Phantom Entertainment

Last updated

Phantom Entertainment
TypeManufacturing
Industry Internet TV, media-center and video-game consoles and peripherals
Headquarters
Key people
John Landino (CEO)
Products Phantom Lapboard
Number of employees
3 (as of July 2007) [2]

Phantom Entertainment, Inc. (known as Infinium Labs, Inc. until 2006) was a company founded in 2002 by Tim Roberts which made computer keyboards. However, Phantom was best known for the Phantom, a video game console advertised for Internet gaming on demand in 2004; it was never marketed, leading to suggestions that it was vaporware. The company's website was last updated in late 2011. [3]

Contents

History

Infinium Labs was founded by Tim Roberts in 2002 as a private company. In January 2003 it issued a press release saying that it would soon release a "revolutionary new gaming platform" with an on-demand video-game service, delivering games through an online subscription. The press release had no specific information, but included a computer-generated prototype design. Due to the use of buzzwords and the lack of details, the product was derided nearly from the beginning [4] by news sites such as IGN [5] and Slashdot and in the Penny Arcade webcomic. [6] The hardware and gaming site HardOCP researched and wrote an extensive article on the company and its operation, and was sued in turn. The Phantom placed first in Wired News 's "Vaporware 2004". [7] In 2004, Infinium Labs went public. [8]

Roberts left the company in summer 2005 (with millions of shares of stock) before any products had been delivered. He later rejoined as chairman of the board, but in a July 2007 press release he again resigned from the company. [8] Subsequent CEOs included Kevin Bachus (who took the post in August 2005), Greg Koler (in January 2006) [9] and John Landino, who was appointed CEO and interim chief financial officer in July 2008. [10]

In September 2006 the company (which had changed its name from Infinium Labs) [11] promised to introduce its Phantom Lapboard product in November 2006, with a gaming service to follow in March 2007. [12] In June 2008, the company released the Lapboard. [13] In August 2007, Phantom Entertainment signed an agreement with ProGames Network to provide Lapboards and "game-service content" in hotels worldwide. [14]

The Phantom

The Phantom
Phantom-Console.jpg
The Phantom at E3 2004 in Los Angeles
Type Home video game console
GenerationIf released, sixth or seventh generation (depending on release date)
Release dateCanceled; release promised in November 2004, January, March and September 2005

The Phantom is a cancelled home video game console whose development was supposedly begun by Phantom Entertainment–then known as Infinium Labs–in 2003. The device was said to be capable of playing current and future PC games, giving the system a large initial game library and making it easier for developers to produce games for the system. The system was said to feature a direct-download content delivery service, instead of the discs and cartridges used by most game consoles at the time.

Press releases said in 2003 that the console would be released that year, and the digital rights management software would be provided by DiStream. [15] [16] A prototype Phantom was first seen at the May 2004 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), although it was rumored to be fake. [17] Robrady Design was hired to develop the first Phantom prototype, and Synopse ID was later retained to develop second- and third-generation prototypes.

Two units of the first-generation prototype were known to exist, one publicly destroyed by HardOCP at QuakeCon 2004 as a result of their legal battles with the company (see below), [18] the other was spotted by a computer repair shop in Venice, Florida in 2015 and reported by Ars Technica . [19] In October 2021, a first-generation prototype unit was listed for auction, presumably the same unit that was previously reported by Ars Technica due to its listed repair history. [20] A second-generation prototype unit shown at E3 2004 surfaced a year later after the discovery of the surviving 2003 prototype. [21]

Release

The Phantom had an online release on August 17, 2003, with basic hardware specifications and a price of "below $399". [22] Options included customized hardware and the PhantomNet (a gaming-content service), priced at $9.95 a month. A sale date for the first quarter of 2004 was set. It was missed; the company later claimed it would go on sale in November for the holiday season, although it had not developed online-delivery software, licensed games or found any retailers. The second deadline was missed, with Infinium sending thousands of faxes claiming that the system would be released in January 2005.

When that deadline passed, Infinium predicted the system's release for around March 2005. That date also passed, and Infinium Labs was absent from the 2005 E3. [23] Kevin Bachus (former Infinium CEO) hinted that the Phantom would be released around the same time as the Xbox 360 in fall 2005, but that date was also missed. By August 2006, the Phantom Console was removed from the products page of the Phantom Entertainment website.

Financial problems

The company was unable to raise its projected $30 million to complete the Phantom and announced it would downsize and focus on the Phantom Lapboard, a wireless keyboard for home use. On May 16, 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Phantom Entertainment founder and former CEO Timothy Roberts of running a "pump and dump" scheme in promoting the Phantom console in 2004. [24] The Phantom lost credibility in the gaming and business worlds because its release date was continually pushed back, and because of financial scandals involving Phantom Entertainment (which lost more than $62.7 million since its creation). [25]

Lapboard

Lapboard (black version) Lapboard Samples - Black 011.JPG
Lapboard (black version)

The Phantom Lapboard is a wireless keyboard made by the company. It was released on June 23, 2008, two years after its originally planned release date. Designed as a component of the Phantom game console, it is sold for use with Internet TV and PC video games since the console has been cancelled. [26] In 2010, a new model of the Lapboard was released to work with Internet TV, gaming and media centers. [27]

Announcement

On January 3, 2006, Infinium Labs announced that the lapboard component of the console (a keyboard and mouse designed to be held on the lap, for example, seated on a couch in front of a television) was due to be released to online retailers by the second quarter of 2006. [28] On April 19 it announced that the keyboard would not be released in time for Q2 2006, but the device (manufactured by Itron Technology) would be released in North America and Europe "no later than October" 2006. [29] On August 15 it was announced that the price for the Lapboard would be $129.99, with customers who preordered receiving a $30 discount. [30] The keyboard was then delayed until November. [26] On August 22, 2007, Phantom Entertainment signed an agreement with ProGames Network to provide Lapboards and its game services content in hotels worldwide [14] as well as with Alienware for their media center PCs (Alienware later pulled out of the agreement in December 2007 due to another delay in Lapboard's launch). [31] The keyboard was finally released on June 23, 2008, [32] two years after its originally planned release date.

Reception

White Lapboard Lapboard Samples - White 002.JPG
White Lapboard

In April 2008 Maximum PC published a preview of the lapboard, describing it as "extremely promising" although the supplied mouse "experienced signal dropouts at a distance of about 24 inches from the sensor". The author was able to use other wireless mice successfully. The preview states that the peripheral will be available in "June for $130 in limited quantities". [33] In the actual review, however, Maximum PC gave the Lapboard a verdict of 4 out of 10 saying: "The bottom line is that this thing is bad. The mouse isn’t good for gaming, the angled keyboard is awful for typing, and for media playback you’d do much better with a slimmer wireless media keyboard with a built-in trackpad or ball, which are available for significantly less than the Lapboard’s $140 asking price." On July 20, 2009, a sample lapboard received a favorable review from the Hardware Heaven website. [34] Despite its lukewarm review, in May 2010 About.com included the Phantom Lapboard in its Father's Day gift guide. [35] [36] On July 19, 2010, Michael Welter posted a generally positive review of the Phantom Lapboard on Missing Remote. [37]

HardOCP lawsuit

In September 2003 HardOCP, a computer-hardware news website, published an investigative report by writer Steve Lynch critical of Infinium Labs and its founder. [38] On February 19, 2004, Infinium Labs' lawyers sent a cease and desist letter to HardOCP's editor demanding that the news site take down the article, claiming that it "painted a portrait of a company intent on swindling the public" and threatening to file a defamation suit. Rather than concede to Infinium's demands, HardOCP owner Kyle Bennett filed a lawsuit for a declaratory judgment that his company had done nothing wrong. [39] Infinium Labs then filed suit in Florida, denying that Texas was the proper jurisdiction (although it had previously maintained a staffed office in Richardson). [40]

In September 2004, the judge required Infinium Labs to produce a number of financial records, including Roberts's personal income-tax returns, by the end of that month. Because the company failed to produce the required documents, HardOCP won a court order compelling them to do so. The judge ruled that sanctions would be awarded to KB Networks and Kyle Bennett in an amount to be determined by the court (later reported as $50,000). [41] Infinium Labs settled the suit, agreeing to drop the pending Florida suit, and admitting all allegations of KB Networks' Texas complaint; they paid $50,000 to end the suit.

Other controversies

In October 2005, it was reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had notified Tim Roberts that charges were pending against him for violating federal securities laws. [42] In a statement about the notice, Infinium said it was not notified of specific charges, but suspected they were related to an SEC investigation of the unlawful promotion of penny stocks (including Infinium's). [43] Roberts hired a stock promoter to send faxes claiming that the Phantom console's release was imminent, and the company's stock price might increase as much as 3,000 percent. The SEC alleged that the company never intended to release the console at the promised time due to significant unresolved "technological and manufacturing hurdles", and the faxes were part of a pump and dump scheme on the part of Roberts. Roberts reached a settlement with the SEC in which he was barred from serving as an officer or public director of a public company or participating in penny-stock offerings for five years and paid a $30,000 fine. [44] Roberts was again convicted of fraud in 2017 in a case involving his cloud commerce startup venture Savtira, which collapsed in 2011. [45] [46] [47]

When Roberts was CEO of Infinium, the company failed to report a substantial amount of interest and penalties on unpaid payroll taxes. [48] From its inception, the company had consistently reported a small amount of cash on hand amid extensive (and increasing) debt.

In January 2006, Infinium Labs reached an agreement to borrow up to $5,000,000 from Golden Gate Investors to finance the manufacturing of the Phantom Lapboard, scheduled for release later that year. This would have been the largest amount of money Infinium Labs had ever borrowed at one time. The loan would have been repaid over three years, with an option of repayment with shares of common stock. [49]

In February, GameSpot reported that Phantom Entertainment was suspending the Phantom Game Service to develop the Lapboard. An SEC filing showed three-year losses in excess of $62.7 million, over half of which was marketing for the company and unreleased products. Over $24 million was spent on salaries and consultants, and $2.5 million on development. Infinium claimed it still intended to release the Lapboard if its financial situation improved, [50] but it missed release dates for the second quarter of 2006, October 2006 and November 2006. On August 15, 2006, Phantom Entertainment removed all references to the Phantom Game Receiver from its website, claiming that the content-delivery system targeted for the Phantom would be available for PCs running the Microsoft Windows XP Media Center edition; [51] it later indicated this service would be available in March 2007, after the initially planned November 2006 release of the Lapboard, [52] the service did not materialize when the Lapboard ultimately launched in 2008.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atari 2600</span> Home video game console

The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridges, a format first used with the Fairchild Channel F in 1976. Branded as the Atari Video Computer System from its release until November 1982, the VCS was bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a game cartridge—initially Combat and later Pac-Man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atari 5200</span> Home video game console

The Atari 5200 SuperSystem or simply Atari 5200 is a home video game console introduced in 1982 by Atari, Inc. as a higher-end complement for the popular Atari Video Computer System. The VCS was renamed to the Atari 2600 at the time of the 5200's launch. Created to compete with Mattel's Intellivision, the 5200 wound up a direct competitor of ColecoVision shortly after its release. While the Coleco system shipped with the first home version of Nintendo's Donkey Kong, the 5200 included the 1978 arcade game Super Breakout which had already appeared on the Atari 8-bit family and Atari VCS in 1979 and 1981 respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Handheld game console</span> Portable self-contained video game console

A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the console, screen, speakers, and controls in one unit, allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo 64</span> Home video game console

The Nintendo 64 (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. It was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan; on September 26, 1996, in North America; and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Australia. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was the last major home console to use cartridges as its primary storage format until the Nintendo Switch in 2017. It competed primarily with the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Nintendo Entertainment System</span> Video game console

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania, and 1993 in South America. In Japan, it is called the Super Famicom (SFC). In South Korea, it is called the Super Comboy and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. The system was released in Brazil on August 30, 1993, by Playtronic. Although each version is essentially the same, several forms of regional lockout prevent cartridges for one version from being used in other versions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GameCube</span> Home video game console by Nintendo

The GameCube is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii (2006). In the sixth generation of video game consoles, the GameCube competed with Sony's PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox. Flagship games include Super Smash Bros. Melee, Luigi's Mansion, Super Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Pikmin, Pikmin 2, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Chibi-Robo!, and Animal Crossing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indrema</span> Consumer electronics company

Indrema Entertainment Systems was a consumer electronics company famous for the Indrema L600 Entertainment System, a game console intended for independent game developers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo DS</span> Handheld game console

The Nintendo DS is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tandem, a built-in microphone and support for wireless connectivity. Both screens are encompassed within a clamshell design similar to the Game Boy Advance SP. The Nintendo DS also features the ability for multiple DS consoles to directly interact with each other over Wi-Fi within a short range without the need to connect to an existing wireless network. Alternatively, they could interact online using the now-defunct Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. Its main competitor was Sony's PlayStation Portable during the seventh generation of video game consoles.

2003 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Tony Hawk's Underground, Madden NFL 2004, NBA Live 2004, ESPN NBA Basketball, Final Fantasy X-2, Mario Kart: Double Dash, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Sonic Heroes, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain. New intellectual properties included Beyond Good & Evil, Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand, Call of Duty, Disgaea, Drakengard, Manhunt, PlanetSide, TrackMania, True Crime: Streets of LA, and Viewtiful Joe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Home video game console</span> Stationary video game console

A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. Home consoles are generally less powerful and customizable than personal computers, designed to have advanced graphics abilities but limited memory and storage space to keep the units affordable. While initial consoles were dedicated units with only a few games fixed into the electronic circuits of the system, most consoles since support the use of swappable game media, either through game cartridges, optical discs, or through digital distribution to internal storage.

A personal computer game, also known as computer game or abbreviated PC game, is an electronic game played on a personal computer (PC) and form of video game. They are defined by the open platform nature of PC systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Nintendo Entertainment System</span> Aspect of history

The history of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) spans the 1982 development of the Family Computer, to the 1985 launch of the NES, to Nintendo's rise to global dominance based upon this platform throughout the late 1980s. The Family Computer or Famicom was developed in 1982 and launched in 1983 in Japan. Following the North American video game crash of 1983, the Famicom was adapted into the NES which was brazenly launched in North America in 1985. Transitioning the company from its arcade game history into this combined global 8-bit home video game console platform, the Famicom and NES continued to aggressively compete with the next-generation 16-bit consoles including the 1988 Sega Genesis. The platform was succeeded by the Super Famicom in 1990 and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991, but its support and production continued until 1995. Interest in the NES has been renewed by collectors and emulators, including Nintendo's own Virtual Console platform.

ApeXtreme is a cancelled video game console that was developed by Apex Digital. While the console made a promising first appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2004, it had been cancelled by December of that year. The console was initially based on VIA's Glory Personal Gaming Console Platform, and would have included a keyboard, mouse, game controller and a remote control.

The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information announced later that month at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PlayStation 2</span> Home video game console by Sony

The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 30 November 2000. It is the successor to the original PlayStation, as well as the second installment in the PlayStation brand of consoles. As a sixth-generation console, it competed with Nintendo's GameCube, Sega's Dreamcast, and Microsoft's Xbox. It is the best-selling video game console of all time, having sold over 155 million units worldwide.

Atari, Inc. is an American subsidiary and publishing arm of Atari SA. Formed in 1993 as GT Interactive Software Corp., the video game publishing arm of GoodTimes Home Video, the company was subsequently majority acquired by Infogrames in 1999, and later renamed to Infogrames, Inc. As part of Infogrames's company-wide re-branding following its 2001 acquisition of Hasbro Interactive, which owned the rights to the Atari brand, Infogrames, Inc. became known as Atari, Inc. in May 2003. On October 11, 2008, Infogrames completed its acquisition of Atari, Inc., making it a wholly owned subsidiary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xbox (console)</span> Video game console by Microsoft

The Xbox is a home video game console manufactured by Microsoft that is the first installment in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was released as Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console market on November 15, 2001, in North America, followed by Australia, Europe and Japan in 2002. It is classified as a sixth-generation console, competing with Sony's PlayStation 2 and Nintendo's GameCube. It was also the first major console produced by an American company since the release of the Atari Jaguar in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo Entertainment System</span> Home video game console

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the Family Computer (FC), commonly referred to as Famicom. It was redesigned to become the NES, which was released in American test markets on October 18, 1985, and was soon fully launched in North America and other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amiga CD32</span> 1993 video game console

The Amiga CD32 (stylized as Amiga CD32, code-named "Spellbound") is a 32-bit home video game console developed by Commodore and released in Europe, Australia, Canada, and Brazil. It was first announced at the Science Museum in London on July 16, 1993, and was released in September of the same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo Entertainment System models</span> Overview of NES model variants

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo, had numerous model variants produced throughout its lifetime. It was originally released in 1983 as the Family Computer in Japan, with design work led by Masayuki Uemura. Nintendo intentionally redesigned it as the NES in North America in an attempt to avoid the stigma of video game consoles lingering from the video game crash the same year; while it was initially conceptualized as a home computer, it was ultimately modeled after a videocassette recorder (VCR) for its debut there in 1985. Nintendo subsequently exported the NES to Europe and Oceania via local distributors.

References

  1. "Register" . Retrieved 7 December 2020 via Twitter.
  2. Anderson, Nate (3 June 2007). "True Infinium stories: the $73 million (and counting) Phantom disaster". Archived from the original on 11 March 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
  3. "Phantom Entertainment 2011: Home to the Phantom Lapboard". Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  4. John Callaham (20 January 2003). "Phantom Interview". HomeLAN. Archived from the original on 2 April 2003. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  5. Ivan Sulic (21 January 2003). "Destroy Your Game Systems". IGN. Archived from the original on 5 February 2003. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  6. Jerry Holkins (22 January 2003). "Penny Arcade "Dude, Whoa"". Penny Arcade. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  7. Kahney, Leander (7 January 2005). "Vaporware Phantom Haunts Us All". Wired News. Archived from the original on 31 January 2006. Retrieved 17 May 2006.
  8. 1 2 Infinium Labs (9 July 2007). "Timothy M. Roberts Resigns as Chairman and Director of Phantom Entertainment, Inc". Infinium Labs Press Release. Archived from the original on 20 December 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  9. Svensson, Christian (21 November 2005). "Bachus Quits Infinium". Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2006.
  10. "SEC - Form 8k - Resignation of Greg Koler". 29 July 2008. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
  11. Murph, Darren (19 July 2006). "Infinium changes name to Phantom Entertainment". Archived from the original on 17 June 2008. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
  12. "Surprise! Phantom Delays Game Service Again". 12 September 2006. Archived from the original on 30 July 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
  13. "Infinium Labs finally releases the Phantom Lapboard - Boing Boing". Gadgets.boingboing.net. 24 June 2008. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  14. 1 2 "Phantom Entertainment Signs with ProGames Network to Place Phantom Lapboard and Game Service Content in Hotels Worldwide". BusinessWire. 22 August 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2007.
  15. Infinium Labs (23 July 2003). "Phantom Game Console Unveiling to Be Online August 17th". Infinium Labs Press Release. Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  16. Infinium Labs (3 November 2003). "DiStream Will Provide Server System and Management Platform for PhantomNet". Infinium Labs Press Release. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  17. Kevin Parrish (16 December 2008). "Phantom Returns With Online Store". TomsHardware. Archived from the original on 26 June 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  18. Shrout, Ryan (16 August 2004). "QUAKECON 2004 (page 3)". PC Perspective. Archived from the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  19. Oreland, Kyle (7 July 2015). "Ars reader: So a guy walks into my shop with an Infinium Phantom console…". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 25 December 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  20. Knight, Shawn (14 October 2021). "Rare prototype Infinium Labs Phantom console goes up for auction". TechSpot. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  21. Ehringer, John (30 January 2016). "A Close Look at the Never Released Infinium Labs Phantom Video Game Console". 5khz.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  22. Infinium Labs (17 August 2003). "Phantom Unveiling". Infinium Labs. Archived from the original on 22 August 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  23. Morris, Chris (19 May 2005). "Whither the Phantom? After a big splash in 2004, Infinium Labs' on-demand game service is nowhere to be found at E3". CNN/Money. Archived from the original on 27 April 2006. Retrieved 17 May 2006.
  24. Morris, Chris (16 May 2006). "'Phantom' video game CEO charged with pump and dump scheme". CNN/Money. Archived from the original on 17 June 2006. Retrieved 17 May 2006.
  25. Sinclair, Brendan (21 February 2006). "Infinium opens the books". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 19 April 2006. Retrieved 9 April 2006.
  26. 1 2 "Phantom transmogrifies – News at GameSpot". Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  27. Castle, Alex (7 September 2010). "Phantom Lapboard Review". Pcgamer. Archived from the original on 21 November 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  28. Sinclair, Brendan (3 January 2006). "Phantom Lapboard coming to PCs". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 10 March 2006. Retrieved 17 May 2006.
  29. Orry, James (18 May 2006). "Phantom Lapboard delayed". Pro-G. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2006.
  30. Phantom Entertainment
  31. Biggs, John (27 December 2007). "Alienware no longer carrying Phantom Lapboard". CrunchGear. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
  32. "Phantom Lapboard - Gizmodo". 25 April 2008. Archived from the original on 18 December 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  33. Smith, Will. "First Look: The Phantom Lapboard". Pcgamer. Archived from the original on 6 December 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  34. Zardon (20 July 2009). "Phantom Lapboard (Keyboard & Mouse)". HardwareHeaven.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  35. Johnston, Lisa. "Phantom Lapboard Review". About.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  36. Johnston, Lisa. "Father's Day Gift Ideas". About.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  37. Welter, Michael (19 July 2010). "The Phantom Lapboard". Missing Remote. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  38. Lynch, Steve (17 September 2003). "Behind the Infinium Phantom Console". HardOCP. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  39. Fahey, Rob (4 March 2004). "HardOCP takes legal action against Infinium". Archived from the original on 26 July 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
  40. "Infinium's Kevin Bachus Accused of Lying to US Courts". 15 June 2004. Archived from the original on 26 July 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
  41. "INFINIUM LABS INC, Form 10QSB, Filing Date May 23, 2005". secdatabase.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  42. Sinclair, Brendan (31 October 2005). "Phantom maker in hot water with SEC". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 6 November 2006. Retrieved 23 July 2006.
  43. "Infinium Labs Inc • 8-K • For 10/20/05". Form 8-K. Infinium Labs. 20 October 2005. Archived from the original on 26 July 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
  44. "SEC settles charges with video game executive". SEC. 19 September 2008. Archived from the original on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2008.
  45. Manning, Margie (10 September 2015). "Inside the grand jury indictment: Savtira's Roberts lied to investors". Tampa Bay Business Journal. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  46. Manning, Margie (10 January 2017). "Founder of defunct Tampa tech firm pleads guilty to fraud". Tampa Bay Business Journal. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  47. "Founder And CEO Of Defunct Tampa Technology Company Sentenced To 80 Months In Prison For Investment Fraud". U.S. Department of Justice. 19 March 2018. Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  48. Sinclair, Brendan (1 November 2005). "Phantom maker in hot water with SEC". Gamespot. Archived from the original on 28 July 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
  49. Klepek, Patrick (25 January 2006). "Infinium Bags $5 Million". Archived from the original on 13 February 2006. Retrieved 23 July 2006.
  50. Sinclair, Brendan (21 February 2006). "Infinium opens the books". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 17 July 2006. Retrieved 23 July 2006.
  51. "Phantom console disappears". The Inquirer. 16 August 2006. Archived from the original on 19 February 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  52. "Surprise! Phantom Delays Game Service Again". 12 September 2006. Archived from the original on 26 November 2008. Retrieved 1 October 2008.