Honestly to me this sounds as if you try to make the idea sound like BS out of some personal problems with Newell?
I for one think that the idea is quite good. Of course a developer shouldn't rely only on the support he gets from these "mini-investors" but it could definitely reduce cost and grant customers a greater influence on what is produced.
I didn't see anything about 50$ and I agree that that might be a bit much but investing i.e. 25 bucks for a game that I'm sure will rock (Diablo3; Starcraft 2; DUKE NUKEM !!!; etc.) seems reasonable to me even if I'd get nothing for the game in return.
This could be a great idea especially for "indie" games where studios aren't that big and still create great stuff and would give them quite a backing. Of course some control mechanisms would be needed, development reports but maybe monthly and chances to give feedback maybe in a forum. But you should always keep in mind that these mechanism can't cost too much otherwise the whole idea won't make sense anymore.
To sum it up you wouldn't be flipping a coin but rather making an investment with (more or less) foreseeable risks, as long as you inform yourself.
Slashdot Mirror
At last... Totally "anonymously" premade sailormoon furry porn while playing assasins creed 2 :)
I am SO looking forward to this
Honestly to me this sounds as if you try to make the idea sound like BS out of some personal problems with Newell?
I for one think that the idea is quite good. Of course a developer shouldn't rely only on the support he gets from these "mini-investors" but it could definitely reduce cost and grant customers a greater influence on what is produced.
I didn't see anything about 50$ and I agree that that might be a bit much but investing i.e. 25 bucks for a game that I'm sure will rock (Diablo3; Starcraft 2; DUKE NUKEM !!!; etc.) seems reasonable to me even if I'd get nothing for the game in return.
This could be a great idea especially for "indie" games where studios aren't that big and still create great stuff and would give them quite a backing.
Of course some control mechanisms would be needed, development reports but maybe monthly and chances to give feedback maybe in a forum. But you should always keep in mind that these mechanism can't cost too much otherwise the whole idea won't make sense anymore.
To sum it up you wouldn't be flipping a coin but rather making an investment with (more or less) foreseeable risks, as long as you inform yourself.
The inevitable dialogue between totally overworked surgeons:
"Oh well that was his liver I just cut open not the stomach... let's reset this"
*awkward silence*
"Wait... Oh shit, well let's just tell his family there were some... unexpected complications right?"