A vaporware masterpiece

[WonderBrick]

Broadbandreports.com reports:

Phantom gaming console's rough road
How do you create the vaporware king of all time? Take one part dumb terminal with an ethernet connection, take an individual with a history of business failure, make repeated promises, file lawsuits against websites that claim you don't know what you're doing, then eventually run out of money before fielding a product. The Wired News rank of 3rd biggest vaporware product of all time might have been generous, as filings indicate Infinium labs is out of money and almost out of time.

Bolded text added by me.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=5643

[Samprimary]

Some people can just lie their way into $25 million dollars worth of venture capatalism. Tim Roberts is either deviously intelligent or hopelessly deluded, but either way he manages to be thoroughly unscrupulous and entirely professionally dishonest. He just puts up smoke and mirrors in the form of numerous full-page ads hyping the KA-STOUNDING PARADIGM PULVERIZING POWER of his aptly named Phantom, then channels all of the invested money straight into his decadent lifestyle, investing only as much money back into the project as is needed to keep convincing fools to invest in him.

[HaemishM]

Ok, wait, here's the really funny bit.

On top of the $11.5 million needed to actually launch the Phantom and achieve its first 10,000 sales, Infinium also extimates that it's going to require around $10.7 million beyond that to achieve cash flow break even, bringing the firm's total funding needs to $20.2 million.

I think they said that a subscription would cost $10 a month, maybe more. That information is not currently on their web site. So if they manage to get the money needed to launch and actually sell out of those 10k units, the first month's subscription fees would be $100,000. First year would be $1.2 million, if my numbers are correct. How in the fuck would this thing every hope to make back the additional $20 million required to launch, much less the other $27 million they've already pissed away.

WHO GIVES STUPID FUCKERS LIKE THIS MONEY AND WHERE CAN I FIND THEM!?!?!?!

[Samprimary]

That reminds me, aren't you spearheading the development of a new game system? The Haembox, right?

Yeah, that's it - it will have eight thousand ultrahertz and give the user an I.Q. of 100% and can play games manufactured in any century. Let's go post full-page ads in trendy venture magazines, use the word 'paradigm' a lot, and watch the money flow in.

[Roac]

First year would be $1.2 million, if my numbers are correct.

They're not, because Infinium's model didn't plan for zero growth.  Modest attempt at armchair business exec though.

[HaemishM]

Oh, I didn't expect my figures would be right. But according to those filings, they only mentioned 10k units. Even if they doubled or tripled that in the first year, it's still not enough money to make back what they put into it. And based on the stats of the hardware in the box, it'll be outdated for sure in 2 years.

EDIT: Also, they'd do better just trying to sell that keyboard mouse combo to Halo players. I'd buy one for my X-Box.

[Paelos]

Guess I have to update my Christmas list now.