Project Rap Rabbit Kickstarter gets lower Switch goal after outcry

A Nintendo Switch version of Project Rap Rabbit is back on the table, after the Kickstarter campaign’s original stretch goals were removed. The development team, consisting of designers from rhythm game veterans NaNaOn-Sha and iNiS, relaunched the Switch version as a stretch goal with a much lower ask.

Project Rap Rabbit’s first stretch goal, for a Nintendo Switch release, is now set at $1.5 million. Originally, the team had a $4.95 million campaign tier to bring the game to the platform.

“It made sense for us to zero in on the platforms we knew we could develop for without any unknown quantities arising, and to then present a plan whereby those communities would get a bigger game with more modes if Stretch Goals were met,” the Project Rap Rabbit team wrote in a Kickstarter update about the original stretch goal order, which saw the Switch version as the most expensive bar to clear. “Once we had that bumper experience in place, we ultimately wanted to give ourselves the breathing room to bring it all, wholesale, to Nintendo Switch.”

But rhythm game fans drawn to the unique collaboration between the creators of PaRappa the Rapper and Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! weren’t happy with the $4.95 million Switch ask. Complaints following the Kickstarter campaign’s launch made their way to the development team, who admitted they were mistaken in setting the Switch target so much higher than all the other features.

“Our original Nintendo Switch target was the cumulative total of development of all features across all platforms, with the additional cost of porting on top,” the update continued. “Restructuring all our targets enabled us to recalculate the porting costs and internal resources needed to bring Project Rap Rabbit to Nintendo Switch for $1.5 million.”

As for the rest of the stretch goals, the designers are turning to backers to determine what those should entail. Originally, the stretch goals included extra modes, an Xbox One version and more levels. After getting close to the Switch stretch goal target, the community will be invited to weigh in on other features they want to see so that the team can “shape future Stretch Goals accordingly.”

The basic campaign goal is still set at $1.1 million, which will bring Project Rap Rabbit to PlayStation 4 and Windows PC. Anyone who backs a tier from the “White-Label Edition” and above will also receive a free copy of the soundtrack with their pledge.