So there's some good and some bad news. The good news is Swery65's latest project, The Good Life, has met its minimum goal on Kickstarter. The bad news is it has a long way to go before it gets an official port for Nintendo Switch. The legendary Japanese developer teased such a version last week, but this port will only get off the ground if the campaign reaches an $800K stretch goal. It's currently at $516,421.
In a post on the official Kickstarter page, the team explains their reasoning behind the single (and highly-priced) stretch goal:
"Of course, we know this is a very high Stretch Goal, and considering the way the campaign is going, it is very much possible we are not going to reach it, so let me explain our reasoning. We could have set up more stretch goals, adding content to the game, and help them build up towards the Switch Stretch Goal. However, as each of this smaller goal comes with a cost, they would have set the Switch Stretch Goal even further, making it meaningless, and upsetting the numerous fans who have been asking for the Switch port.
We could have set up those smaller game content stretch goals, and not mention the Switch Stretch Goal, but as I mentioned, this is by far the number one request I have received during the campaign, and not addressing it seems bad."
So there's a reasoning behind the decision, and just shows you how expensive porting a game can be for a smaller development team. Fingers crossed the project makes the stretch goal, but it's a big ask in such a small amount of time. Let us know if you'll be showing your support as the clock ticks down...
[source kickstarter.com]
Comments 44
Who is swery65? The article could have given me an indication or a link with some information. As a result I feel stupid and a bit isolated after reading the article.
That’s an absolute shed ton of mulah. Around £2k still to go if my maths is correct. Yikes, guess we won’t be seeing a Switch version
Back crowd funded games at your peril.
From the screenshots, no interest in this at all
@ottospooky He is a Japanese game director and writer. Have you ever heard of the game called deadly premonition? He is the creator.
Hell of an ultimatum for a relatively unknown developer.
@JTMnM there is a psychology behind making these kinds of ultimatums. It is why you see flash sales for example. If you give someone too long to decide they won’t take action either because they think about it too much or will forget, make them panic and they are more likely to pay for something they don’t actually need.
Time will tell if it works for this game.
This is why I have reservations about crowd funding still - I assume I can donate today in hope of a switch copy and when they don’t meet the goal never actually get a switch copy.
It’s a shame because a few times I’ve wanted to back a project but I’ve also not wanted to lose my money.
Look at Shaq Fu. It’s years on and years of no comms and it’s now coming - it’s one id wished I’d backed now but in that years of no comms I’d have felt differently!
I've seen to many crowdfunding that put Switch as a stretch goal just because they want to get that Nintendo fans money. They were really far from their $600k goal, and now that a possible Switch port is announced they reached $700k. At the end of the day for them it doesn't matter if they reach the stretch goal, they already got the money of hopeful fans
@G0dlike 300,000k more like!
I don't back Kickstarters from people/companies who have not allready done atleast two or three sucsessfull projects.
@Stocksy yeah, which amounts to around £2k
Getting tired of Developers asking for the public to fund their games.
Not sure I agree with these stretch goals... You've hit the target you set, so now go deliver the goods. What's stopping you coming back later with a "Switch Edition" fundraiser, or you know, funding it yourself from your commercial success on these formats?!
Another kickstarter trying to take advantage of Nintendo fans for profits. After A Hat In Time, I'm not putting any faith in this.
@Fearful-Octopus I'd just tell people that Swery is known for taking inspiration from David Lynch, and can be really good at telling a story and writing characters. Deadly Premonition's car conversations about little known 70's and 80's movies are fascinating to say the least.
If you back it will you get any money back if the switch goal is not met?
It's chugging along pretty good with about 95K to go. I might support this but this doesn't seem a for sure thing like the other projects I've backed. Also the game does not seem that interesting to me...
Cheeky!!
This is actually a very fair approach compared to how other Nintendo/Switch related crowdfunding campaigns worked.
Porting to a console costs money, so it's not completely unreasonable to make it a stretch goal.
Here, SWERY took the console with the highest demand and made it the first stretch goal - that's far better then what others did who first had a ton of fluff stretch goals before that, or acted as if other consoles were more important then Nintendo's even for games that clearly would sell better on Nintendo platforms.
Anyway, i loved Deadly Premonition, so i'll definitely pick this up if it comes to the Switch.
Happy this got funded. It'd be nice if it wormed onto switch at some point in the future, but I'm just glad it's getting made in the first place. Swery is a creative oddball with some unique ideas.
Or, wait until you've made profits from the release on the other platforms to fund porting it yourself instead of putting the onus on potential customers?
Am I the only one who find really weird that he say "this is by far the number one request I have received during the campaign, and not addressing it seems bad." although PS4 version is already included in the campaign at first ??!!!
So the Switch version is not the number one request !?
After Road Redemption, A Hat In Time, Project CARS, and many others used Wii U as a means to con buyers into supporting their system, only to fall silent or flat out lie, saying they never intended to put it on the system fans gave them their money to create, nobody should EVER support a crowdfunded game with a console port stretch goal. Either include it in the initial goal, or not at all. These practices have painted crowdfunding in a very negative light thanks to these schmucks.
If it's still looking good to go later today, I might jump in. I only ever backed Earthlock, Hex Heroes, and Shaq Fu (don't judge me) so I think I have a pretty good track record.
It is what it is. You're not buying a game, you're contributing capital to a development project. Make your decision based on that and there's nothing unreasonable about having this as a stretch goal.
Crowdfunding isn't bad but it's also not shopping.
It Will be very dificult to get the Switchers engaged to a proyect that, with 24h left, does not ensure us a Switch copy.
Moreover, they already have a working version on Switch, which says everything to me.
Said that, the game looks perfect to me.
Dude, it's real, almost like a Pokemon.
Only $78,000 left to go with 4 hours on the clock. That's an impressive turnaround, no matter the outcome.
The game just doesn't look good enough to bother backing, not knowing whether it will come anyway. Send this over to PS4 and Xbox One. I'm sure fans will save their money to buy this instead of say, the new God of War. I definitely can't see Xbox gamers buying this, but whatever.
Jim Sterling did a video on this last week if you want a look
@onex The good news is I don't think these kinds of cons are going to work anymore, since Nintendo fans are no longer desperate for games like in the Wii U days.
@HeroponRiki ikr? Even though I'd still like Road Redemption or a Road Rash equivalent on Switch. :/
Honestly this is just poor form. Using the hopes of Switch backers to squeeze out a bit more funds... Port stretch goals are disingenuous anyway, since the game will be ported as much as possible if successful regardless.
Ask LG to sponsor.
Naturally they did not. Oh well, it still might get a port later, depending on how the final release is recieved.
I'm kinda over Kickstarter being a means to fund games. If anything it's taught me the games may suck, the time frame will be unrealistic and naturally will have a delay
@ottospooky He also did some scenario writing on SNK's Kizuna Encounter and The Last Blade games and helped design Tomba 2 for PlayStation and Capcom's Sengoku Basara: Battle Heroes for PSP, so he seems to have a background in cult Japanese action games (which is hardly "legendary development status" as this article indicates). The Good Life's Kickstarter page boasts that the creator of the Panzer Dragoon series for Sega Saturn, Yukio Futatsugi, is leading development for the game, as well, interestingly.
The game appears to be like an indie attempt at a point-and-click Pokémon Snap.
Just the fact that you called it a point and click, I won't be buying this game.
Porting is the worst sort of stretch goal - if it fails to meet its stretch target, your money is still gone but no port need be made.
If it does get ported, I’ll base my purchase decision on how much money I raised that week...
Sounds like a scam if it HAS to be by the end of the day
@GamePerson19 More likely incompetence than a scam. From his words on his Kickstarter page, it sounds like he wasn't prepared for pitching to a large international audience and now is a little panicked.
Then again, it is Kickstarter: scammers' paradise.
Well Switch will soon be number one platform. Switch Stretch goal is just another way to milk Switch users. I wont lose sleep over it!
@ottospooky Yup
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