JediPunisher wrote on Apr 17, 2012, 21:13:
Yeah, and I’m guessing that to maximize odds for success, Fargo will put all $3M (minus fees and taxes) towards game development to the exclusion of all else, such as advertising, bonus items, etc. When the game nears completion, they can simply approach a publisher, such as Bethesda, and let them pick up the tab for playtesting, advertising, boxing, and distribution in exchange for a cut of retail sales.
I highly doubt that. He's spent years dreaming of this project and independence from publishers who demand weird things in the game (that video on the kickstarter home page? It REALLY does reflect his actual experience with publishers as he details on his webpage, I suggest watching it).
Far more likely he'll do what valve does with EA, get them for publishing retail boxes (such as valve did with portal 2) and thats it (perhaps some advertising thrown in). Nothing else. Fargo handles the entire development including playtesting and patching.
Or just forgo retail entirely. If he only offers to sell collector's edition boxes (which he has to make anyway for the higher reward tiers for kickstarter) on his website, and sells the game digitally through steam, he'll reach the vast majority of interested PC players anyway. The retail buyers are mostly consolers who want shooters, not wasteland, and the ones who buy retail to get collectors will have a way to do that as it is now.