy of scale kicks in. I daresay CGL is getting a better revenue per item the bigger the Kickstarter project goes.
- If you're overextending yourself with the project on the fulfillment side.
This *is* a sore point with CGL, as far as I gathered. They depend on a third party for fulfillment and apparently that went badly wrong in a recent Shadowrun Kickstarter project where fulfillment to Europe essentially collapsed. One could argue that it wasn't CGL's fault directly, but then again yes it was insofar as they selected an incompetent fulfillment agency. Personally I'm willing to accept their word that they've learnt the lesson.
This BT Kickstarter project is big, and has already exploded out of bounds. This could be a breakthrough thing for BattleTech, or CGL as a whole. On the down side, if this goes wrong it's big enough to cause lasting damage to the company and the IP. Fingers crossed.
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Karagin
07/18/19 03:23 PM
72.176.171.47
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As Frabby pointed out some Kickstarters are going to not happen for a lot of reason. CGL has run two or three for Shadow Run, those did well enough.
The worse run and handled Kickstarter I have seen and backed was the one run/handled by Palladium Books/Games, they got in over their heads, had never ran a KS before and knew they had a limited time with the IP of Robotech and screwed up things to the point that they are still suffering the backlash as is Robotech. Big issue they thought a $100 plus main box set would sell since "it's Robotech" and found out no it won't, then their miniatures...I have put together old school model kits that have more pieces and not had the issues these did... were a nightmare. They also promised the world and their big issue NOTHING was even in the prototype stage. Then communication was their next biggest down fall. They started misleading folks from the second Wave one was finished, and Wave two...yeah they milked the crap out of the backers and some how other IPs of theirs seemed to be getting a lot of new stuff and pushed hard but not the KS they should have been focused on...
So if you are leery, then don't jump in. Rumor has it the miniatures will be available for retail at some point down the road. If you want them sooner then jump in and take the chance. You can also do a small pledge and then buy add on's latter to get what you want vs dropping $50 or more dollars. However, a lot of you other points have NOTHING to do with the Kickstarter, they are issues BT has always had. They don't advertise the damn game system at all, at one point they did, then new leads stopped doing it. And from about 99 to about right after Click Tech crashed and burned, many had written the game off. Add in comments and such online by folks WORKING for FASA/FP/WK or their friends speaking for them caused a lot of backlash.
I too wonder why they need us to do this, I mean sure it makes it easier on them, but at the same time, for many this is one shot deal, they won't buy more of things they have. So really this could be great or not, depends on how folks do after the KS is done.
Thing is the Kickstarter offers you, or anyone the chance to get some cool miniatures in large numbers for a decent price, along with cool secondary stuff without more cost to you beyond what you pledge in. Is there a risk? Yes, is it to the point that you will be held responsible if CGL fails on this, no. Worse case you are out at the least a $1 or at the most $1000, all depending on what you pledge. So as I said above, either support it or don't.
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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LordEntrails
07/18/19 08:53 PM
68.230.72.234
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Their is another very common reason to run Kickstarters other than obtaining funding/capital/cash flow reasons. One that has become more and more common recently.
KS are often a very successful means of marketing and advertising. In this mode KSs are often able to establish chatter, expand awareness, and garner excitement and commitment from customers. Though even when used primarily for this reason, it does have other business benefits, which often lead to benefits for the customer as well. By having a pre-committed set of purchases, they don't have to warehouse product for as long, they have precise run numbers so their is no over/under production, nad yes, they don't have to layout the capital as far in advance (or at all).
In all, it allows the cost and risk of the product to be reduced. It hypes advertising and garners attention, often eliciting a new market and penetration into new users. And then from the customer perspective this all results in stretch goals, which allows the company to put forth a product with more value/content/quality for the same price.
Though I am not much a crowdfunding supporter, but I do see it's benefits to both the customers and company, even traditional companies with traditional products.
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