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Infinium to Infiltrate Gamer Forums

Posted by Zonk on Mon Feb 27, 2006 05:55 PM
from the i'd-be-laughing-if-this-wasn't-so-desperate dept.
Entertainment Games
Opposable Thumbs, over at Ars Technica, points out something we have have overlooked last week when Infinium Labs opened its books. Besides dropping the Phantom in favour of getting the keyboard to market, one of their business plans calls for the company to "infiltrate best-in-class video game communities with simple, easy to understand message and seeding on tech blogs, gaming sites and on-line player forums with compelling imagery and links to lapboard eye candy." Because that's sure to net them some goodwill and customer loyalty.
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Related Stories

[+] Hardware: Infinium Phantom Lapboard Coming to PC? 176 comments
JamesO writes to tell us that Infinium Labs has announced the release of their "Phantom Lapboard" for later this year. From the article: "Infinium Labs' Phantom game service is still to launch, despite claims years ago that it would appear at Christmas 2004, but this hasn't stopped the company from continuing with the system's development. One of the most talked about aspects of the system is its wireless keyboard and mouse combo called the Lapboard. Infinium Labs has decided that the Lapboard is so good that it will be released as a peripheral for PC users in quarter-two 2006. What makes the Lapboard unique is that the keyboard can be angled upwards to create a surface for the mouse to operate on underneath. The device is also wireless and can operate at a distance of up to 30 feet."
[+] Phantom Console Put on Hold 93 comments
technoid_ writes "Looks like the Infinium Labs Phantom Game Console is put on hold until they can secure some more funding. Right now the company is focusing on getting its Phantom Lapboard to the market, and may pursue the Phantom Game service later. Interesting note, they have spent almost 4 times as much on Consultants as they have in development costs so far." From the article: "From its inception in December of 2002 through September of last year, Infinium racked up $62.7 million in losses. Of that, only $3.5 million has been lost to development costs. The company has spent more than half that in advertising, even though none of its products or services have been released yet. More of the company's money has been going toward consultants ($12.8 million), salaries ($11.9 million), and general and administrative expenses ($5.9 million)."
[+] Phantom Lapboard Delayed 39 comments
JamesO writes "The unique keyboard and mouse combo finds a manufacturer, but slips from its Q2 release date." From the article: "Infinium Labs' Phantom game service may never see the light of day, but at least something positive will come from the project in the shape of the system's keyboard and mouse combo. What makes the Lapboard interesting is that it features a keyboard that can be angled upwards to reveal a surface on which a mouse can operate. This means the device is perfect for use on your lap (hence the name) and ideal for those who no longer sit at a desk when using their PC."
[+] Infinium Tries 'Phantom' Name Change 83 comments
simoniker writes "Former Infinium Phantom 'console' developer and current Lapboard accessory creator Infinium Labs has revealed multiple new details in financial filings, including the fact that it's changing company name to Phantom Entertainment, as long as shareholders approve. But with the SEC prosecuting former CEO Timothy Roberts, 'accumulated losses since inception of $69,331,794', and _another_ former CEO, Kevin Bachus, now suing the company for back pay, will the company ever release a product?"
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Infinium to Infiltrate Gamer Forums 25 Comments More /

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  • Ha! (Score:3, Informative)

    by TubeSteak (669689) on Monday February 27 2006, @06:02PM (#14812043) Journal
    This won't end well.

    Forum administrators hate it when people go into their forum and start shilling for some company.

    For their ad campaign to work, they're going to have to subvert members of the forum who have some credibility. A new account full of "this is teh c00l" posts is going to be ignored.

    • Re:Ha! (Score:3, Insightful)

      by AuMatar (183847)
      In related news, I'm willing to sell my slashdot account to infinium. A 5 year old account with 2K comments and Excellent karma. All for the low, low price of $1 million US dollars. I believe this price is perfectly in line with their priorities, given their marketing budget is 10x their design budget.
      • Dude, that'll never work.

        Haven't you been paying attention? $1 million US dollars? That's way too low. In order for them to take you seriously you're going to have to at least ask for 10 million.
    • The Infinium hardware is Da Bomb. I was showing the specs to the guys in study hall, and they were all jealous that I already had it on pre-order. Then some girls at the desk behind us saw the pictures of the hardware, and they said it looked sexy! W00T!

      P.S.
      Chech out teh awesom website! [infiniumlabs.com] W00T there it is!
      W00T there it is!
      W00T there it is!

      -

    • Re:Ha! (Score:2, Interesting)

      by mazarin5 (309432)
      Appropriately, Slashdot's QOTM is:

      Reliable source, n.: The guy you just met.

  • Given its track record, when will we see the infiltration happening?
  • Seems like coming up with enough posts that won't get nuked by moderators (which forums allow blatant ads?) but somehow compel people to look might be tough. But hey, Anyone that can blow 62 million bucks with nothing to show for it can do anything i am sure :O

    Oh well guess those employees finally have to DO something after all this time....

    Funny thing is after all this, they have enough name recognition that it would probably sell itself if it's half as good as they think ;p
  • I think you are not giving Infinium Labs(TM) a fair chance. The company, founded in 2002 by Tim Roberts, is a shining example of what a gaming company should be. Take a few examples: When the company first announced a gaming console the entire community took notice gaining mention by many such luminaries as www.penny-arcade.com and www.hardocp.com They later developed a keyboard which is currently poised to change the way in which all people interact with computers; namely by allowing them to keep their
  • My greatest fear in reviews begins to come into fruition... I've always loved customer reviews of stuff (like newegg, amazon, and even ePinions), since it can give a more joe schmoe look at the product, and it is not of a sample of the product that a manufacturer may have hand-picked and inspected for a reviewer to review because it will not have problems (it isn't always that way, but I'm sure sometimes it is). This ploy sounds border-line on this type of situation, and the only next step they could take
    • I've always loved customer reviews of stuff (like newegg, amazon, and even ePinions), since it can give a more joe schmoe look at the product, and it is not of a sample of the product that a manufacturer may have hand-picked and inspected for a reviewer to review because it will not have problems (it isn't always that way, but I'm sure sometimes it is).

      A wonderful notion, except that allowing you to post 3-5 sentences about the product on a web site hardly qualifies as a review. Most of the reviews I se
  • So...is Slashdot the first stop? Remember, any press is good press, and right now they're reaching a LOT of readers, some of whom might potentially see one of these images and think to themselves, "hmm...this is the scummiest company on earth, and I hate how they are intentionally trying to subvert these gaming forums to reach me...but damn, thats a cool looking keyboard, I might have to buy it".

  • It seems to have gotten them on the front page of /. just fine.
  • lots of incomplete sentences?
  • This astro-turf style of marketing is already happening. I've run into at least one such user on my forum (not for Infinium, but for another product). They log into several forums, make some generic posts for a while (so people think they're just normal users) then, once they get the call to advertise a certain product, they do couple of "soft sell" posts saying how much they like a product.

    I got one that was a little too obvious, but I'm guessing there are a few more who play the game better (and I'm s

    • Re:Wow! (Score:3, Interesting)

      by TubeSteak (669689)
      heh, if you follow the link to gamespot, they have a picture and some comments. The first comment says

      jaokhan
      Yes, because we all love typing at an angle. And why does the mouse have a wire coming out of it if it's wireless?

      I cropped the pic and blew up a section, so you can see it easily.

      http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/8233/phantomwir ed1ft.jpg [imageshack.us]

      What a joke, even their Press Pic don't jive with the product they're selling.

      • I like ripping on infinium as much as anyone, but unfortunatly, I think the part of that picture that looks like a wire is just a seam on the edge of that platform.

        Lord knows why there's a seam there, but I'm pretty sure it's not a wire.

      • My guess is that the mouse has a wire that attaches to the back of the keyboard, and the whole unit then wirelessly connects back to your computer.

        Typing at an angle does look really awkward though, especially for a keyboard that's going to be on your knees. My right wrist hurts just looking at it.
        • It's only at an angle until you buy Infinium shoes. The left shoe is 4" taller. Of course, the mousing surface won't be level then, so you'll have to buy the special angled Infinium chair. Only then will you realize that the chair negates the shoes, and the keyboard is once again at an angle, but by then you will have invested so much money into the whole thing that you'll just use it anyway.

    • Re:Wow! (Score:4, Funny)

      by generic-man (33649) on Monday February 27 2006, @06:14PM (#14812162) Homepage Journal
      I used to accuse companies of such trickery, but then I got the all-new Infinium Labs Lapboard [infiniumlabs.com]. What makes the Infinium Labs Lapboard [infiniumlabs.com] very unique is that the keyboard can be angled upwards to create a surface for the mouse to operate on underneath. The Infinium Labs Lapboard [infiniumlabs.com] is also wireless and can operate at a distance of up to 30 feet. That's more than nine metres of connectivity, which is great because I can play games like Battlefield Earth 1942 with my Infinium Labs Lapboard [infiniumlabs.com] on my Microsoft Windows Media Centre Edition Personal Computer Powered by Gateway on my Gateway Enhanced Definition Plasma Television whilst sitting on my exquisite Ikea Spruengvar leather sofa. Check the Infinium Labs Lapboard [infiniumlabs.com] out right away.
    • I frequent one of these "best-in-class" forums (BeyondUnreal), and we get the "HAY CHEK OUT MY SITE" posts all of the time. They usually get banned and culled within five minutes as the community mocks them mercilessly.

      Thing is, these are probably not the paid shills. The real shills, you don't even know about.

      It is true that companies occasionally get caught for this - it happened to Midway pretty publicly on Usenet about 5-6 years ago, for example. But take it from someone who used to both do it and rec

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