At Collisiondetection, Clive Thompson discusses the implications of the "ransom" model of publishing, a model tested by Greg Stolze in the publication of his game "Meatbot Massacre."
The followup discussion on the economics of this mode of publishing is informative.
http://www.collisiondetection.net/mt/archives/2005/06/great_bowls_of.html#001233
There is an online-service that mediates group resource pooling to make sales or to buy things. I thought it might help either game producers or serve as a marketing device.
http://www.fundable.org/