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Got Kickstarted, now what?

8 replies [Last post]
Wed, 05/07/2014 - 07:58
Timmisan
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Joined: 03/05/2014

Hey BGDF,

I've recently held a Kickstarter campaign, which ended successfully with 170 physical and another 70 digital copies sold.

Honestly it will keep us busy to produce and ship the games for a few months, but I'm wondering what happens after that. How do I begin to try and look for a publisher?

I was planning to visit the conference in Essen and showcase the tabletop there, is there any pitfalls or things I should know/do before that?

If you're interested you can also check out the finished campaign here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bercium/tracker-a-post-nuclear-disa...

Thanks,
T

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Wed, 05/07/2014 - 08:22
#1
sethvanorden
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Joined: 04/07/2014
Now I don't have a tons of

Now I don't have a tons of experience in this realm but I've heard it's really hard to find a publisher if you've already gone the kickstarter route, unless the kickstarter went really successfully. So if you still want to go the publisher route with this game, I'm guessing it will go a long ways if you can show all those who got the game really loved it, like if they all rated really on BGG. It might also help, now that your game is "published" if you got it reviewed. Many popular reviewers don't review games before a kickstarter, or if they do it's usually biased because they were paid to do it. So if you can get a good reviewer to give an unbiased positive review of the game that would be huge, but of course if the review isn't positive your game may be dead in the water.

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Wed, 05/07/2014 - 09:14
#2
facecheekwall
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Joined: 04/11/2014
...

Not that this helps you, but I wonder if most Kickstarter projects find a publisher first?

Here's a thought: go through all the current Kickstarter projects out there, and make note of which publisher they might be using. You might end up getting a better list of lesser-known publishers to cold call. (As opposed to going through your game collection, and trying to call Mayfair, Rio Grande, Fantasy Flight, etc.)

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Wed, 05/07/2014 - 22:25
#3
McTeddy
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Joined: 11/19/2012
Not really an expert here,

Not really an expert here, but normally people use kickstarter to self-publish.

I'm not entirely sure how you'd find a publisher for a game with a kickstarter backing. Most that I've talked to are looking for games they can fit into their own line rather than fully completed projects.

You can try finding publishers... but you probably want to consider self publishing. Start getting quotes from manufacturers and distributors and hope you have enough money to cover the costs.

You'll probably want to find some people who have worked on successful Kickstarter for advice on how to proceed.

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Thu, 05/08/2014 - 05:21
#4
crazycodr
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Joined: 05/05/2014
Kick starting is a way to publish your game

Publishers will generally help you get the best of your game by upgrading the graphics, consolidating the features you can't get a hold of such as boxing the game, creating a manual.

You can do all that yourself but it's a hefty job. My current Kickstarter campaign is about sending all that the printing press. I was able to find someone to do it completly, in my region, and he charges a good price.

If you can't achieve all this yourself, then you may want to take on a publisher. But they usually buy your idea and leave you out of the loop or take a LOT of time to publish it.

It's your choice!

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Fri, 05/09/2014 - 19:54
#5
questccg
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Joined: 04/16/2011
Hmm...

You should probably be looking for "fulfillment" and "distribution" services... Since your product is *already* in consumer hands - technically your product is already *published*.

The other designers that have already chimed in also provide good, solid advice...

If you want to read more, check out Jame's blog at: http://www.jamesmathe.com/hitchhikers-guide-to-game-distributors/

That's one good source of information, or check out: "Now what the hell am I to do?" and "Selling your Game".

That should better explain the predicament that you are in...

Best of luck with your game!

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Fri, 05/09/2014 - 20:57
#6
McTeddy
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Joined: 11/19/2012
Wow, Jame's blog is awesome.

Wow, Jame's blog is awesome.

I've been wanting to learn more about the distribution side and that'll do the trick.

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Fri, 05/09/2014 - 20:57
#7
McTeddy
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Joined: 11/19/2012
Wow, Jame's blog is awesome.

Wow, Jame's blog is awesome.

I've been wanting to learn more about the distribution side and that'll do the trick.

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Mon, 05/12/2014 - 12:31
#8
lewpuls
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Joined: 04/04/2009
Yes, read James Mathe. If I

Yes, read James Mathe.

If I recall correctly, he has said publishers won't touch games that have been Kickstarted. They feel they will have lost too many sales (and to the most enthusiastic segment).

Distributors are less interested, too, again because there have already been many sales.

So for many people, they have self-published, and what they sell through KS is much of what they will sell altogether.

But I am no expert in this, read Mathe.

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