Psychology of Game Kickstarters @Gamasutra

Gamasutra published a blog post titled Psychology and Video Game Kickstarters. Here's the intro to the second of three main points:

Social Proof: Pump Up # of Backers As Early As Possible

The second element of a Kickstarter pitch page that I suspect most people notice is the collection of stats about number of backers and how much money they've pledged. This information is critically important in the first days of a campaign, as it can mean the difference between a trickle that never reaches its goal and a flood that blows past it. Because if we're browsing Kickstarter projects, we're probably more likely to back those that we see others backing, especially early on.