Digging deeper for Phantom information

Thanks to Ombudsman reader Alexei Miagkov for point me to a HardOCP article that does some investigative reporting about the Infinium Labs and its supposed Phantom game console. The author uses evidence from press releases, internet resumes, phone calls, registration papers and some good, old fashioned leg work to paint a picture of a company that seems like an investor's nightmare. From the article:



We were surprised that there wasn't even an office at the address listed for Infinium Labs. The use of a post office box as the main contact point for Infinium Labs was very surprising as well. We spoke to Mr. Roberts today and he confirmed that there are currently no physical offices for the Infinium Corporation, but he assures us that they are on the way. Combine these elements with a past history of bankruptcies and failed business ventures, and it paints a very bleak picture of the possible success of this company.



I applaud the authors for looking past the official Infinium press releases at the man behind the company. By following a paper (and digital) trail of documentable evidence, HardOCP has managed to get past the PR double talk and give a more accurate gauge of Infinium's current state than a simple link to a promo video ever could. Hopefully, other outlets (with a larger budget and staff) will pick up this trail and do more in-depth reporting to find the truth behind Infinium.



My only criticism of the coverage is the "Our Thoughts & Opinions" section. While it is good that this section is clearly labeled and separate from the factual portion of the article, I don't think it is totally necessary. Had the facts been presented correctly, the reader could have been trusted to make their own decision about the evidence rather than having an opinion force-fed to them at the end of the article. If the editors really wanted to share their take on the fats, they should have done it through one of their [H] editorials. But with evidence this damning, the facts should be able to speak for themselves.