Crowd funding is the new in-thing, with crowd funding site Kickstarter really pushing the envelope. Independent developers and gamers have banded together through Kickstarter, where the gaming category has gone from the eighth most-funded type of project in Kickstarter's history, to the second most popular.

Sitting in the second most popular spot, it has raised more than $50 million so far this year. Looking back over the years, it has increased in a meteoric fashion: 2011 saw $3.6 million, 2010 was much less with just over $500,000 and in 2009, it didn't even tip over $50,000. So in three years, we've gone from not even $50,000 to over $50,000,000. Quite the jump.

Kickstarter have said that 23% of all money pledged has been toward the gaming category this year. The film category has raised $42 million in donations, with Design, Music and Technology making $40 million, $25 million and $16 million in pledges, respectively. These categories make up the top five on the crowd funding site.