The Kickstarter: Unintended effects

[monbvol]

Depending on their margins, this should give them the capital needed to invest in new waves and models on their own. They indicated in one of the updates that they always intended to put these out, and had the means and funds to do so, Very Slowly.  The kickstarter was more of a jumpstart.  I don't believe it was an unwillingness to invest, I think it was more a symptom of Catalyst being a lot smaller than most of us think. 

By all indications their newest box sets are flying off the shelves, and will hopefully continue to do so.  Given that piece of information and by the seeming popularity of the new mechs themselves, I have been wondering if we are bearing witness to a change in the Battletech business model.  Is the focus for the future going to be on miniatures?

CGL is a very small company that's been kept going in the past by herculean efforts and a not small amount of generosity.

That these box sets are priced to be self sustaining and CGL seems to have plans for how to keep the core books in print to build off them are undeniable good signs.

As far as new business model though it does seem to be hard to deny that most of the fan base does seem to want minis at as cheap prices as possible and CGL is following the money.

[EthrDemon]

As far as new business model though it does seem to be hard to deny that most of the fan base does seem to want minis at as cheap prices as possible and CGL is following the money.

Hey, if spending $300 to get my per-unit cost as low as possible is wrong, I don't want to be right

[Daryk]

Straight up: this is the most 3025 merchandise that's been available in one place (for a reasonable price) in some time (like, 30 years).  I'm in for $300 or so...

[Euphonium]

Biggest unintended side-effect? I won't be ordering any more vehicles from IWM or RPE until next year, having blown the bulk of my hobby budget up to Christmas on the KS.

This! 1000x this!
I just cancelled building a new PC to fund diving into the KS at Star Colonel+

This is the first time I've been genuinely excited about a BT product since Wars of Reaving or the Liberation of Terra books.

[Greatclub]

I'm just hoping that we avoid one consequence - pissed off retailers and/or distributors. I've run into some stores that claim they try to punish people who run kickstarters.

[EthrDemon]

Straight up: this is the most 3025 merchandise that's been available in one place (for a reasonable price) in some time (like, 30 years).  I'm in for $300 or so...

Yeah, for all of us that didn't have a sizable collection before the legal battle.  Haven't held a recognizable Phoenix Hawk in years.

[I am Belch II]

It peaked my intrest in Battletech again. I want the best for this game and hope this Kickstarter will do so much more for the game down the line.

I have seen more Boxed Sets and Intro Sets in the FLGS which is a good thing. The number of Battletech friendly FLGS stores in my area has been few and far between. So hopefully this Kickstarter will keep that number going up and I don't have to drive a couple of hours to play a game of Battletech

[Dmon]

I have also noticed a fairly large jump in the numbers of new editors on Sarna.net recently. I am thinking this is also halo effect of the Kickstarter.  Weirdly I expected it to happen with the HBS Video game but it didn't really happen, the VG people went off and set up their own wiki instead.

[DarkISI]

I'm just hoping that we avoid one consequence - pissed off retailers and/or distributors. I've run into some stores that claim they try to punish people who run kickstarters.

That might be one of the reasons, there is a Mechant pledge level.

[SteelRaven]

I'm just hoping that we avoid one consequence - pissed off retailers and/or distributors. I've run into some stores that claim they try to punish people who run kickstarters.

That might be one of the reasons, there is a Mechant pledge level.

I didn't have the budget to pledge the same level as allot of the high rollers here who are getting their names in a book so my FLGS will being seeing allot of me this coming year. I'm currently one of their only BT customer so I'll look forward to see if there is any change in that.

[NutritiousSlop]

It peaked my intrest in Battletech again. I want the best for this game and hope this Kickstarter will do so much more for the game down the line.

I have seen more Boxed Sets and Intro Sets in the FLGS which is a good thing. The number of Battletech friendly FLGS stores in my area has been few and far between. So hopefully this Kickstarter will keep that number going up and I don't have to drive a couple of hours to play a game of Battletech

It brought me back after a 5-6 year hiatus.  I've spent more on this hobby in the past 3 months than I have in probably the last 3 years- new books, new paints, a slew of new miniatures.  I've even found a group near me that plays, but my schedule doesn't really work with them at the moment. 

I'd encourage people to start asking for or buying BattleTech from their FLGS so as to drive demand there instead of directly from Catalyst.  I've also seen some reports of the Box Set and Beginner Set showing up in big-box bookstores.  We can help bring back the days when the Field Manuals were available at Borders, and make it even better.  How many more players would we have if we made BattleTech enough of a commodity that Target started selling it?

[Notsonoble]

Because I heard about the Kickstarter things happened in the last month that otherwise wouldn't have:

I would not have considered taking BT material to Reapercon, but I did. I introduced a friend to the game, and discussed the game with multiple people, there were quite a few "The game's not dead? I'll have to look into it again." comments.

I would not have returned to the forums.

I would not have seen people play BT for perhaps another 5 years.

[EthrDemon]

...new paints...

I threw $500 into the KS, but painting still seems like too much  :P

I'd encourage people to start asking for or buying BattleTech from their FLGS so as to drive demand there instead of directly from Catalyst.

I had planned on grabbing the Beginner Box, AGoAC & BMM with the KS add-ons, but assuming I can find a retailer I'll happily put the KS pledge toward exclusives & grab the rest locally

[TSignus]

This definitely rekindled my interest in Battletech. I've dusted off my old minis and even bought some additional Iron Winds models as well as some older mechs on the secondhand market. I think part if the problem was that it became so hard to get miniatures if the iconic mechs. Very excited!

TS

[Daryk]

Welcome back!  Hopefully we'll see more returnees as time goes on...  :thumbsup:

[marauder648]

This definitely rekindled my interest in Battletech. I've dusted off my old minis and even bought some additional Iron Winds models as well as some older mechs on the secondhand market. I think part if the problem was that it became so hard to get miniatures if the iconic mechs. Very excited!

TS

Welcome back! :) You never really leave a hobby that you love, and its good to bring back the ol' memories :)

[Bedwyr]

The public buzz certainly has climbed and it's gratifying to see. Kind of like being a Cleveland baseball fan for years and then watching the stadium fill up as they start to get good (disclosure: I follow the Dodgers and the Mariners so, different dynamic).


Locally, I haven't pinged players as they're infrequently gaming on Sundays. We have two FLGSs, one went in at the Merchant level to sell Clan expansion boxes at least. The other constantly complains about CGL BT products not being available at any of their distributors and has skepticism of CGL product schedules. I don't have a lot of connective pull between them and CGL, so all I can do is occasionally check in an express my interest in buying BT stuff from them just to keep the interest top-of-mind. The latter store was also a bit put out about the Kickstarter. Even given the merchant pledge, they have an interest in not supporting Kickstarter as it pulls customers and traffic from the store and distribution network. They 'get it', but the view is a bit dour.

On the whole I'm hopeful that with new molds cut, the line will ultimately be more self sustaining and that beneficial effects will definitely filter down to the FLGSs where new customers are made.

[Cat-in-Exile]

Well, I already had a regular playgroup before the KS, but didn't own really anything.

When I first found out about the KS and the handfuĺ of stars/lances which were initially announced, even though they looked cool and all, I wasn't planning on backing, until I realized the scale of the project. It really does feel like Battletech 2.0

As of today, I've already forked over $500+ USD into the KS now, plus well over another $400 on the AGOAC/Starter minis, paints, brushes, terrain, buildings, decals, manuals, etc. and am going to be starting up another, new campaign with a completely different group.

So yeah, personally speaking, the KS seems like a huge bump.

[Church14]

The KS got a solid $500 out of our gaming group that CGL wouldn’t have received otherwise. They hate IWM models and are all for the new plastic ones

[Colt Ward]

You know the guys doing the Classics were the ones designing the 3150 and Primitive mechs?  The Shadow Hawk has been released in metal for a while, they had temp runs of the Wasp.  IWM will eventually get them out.

[Tangoforone]

Something I noticed that no one has posted on here; some people might be off loading IWM and older BT minis to make room for the new ones.  I would be curious to know if this is going to happen significantly, and if so, will standard market laws of supply and demand bring the costs down.  If I have learned anything from the hobby, it is hard for people to let go of stuff, myself included.

[I am Belch II]

I saw a Battletech Beginners Box Set at Barnes and Nobel. So that hopefully is a good sign.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

That might be one of the reasons, there is a Mechant pledge level.

When the Kickstarter started, I mentioned this to the owner of the local game store.  He said he personally hates such things as a store owner because they tie up money on something that won't get delivered for a long time and might not be delivered at all- he wants stuff that he can get on the shelves and sell as soon as possible so he gets more money back in.

Now in his case, going in for the Kickstarter wouldn't make much sense given that there's basically myself and one other person in the area that still buy new Battletech stuff and I'm in the process of trying to move out of the area.

[NutritiousSlop]

The public buzz certainly has climbed and it's gratifying to see. Kind of like being a Cleveland baseball fan for years and then watching the stadium fill up as they start to get good (disclosure: I follow the Dodgers and the Mariners so, different dynamic).

As a Clevelander for the last decade, I feel this on a spiritual level.  If only the Browns were something besides a source of constant shame and embarrassment.

I saw a Battletech Beginners Box Set at Barnes and Nobel. So that hopefully is a good sign.

That's a great sign.  As much as I love my FLGS, my less-than-FLGS, and the 3-5 new board game stores/cafes that have apparently sprung up in various strip malls over the last six months, getting BattleTech into the mainstream and drawing completely new players to it is what's going to keep this hobby healthy.  If there's no new money coming in, then we'll see this die out again.  I for one am planning on giving the Beginner Box as a gift to some friends this holiday season, with the suggestion that we play it. 

[Church14]

You know the guys doing the Classics were the ones designing the 3150 and Primitive mechs?  The Shadow Hawk has been released in metal for a while, they had temp runs of the Wasp.  IWM will eventually get them out.

If this was for me:

The local guys don’t like the pewter minis. They all prefer the plastic models. Not visually. They just don’t like the minis being metal.

[Colt Ward]

Ok, I just wanted to address that . . . I do not like some of the older metal minis with lots of parts, even if I like their appearance.  Some I bought back in that time sat in ziplocs for over 10 years b/c I did not want to even try my clumsy hands at putting them together.  Part of why I was disappointed the Solitaire got bumped off the list, b/c it was a pain to put together (it has a two penny stride!) even if it turned out nice.

For modding, I absolutely love the plastic as its easier to deal with IMO.  I just wanted you to be aware, you have to dig through/ know a bit about them to find more modern looks.

[Crimson Dawn]

As a Clevelander for the last decade, I feel this on a spiritual level.  If only the Browns were something besides a source of constant shame and embarrassment.

That's a great sign.  As much as I love my FLGS, my less-than-FLGS, and the 3-5 new board game stores/cafes that have apparently sprung up in various strip malls over the last six months, getting BattleTech into the mainstream and drawing completely new players to it is what's going to keep this hobby healthy.  If there's no new money coming in, then we'll see this die out again.  I for one am planning on giving the Beginner Box as a gift to some friends this holiday season, with the suggestion that we play it.

Just in case you are not already aware there is a Battletech group that plays in North Olmstead every Monday night at a store called Recess at 7PM. 

[Church14]

Ok, I just wanted to address that . . . I do not like some of the older metal minis with lots of parts, even if I like their appearance.  Some I bought back in that time sat in ziplocs for over 10 years b/c I did not want to even try my clumsy hands at putting them together.  Part of why I was disappointed the Solitaire got bumped off the list, b/c it was a pain to put together (it has a two penny stride!) even if it turned out nice.

For modding, I absolutely love the plastic as its easier to deal with IMO.  I just wanted you to be aware, you have to dig through/ know a bit about them to find more modern looks.

I bought the Celestial series of mechs from IWM because I don’t ever expect a new plastic model of them. Oh my, assembling those was tedious.

[NutritiousSlop]

Just in case you are not already aware there is a Battletech group that plays in North Olmstead every Monday night at a store called Recess at 7PM.

I was there last night.  It's honestly a great group. 

[Colt Ward]

I bought the Celestial series of mechs from IWM because I don’t ever expect a new plastic model of them. Oh my, assembling those was tedious.

Oh yeah, but those minis are 10+ years old?  They are closer in time to the aforementioned painful TRO3060/PP minis than the current crop.  I understand what you were saying, like the ones I bagged back in '04 or '05 I paid someone else who is better at it to assemble them for me.  Current crop are way better, and I will attribute that to tech since they are computer modeled which makes them easier to build IMO.  I want to say the Juliano was 10+ parts, the primitive Thunder also had a lot of parts as do a few others but I will consider them . . . old Project Phoenix models?  No thanks, I need 5 or less parts to buy one from that time frame that I will try to put together myself.

But yeah, I like the plastic b/c I can do more with it- I have only changed 1 metal mini that I can recall.  I took a Quasimodo's arm and cut the elbow to make it extended to point at forward.