> in the end it will end up as an absurd waste or the Star Wars of gaming.

Why not something like because the funding dries off, they will put together the parts that are somewhat complete into a game that will turn out to be a quite average game with great graphics.

Fans will at the end still stand by their position that Star Citizen could have been so much more. Non-fans will say point out the averageness (beside the graphics) that was not the slightest worth the absurd amount of money.

That's how they get you though. Show off a compelling demo and promise the world, but never deliver. Star Citizen is the Moller Skycar of video games.

They're continuing to sell the game, ships, etc. despite it being clear that they do not have the ability to deliver on even a tiny fraction of what they've promised. It might be vaguely functional in the sense of having a 3d model viewer for ships with a thin veneer of gameplay tacked on, but that is nowhere near the original kickstarter goals [1] let alone the scope creep that has occurred in the ~decade since.

Continuing to accept payment for something they are incapable of delivering (and they are either deliberately misleading customers or so grotesquely incompetent at project/business management that they should not be in charge of a child's lemonade stand let alone more than half a billion USD in funds) is what makes it a scam.

[1] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cig/star-citizen