While many remember the classic Amplitude (which combined a rail-race mechanic with a Guitar Hero -esque play style), Harmonix has just revealed that the future of the series is literally in our hands.
The company started a Kickstarter campaign with a goal of just under $1 million ($775,000 to be exact). Unfortunately, the outlook is not good at the moment, as the current total sits somewhere in the $230,000 ballpark. However, in an update posted to their site, Harmonix director John Drake made it clear that this is an all or nothing scenario. “There aren’t publishing funds waiting in the wings or some third party who’s eager to offset our costs–either we fund the game here, or the game goes back on the shelf.” He says.
But with a company as well known as Harmonix, some might wonder why they are looking to a grass roots site like Kickstarter in the first place. Drake also addressed this question, suggesting that a new Amplitude is something that is considered “high risk” (even though they too are fans and would love to see it happen). “Even in the scenario where we raise the $800,000 or so on Kickstarter,” he explains, “we’ll be risking more of Harmonix’s money than we probably should–all because we want to make this game so badly… at this point our coffers as a company aren’t full enough to fund the entirety of Amplitude by ourselves. There isn’t a secret vault of Rock Band money that we’ve forgotten about.”
We’ll continue to monitor the Kickstarter campaign and bring you more if Harmonix does in-fact hit their target.