What makes Star Citizen so special, making it is the highest crowd-funded title in history? Why do so many people trust Chris Roberts with their money? As with many things, there are a number of reasons as to why. Let’s take a look …
Roberts Has Never Made a Bad Game
Say what you will about Roberts’ in the film industry, as a video game developer, he has never made a bad game. Any game that he has ever been associated with has never been panned by critics. Due to this, Roberts has gained the trust of millions of gamers.
Even other legendary developers in the genre have at times released titles that were not well received. Frontier Developments title Frontier: First Encounter, aka Elite III, sold poorly and received negative responses from the community.
Another example would be Egosoft’s title X3: The Reunion. Upon release, it received mixed reviews. Their latest title, X Rebirth, arguably the worst in the series, holds only a 33/100 on Metacritic.
This is why so many people trust Roberts. While other legends of the genre have made mistakes resulting in bad games, he hasn’t. Considering Roberts has been in the video game industry for over 30 years, to not have a bad game to his name, is quite remarkable.
Even If All Promises are Not Fulfilled, Star Citizen Will Still be Good
You might be thinking I am mad with such a statement. The truth is, Roberts has done it before. His title Freelancer released with a lot of the features he promised missing. With Microsoft calling the shots and pushing for the game to be complete, the more ambitious of the features were completely abandoned.
Despite this, Freelancer went on to be received extremely well by critics and the community alike. The game received 80%+ from almost every reviewer. Even today, 13 years from its release, Freelancer still has a huge following that has kept the game alive.
If Roberts has done it before, he can do it again. From Freelancer, many know that even if all the promises of Star Citizen are not fulfilled, it will still be a good game regardless. They know no matter what happens, upon release it will still be one of the best games of its genre. Therefore they have little fear when it comes to funding the game.
The Closest Thing to a Dream Becoming a Reality
Many of us grew up watching the likes of Star Trek, Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica. Kids have wild imaginations, and many of us have often fantasized ourselves embarking on intergalactic adventures. Such a dream is something that will never become a reality for almost everyone.
Only the most wealthy of entrepreneurs have ever had the opportunity to be space tourists. In total, there are only ever been seven space tourists. The latest being co-founder and former CEO of Cirque du Soleil Guy Laliberté in 2009. Laliberté paid an estimated $40 million for the tour.
Comparing that figure to the $15,000 - $30,000 that some have funded to Star Citizen, need I say more? To some, Star Citizen is the closest thing to ever living their childhood dream. If that isn’t worth putting money towards, I don’t know what is.
Everyone Has a Reason
For some funding, a game like Star Citizen is to simply see its completion. For some, it is because they are lifelong fans of Chris Roberts games. For others, it is due to wanting to fulfill their childhood dreams or at least the closest thing to it.
It may be seen as insanity to spend a lot of money on one game. But when you think about it, why do we play games? Why do people play Skyrim? Why do people play Mass Effect? Why do people play Red Dead Redemption? In most cases, it is to experience a life and world that just isn’t possible in reality.
People play Skyrim to experience what it is like to live in a medieval fantasy world with magic and dragons. They play Mass Effect to explore an action packed galaxy with all forms of different aliens. They play Red Dead Redemption to temporarily live in a wild west world.
Not matter how big or how small the contribution to Star Citizen is, everyone has a reason. Before thinking that anyone is mad for doing so, just remember, that every one of us have childhood dreams and play games for certain reasons.
