Funding the future of filth
Yesterday, I told you about the launch of the Kimochi Red Light, a crowdfunding project created exclusively for adult video games. While adult projects aren’t banned from other crowdfunding sites, this one sets itself apart by giving all the money raised directly to the developers. That intrigued me. How would this platform support itself if it isn’t taking any money from the projects it hosts? To answer that question, I was put in contact with Mia Mason, communications manager at Nutaku.
“In growing the 18+ gaming market, Nutaku benefits indirectly from this,” Mason explained. “Nutaku is a market leader in understanding the adult games industry and because of this we’re now creating tools and services such as Kimochi Red Light for developers to start creating. Even though Kimochi Red Light projects are not obligated to distribute on Nutaku.net, it’s our hope that they do.”
Market leader may be right. Though I had never heard of the website until I was notified of this crowdfunding service, Nutaku has more than 22 million visitors a month, which is about 21,999,999 more visitors than my blog dedicated to that episode of Chrisley Knows Best where in fact Chrisley doesn’t know best. That’s quite a quick growth for a website that first went online in 2014.
But why start yet another crowdfunding website? They’re not as hot as they once were and high-profile failures have left a bad taste in the mouths of many gamers.
“We heard from other developers that they weren’t happy with other crowdfunding services regarding exposure,” Mason wrote, “and we decided to do something about it so this site is for them.”
Mason says the Red Light platform is another step in helping the company achieve its long-term goals. “It’s no secret that Nataku’s ambition is to become the Steam of adult gaming and what better way to continue to cultivate this growing industry than to have a crowdfunding site completely dedicated to adult gaming. This market has huge potential and this is just one way to fuel it.”
That huge potential can be seen on the Kimochi Red Light page, which boasts many categories for game genres that have yet to be filled. Mason said the company wants to see every type of game represented here, from card games to tower defense. And all types of sexual identification are welcome, so if you want to raise money for an MMO where a gay octopus pleasures transgendered individuals, go right ahead. And if you need a voice actor for said game, message me on Twitter.
If you do decide to start a Red Light project, there are two types of funding campaigns you can choose from: all-or-nothing or keep-it-all. The former acts like Kickstarter where if you don’t meet your goal, you don’t get any of your money. The latter gives any money raised right away. Again, all the money that is raised in successful campaigns goes directly to the creators.
Of course, when I think of sex video games, the first thing that comes to mind are the ones you find advertised on those free porn sites. Games like Grand Fuck Auto, Call of Booty, Guido Brothers, and Dicktris. In yesterday’s post, I jocularly suggested creating a gay porn parody of my beloved Professor Layton series. As amusing as those porn parodies are to imagine and make up names for, they’re not the type of games Nutaku is looking for.
“Porn parodies aren’t something we’re interested in,” Mason told me. “IP infringing material is not the type of material we’re looking to showcase as this could strain relations with potential opportunities in the future. All developers own the rights to their own games and it is their obligation to make sure they’re not infringing on popular IPs or franchises.”
Those are not the only types of games Nutaku isn’t going to tolerate. When I asked about art that might be confused for child pornography, Mason assured me the company will monitor campaigns closely and any projects that are illegal or potentially dangerous for backers will be prohibited.
There isn’t really a downside to the platform that I can see, especially when you look at the terms of service. According to the ToS, project creators are required to complete the project and fulfill backer rewards. If there’s a chance the project might not be completed, creators are expected to be honest and forthright with their, as this site calls them, angels. Reading over the admittedly short section on Kimochi Projects, it’s clear Nutaku only wants people who are serious about seeing their projects through to fruition.
I’ll admit it: I’m on board with this. Kimochi Red Light is another way for people who want to make art that is outside the mainstream find a fan base, find some funds and make their dream project. I just had one last question: how will this appear on my credit card statement?
“It’s dependent on the developer’s account that’s attached to the project.”
