This could be like a more extreme version of pre-orders: fully-paid pre-orders paid directly to the developers before development begins, with the potential for

This could be like a more extreme version of pre-orders: fully-paid pre-orders paid directly to the developers before development begins, with the potential for there to eventually be no product. Who wants to bet on Duke Nukem Forever? Maybe an agreed-upon fraction instead of the full amount. I'd pay $20 now for a chance for DNF to come into existence later so I can pay the other $30 NPV of it or however much (if I thought I would be a PC gamer by then).