John Coviello of Little Shop of Magic in Las Vegas, Nevada read Charles Ryan's response (see "Charles Ryan of Monte Cook Games on Kickstarter") to Scott Thorne's column regarding why he doesn't bite on Kickstarters for retailers (see "Rolling for Initiative--Five Reasons I Skip Kickstarter Retailer Levels") and had this to say.
 
Dear Mr. Ryan:
 
I appreciate your thoughts and opinions as they stem from a publisher's standpoint.  However, I do feel that you may be missing some of the points Mr. Thorne is raising in respect to the impact Kickstarter campaigns have on the long term viability of a game in the retail market.
 
Telling us that Kickstarter campaigns don't, in fact, compete with the retail tier is a bit disingenuous. I understand your need to defend your source of funding.  I also understand your need to ensure that your backer base continues to feel financially responsible for creating your game but, please, let's not deny the fact that a dollar out of a consumer's pocket is a dollar that was not spent in our stores.  Kickstarter campaigns compete for that dollar much in the same way that retailers, other forms of entertainment or a manufacturer's direct website does.  Surprisingly, I'm OK with that.
 
The trouble comes when we try to deny the fact that a game may have a limited audience and that a publisher's Kickstarter campaign can, if handled incorrectly, destroy the project's long term sustainability in the market.  In the case of Numenera, I can only speak what I've seen in my store--one customer requesting two books, none of which were the base rulebook.  I can only assume that he jumped on board with Numenera somewhere else, and I'm OK with that too.
 
In the end, Mr. Ryan, the reality is that I don't care what you do on Kickstarter.
 
If you create a product that has a limited audience and you satisfy that audience through your campaign, there is little I can do about it.  I will continue to stock what my customers are purchasing from me and accept the fact that not every consumer is my customer.
 
If, on the other hand, you manage to create a product that has residual demand beyond its Kickstarter campaign, then I will stock your product so long as that demand remains alive with my client base.
 
In either case, I have yet to see anything that compels my business to fund a Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign--the return on investment is simply not there.
 
The opinions expressed in this Talk Back are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.