How is there 17 people that have $350 to just give up to someone on kickstarter? Businesses? People with just a lot of money? Anyway, that's a really cool product. If I were them, I'd be going to Lego and seeing if they wanted to work something out.
There's a term I've heard for Free to Play games, where the people who spend hundreds and thousands on boosts/skins/cosmetic vanity items etc. are called Whales. A few rich people basically pay for the game so that everyone else doesn't have to, they're not always power players, they may not even play regularly but it's more they get status and acclaim from being able to throw their money around at silly things. If you think about it, this isn't limited to just F2P games; you'll find it in all industries where the early adopters will pay significantly more than people who will buy it (or a derivative version) later, probably on sale. Examples that come to mind: games consoles, sports cars, CPUs, solar panels, rockets, 3d printers... The benefit of using something like Kickstarter is you can be an early adopter, and if there's not enough interest in the product you don't get charged. The fact that you're not actually spending the money at the point of pledging makes it a lower mental barrier to do so; it's not you paying, it's you in 3 months time.
Hmm. Yes. I hear Kickstarter is often criticized though because there is little protection if the person offering the product doesn't follow through. Me personally? I have not problem supporting the little guys. In fact, I do it all the time with local musicians and artists. I want the product in front of me first though, not a promise.
I like Bandcamp for that reason; you can listen to the music and once you decide to buy it's provided immediately to you. It feels a lot more personal than something like Amazon or iTunes, though I don't know if the artist actually gets more money through this channel or not...
Bandcamp is actually the only avenue that I will purchase digital music from. I still try to get CDs whenever possible though. There's no denying though, Bandcamp is great for the DIY scene, which is probably why so many punk bands flock to it.
I dunno. On the one hand, it would be easier to do than to try and manufacture your own product. On the other hand, it's not too unrealistic to think that LEGO would say "Nah. That's a cool idea, but we're not interested," and then one year later, BAM! LEGO has gone and released their own version of your idea and you don't get to see a single cent. Not that I think LEGO is evil mind you. That just seems to be how companies tend to operate.If I were them, I'd be going to Lego and seeing if they wanted to work something out.
It's a novel idea and probably novel enough application of existing technologies that he could patent it, but there's absolutely no mention anywhere that he has done so. I don't imagine it will be economical for Lego to produce it themselves, but certainly moreso than to license it from a patent-holder. I don't know the patent system for US / Denmark, if it's first to file though then this guy should be worried.
That's the only thing I was thinking that could go bad with that plan. I wish there was a legitimate way of keeping them from doing that, so they could at least have a chance without any danger.