You’ve left one thing out of your little “everyone is a libertarian when it comes to video games” theory there - I’ve never heard of the game, never heard of the dev, I am very much left leaning and I support the dev’s decision to raise the price of the game by 20% if that’s what they want to do. If it’s worth it, people will still buy it. If it’s not, they won’t. This is hardly some AAA publisher pulling a bait and switch during pre-orders. The game is out and available, anyone unsure of it can easily read reviews, watch videos of people playing it, etc and of course, they can also do a refund.
A 12m stainless steel pedestrian bridge that took 6 years to make and was subsequently “strengthened” to meet safety requirements. Not quite the same thing.
The whole thing is a storm in a teacup. I’m level 40 in the game and have not once felt the need to even LOOK at the MTX store. The game is complete; the MTX are there if you’re too lazy to be bothered using the in-game travel mechanics. Simple as that.
Bets on this actually reducing the cost of maintenance? I’d hazard a guess that it will cost more, fix less, and result in fewer local jobs. But the VC-backed overseas startup CEO will profit, so that’s something I suppose.
Splitting hairs isn’t going to change anything. TikTok is absolutely 100% a social network. It uses more video and less written word but that’s about it. YouTube hasn’t died (and neither has Facebook for that matter) but it was very different in its earlier incarnations. It has become more social as time has gone on, in an effort to remain relevant. It has largely copied TikTok.
TikTok in turn will become a boring old platform used by Old People (millennials, Gen Z) and kids will (already are) on to something new.
The same was true of Facebook my not-so-socially-savvy friend. Kids will stop using it once they realise grandma is on there because it is no longer cool.
The mainstream media picked up on it when actual intelligent games producers chimed in to try to defuse the situation you fragile little man babies were trying to stir up.
It is nothing but conspiracy theories.
If you buy into the bullshit conspiracies then you are a hater. Or a moron. Or both. All 200,000 of you.
If you think the curator isn’t a bigot and/or racist and/or misogynist you’re a fucking idiot.
The CEO of SBI being full of hyperbole doesn’t change any of that.
You say you can “decide for yourself” and then list a handful of links to people pushing their own agenda.
I had an entire planet in my way, didn’t see a damn thing.