#Kickstarter panda controller update#
#Kickstarter panda controller upgrade#

Also chip manufacturing generally isn’t profitable due to the need to continuously upgrade equipment. There aren’t any mass production board manufacturers in the US that could undertake this project. In the case of electronics, you’re going to have a harder time sourcing components without importing from China. Markup going to retail would sit around $10-$12 per bow tie with MSRP around $20-$24. In the US example I didn’t even touch on the cost of materials because it’s literally pennies (around 0.25 if you just buy fabric off the shelf). A fair hourly wage would probably be closer to $16, which would push the price of production to $4 per bow tie. This price doesn’t take into account freight or duties.Ī bow tie made in the US would cost about the same because the US doesn’t believe in a living wage and in many states could get away with $8 an hour. You can mass-produce a quality bow ties in China for around $2 per bow tie each. Our production cycle is different than China’s and in many instances we don’t have the equipment necessary to successfully compete, which quite frankly has nothing to do with our safety laws. The real problem isn’t the union, it’s the lack of infrastructure. Just because workers are unionized doesn’t inherently mean a higher price, which unions have actively campaigned for years to disprove this. We can’t thank you enough for the support you’ve given us to help make our dreams a reality.

We had to make an incredibly difficult decision that we hope is the right one for everyone.Īs of today, we’ll be canceling our Kickstarter early with all pledges fully refunded while we pursue outside investment to continue the project internally.We know how disappointing this is for many of you.

After a lot of deliberation, we felt it wasn’t right of us to hold onto your funds for an unknown amount of time without being able to guarantee when delivery will be. So, with the Panda Controller timeline not having a clear end date, we had to figure out what the best next steps are. We know how excited you all are to get the Panda Controller as soon as possible, but it looks like we can’t guarantee the December 2022 date anymore and we don’t know what the new date will be yet. Among other new roadblocks, our main manufacturing partner in China is being affected by ongoing rolling blackouts, slowing their production which was already affected by COVID-related shortages. Since opening the Kickstarter, we’ve been made aware of a few factors outside of our control that, when added up, have affected our production timeline. Panda Global CEO Alan Bunney in a Reddit thread wrote that the company will showcase its controller at fighting game events, including this weekend’s Community Effort Orlando tournament.We have some unfortunate news to share today. The Kickstarter effort will run for 28 more days and potentially eclipse $1 million. The energy drink brand has established itself as a premier tournament organizer with direct brand integration at a number of annual events including its own Red Bull Kumite series. Only a few brands such as Red Bull have found the right way to activate the value of becoming part of the fighting game community. This is an underserved audience that is willing to pay for performance, recognizes and values the commitment to community that Panda has made and supports organizations that add value to the scene.

At presstime, nearly 6,000 backers have supported the campaign at the $90 tier - the price for the controller itself. players and the fighting game scene in general. The success of both campaigns and the growth following Panda’s initial foray into performance hardware highlights the extremely untapped market potential of Super Smash Bros. Last year, the company raised $154,000 on an initial goal of $55,000 to fund a controller adapter for the Nintendo Switch. This is Panda's second successful crowdfunding campaign targeting the Super Smash Bros.

#Kickstarter panda controller update#

While there is an ecosystem of controller modification specialists, the community at large has not seen a proper update to its performance hardware in over a decade. players currently use an outdated controller for the Nintendo GameCube system, which was released in 2001. The Panda team creates the controller in-house. The campaign reached its initial goal of $100,000 in less than an hour. U.S.-based esports organization Panda Global has raised more than $700,000 in less that 24 hours in a Kickstarter campaign for its custom gaming controller designed for Super Smash Bros.