Beware of Non-Legit Indiegogo Campaigns

There is an ongoing Indiegogo campaign called “X65GS 65816 Gaming Console”, see screenshot below.

I - as the creator of the x65 project - do not support and do not endorse this campaign.

In the campaign page they reused my own ‘amateur’ photos of that one x65-sbc device, which is right now on my work-desk at home. IT MEANS: they do not have the capacity or knowledge to produce own replicas of the x65-sbc computer for testing and marketing purposes, yet they have the guts to request money from unsuspecting customers!

Think twice before parting with your money. The funding mode ‘Flexible Goal’ (= This campaign will receive all funds raised even if it does not reach its funding goal.) is also telling.

Since the x65 project is open-source, with all sources and documents available in public github repository, anyone can build their own device. Theoretically, a commercial company could bring the device to market, though I would be rather happier if they cooperated with me before the attempt. Building one replica of the device for personal use may be hard. Making it a series product is on an entirely different level of hardness!

Why do I care about this? Because of my personal brand. When the campaign takes money but fails to deliver goods (or delivers only poor quality of thereof), the unhappy customers will be after me. Or another scenario: when the organizers receive money, they come to me and say: hey Jaroslav, we have money, build us XX pieces! If you won’t, you make lots of people unhappy about your project… and that’s extortion.