Critical Role Critical Role show kickstarter update: Backers have to get Amazon prime to get the show

[SkidAce]

...., I'm digging the free hat and use it every day.

#CRBlessed

Yeah, I like the hat.

 

[Mordhau]

What exactly was being kickstarted here?

Or in other words, was a product of some sort promised, or was it more in the way of a donation so this thing could get made?

 

[p_johnston]

So frankly this is kinda crappy and I understand anyone who backed and is now pissed.

To lay it out.
Fans back the kick starter enough to get 10 episodes. At this point their is an implicit promise that if the series gets made they can access it even if there is not an explicit one.
Amazon steps in to help fund a second season and distribute the episodes.
Critical Role says that backers will be able to access the series for free. This is an explicit promise.
The fulfill their promise by saying "hey you can get a free trial of amazon prime." Which is not fulfilling their promise. It is at best fulfilling the letter of the promise while ignoring the spirit. That is of course ignoring if anyone doesn't happen to qualify for the free trial (say they had canceled their amazon prime in the last 12 months).

So the main question is did they A) sign the agreement with amazon knowing that backers would have to get prime to see the show or B) did that come up after the deal was signed? Because if it was A then it is fully just a crappy move on their part. In that case they made a deal that they new was breaking the spirit of the agreement and would end up screwing over some portion of their backers. If it was B then someone at CR messed up when making the deal that this was not addressed beforehand. And either way waiting until the week before launch to tell people either way was crappy. That feels to me like they knew what they were doing was wrong and were delaying telling people until the last minute. Maybe they were hoping the hype as it came out would help quell any backlash.

P.S. and to clarify the reason I say that the initial backing had an implicit promise that on success the backers would get access to the episodes is because 100% if Amazon had not stepped in they would be getting those episodes. THE ONLY reason that backers are not getting access to the episodes is because of the deal with Amazon. They are just using the fact that it was never stated to cover their butts on a technicality.

 

[darjr]

I guess the question is, how were the shows going to be accessed before Amazon was involved?

I dint think that ever stated? I know I would have assumed a download or a service if theirs.

If I thought about it I might have thought they’d be on Amazon in blue ray and digital too. But to own? Not just streaming.

I mean they could still do that? Couldn’t they? I “own” movies on Amazon. And I don’t think I need prime to watch them?

I dunno. I get the wtf moment but I also don’t see the current situation as a disaster

 

[billd91]

I guess the question is, how were the shows going to be accessed before Amazon was involved?

I dint think that ever stated? I know I would have assumed a download or a service if theirs.

I would have assumed the shows would be available in a similar way their streaming show is now - Twitch for the early access and then YouTube.
I'm not complaining though. Amazon Prime's streaming service is pretty decent with no YouTube ads.

 

[Mordhau]

So frankly this is kinda crappy and I understand anyone who backed and is now pissed.

To lay it out.
Fans back the kick starter enough to get 10 episodes. At this point their is an implicit promise that if the series gets made they can access it even if there is not an explicit one.
Amazon steps in to help fund a second season and distribute the episodes.
Critical Role says that backers will be able to access the series for free. This is an explicit promise.
The fulfill their promise by saying "hey you can get a free trial of amazon prime." Which is not fulfilling their promise. It is at best fulfilling the letter of the promise while ignoring the spirit. That is of course ignoring if anyone doesn't happen to qualify for the free trial (say they had canceled their amazon prime in the last 12 months).

So the main question is did they A) sign the agreement with amazon knowing that backers would have to get prime to see the show or B) did that come up after the deal was signed? Because if it was A then it is fully just a crappy move on their part. In that case they made a deal that they new was breaking the spirit of the agreement and would end up screwing over some portion of their backers. If it was B then someone at CR messed up when making the deal that this was not addressed beforehand. And either way waiting until the week before launch to tell people either way was crappy. That feels to me like they knew what they were doing was wrong and were delaying telling people until the last minute. Maybe they were hoping the hype as it came out would help quell any backlash.

P.S. and to clarify the reason I say that the initial backing had an implicit promise that on success the backers would get access to the episodes is because 100% if Amazon had not stepped in they would be getting those episodes. THE ONLY reason that backers are not getting access to the episodes is because of the deal with Amazon. They are just using the fact that it was never stated to cover their butts on a technicality.

But what was backed? If there was an implicit promise, what was the explicit one?

 

[Parmandur]

What exactly was being kickstarted here?

Or in other words, was a product of some sort promised, or was it more in the way of a donation so this thing could get made?

The Kickstarter was quite clear that no tier involved ownership of the final product, just offered swag to finance the production of a show. Backers were promised that the pilot special would be made available to them early, which is happening next week. That's it, the only promises were the swag which they delivered on. CR gets quality merchandising, they always have.

I interpreted at the time that they went out of their way to not promise how the show would be available, specifically so that they could go to a streaming service or network with minimal obligations. No surprises here.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

People simply do not get the core point of crowd-funding. You're paying to make this thing exist. Anything beyond that is incentive and courtesy.

I pay because I am promised rewards. If I do not get my rewards I consider myself defrauded.

In this case it seems like the Amazon deal is completely different than the original Kickstarter, so no promised rewards were unfulfilled (in regards to the episodes of season 1).

 

[Vaalingrade]

I pay because I am promised rewards. If I do not get my rewards I consider myself defrauded.

Except not every Kickstarter is required to offer rewards. Rewards are not inherent to the process, just good marketing.

I never got bite one of that potato salad.

 

[mewzard]

The Legend of Vox Machina Kickstarter is in an odd place where none of the tiers to back got you the show. It mostly got you merch, or the show script, or such. The most actual show guaranteed was some high tier pledges ($1000+) could get you to specific premieres, but that was just for the show premiere.

It's different from, say, the MST3K Kickstarters, where there are clear tiers for owning the season digitally, owning it physically, bonus episodes from the show's past, etc.

But yeah, we were definitely promised early access for the first two episodes, and we're getting that.

The suggestion of the season itself sometime later in the updates...Not as much.

We don't really know what happened.

Was the contract a little more vague about us backers, and they didn't realize it until it was too late? Did Amazon not feel compelled to honor a promise not specifically in pledge tiers?

No idea.