Someone recently said there was some kind of kerfuffle on Facebook that likely wasn't helping? Anyone know what that was about?
Also, what's his reputation?
The Video Game Kickstarter Thread of the Future of Passing the Risk to the Consumer
- Thread starter Frank
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Someone recently said there was some kind of kerfuffle on Facebook that likely wasn't helping? Anyone know what that was about?
Also, what's his reputation?
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doublefine/double-fines-massive-chalice
48 hours left for this tactical RPG from Double Fine.
I love the premise.
48 hours left for this tactical RPG from Double Fine.
I love the premise.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/railboy/frontiers-explore-discover-survive
Anyone else find this interesting?
Anyone else find this interesting?
I doubt that will happen. Kickstarter makes it clear that you are not buying goods from the service, you are simply funding the creation of them and then are (possibly) receiving a finished product if/when it's completed if the project leader feels you donated enough. However, there is also the possibility that the project will fail even if it's funded completely or even if it's overfunded... what will you have been taxed for then?
Basically what I'm saying is that there is no defacto sale of anything in Kickstarter and you're not guaranteed to be receiving anything. As such, you can't be taxed for donating to a Kickstarter because there has been no trade of goods and services.
GasBandit
Staff member
Kickstarter's own tax page seems to contradict that to a degree:
http://www.kickstarter.com/help/taxes
http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ChristianAllen/20130714/196237/Sales_Taxes_for_Kickstarters.php
http://www.kickstarter.com/help/taxes
Here's the article, had to go back and dig for it, stupid feedly doesn't have a search function. God I miss google reader.
http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ChristianAllen/20130714/196237/Sales_Taxes_for_Kickstarters.php
That does imply that it doesn't apply to all cases. If I donate $100 to a web series and all I get is some swag, what did I purchase? The goal of the KS was to put out a web series for people to view for free. Would I still be taxed for that?
GasBandit
Staff member
From what I read, you the funder wouldn't be responsible for the taxes, rather than entity doing the development would be expected to separate out some of their donations and render them as "sales tax" retroactively.
Doesn't Kickstarter (the business entity) pay taxes on their take? Would it be double dipping, possibly, to then also tax the entrepreneurs that Kickstarter is servicing?
Kickstarter doesn't pay sales tax, though I'm sure they pay corporate income tax.
A business which sells goods to the public has to both pay corporate income tax and collect sales tax.
Keep in mind that with sales tax, it's the purchaser that's paying, not the business. The business merely collects it.
True, true. In which case it seems like Kickstarter is the one that may need to collect sales tax, not the ones taking advantage of the service they provide. Clearly we are in some murky territory with regards to defining the entities involved.
I think Kickstarter is in very murky waters. They assert that they do not take charity or investments, nor that they sell products. People pledge money to a project that they want to succeed. If the project is fully funded, and it succeeds, they may receive rewards for their pledges.
But the rewards are not guaranteed, and I think that this is the way they skirt sales tax. On the other hand, it almost seems like it's gambling on the success of the project, which would then sway into the territory of contests, gambling, betting, etc.
Either way, Kickstarter is making bank. 5% of all money that goes through their website goes to kickstarter, and it requires a very modest team and server costs to manage, so they are making money hand over fist there.
Eventually the state they reside in is going to want a cut of that action.
GasBandit
Staff member
They should buy Sealand and set up their headquarters there.
Well, since HavenCo shut down in 2008, they are seemingly in rocky waters, but they recently sent out a newsletter indicating they are going to be offering new services soon.
I don't think kickstarter would want to flee the US anyway - they'll just pass it on to the customers and follow the law as much as they have to.
If they did go off shore, the states would start going after the bigger individual projects for back taxes, and that would scare off all the kickstarter clients - their cash cow.
That's not gambling. That's buying stock options. If anything, I think they could be taxing all contributors as if they were financers of a corporation. General Motors goes public saying "we want to make a new type of car, if you'll invest $100.000.000 we'll make it and you get a part of the profit", that's pretty much the exact same thing. You buy Microsoft shares, you're not buying anything from them, but you're financing them to make something, and if it's succesfull, you'll recuperate your investment.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/codagames/liege?ref=email
Couldn't help but back this old school rpg.
Couldn't help but back this old school rpg.
Inafune hasn't heard shit from Capcom yet ether, but I doubt they'd have a case anyway. Still, I chalk this up us a big middle finger in the face of Capcom from all the Mega Man fans who've seen their favorite franchise be systematically destroyed. We told them what we wanted and they wouldn't give it to us. Now Inafune is getting our money to make the thing we asked for.
If this doesn't send a clear message to Capcom about their business practices, I don't know what will.
This is Neverending Nightmares, a horror game that is inspired by the developer's depression and OCD.
Well, I tossed $10 at it. Hopefully he gets to make this because this looks pretty great.
Can't stop the rock (I mean Beck), can't stop the rock (Beck). Look at this mother fucker go. 1.5 million already.
I'm not endorsing this, just gonna make some observations. They're trying to make a Mass Effect scaled game for 500 grand? I want to back this just to see the trainwreck it could become. MMO inspired boss fights is a FUCKING FEATURE! HA HA HA HA HA.
Oh, and one of the stretch goals is hiring Dragon Age 2 (and object of internet ire via threats and such from people who should be too dumb to breath) writer Jennifer Hepler.
For 750,000, we'll hire Jennifer Hepler and for 800,000, we will immediately fire her!
(joke stolen from Tim Schaffer)
Four words:
RIVER.
CITY.
RANSOM.
SEQUEL!
RIVER.
CITY.
RANSOM.
SEQUEL!
$180k. Not $300k.
GasBandit
Staff member
Ok, that seems a bit more reasonable. I saw $3143 = 1% and did some math, so I guess they just round off decimals of percentages.
I am fucking tapped out. Between MN9 and Shantae and saving for Christmas, I am kind of broke.
A more lowkey Kickstarter project that looks SUPER promising to me. A bunch of ex-Bioware, Ubisoft, Relic, Volition, etc. people making a very Canadiany episodic open world game about life after the apocalypse. I am really stoked for this.
A lot of their concept art looks like where I'm from (I'm from the NWT).
A lot of their concept art looks like where I'm from (I'm from the NWT).
That's pretty cool, but I don't really want to play the game version of The Road. That might be just depressing.
Nice group of people working on it. And I love the concept.
Mighty No. 9 hit a bit over 4 million dollars (including the PayPal money). Not only does that mean that it hit all of it's stretch goals... not only does it mean that it blew away DoubleFine's kickstarter... but it means that Might No. 9 is actually one of the biggest crowd funded projects in the site's history.
So, on behalf of all the fans, I'd just like to say FUCK YOU, Capcom. We begged and pleaded for a new Megaman game for years. We spoke with our wallets and now we're getting exactly what we want.
So, on behalf of all the fans, I'd just like to say FUCK YOU, Capcom. We begged and pleaded for a new Megaman game for years. We spoke with our wallets and now we're getting exactly what we want.
Terrific; now I don't feel inclined to buy any of the Megaman stuff on 3DS, but I think I'll get this when it comes out.