Mage Knight is on Kickstarter
 

Wizkids has put up a Kickstarter page to bring back Mage Knight. Here is the link:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...knight-revenge

While it doesn't have any direct impact on Heroscape it is a very good sign for the industry. There have been several ideas tossed around on this board about a Kickstarter campaign to buy the rights to HS or commission a reprint. To see a big company take that iniative is a very encouraging sign. It means that WizKids is exploring non-conventional ways of marketing their products. Big companies all tend to copy each other, so with some luck, if MK is successful we could eventually see Hasbro/WotC jump on the bandwagon and Kickstart HS!

The advantages that Kickstarter offers to risk adverse companies (like most publicly traded companies are) are many. There's a reduction in upfront costs. There's already a good gauge on the market. And there's the gaurantee of sold product. Its a big risk to take to spend a bunch of money on something (like Wave 4/TT reprints) if you don't know how many, if any, are going to be sold.

I will be watching the Kickstarter page very closely to watch its progress.

Re: Mage Knight is on Kickstarter
 

So far it looks like its been up for one day (30 days left) and has reached almost $7,000 out of a $700,000 goal. only 92 people have backed it so far. seeing the $700,000 number is also very interesting. I wonder what percentage of production costs that would cover? I also want to know what WKs projections for this are? Maybe they did some market research and waited to do this until they were reasonably sure it would succeed.

Re: Mage Knight is on Kickstarter
 

Cool. Now I got a good reason to get into this game.

Re: Mage Knight is on Kickstarter
 

If this progress continues at right nows rate. WK is only going to raise around 190,000 dollars.

Re: Mage Knight is on Kickstarter
 

Did anyone notice how much one needs to pledge before one receives any physical miniatures? (Looks like $170.00!) Much of what they are doing sounds like it is a digital version of the game...

Re: Mage Knight is on Kickstarter
 

It's suppose to be an online game.

I don't really think that they'll raise their desired amount within the time frame. $700,000 is a pretty big goal for only 30 days.

Re: Mage Knight is on Kickstarter
 

After reading through it I was under the impression that a 3rd party was making the video game based on Mage Knight and they were the ones behind the kickstarter page. They clearly are working with WizKids on the project as they had to buy a license to use the Mage Knight name. Then they pitched the idea to WizKids of making some actual miniatures to tie in with the video game they were making. I would guess Wizkids wasn't too interested in that idea at first and then they pitched them the kickstarter idea as a way to show it would be a profitable endeavor on their part. If the kickstarter page raises $700,000 or at least gets pretty close to that total, then WizKids will go ahead and make some actual miniatures as a tie in to the video game. If not, then the video game gets made only.

Wizkids spends no money at all on the project, collects some kind of license fee and if the game flops it is not their problem. If the kickstarter idea raises $700,000 than Wizkids takes that money along with the licensing fee and spends it on making the minis, which they will then sell at a profit above and beyond the initial $700,000+ investment. Wizkids wins either way. It is the company that is making the video game that really wants to see the kickstarter project succeed. Having new physical Mage Knight minis that are tied directly to their video game available for purchase by old Mage Knight fans will give their video game excellent exposure to their target audience.

I do hope they pull it off as that will give hope to a similar project for Heroscape down the line. That being said, the 30 day window they gave themselves is pretty small. Not sure how quickly the word will even spread to those former Mage Knight fans that would be most interested in sponsoring it.

Re: Mage Knight is on Kickstarter
 

I don't know about new stuff, but you're right about this being perfect for a re-print. Tundra! PLEASE!

Re: Mage Knight is on Kickstarter
 

This.
Does anyone here have experience with kickstarter? If so, this would be the best way to move forward with 'scape. Don't you guys agree? I'd do my best to get the word out and I'm sure many here would do the same.
:)

Re: Mage Knight is on Kickstarter
 

You realize Kickstarter is a funding tool right? It won't actually produce the game, we would still need a big name company backing us.

Re: Mage Knight is on Kickstarter
 

Yes. I think that we ought to approach WotC or Hasbro in the same way that these folks sought out Wizkids. Especially if our goal is reprints.

Re: Mage Knight is on Kickstarter
 

And, TBH, this might be the best idea of us 'Scapers "Bring Back 'Scape" ideas. Just seeking reprints is really all we want. Having Hasbro or WotC bring it back would kick C3V, C3G, SoV, etc. out of making the wounderful customs that they do design. Reprints of the older waves and expansion will get the Collectors what they need and then prices will finally go down.