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The Phantom...Lives?
An Anonymous Reader writes "G4's Attack of the show has a writeup and video of a demonstration of the Phantom Gaming Service." From the article: "I certainly wouldn't be at this company doing what I'm doing if I wasn't absolutely sure that we're going to launch a product. It's natural for people to be skeptical. I think a lot of the skepticism is building on itself at this point: people are skeptical so therefore they become more skeptical and therefore they become more skeptical."
We were skeptical because we've been promised the moon, the sun and the stars for years, without delivery. Or perhaps because the main office were found to be a PO Box (or an empty office - I can't remember). Because every year there's some hardware, some sort of demo, but nothing real and tangible.
We're skeptical because many of us are empiricists who don't believe in empty promises anymore, but real results. Show us a machine, we can buy, and a real list of games that work, and we'll take a look at it. Until you actually say "On sale on [insert date here]", just shut up - we'll be a lot less skeptical that way.
52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
"I certainly wouldn't be at this company doing what I'm doing if I wasn't absolutely sure that we're going to launch a product."
If you're still working for the company, obviously you're waiting for the payoff. Having this type of confidence in your employers doesn't translate into real-world guarantees that the business is going to launch the product.
This is modern American workplace's version of Stockholm Syndrome. Good luck, kiddo.
"There's companies that are just so cool that you just can't even deal with it," - Bill Gates, about Google
Also Nintendo may beat them to this. I don't see how this can complete.
Did anyone else actually watch the video? I think this is a great idea. The pricing model seems right too... he wants to go the "cable tv" route, where you pay a monthly fee with a contract and get the hardware for free, or the "satellite radio" route where you pay a little for the hardware, and don't have to bind yourself with a yearly contract.
And when you participate in this scheme, what exactly do you own? Do you own any of the games you download? Do you own the box? If you stop paying Infinium money, would you still be able to play your games? If Infinium financially imploded, would your box still work?
These are some of the biggest concerns which IL still hasn't addressed. To you, it may look fine. To everyone else, it looks like a more strict version of Steam with an extra box you have to buy, too.
Happiness is relative, Based upon the way we live.
How in the world does that even make any sense? By that logic the opposite should also hold true and anyone who believed in the product therefore believed more, and then more still!
Here's the real reasons people became more and more skeptical of the product - because the man leading the company has submarined so many other VC-funded startups it's insane anyone still gives him money. Because when the community did some digging their multimillion dollar funded base of operations was an empty storefront. Because the tech they were touting was beyond anything else at the time and there was nothing but some CG images to back up that they even had a prototype. Because when a website did some more digging and published and article full of facts they threatened to sue. Because every single time something came out about their "product" it was 'soon soon soon!' and yet nothing ever materialized.
Skepticism does not come from nothing and feed on itself. Skepticism comes from making outrageous claims and not backing them up and flying the face of logic with no proof.
I appologize for not linking to articles/slashdot posts/etc for all of the claims above, but I'm pretty sure /. readers are all too well aware of what I'm talking about.
-- I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist. It's not my fault that life sucks so much. --
I know this sort of thing gives them ratings, but G4 should think twice about showing scams, I mean theres some level of er.. "innocence" in trying to convince complete non gamers that the Killzone 2 trailer was "realtime gameplay" but seriously the "phantom"?!
In case you havent noticed the Phantom is a "console" that will fail in purpose, and as soon as it does, the extra "initial capital" from the naive investors will disappear in thin air. (except from the pockets of those who orchestrated the whole deal of course) check the bios of these guys they are con artists.
This sort of thing could blow in their faces. not that they should worry about their credibility (which is zero anyway) they should worry about investors seeking for blood when this thing finally blows its cover.
Go ahead MOD my day!
More opinions here
Sometimes skepticism is based on a "working" model of the Phantom with a poorly welded modified ATX case, hotglued wires, cardboard patches, and nonfunctioning plugs that aren't connected to anything.
ACs are modded -6. I don't read you, I don't mod you, I don't see you. Don't like it? Don't be a coward.
Cable companies can license the Phantom and bundle it with cable modems for little to no extra money up front. Companies like Comcast and Dish Network have their own video recorders which have taken quite a lot of TiVo's potential customer base away. For an extra ten bucks a month to play however many video games the Phantom will support, cable companies might just make money on the deal.
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phantom is legimate... ...if you consider not delivering legimate, dozen total revamps of the product, specs pulled out of ass etc.
look, people are skeptical about it being a good product EVEN IF IT MAKES IT TO THE MARKET! they've already had dozen dates/timelines they haven't met.
it doesn't take time to build a pc clone(however, a launch of the size that they were planning would have taken a shitload more of money than they had/have).
people were skeptical of the end of summer of 2003 release of hl2 - and for good reason, it never happened(came out a year later).
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
The Phantom...Lives? No. No it doesn't. Next article please.