Crowdfunding: Expanding the Funding Landscape

DDM has provided tailored consulting services for several video games crowdfunded through Kickstarter. In 2013, DDM helped Mega Man creator, Keiji Inafune, launch the Mighty No. 9 campaign, which grossed over $3.8 million. As of this writing, Mighty No. 9 is the fourth-highest grossing video game software campaign, earning 427% of its original $900,000 goal.

This year, DDM helped launch the Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night campaign in partnership with Castlevania series director, Koji Igarashi—better known in the industry as IGA, the godfather of gothic-action platformers. The campaign successfully ended with over $5.5 million pledged by over 64,000 backers. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is now the highest grossing video game Kickstarter and one of the top ten grossing Kickstarter campaigns of all projects ever launched.

DDM combines its crowdfunding strategy expertise with its global industry network to assemble a fitting group of experts to create and manage an entire campaign. From working with fulfillment companies to video game partners and graphics artists to public relations solutions, a crowdfunding campaign is an intensive effort, and DDM brings it all together.

Once a campaign succeeds, DDM’s involvement continues through development, fulfillment and then game sales cycles. From porting solutions to localization, QA to worldwide distribution, cinematics and music to voice, and even assisting with placing a full community portal, DDM sources and connects the components that are not internal to the development team. It is vital that the development studio can focus on its core strength—making an amazing game that leaves backers overjoyed.

With the recently launched Kickstarter campaign, Shenmue 3, by Yu Suzuki grossing a record-breaking $3 million in its first three days, it’s clear that crowdfunding is not a bubble that is about to burst. We believe that it is a long-term part of the funding landscape for the right products as long as they are handled with the proper care.