MangaGamer Considering Crowd Funding

[Cryptah]

I was wondering if they do this kind of thing and go for crowd funding, how much money would you guys offer for that?

Personally I would use 100-150€, depending about the project title of course.

[MellowMadman11]

If I had that kind of money at the time I probably would, but I usually don't.

[pedropars]

If they do start doing crowd funding i hope they use it for bigger projects and not for even more nukiges...

[meru]

I'd support them in this as it does have the potential to be very successful. If they could get something on Kickstarter and then the word spread, a lot more people might become interested in VN. I wonder what platform they would use though? I don't think they could put an ero game up on Kickstarter..?

[Nosebleed]

I'd support them in this as it does have the potential to be very successful. If they could get something on Kickstarter and then the word spread, a lot more people might become interested in VN. I wonder what platform they would use though? I don't think they could put an ero game up on Kickstarter..?

Yes if MangaGamer used kickstarter for eroge it would violate some of their rules

• Kickstarter cannot be used to fund websites or apps focused on e-commerce, business, and social networking.
• Kickstarter cannot be used to fund software projects not run by the developers themselves.
• No offensive material (hate speech, etc.); pornographic material; or projects endorsing or opposing a political candidate.

The first 2 are debateable but the last one is a no brainer

 

And a bit out of topic here, while i was reading the guidelines:

"Projects cannot offer genetically modified organisms as a reward" does this really have to be a rule? I sort of chuckled for a couple mins after seeing this.

[meru]

I checked out Indiegogo too, and they forbid "Bullying, harassing, obscene or pornographic items, sexually oriented or explicit materials or services". (No idea why bullying and harassment should be in the same category as sexually explicit material, but that's another matter). These are the main two crowdsourcing platforms - if they used anywhere else then the campaign would definitely be less successful. So perhaps they'll try with some all-ages titles, or even go the route of Moenovel and start butchering editing adult VNs.

 

"Projects cannot offer genetically modified organisms as a reward" does this really have to be a rule? I sort of chuckled for a couple mins after seeing this.

 

Ahaha, I can't believe that's an actual rule XD I guess someone must have tried to do it at some point.

[BookwormOtaku]

Well if its limited to all ages then they could try either the Mai Hime game from Circus or Sengoku Koihime to test the waters

[Alexander the Great]

They can do the "kickstarter" on their own website and not use a thirdparty service which will take a cut from the funds.  Starbound is a game that did this as well and it worked out great for the devs.  Doing it that way is a way they can not worry about rules and bring any game they want over.  I think before the kickstarter begins they should have a poll with a list of several games with the winner being the one that will be "kickstartered".

[solidbatman]

They can do the "kickstarter" on their own website and not use a thirdparty service which will take a cut from the funds.  Starbound is a game that did this as well and it worked out great for the devs.  Doing it that way is a way they can not worry about rules and bring any game they want over.  I think before the kickstarter begins they should have a poll with a list of several games with the winner being the one that will be "kickstartered".

If they did that, they would already need to approach those developers for the license costs. Otherwise, fans might vote for a novel that a company doesn't want to license out (anything Visual Arts)

[Nosebleed]

That's the issue i see, they can't put up any visual novel there. They need to know they can license it.

But it'd also be kind of rude (imo) to go to a lot of developers and ask for permission and then make a poll for which of them do we want and leave the others out just because. What kind of image would that send out to developers? Not a very good one.

It's kind of tricky.

But i still do support a poll to at least see the users preferences in raw data so MangaGamer can know where they should head.

[SieghartXx]

They can do the "kickstarter" on their own website and not use a thirdparty service which will take a cut from the funds.  Starbound is a game that did this as well and it worked out great for the devs.  Doing it that way is a way they can not worry about rules and bring any game they want over.  I think before the kickstarter begins they should have a poll with a list of several games with the winner being the one that will be "kickstartered".

That's what I meant, something like the projects on kickstarter, not that page in specific (I just didn't find a better example xD), that way there's no trouble with third parties and stuff.

 

I have to agree with Nosebleed, though, it would be kind of rude to go around asking and giving expectations to the developers, and then just pick another project. They could, however, ask the poll first, just as a normal question, like "which vn would you like to see translated", not saying directly that they would translate it. After that, they could see about the licenses and stuff xD If they can't license the most voted, they just can go with the second one, and so on. It would be kinda sad for the fans that voted for the first one, but it's not like Mangagamer can do anything about it if the developers reject their proposals of licensing it.

My english may be kinda weird, I was without internet for like 24hrs, and that hit my brain too hard.

[MellowMadman11]

That's what I meant, something like the projects on kickstarter, not that page in specific (I just didn't find a better example xD), that way there's no trouble with third parties and stuff.

 

I have to agree with Nosebleed, though, it would be kind of rude to go around asking and giving expectations to the developers, and then just pick another project. They could, however, ask the poll first, just as a normal question, like "which vn would you like to see translated", not saying directly that they would translate it. After that, they could see about the licenses and stuff xD If they can't license the most voted, they just can go with the second one, and so on. It would be kinda sad for the fans that voted for the first one, but it's not like Mangagamer can do anything about it if the developers reject their proposals of licensing it.

My english may be kinda weird, I was without internet for like 24hrs, and that hit my brain too hard.

This. This is exactly what I was going to suggest, my hat is off to you.

[Intrinsic]

To me, the best part of that article was this:

 

"if we keep expanding to about twice the user base and sales we see now, I think we’ll start seeing even more developers joining in."

[BookwormOtaku]

To me, the best part of that article was this:

 

"if we keep expanding to about twice the user base and sales we see now, I think we’ll start seeing even more developers joining in."

 

Interesting coincidence, not too long after that Kotaku reviewed  Kara no Shoujo and its sales really shot up so  maybe at least some of those buyers will come back for more

[Darklord Rooke]

To me, the best part of that article was this:

 

"if we keep expanding to about twice the user base and sales we see now, I think we’ll start seeing even more developers joining in."

 

It is a PR non-statement. A piece of writing designed to engineer excitement while saying absolutely nothing. 'If we double our sales then maybe a couple more developers may join in.' [sarcastica]Really? Gee, thanks for that extra special glimps into Business 101. It's a piece of insight I'll treasure forever[/sarcastica]

 

Secondly: what kind of developers are we talking about? Because some of the latest developers to 'join in' were doujin nukige crap (Morningstar)

[Intrinsic]

Compared to a lot of companies MG has been very honest and transparent with it's info. Preceding the small quote I posted they commented on a positive trend of increasing customers and sales. If one reads between the lines this quote states "with twice the current volume of sales, they will achieve the numbers other developers are looking for before they try their hand at the western market." Combined with the previous statement that sales are always on the rise it also states we are on a collision course for that very positive happening. If the wording was "if we sold more we'd release more" then it wouldn't mean anything. Stating "twice" is about as close as a company will get to publishing it's sales figures on the internet, and gives you a rough idea of what needs to change before we see a flood of additional titles in our market.

 

I hope Kotaku's review does bring them a big step closer to that "twice as much" figure they need before many more VNs are brought our way.

[Darklord Rooke]

EDIT: My post is in response to Intrinsic. I can't figure out these infernal quote tags and I really don't feel like fiddling too much. Because it's hot and I'm lazy. More the latter tbh.

 

Preceding the small quote I posted they commented on a positive trend of increasing customers and sales.

 

As far as I'm aware, Shuffle and Koihime Musou are still the best-selling titles from Mangagamer and they sold about 2000 copies. These are a) both old(ish) titles and thus I doubt sales per title have been increasing much (if at all) and b ) really pitiful sale figures.

 

When they say that the number of users have been increasing, it only takes an increase of 1 to make the above statement true.

 

 Combined with the previous statement that sales are always on the rise it also states we are on a collision course for that very positive happening.

 

They never said sales were always on the rise.

 

Also, sales or sales per title?

 

Furthermore, you should take into consideration that Kara no Shoujo, a quality story-based VN, has received disappointing sales overall. Also note that Mangagamer have been releasing a flood of crappy nukige lately, so maybe you'll want to reassess exactly which future they're rocketing towards.

 

Stating "twice" is about as close as a company will get to publishing it's sales figures on the internet

 

It's merely common sense. If Mangagamer doubles their sale figures then of course more developers would hop on board (even if they are crappy doujin developers.) It's probably the most useless statement from a company spokesman I've read all week.

 

and gives you a rough idea of what needs to change before we see a flood of additional titles in our market.

 

Your post is full of assumptions like these. From the figures Mangagamer has been releasing, they haven't seen a noticeable increase in sales per title, and yet they're releasing more VNs. They've signed up Morningstar and EDIT: Softhouse Seal. The statement they made didn't say that sales needs to double BEFORE more developers hop on board, merely that more developers would hop on board if sales double. Pretty pointless to be perfectly frank.

 

I hope Kotaku's review does bring them a big step closer to that "twice as much" figure

 

I doubt it. It put KnS on the 'top 5 sellers', a place they were rarely on, which I suppose is a good thing.

[Intrinsic]

Again, it doesn't say "if we sold more we'd release more". The amount of sales could have been so bad, and the bar set by other developers could have been so high, that triple or quadruple the amount of sales could have been required. Many people in the community paint a negative picture all the time, stating the required sales are so far out of reach. Before this statemented amount, even if it a relative amount, there was nothing obvious about the volume of sales that would be required to bring us more product diversity.

 

Some assumptions do need to be made, as exact figures were not provided, but rather a relative amount. If other articles are referenced actual sales numbers have been provided, and those can be used to create a guesstimate.

 

All in all, it can be viewed a great news, and be interpreted that we are not as far off from getting a lot m ore VNs localized that some people once thought. By proxy the the efforts to bring awareness to VNs in the west are also more valuable that one might have thought too, as "about twice as much" should be very attainable amount.

 

Anyway, I'll leave it at that to prevent further repetition, and because there is too much to do this time of year and not enough time =(

[Darklord Rooke]

 The amount of sales could have been so bad, and the bar set by other developers could have been so high, that triple or quadruple the amount of sales could have been required.

 

It wouldn't have, because they didn't specify which developers. So tiny doujin developers who struggle in an industry which is declining (like big-time) in Japan, will obviously jump at an opportunity to sell more games. Even if that number is only a few. And if Mangagamer can double their sales and user base, then it doesn't take a giant leap of faith to deduce that they will attract more of these developers.

 

Take Demon Hunter Chris, for example. It was a game made by a single person. Do you honestly believe Mangagamer would need to quadruple their sales to get more developers like him on board?

 

 Many people in the community paint a negative picture all the time, stating the required sales are so far out of reach.

 

It depends on the developer. Getting Key games licensed, for example, is impossible.

 

All in all, it can be viewed a great news, and be interpreted that we are not as far off from getting a lot m ore VNs localized that some people once thought.

 

We are not far off? First you're assuming it will be easy for Mangagamer to double their sales, which it won't be. Second, you're assuming that doubling of sales is necessary for a flood of new developers to jump on board, which it isn't. Mangagamer recently announced a host of new titles from new developers which jumped on board. Unfortunately some were shitty developers. Which brings us to the third point, which is you have no idea which developers they're talking about. For all you know they could have meant 'if we double our sales, I think we can get some more developers of short, grotesque nukige to come on board. Everybody rejoice!'

 

Going completely off-topic for a moment, I wish you a splendid Christmas, and a relaxing and stress-free holidays (although we all know that a stress-free holiday season never happens.)