bigbangdangler

Except that this isn’t a better move for those in power. It’s objectively better for the people, but the people haven’t really been in power for a long time.

Eh, I see your point, but it feels pretty tongue-in-cheek to me. Steamroller is just a cool name that implies the thing is a workhorse.

The socialist shithole strikes again! Capitalists love loud ads.

No issues with this. I’m increasingly tired of the online multiplayer money machines. If you like them, you probably have no issues buying that version. I think Rockstar is reading their market correctly here.

He’s an opportunist first and everything else second. Flip flopping is kind of what he does.

Lol corporate thieves bitching about other corporate thieves is the funniest part of 2026

Ask Musk, he totally has it

Hoping to snag a Frame when they come out so I can finally play HL Alyx.

Here it is, folks. The definitive proof that mainline Dems hate winning.

I mostly believe this, but I also believe it isn’t a negative for Valve.

The hate towards Valve right now is so fucking weird. Is it perfect? No. Are they actively contributing to projects which can break the M$ coalition? Yes.

Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress, and accept the wins. When Valve actually becomes anticompetitive (big when), then speak up. Otherwise you have bigger fish to fry.

Here’s one: Microsoft itself. So tired of hearing shit about Valve from people still booting Windows every day.

Friendly reminder that California (a common enemy of MAGA) brings in more federal dollars than they spend.

In contrast, most red states are economic mooches.

Maybe we only let states with a net positive income vote at all?

(Not actually suggesting this, but it feels like all ideas are on the table recently. I guess we should go by the numbers).

my employer has been urging us to do as much as possible by hand

Now that is a palpable irony. So much disruption in this space so some investors could profit off of a tech they don’t even understand.

Nothin but the dead in me, baby

These people only care now because it’s actually affecting the bottom line.

Did they care when AAA pricing was lifted to $70 (base) as AAA quality took a nosedive? Did they care when “preordering” turned into “premium”? Did they care when microtransactions made some games into spend-to-win machines?

Hell, most of these clowns don’t even play games. Just more rich people putting on the hat they think they need to get away with a “hello, fellow gamers.”

Maybe the industry has a C-suite crisis.

I want one, but I don’t think they’re going to get the pricing near anywhere where it becomes a reality.

That said, I’m really happy that this product has at least started a conversation. I would 100% prefer a dumb flip phone than the advertising machine in my pocket. There is a suggestion of a market; we’ll see if the industry is too far up their own ass to respond.

Sadly I don’t think the revamped Commodore will have the clout to pull it off.

Agreed, and good point.

I’d also say support projects in Early Access that you want to succeed, with the same conditions.

Digital distribution of games means that no game should be preordered. Ever.

Back in the day, a preorder was done to get the physical media (cartridge, disk, CD) in your hands on release day. The premium was either paying for early shipment, or ensuring a copy was reserved so that you could pick it up on release day.

Then digital distribution meant that you could buy a game and be playing it in minutes. When there is no physical media, there is no need to reserve anything.

The industry responded by turning preorders into bonuses. But almost universally, these bonuses are not worth the premium. They tend to be a single mission, or some custom skins, or other items that were relatively cheap to produce and that serve only to justify charging more for a “preorder” on a product which is distributed digitally.

So:

Is Ace Combat 8 (Deluxe) worth pre-ordering for ¥11,990?

Negative. And neither is any modern game. If you want to play a game, wait until it releases and buy it.

Let the concept of preordering die.

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Of course the percentage of people who have ever used a chatbot is going to go up over time.

Yes, and crucially, it never goes down.

It’s like asking: “do you use a motor vehicle?” And then counting everyone who has ever been in a car, a truck, a bus, or potentially even a train as a yes. It plainly conflates active users with exploratory or incidental users.

The only reason to do such things is to inflate numbers because being honest about them makes it look bad.

The tail continues to wag the dog. It’s worked so far. Why stop now?