Kickstarter goes live in Canada

Kickstarter today began allowing Canadian crowdfunding campaigns, the company announced this afternoon. Canadian Kickstarter projects will officially go live September 9, though creators can starting building their projects and submit them to the company beginning today.

Kickstarter originally announced its intention to allow Canadian projects in June.

All Canada-based projects will be listed in Canadian dollars. Those peldging from outside of the country will see approximate conversion rates to their local currency.

The same 5 percent fee Kickstarter collects for successfully funded United Staters and European projects will be in place for Canadian campaigns.

To support the launch of Kickstarter in Canada, the company is hosting workshops in Toronto and Montreal this month. For more, check out the Canada-specific Kickstarter FAQ.

Stoney Creek, Ontario-based Precursor Games--developer of upcoming Wii U and PC game Shadow of the Eternals--launched its Kickstarter campaign last month. It is not clear if a special exception was made in the developer's case. A Kickstarter representative was not immediately available to comment.

Separately, Kickstarter community head Cindy Au told Gamasutra that claims of "Kickstarter fatigue" for game-related projects are false.

"Actually, the numbers are going up. In 2012, we saw $84.5 million pledged to game projects. As of August 1st, 2013, $64.7 million have already been pledged to game projects," Au said. "Of the Kickstarter users who have backed a game project, 39 percent have gone on to back another game. It's a very healthy category with a great community of backers."

Games topped Kickstarter successes in 2012, but the success rate for games, however, was low--at around 30 percent.

Brutal Legend studio Double Fine Productions was one of the first major developers to bypass a traditional publisher relationship and seek funding directly from fans when it launched a campaign for a point-and-click adventure game through Kickstarter in early 2012.

Numerous developers big and small have since spawned projects on Kickstarter in the wake of Double Fine, including Star Citizen, Project Eternity, Godus, a Leisure Suit Larry remake, and others. In addition, technology like the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset and the Ouya console were successfully funded through Kickstarter.