why do established companies do kickstarters ?

Really simple - money.

People think they are getting a 'bargain' by backing an early kickstarter.

The company get's a large injection of cash that they are NOT LEGALLY REQUIRED TO GIVE BACK. Not ever, not never ever. There is absolutely no legal obligation for creality to send a kickstarter backer, anything, ever.

So from their point of view they get a lot of money with no attached strings, or obligation to ever payback.
If they had needed - which they don't - to take out abank loan that would need to be pauid back and it would accrue interest.

So if a large, established company can get it's curtomers to GIVE them money, with zero attached legal obligations - why wouldn't they ?
It's free money.
If you buy a printer from a supplier in the usual way - then that comes with some kind of attached legal guarentee.
There are NO legalities or guarentees attached to kickstarter campaigns.

In essence you are giving someone money and they have 'said' they will give you goods. But at no point is what they 'said' legally binding.

So that's why big companies LOVE kickstarter.
Free money - what's not to like.

As for the 'new' printer.
Basically this printer is using an old trick occasionally used on delta effectors as the levelling sensor. It's been around for a few years, but is not used very often - so there are clearly issues with it.

Woohoo - they've put the second z screw back - you now have 1/3rd of a prusa design :-)
So that's an improvement.

Naomi did a review, was sort of impressed - but creality are one of her biggest sponsors. And I've never heard her be nasty about anything :-)

But yeah it's better than an ender 3 - but then so's almost every other printer on the planet, so ......