Exophase
Nothing good will ever come of Exophase.
So the CEO made a ranting post on the comments section... (line breaks mine):
I think he is right about something, and that is that people shouldn't call it a scam. Because a scam implies deliberate deception, taking money with no intent of developing or delivering anything. Unfortunately, people often see KS projects as one of two things: rock solid near-guarantee of delivery as promised or scam. When there's this huge gulf in between where you have well-intentioned project starters who simply don't know what they're doing and lack the budget, schedule, skill, parts, or even plain old compliance with reality needed to deliver their product.
I don't think PGS is a scam. And when people call it one it gives the project ammo to strike back by proving their sincerity and passion. That's no good because ultimately their sincerity and passion don't matter. Their promises and dedication aren't enough. They want trust but trust must be earned. Blind faith is not a good principal for Kickstarter investment.
He says that even if all the Kickstarter money goes away they'll make PGS happen anyway. I can ask how exactly, but I'd rather instead ask this: then why are you doing this Kickstarter? Or at least, why do it before you have anything useful to show? He talks about the prototype but it's not really a prototype. It's not really a proof of concept either, because it doesn't prove anything, at least not really. It's just an illusion. It's playing make believe to convince backers, and I don't know, maybe to convince the creators themselves. He does seem convinced. But that's no good.. that's just delusion. The statement that he'll make PGS happen even without the campaign only makes him look more delusional, doesn't it?
I feel tempted to contribute myself and make my case there, even after he told people not to. But at this stage there's no real point. The creators won't listen and they're way too far past the goal to get enough people to pull out.
It's all really sad. On the one hand we have a lot of people who will likely lose their money and we have a device concept that will be looked at with even more skepticism in the future. But I feel worst for the PGSLab LLC stakeholders themselves. Because they'll be the target of everyone's scorn, and they'll be under real risk of becoming the next big KS failure that resulted in legal action, where the courts awarded the backers substantially more money than they contributed. They are playing with fire here and there's a real risk they'll get burned. I wish they could see that.
Our dear backers, I have something important to tell you.
Nearly 2 years ago the idea of PGS was born in my mind. I discussed with gamers around the world, discussed with another engineers, I've made hundreds of tests of reference devices. I created a compact team of people to whom I trust. We were driven by one goal and idea. The idea kept clarifying with details, something was added, something removed. I've visited tens of potential investors, the most of them were agree to invest the project only if we develop the device exceptionally on Android and if we significantly raise the cost. Such a perspective didn't satisfy me, I wanted to create not just a high quality device but also an affordable one, for many people could buy it, its cost would be fair and the device would have groundbreaking features. That's why we've come to Kickstarter.
This funding platform isn't a goldmine for us, Kickstarter is a tool which is intended for the people all over the world to invest in creating the future and the truly revolutionary products.
I'd like to say thank you to all of you who believe us, who also think that the future of portable devices will be driven by such things as PGS. The future is being built by your hands.
Now a word for those who don't trust us and maliciously trying to humiliate and insult our project.
Cancel your pledges and disappear please, this project is a clear SCAM. Isn't that what you think? We don't need any cent from you. Later, if we manage to release the prototype in time, do not return to our project. Cause anyway it's a SCAM for you and the prototype is nothing else but the case from 3D printer and the internals from another finished devices. After the campaign ends and some time passes, our YouTube channel will show the prototype based on a custom PCB. At that time do not make a preorder, don't give it a like, you just close the page and go away.
At the beginning of the next year, when the backers will get the first devices and when the device starts selling on Amazon, do not buy it. It won't be that device you want to see and, by the way, it will be a fake.
During these 7 days, day after day, instead of helping our guys developing the prototype, I keep convincing you, explaining, again and again convincing the skeptical ones. I'll remind, if you have just a bit of disbelief, feel free to cancel your pledge. You can play games on PS Vita and 3Ds (by the way, these are cool devices), at least you can play on Android portable devices, do not believe and do not wait the PGS.
Even if after this post all backers go away and the campaign fails with 0 dollars, anyway we will finish and release the PGS. We will do it because we believe in PGS.
That's all I had to say.
I think he is right about something, and that is that people shouldn't call it a scam. Because a scam implies deliberate deception, taking money with no intent of developing or delivering anything. Unfortunately, people often see KS projects as one of two things: rock solid near-guarantee of delivery as promised or scam. When there's this huge gulf in between where you have well-intentioned project starters who simply don't know what they're doing and lack the budget, schedule, skill, parts, or even plain old compliance with reality needed to deliver their product.
I don't think PGS is a scam. And when people call it one it gives the project ammo to strike back by proving their sincerity and passion. That's no good because ultimately their sincerity and passion don't matter. Their promises and dedication aren't enough. They want trust but trust must be earned. Blind faith is not a good principal for Kickstarter investment.
He says that even if all the Kickstarter money goes away they'll make PGS happen anyway. I can ask how exactly, but I'd rather instead ask this: then why are you doing this Kickstarter? Or at least, why do it before you have anything useful to show? He talks about the prototype but it's not really a prototype. It's not really a proof of concept either, because it doesn't prove anything, at least not really. It's just an illusion. It's playing make believe to convince backers, and I don't know, maybe to convince the creators themselves. He does seem convinced. But that's no good.. that's just delusion. The statement that he'll make PGS happen even without the campaign only makes him look more delusional, doesn't it?
I feel tempted to contribute myself and make my case there, even after he told people not to. But at this stage there's no real point. The creators won't listen and they're way too far past the goal to get enough people to pull out.
It's all really sad. On the one hand we have a lot of people who will likely lose their money and we have a device concept that will be looked at with even more skepticism in the future. But I feel worst for the PGSLab LLC stakeholders themselves. Because they'll be the target of everyone's scorn, and they'll be under real risk of becoming the next big KS failure that resulted in legal action, where the courts awarded the backers substantially more money than they contributed. They are playing with fire here and there's a real risk they'll get burned. I wish they could see that.