RollerCoaster Tycoon wants to release on the Nintendo Switch, and it wants you to make some money in the process. Using an equity-based crowdfunding model, RollerCoaster Tycoon is seeking investors for the next entry in the amusement park simulation game.
Many developers have turned to crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter in the past, but this is about equity-based fundraising. Sites like Fig allow people to put thousands of their own dollars towards a game’s development in exchange for a share of the profits once the game has released. RollerCoaster Tycoon is using equity-based site StartEngine to find investors that will help fund development of the Switch version, with an expected release later this year.
“At Atari Game Partners, we're confident in the incredible potential for the RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise on the Nintendo Switch,” Todd Shallbetter, the president and COO of Atari Game Partners, said in a press release. “Community investment will secure the development process to create an exciting new version of this iconic franchise for gamers around the world to enjoy. The much-loved addictive gameplay embodied by the RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise is a perfect match for the Nintendo Switch.”
RollerCoaster Tycoon Switch will be a new entry in the RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise, so it isn’t a simple port of past games. According to early screenshots posted on the StartEngine page, RollerCoaster Tycoon Switch will be a 3D game and will look more like mobile game RollerCoaster Tycoon Touch than anything else.
The Switch version will have multiple scenarios, a sandbox mode and a Tycoon career mode. Scenarios should work like previous games, with players given a time-based objective to meet. The Tycoon career mode will allow players to expand their parks and “grow your amusement empire.”
The smallest investment allowed for the StartEngine campaign is $250. That may sound like a lot of money, but it’s possible you’ll eventually make it all back if RollerCoaster Tycoon Switch sells well enough. Of course, if you want to go all out, the maximum investment is $1,070,000. Yikes.
So what do you think? Are you interested in playing a new version of RollerCoaster Tycoon on the Switch? Will you gather the funds to help invest in the project? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
