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Topic: Crowdfunding/Kickstarting Wii U VC releases: feasible?

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Zach

In the age of Kickstarter, would it be feasible to take the same approach to a Wii U Virtual Console re-release?

I don't know anything about making or programming video games, but I keep seeing promising indy Wii U games pop up on Kickstarter, and it makes me wonder if it would be feasible to launch a "company" through which to re-release old games on Wii U virtual console. Certainly there is a very active community, as well as a very active community of Wii U players pining for a better VC service. The only way previously conceived of til now that I know of to do this is to wait for a company to do this. But perhaps with enough people, the players themselves could pay to do this?

Let's call this "company" the Gamer's Democracy, a name that naturally occurred to me while kicking this idea around. The initial Kickstarter would seek to re-release a much sought-after game for the Wii U Virtual Console, one that a lot of people would be interested in. It would include the cost of registering as a Wii U eShop developer, buying the rights to the game, paying for the manpower to emulate it successfully and release it on the eShop. If enough people passionately want this, I think it's not beyond the realm of possibility.

Hopefully this Kickstarter would attract the attention of programmers who would be interested in the job, otherwise some of the cost would have to go to paying freelance programmers or finding programmers interested in being a part of the project and paying them. All donators would receive a copy of the game, and, if it's doable — since profit isn't really a factor and to pique the interest of enough potential backers — this would not depend on if they'd donated a certain amount, only if they backed the project. Profit from the first game could go toward future releases, so that future kickstarters would ideally have smaller end goals. These could be democratically decided; if the initial campaign was a success, it seems simple to create a way to vote on which game was the most wanted. After that, the sky's the limit of what we could accomplish.

So, does anyone know how much a project like this would cost to start up? Is this a ridiculous idea or a good one? Would anyone be interested in being involved, or in donating, if this came to fruition?

Zach

Twitter:

DudeSean

I have no idea how much it costs to put an old game on the virtual console nor do I have any idea how much it would cost to port the game to Wii U. Have you tried asking Nintendo?

As for the cost of getting the rights to the game, that would depend on who owns the rights to the game, or if it's a licensed game, then also who owns the right to that particular license. I'm pretty sure that's the biggest problem with getting a lot of those old games on the vc, is that there are multiple companies that you would have to go though. Take Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time for example. You'd at least have to get the rights from both Konami and Nickelodeon. Normally, I don't think the game would be anywhere close to profitable for either company considering how low the cost of the game is and how low the expected sales rate would be.

Games made by Rare I think would be completely off limits, because profits would have to go towards Microsoft, which is obviously Nintendo's competitor. Because before any game can go on to the virtual console service, it has to have Nintendo's permission and I sincerely doubt Nintendo would allow such a thing. Unless Microsoft somehow was able to make money off the sales of Donkey Kong Country, which would explain why it was taken down, but I don't understand why Microsoft would get any of the money as Rare has already stated that Nintendo has always 100% owned the DKC games. The only reason I can think of is because the Rare logo is in the game, which why Nintendo wouldn't just remove that, I have no idea. I mean, they changed Mike Tyson to Mr. Dream, so why not replace the Rare logo with something else? But now I'm getting off topic...

So, yeah, you'd have to talk to Nintendo and whoever owns the rights to the game and whoever owns the rights to the franchise. Just out of curiosity, what games in particular would you like to kickstart onto the VC?

If all of this could be possible, then it sounds like a good idea to me.

DudeSean

Nintendo Network ID: DudeSean

Reynoldszahl

I think it would be a great idea. If you need any help count me in.

Reynoldszahl

DudeSean

So uh... did he just abandon this thread? I'm really curious as to what games he'd like to kickstart on the vc.

DudeSean

Nintendo Network ID: DudeSean

Geonjaha

I'd love if this was the case. It would mean more VC releases that people actually care about, so I'd be up for it if it happened.

Edited on by Geonjaha

Geonjaha

3DS Friend Code: 2277-6645-7215

DefHalan

The VC Games people "care about" would either cost way too much to buy the rights from or wouldn't be for sale. What you could do is try to sell the companies on letting another company "port" the game for a small fee where the company that owns the rights makes all the profit. It would be difficult to work out everything.

People keep saying the Xbox One doesn't have Backwards Compatibility.
I don't think they know what Backwards Compatibility means...

3DS Friend Code: 2621-2786-9784 | Nintendo Network ID: DefHalan

Zach

True, true. I've been tossing ideas around ... maybe this is not workable, but maybe something else is at the moment. Could XSEED be persuaded to localize those games everyone wants from Japan through crowdfunding? for example.

Zach

Twitter:

DudeSean

@Zach Please, like, exactly what games are you talking about?

DudeSean

Nintendo Network ID: DudeSean

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