Thatgamecompany not yet ready for Kickstarter – Jenova Chen

His reasoning is that only veteran developers can secure proper funding.

Posted By | On 15th, Feb. 2013

journey 1

Thatgamecompany, the creators of Journey, faced a lot of issues when it comes to the budget, and it was also one reason why Jenova Chen, the boss of the studio mentioned that they were almost headed for bankruptcy.

So why not go with Kickstarter then? According to Chen, he feels that Kickstarter only works with established developers who had created great games decades ago and it’s the nostalgia that’s driving people into pledging a lot of money to the projects.

“I think most of the very successful Kickstarters are by veteran celebrity developers who made these games people in their 30s and 40s used to love,” he told GamesIndustry.

“They’re the people who have loads of money to donate. And I’m thinking that most of the people who played our games are teenagers and college students. How much money are they going to have to donate? So I think it’s not my time yet.”

I think he has a point, but there have been projects from people who are not so well known in the gaming industry and managed to secure funding because people liked their pitch.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.


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