Mega Man Board Game

[odinsgrandson]

So, I've been watching the minis as they've been previewed on TGN, and it seems that yesterday they finally got the campaign started up on Kickstarter (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1821440755/mega-mantm-the-board-game).

I'm personally against the fully painted pieces that they have as a stretch goal, but otherwise this looks pretty neat.

And who hasn't wanted to paint up a Mega Man mini?

[Kudag Firefist]

Took me a while to find it (ctrl+f probably would have been the smart thing to do ...) but for those wondering, this project is licensed through Capcom, so probably won't end in tears like the Heroquest kickstarter did.

[lattd]

Unfortunately it's only available in America, otherwise I would pledge on this so fast!

[odinsgrandson]

They aren't shipping international? That's odd, I wonder why.

[lattd]

It's due to the license however if it gets backed enough they are hopefully going to get the license expanded.

[GrauGeist]

They aren't shipping international? That's odd, I wonder why.

Capcom only licensed for the US.

Period. End of discussion.

Europe would be a different license. As would Asia. As would Japan itself. Each of those licenses costs money.

If the ship outside the US, they risk the entire license being pulled due to material breach of contract, and may result in considerable damages (i.e. paying even more money). This is how real licensing works. You stay within the box you paid for, or suffer serious consequences.

If you want to back from outside the US, you'll need a reliable friend (or freight forwarder) in the US. Otherwise, you're SOL.

[odinsgrandson]

Ok. In the end it would be possible for people outside the US to get it via US retailers, but not via Kickstarter (which is basically a distribution platform anyway).

Of course, if Kickstarter were an investment platform, that'd be different, but in the end, it looks more like a distribution platform (and you don't want to be the case that goes to court over that one). I mean, that's where Gamezone got mixed up.

It's North America, right? Most of the time, North American rights are tied together.

[GrauGeist]

In the end, yes, it would easily be possible for non-US people to get copies. The thing is, they'd miss out on any KS exclusives or backer bonuses. They'd be buying retail versions that (in theory) come out days / weeks / months after the backers get their stuff.

As for the investment / distribution / preorder thing, that varies by campaign. I backed DreamForge Games, and for them, it was absolutely an investment platform to convert resin designs into reproducible plastic, while expanding the range to incorporate a host of options and kits. Same with Kingdom Death, a huge investment platform there, too. The only difference is of scale, where Kingdom Death was lucky to pull 10x the revenue of DreamForge. Most of the big CMoN KS are almost certainly investment campaigns, with design work that needs investment dollars for development and very expensive tooling. OTOH, I ignored Krosmaster Arena, which was clearly a preorder.

As for North America vs USA, I'm not sure what the contract was. The way that licensing works, it could be US only. Or, it could be a language issue of not having Spanish / French translators on staff to support Latin / Canadian markets. Or maybe it's an issue of customs and fees when other campaigns have noted it would have been cheaper to set fire to the product, than to ship it out of country! Without being on the team, it's hard to say.

[odinsgrandson]

I mean, legally. You can get investors from anywhere in the world. But you can only sell your product where you have the license, so it matters if Kickstarter is an investment or distribution platform.

What I mean is that Kickstarter does not work like traditional investing. Kickstarters do not receive normal investment returns- rather they simply receive the product. While investors are likely to receive that as well, it is really just a token. What investors receive is returns on their investment (ie-profits).

It doesn't matter whether or not the product would exist normally. It matters whether or not the investor is assuming a stake in the product, and then receiving a portion of the profits. Kickstarter rules prevent that from happening.

Pre-orders are often used to pay for print runs and such (it is a very common business model- at least among smaller companies). While no one would admit to it, there are products that couldn't exist without the pre-orders.


Basically, this is a spill over from the HeroQuest debacle. Gamezone decided that Kickstarter was an investor platform, and that they weren't selling their product through Kickstarter- they were gathering investors. It is clear that Jasco is not doing that.

When laws or court rulings are made for this particular issue, it is very doubtful that crowdfunding will be found to be an investment platform.

[Kudag Firefist]

Pretty sure they ship to both Canada and Mexico.
"Capcom limits us to sales in North America"
"Backers that live in North America but outside of the United States must add the specified cost for shipping to their pledges. "
"Canada/Mexico add $x for shipping" on virtually every pledge level.

[wittdooley]

So this has been opened up to the entire world, and has also been given a gameplay video. Curious on everyone's thoughts about it now.

[odinsgrandson]

Well, I'm glad they can open it up like that. I haven't watched their gameplay video yet, but that's sure to be interesting.

At the moment, I don't have the funds to spare so I won't be getting in on it. Also, the prepaints really turn me off to the project- I've never seen a stretch goal before where I felt less interested in the project for it (quite a few where I was indifferent, but none that make me hope they don't get it).

[GrauGeist]

So this has been opened up to the entire world, and has also been given a gameplay video. Curious on everyone's thoughts about it now.


Update #23 - Dec 26, 2013
December 30: International Pledges Will Open

We're excited to announce that we have heard back from CapCom and will be able to start accepting pledges on December 30 from people living in the following territories:
-Europe
-Australia
-New Zealand
-Middle East

Looks like they got their game license expanded beyond just the US / North America. Note that Capcom's home territories of Asia & Japan are specifically excluded.

[odinsgrandson]

That is interesting. I could see how it would be harder to get the license there. At the same time, I can definitely see how Capcom wouldn't want the game released in Japan in English, and I'm not sure if Jasco is capable of making the game in Japanese.

[GrauGeist]

I'm almost certain that they can't make the game in Japanese. I'm very certain that they could partner with Capcom to produce a follow-on edition for the Japanese market.

[odinsgrandson]

What I mean to say is, I'm not sure that Jasco has the connections and capabilities to create a game in Japanese. They may or may not have someone on their staff who knows the language, but it isn't likely they have someone who knows it well enough to do a rulebook.

I also doubt that they have the connections they need for distribution to Japan. So, for a Japanese edition to the game, it would probably be best for them to partner with a company that is already operating in Japan.

Of course, they'd also need the rights to sell it there (and it is clear they don't have those yet).