This week we learn that you can raise $2,000,000 on an idea, California lawmakers have enough money to waste and you can learn how to program while playing games.
Double Fine Adventure Kickstarter Breaks $2 Million
It’s official: The Double Fine Adventure Kickstarter, which Tim Schafer figured would earn enough to cover the rent for a month or two, has now waved good-bye to the $2 million dollar mark. That’s two million bucks spread across more than 60,000 backers, in less than two weeks, for a project that initially had a goal of $400,000. While details about the forthcoming Double Fine Adventure are pretty much non-existent at this point [the game didn’t even exist as anything more than a glint in Schafer’s eye two weeks ago, after all], all that coin means more fun for everyone (Link)
Japanese Game Industry is Feeling the Pinch
The survey, conducted by Mirko Ernkvist of the University of Gothenberg, was mailed to every CEO with a company with at least 3 years of business experience. Only 25% of the CEOs contacted responded, and some neglected to fill out the survey in full, but the picture painted by those who did respond is grim indeed. Of the companies that responded, only 52% claimed to have made a profit during 2011, and 89% reported that they’d outsourced parts of their own projects. (Link)
Schwarzenegger and Yee Unapologetic for Failed Supreme Court Battle
We all rejoiced when the Supreme Court struck down the lawproposed by then State Representative Leland Yee which would impose a $1,000 to any retailer in California which sold a violent game to a minor. The landmark victory cemented videogames as free speech that can’t be regulated based on content. The taxpayers of California have to foot the bill for the legal costs associated with defended the law – which will total $1.8 million when you factor in $500,000 of the state Attorney General office’s own man-hours – but Yee and those in former Governor Schwarzenegger’s inner circle are not sorry for pushing the law forward to the highest court in the land, despite legal counsel that it would never be upheld and the fact that two lesser courts had already overturned the law. Those involved believe they were justified in spending California’s money during the financial crisis of 2009. (Link)
Code Hero Teaches Players Game Programming
Writing code is a mystery to me. Yeah, I can handle basic HTML and put together a website that might have looked great on Geocities, but actually writing the programming for even a 2D game is beyond my skills. That’s why playing a game like Code Hero sounds pretty amazing. The founder of Primer Labs Alex Peake has raised more than $100,000 on Kickstarter to make his dream of a game that allows players to manipulate the very code that defines their world. (Link)
Sony Could Sell 12.4 Million Vitas “With A Price Cut”
Now that the PlayStation Vita’s finally launched here in North America, everyone’s paying close attention to see how the device sells. On one side, you have people who are claiming Via developers are already jumping ship thanks tolow sales numbers in Japan. On the other, you have folks claiming the device could sell up to 12.5 million units this year, “provided it gets a price cut.” (Link)
