Switch Theme:

An article about Kickstarter and Ninja Division in...the Idaho Statesman?  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
»
Author Message
Advert


Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:
  • No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
  • Times and dates in your local timezone.
  • Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
  • Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
  • Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.
If you are already a member then feel free to login now.




Made in us
[MOD]
Madrak Ironhide







https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/business/article225610455.html

The little table-top game maker based in Garden City was on a roll. It was close to $5 million in annual sales. Its Kickstarter campaigns had racked up $3 million from enthusiastic backers across the globe, eager to throw money into the pot for a new game from Ninja Division.

“A lot of Kickstarter is loyalty,” Deke Stella, marketing director for Ninja Division, told the Idaho Statesman in 2016. “Most Kickstarters pull in a couple hundred backers. We pretty comfortably pull in 3,000 to 7,000 backers. It’s all people who are super invested into the stuff we do. They are passionate. They see our pride of ownership, and they’ve taken that for themselves.”

But that was a few years ago. Now it’s 2019, and those Kickstarter backers are passionate about something else: They want their games, and they want refunds. After waiting months or years for the items they helped to crowdfund, they’re lodging complaints with anyone who will listen.

...


I hadn't realized that Ninja Division was going so badly. I
don't often fund via Kickstarter, so this was a surprise for
me. I'm sure Dakkites can fill me in on this?

DR:70+S+G-MB-I+Pwmhd05#+D++A+++/aWD100R++T(S)DM+++
Get your own Dakka Code!

"...he could never understand the sense of a contest in which the two adversaries agreed upon the rules." Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude 
   
Made in gb
Moustache-twirling Princeps




United Kingdom

Long, existing thread here.

Short version - they've over-promised and don't seem to have the resources to deliver everything.
   
Made in ca
Ancient Venerable Black Templar Dreadnought





Canada

beast_gts wrote:
Long, existing thread here.
Short version - they've over-promised and don't seem to have the resources to deliver everything.
Note that this was run by Palladium Books and Ninja did their job as best I could tell, so "Wave 1" eventually got to us but Palladium pocketed the backer money and backed out of Wave 2.
Ninja Division seems to do well on the planning end of things but execution over long-term seems to be their weakness.
As a backer we see little of what goes on in the background so there is some conjecture.
I look at Kickstarter as a form of "pre-purchase" and have been quite appalled at how little consumer protection there is.

But to be clear:
Group-funding IS a store, rewards are promised and they must be delivered or refunded.
Unethical "creators" depend on the anonymous sponsor system to prevent backers from collectively uniting to form a class-action suit against them.
There is good evidence that the "good" creators are fantastic to back and deliver well, it now seems that known creators are the only way to go.
   
Made in us
[MOD]
Madrak Ironhide







Thank you!

DR:70+S+G-MB-I+Pwmhd05#+D++A+++/aWD100R++T(S)DM+++
Get your own Dakka Code!

"...he could never understand the sense of a contest in which the two adversaries agreed upon the rules." Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude 
   
Made in us
Infiltrating Prowler





Portland, OR

Here is another similar statement from Archon.



   
Made in ca
Ancient Venerable Black Templar Dreadnought





Canada

Here is a detailed response by Ninja-Division:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Iu7HOs3mkd6GCve9LqHT_9Q5rdghW5xY/view

A revolution is an idea which has found its bayonets.
Napoleon Bonaparte 
   
Made in us
Infiltrating Prowler





Portland, OR

That response is only for Super Dungeon Legends, which in itself seems, sure some bad luck and choices from 2015-2017. But then they did Relic Knights in March 2017 and Starfinder in Oct 2017.

It seemed they tried to use funds from that to pay back certain things, possibly even thought if they could get Super Dungeon Legends out, then make cash to cover float the rest. Instead of putting that cash fully towards their perspective projects.

That is just opinion and speculation but based on the previous history and their statement, seems fairly plausible.
   
 
Forum Index » Dakka Discussions
Go to: