Because it was so predictable, and because the ultimate goal of many fans (such as myself) is to own every single bird, people kept upgrading their reward tier with extra cash. When a stretch goal was reached it would unlock a new bird plush and collector pin. Basically, they were always the same formula, too. Stretch goals existed for every $10,000 raised from $35,000 up to $75,000. Much of the continued strength of funding day in and day out in the first few weeks was almost certainly due to stretch goals. $25 is a fair chunk of money and all, but that alone isn’t what propelled the Hatoful Boyfriend plush Kickstarter to $100,000 and beyond. But hey, they made it work because this helped force the focus right on $25. Then there’s the matter of there being no tier between $75 and $1,000. The exclusive Maid Ryouta and Souma Isa $75 plush tiers were limited to 100 each and there has been no attempt to re-open or add more of them since. After all, who would opt for a single bird at $16 when you could get 3 for $25? With that said, there are some criticisms I have with other tiers. As people backed the $25 tier in force, funds continued to skyrocket. Right at the start, these were also the only three birds available. When you consider the price of plush these days, this is quite a fair price for three small plush. Coming with three different birds, it quickly shot ahead as the most popular tier. Although there were tiers lower and above, the main one I’m focusing on is the $25 3 pack tier. Now let’s turn our attention to the reward tiers. It also helped that the plush themselves were cute as heck. The Hatoful Boyfriend Kickstarter was even trending on Facebook at a point thanks to this wonderfully obsessive level of affection for the property. Not only that, it makes sense that they shared the word with everyone who would listen. With people so devoted to a title, it only makes sense that they flocked to it immediately upon launch. After all, the very initial release of Hatoful Boyfriend was in 2011. This Kickstarter allowed those fans to share their love - a love which has been bottled up for years in the case of some. Japan offers rarities such as drama CDs and books, but those were produced exclusively in Japanese. There is a small amount of fan gear that gets touted out at conventions but, for the most part, fans have no way to show their love other than buying the visual novel on multiple platforms. There is very little official Hatoful Boyfriend merchandise available in North America (if any). First, let’s investigate from the niche aspect. Okay, so it seemed that this was on track to be a massive hit.īut how is it possible that such a niche group were able to sustain immediate success and continue to double down on it day after day? In my opinion, it has to do with the fact that the community is so niche and that the Kickstarter had very smart goals and tiers in place. The next time I looked the project had already attained its goal. I was linked to the Hatoful Boyfriend Kickstarter right when it launched, felt amused by its existence, and went to bed. However, it was hard to say for certain how many people would end up showing their support. Erick Scarecrow’s goal of $25,000 seemed totally feasible for getting a handful of small plushies out for production. That’s why the plush project concerned me. The game offers far more than awkward laughs, too, as the storyline leads to very heartfelt and even serious places.Įven so, the actual community of people who unabashedly adore Hatoful Boyfriend is a pretty niche group within the visual novel community. Despite the different in species, she also has the potential to fall in love with one of multiple birds. In this visual novel, players take the role of a high school student who is the only human among various bird students. Many gamers out there have heard of Hatoful Boyfriend thanks to its incredibly unusual premise. On November 3, a lovely crowdfunding project with the (surprisingly shouty) name of “ HATOFUL BOYFRIEND OFFICIAL PLUSH PROJECT! ” flapped onto Kickstarter.
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