Today is the final day for the Amplitude reboot Kickstarter campaign and, at the risk of jinxing the whole thing, it looks like the team at Harmonix Music Systems will have the opportunity to make their rhythm game dreams a reality. Sporting 11,384 backers as of this writing, Amplitude is at $730,671 raised of its required $775,000 to be a success. There's 27 hours left in the campaign, so consider this your final friendly reminder to jump in and make a contribution if it's been lingering on your to-do list this past month.
We announced earlier this month that Harmonix was looking to Kickstart a new version of cult favorite rhythm game, Amplitude. They made it very clear from the onset that, if the game didn't hit its goal by May 23, it wouldn't be made. Period. In other words, the development team had to prove there was an actual audience for this niche title to warrant beginning production and, more importantly, have those folks provide the funding up front.
At this moment, it looks like Amplitude will pull through in reaching its goal, but probably not by as huge a margin as longtime fans were hoping. Still, a win is a win, and with just a couple dozen more thousands of dollars, the Amplitude reboot will be green-lit.
According to the current Kickstarter campaign, successful funding would result in both a PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 version of the new Amplitude, giving gamers a chance to experience the music-fueled action of a series that hasn't seen the light of day in over a decade.
There are multiple tiers of support, each with their own perks. At this point, folks who just want to play the game will want to go for the $20 level at a minimum. The $15 level will no longer grant you access to the game, as only the first 1,000 backers at that level could take advantage of the promotion. At 20 bucks, you'll net yourself a cross-buy code for the game when it launches and you'll get your name in the credits. Higher levels offer additional goodies like signed silkscreen prints, a downloadable art book, sound track and even an “old school PS2 case” for the nostalgia hound in the audience.
I know there are dozens of games on Kickstarter and we don't cover all of them (that'd be impossible), but I like to throw a nod in the direction of games that I especially believe in. We're talking about a beloved game with a tried and true team working behind the scenes. All of that adds up to a campaign that appears to have a much lower probability of leaving supporters high and dry for a long period of time or, worse yet, without a game due to poor management. As always, invest at your own risk by heading to Amplitude's official Kickstarter page.
Got a boatload of time on your hands and want to hear even more about the game, the design process and potential for the reboot? There's an app for that! Actually, it's a video. A video that's about the runtime of your average movie. Grab some popcorn and a cola and tuck in, friend-o.
