It was bound to happen. The Indiegogo campaign for the new console Retro VGS is being canceled. I knew that it was going to be a long shot to reach the nearly two million dollar mark that they set but after eleven days the fact that they barely managed to make 3% put the writing on the wall. And they knew that it having stalled so far behind the mark they decided to pull the plug on the project, so to speak.
That’s not saying that development on Retro VGS is being halted indefinitely. Far from it. They’ll be regrouping after finalizing the closing of the campaign and work on streamlining a prototype for preparation of presumably returning to either Indiegogo or another platform like Kickstarter. With, it seems, a lower price point.
In my opinion the failure of the campaign fell on a number of things. In all honesty, their biggest problem was the asking price. Both in the overall funding amount and the cost of the system itself. It’s hard enough to reach six digits, but asking for as much as they did it was bound to fall quite short. Plus, with the “big three” pricing their systems at not much more than the Retro VGS why would anyone want to purchase a niche system for a niche audience?
The other main reason that I think made the campaign flounder was the decision to go through Indiegogo. While I certainly see it as a viable alternative to Kickstarter it just doesn’t have the same widespread appeal as it’s bigger cousin. For a unique piece of hardware like the Retro VGS it was bound to struggle just on this alone.
I do love the concept behind this retro cartridge system, and I do see it catching on with some markets, but after the problems surrounding the Ouya I think too many people are wary to try another crowdfunded system. If they do try a second time, though, I wish them luck.
