[yladiz]

A scam is by definition something with malicious intent, something dishonest, and I think that's why the other commenter took offense. It might not live up to the hype, and maybe it'll be lackluster, who knows - no one has played with it yet outside of Panic. But I think it's fair and not disingenuous that the other commenter took a lot of offense to using that word, because by all accounts it doesn't seem to be a scam. I would find a better word that doesn't imply malice.

[Impossible]

It seems like there's a modern definition of scam, especially with gamers, which is hyping or marketing a game too well and not completely delivering on promises (often imagined) due to budget constraints, design or technical challenges and often just inflated expectations. This happens with products that a perfectly fine but aren't what people expect, and products that "work" but are buggy or don't deliver all features immediately.

See all of Peter Molyneux's games post Bullfrog, No Man's Sky at launch, Cyberpunk 2077, Magic Leap. I agree that putting Playdate even in that category because the SDK won't be ready at launch is kind of ridiculous.

[Meekro]

There's another reason this product doesn't fit the category you've described: they haven't spent countless millions on marketing. They just put up a website, and it's not their fault if the gaming press then turned it into the next big thing.

To me, their website comes off as sincere, earnest, and a work-in-progress-- it's kind of like a kickstarter, except with a really great team. They're not setting unreasonable expectations, and readers should be careful not to conflate what they say with what the gaming press says about them.

[jonny_eh]

> it's kind of like a kickstarter

But without taking orders years in advance.