Gamers love merchandise. Whether it’s t-shirts, action figures, or artwork there’s a large and eager audience. French publisher Third Editions is hoping this love will extend to high-end books. They’re seeking Kickstarter funding to translate three of their best-sellers for the English-speaking world.
The books in question are Zelda: Archive of a Legendary Saga, Dark Souls: Beyond Death and The Legend of Final Fantasy VII. They each look pretty refined on the outside, but it’s the interiors that really intrigue me. Rather than feature space-filling images, they’re crammed with text analyzing the history and lore of these classic franchise.
I have fond memories of reading and re-reading game manuals and magazines that covered my favorite games, and it seems I’m not the only one. After considerable success in France (with over 40 books published) Third Editions reached out to English-speakers through the medium of Reddit. The response was overwhelmingly positive and led to this current Kickstarter.
The €100,000 ($112,500) goal did look a tad ambitious, but after only three days the campaign already reached half its target. Things have slowed down since, but the awarding of a ‘Project We Love’ badge from Kickstarter should see momentum pick back up again. Third Editions have also added cheaper pledge levels which only include e-book versions, while the physical books will also include an e-book download.
Of course the physical books are proving far more popular. Crucially, Third Editions managed to keep postage costs down to a universal €4 ($4.50) after finding a US-based printer. The past experience of Third Editions also mean this is a fairly low-risk venture and rewards should be available in about five months. With any luck we’ll see more of their back catalog translated into English in the future.
(Ed. We’ve added the promising Third Editions Books to our Kickstarter Curator page, check it out at Kickstarter.com/cliqist.)
While I do like the three titles featured in the Kickstarter campaign, their back catalogue includes Half-Life, Metal Gear, Fear Effect and Eternal Darkness. I’d back English translations of those in a heartbeat!