Ludicious Game Festival 2014 - Crowdfunding numbers and trends for video games Thomas BIDAUX from ICO Partners.

1. CROWDFUNDING for INDIE GAMES
THOMAS BIDAUX
CEO @
TRENDS AND BEST PRACTICES

2. Online Games Consulting & Services
INTRODUCTION
ME
AUDIENCE
CROWDFUNDING (MOSTLY, KICKSTARTER…)
DATA DISCLAIMER
Date
Methodology (support from Potion of Wit)
No Ouya
Some survey data
All data available after the lecture

3. KICKSTARTER - HI GH L E V E L P R I N C I P L E S
All-or-Nothing
USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands,
Scandinavia and Ireland
Largest platform for games:
Online Games Consulting & Services
Kickstarter to date: $125m
Indiegogo to date: $4m (est.)
Ulule to date: $1m (est.)

4. Online Games Consulting & Services
STATE OF KICKSTARTER
PRE-2012 GROWTH

5. Online Games Consulting & Services One million dollars!

6. T H E N … D o u b l e Fine Adventure happened
Online Games Consulting & Services

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STATE OF KICKSTARTER
# OF SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS

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STATE OF KICKSTARTER
TOTAL $ RAISED

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STATE OF KICKSTARTER
# OF FUNDED VIDEO GAME PROJECTS

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STATE OF KICKSTARTER
TOTAL $ RAISED - VIDEO GAME PROJECTS

11. # OF SUCCESSFUL PROJECT PER TIER (TOTAL $ RAISED) VIDEO GAMES
Online Games Consulting & Services
STATE OF KICKSTARTER

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STATE OF KICKSTARTER
$ RAISED BY PROJECTS PER TIER (TOTAL $ RAISED) VIDEO GAMES

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STATE OF KICKSTARTER
VIDEO GAMES - $ PLEDGED PER MONTH

14. STATE OF KICKSTARTER – p r e 2 0 1 2
Online Games Consulting & Services
M E D I A N - F U N D E D PROJECTS

15. THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT SLOW DOWN
Online Games Consulting & Services
There is a before and after Double Fine adventures
It benefitted projects at all levels
Median is now at $11,200, down from $16,000
All metrics going down as all the low hanging fruits have been grabbed
Comparing previous years, all categories of projects have benefitted
from the exposure.
There seems to be a gap range more difficult to get funded.

16. Online Games Consulting & Services
SUCCESS RATIO IN 2014 SO FAR
20%
(was 24% in 2013)

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SUCCESS FACTORS
1 The right goal

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SUCCESS FACTORS
2 The f###ing right goal!!!

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SUCCESS FACTORS
3 Existing community

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SUCCESS FACTORS
4 PR reach

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SUCCESS FACTORS
5 Proper positioning
(PC game, niche genre)

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SUCCESS FACTORS
6 Reactivity

23. SUCCESS FACTORS
Is Kickstarter really right for you, your game, your company?
Not a discovery tool, only a multiplier
Online Games Consulting & Services
SERIOUSLY ASK YOURSELF!

24. BEST PRACTICES – BUDG E T R I GHT
60-70% left for the project (if you didn’t make any
mistakes)
Online Games Consulting & Services
5% to Kickstarter, around 5% to Amazon
Between 0.5% and 4% for failed payments
5-10% Picking, Packing, Posting
5-15% for admin costs + taxes
10-20% Cost of Goods
Average pledge $48

25. Online Games Consulting & Services
BEST PRACTICES
Prepare well
Become a backer
Find a (successful) project similar to yours
Manage the momentum paradox
Physical rewards only at a certain scale

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STRIKE SUIT ZERO
4,484 backers $174,804

27. 73,986 backers $3,986,929
Online Games Consulting & Services
PROJECT ETERNITY

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BEST PRACTICES
The campaign itself
Plan for a month off
Campaigns are resources sinks
Make sure you have the required skills available
Production value is going up
Demo probably required
You may fail

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BEST PRACTICES
Post-campaign management
Limited back-end
LOTS of micro-management
Manage expectations long term

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TRENDS
We have reached a slump
Platform reaching maturity (other platforms potentially growing)

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TRENDS – PLATFORMS CYCLE
STEALING FROM
DAVID EDERY (SPRYFOX)
2014-????
Inevitable
Misery
2012- 2013
Early Glory
2009 -2011
Uncertain
Beginnings
???? - ????
Triumphant
Return

33. Online Games Consulting & Services
TRENDS
Going outside of Kickstarter
Other platforms (indiegogo, ulule)
Self-managed campaign
Publisher support (The Collective)

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TRENDS
Pushing the quality up
Sophisticated campaigns
Playable demos
Low media pick-up
Campaigns that failed… and still won

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39. LUDICIOUS 2014 – CROWDFUNDING FOR INDIE VIDEOGAMES
Online Games Consulting & Services
QUESTIONS?

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CONTACTING ME
thomas@icopartners.com
www.slideshare.net/ICOPartners
www.icopartners.com/blog
@icotom
www.facebook.com/icopartners