paultimate14 @ paultimate14 @lemmy.world

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"...The price point, at the time, was the issue. We felt, it's probably worth this," he said. "I won't say who at Microsoft said, 'Well, that's less than we sell a theme for; a wallpaper is more than that. You should charge this; you can always lower it'"

Even the horse armor, allegedly, was heavily influenced by Microsoft.

Horse armor came out in 2006. Micro transactions started in 2002 with Maple Story. Plenty of other games had micro transactions by then. Horse armor was a peak when Microsoft drove too hard and consumers pushed back- it was far from the start.

The president can't unilaterally decide whether tips are taxed or not either.

This article is not discussing an action Harris can or will take. This is discussing policies she supports- she can use political influence to help get it through and past Congress.

This applies to like 95% of all political discourse by the way. People want to blame the president because it's easier to blame one name and face than to try to pick out one of the hundreds in Congress.

I also have a gaming PC (and I stream to every screen in the house) and a Steam Deck, so from that perspective it's even fewer exclusive games.

I do really prefer physical games, but even that is going away. Some games just don't release physically, or even if they have a physical version it's basically just a different kind of DRM. I recently bought Gran Turismo 7 physically and was incredibly disappointed that it had to install 128GB to the PS5 to even open, then it took a while downloading ever more updates and data once I opened it.

I traditionally loved Naughty Dog and Insomniac franchises, but Naughty Dog has only re-released games on the PS5 so far. Insomniac... Rift Apart is decent. I don't really like Marvel or superhero stuff though. I tried Spiderman and it's... Fine., but it really makes me wish I was just playing Sunset Overdrive instead. I'm in the process of playing through the older God of War games for the first time- so far they aren't bad but they seem overrated considering how hyped they were back in the day.

There's no killer Hideo Kojima game yet. Gran Turismo is a micro transaction, always online, multiplayer-focused shell of what used to be a great series. There isn't any equivalent to creative games like Shadow of the Colossus, Ico, Katamari Damacy, etc. Stray was really good- my PC kind of struggled with it so I might pick up the PS5 version if I ever see a physical copy on sale.

I don't know that it's just PlayStation either. Looking at my Steam library by release date, the last big AAA games I have are Yakuza 6 (2021, still haven't played it yet), Control (2020- although I think that's because I have the complete edition. The base game was from 2019), and Horizon Zero Dawn (similarly listed as 2020, but the base game would have been 2017). It seems like more and more studios are closing, more games being released are just "meh".

I bought it in the fall of 2022, when the shortages were just starting to end, expecting it would get more games. I wanted to get one before they did a mid-gen refresh that removed stuff like backwards compatibility, the disc drive, etc.

It's been really disappointing so far. I still think I've put more time into PS4 games than PS5 games. Astro's Playroom was fantastic, but unfortunately it is still probably the best game for the console.

I'd say fantastically. I went back to it for a bit last month.

I played the Legendary edition on the Steam Deck. Graphically, I think it's fine (it's way better than how I played it on the PS3 originally). The draw distance was always a strength, I think the Legendary edition included some visual upgrades, and being a game so much older than the Deck it runs at max settings 60FPS with no problem, so it looks better than it did on the PS3/360/most PC's in 2011. I also think games from that era really hold up well because the generational jumps weren't quite as big- the consoles had HDMI and a lot of games aimed for at least 720p, if not 1080p. Contemporaries like Assassin's Creed, BioShock, Uncharted, and the Last of Us are all similarly still pretty good looking. Audio quality more or less peaked too, at least for stereo.

There's also the Anniversary edition, which I have on PS4 but not PC. It looks more modern- tons of fancy lighting effects and upgrades textures. The models and terrain are still a bit low-poly, the animations a bit stiff, but overall I think it's good.

The combat is simple- it always was, even compared to its contemporaries in 2011. A lot of people just call it bad, but I actually like the game design of Skyrim's combat. Success or failure largely is just a preparedness check- is your combination of character level, skill level, equipment, buffs, follower, and consumable items good enough to get you through the fight(s)? It's about resource management and good use of downtime. It's not about mechanical proficiency or complexity, and I think that can be a good thing. I don't have to be sober to play Skyrim. I don't have to dodge and block for 3-5 business days before I get a turn to attack. It's a power fantasy- ebony great sword go 'brrr'.

And I think that helps the roleplay too. Mechanically intensive soulslikes can be fun too, but I find they feel fun in a more arcade-y way. Using mechanical proficiency to defeat an enemy your character is underpowered for feels great as a player, but for me that also kind of ruins the immersion and reminds me that it's a videogame. To apply the same concept to something other than combat- it's similar to replaying a game where the player has all of the knowledge the character doesn't - where the best items are, which direction to go, which NPC's to kill before they betray you, etc. Speed running stuff. Which is great in its own right, just not what I'm always looking for.

Then the quests. There's a lot of quests, some better than others, but on the whole I would say they're pretty good. The main quests early on are basically tricking you into visitng all of the major cities and points of interest across the map, introducing you to all of the factions and mechanics. A lot of quests are just "go clear that dungeon, either to kill someone hiding there or get an item". Which is fine because clearing dungeons is fun- there's a good variety of enemy types and dungeon themes. There is a LOT of voice acting for it's time, and it's mostly pretty good. Not on par with something like Hades, but still good.

The puzzles are notoriously simple, but they function more as a way to change the pace and have downtime in dungeons. They aren't supposed to be hard.

On the whole, Skyrim probably isn't (and never was) the deepest game in any one area. Soulslikes have deeper combat. Plenty of games have more intriguing plots and better characters. The lore is strong in the Elder Scrolls, but Skyrim only contributed a small part to what was built by other games. The crafting system is... Okay. There are hundreds of books in-game, but most are only a couple of pages. The leveling system is less complex than Morrowind or Oblivion. Everything is just as deep as it needs to be and no deeper. And that makes everything really intuitive.

You can't ruin a build with a bad decision. You can't get screwed by a bad loot drop. You don't need to min-max to feel powerful. You don't need to find one activity that gives a lot of XP to farm to build other skills. You can't kill 100 rats to level up your lockpicking- you just need to pick locks to get better at lockpicking.

I also don't mess with mods. I tried it out years ago and found it just wasn't worth the effort of dealing with a mod manager. I find most mods are trying to turn Skyrim into another game. Shit posts like adding Shrek or Thomas the Tank. Adding ridiculous anime swords and big-tiddied women with bikini armor. Re-creating other games like Ocarina of Time or Morrowind in the Skyrim engine. Adding guns. Adding a bunch of fetch quests with whole novels of text and no voice acting. I'm sure there are some decent ones out there (especially visual and UI improvements) but the process of modding is much less convenient than Steam Workshop games. I haven't seen anything that looks good enough to merit going to a 3rd party website to download stuff and fuss with a mod manager for.

Also, I find vanilla Skyrim is pretty stable and bugs are rare. Some of that is from things being patched over time, but also I think Skyrim just received an unearned reputation upon release. The rag doll physics cause a lot of chaos, but I don't know that I'd call that a bug. There's the occasional clipping. Even back on the PS3 where I first played it, I'd say 80% of issues were solved by reloading the area I was in, with another 19% solved by restarting the game. There were some interesting exploits (Fortify Restoration potions used to be broken, there are still item dup'ing exploits with merchants, you can access the hidden "chests" that the game uses for storing merchant inventory in the overworld, etc) but I find most of them are things you really need to go out of your way to find, and actually can make the game more fun if that's what you're going for.

True, but I'm not sure how closely Xbox works with the rest of Microsoft. As far as I know you have never been able to put Windows on an Xbox or Xbox System Software on a PC officially. In contrast, the PS2 and PS3 had official Linux support (which Sony tried to remove from. The PS3 for security concerns and got sued for).

Microsoft has a hardware division yes, but barely. It's basically just Xbox, which is failing, and the Surface, which is also failing. They already lost the Mobile market. They seem content to have their laptop and desktop focus just be getting Microsoft software on other hardware.

I kind of get the impression that's the direction they are moving. They simply haven't done well in hardware, and their more successful business areas are the ones that are putting Microsoft software onto 3rd party hardware.

I'm still not convinced GamePass is really going to work, but Xbox and Microsoft seem to be. And while I don't like subscriptions in general, GamePass definitely surpasses any competitor. So rather than roll out new hardware, I think they are moving towards putting GamePass on the Switch 2 and PS5 or PS6. Microsoft has instructions published for getting Xbox Cloud Gaming working on the Deck. I think they want that on the handhelds from AYA, AYN, Asus, Logitech, GPD, and everything else.

They might want to make Windows a viable option for those handhelds, but... They also might not. That would be a huge amount of work for them to compete with Steam. And we've seen how unpopular Windows 11 has been. They've been downsizing the teams working on Windows for years and focusing more on Edge and AI. I get the impression they just want the Xbox division to lower costs and become profitable at this point.

I have some questions there.

1. hHs that even ever been so much as rumored? There were leaks from various suppliers hinting at the Deck and Switch long before they were in develop. It's possible I missed something, or possible they just haven't leaked anything, but so far I don't have a reason to think they would be trying to enter that space.
2. Microsoft seems to be abandoning that space. The Windows phone died ages ago, and the Surface seems to be languishing.
3. Operating System. Would it be windows? There are already plenty of handhelds that run windows, and usually the biggest problem people have with them is that windows sucks for that application and they replace the OS. Would they have a custom OS like the Xbox? What would it bring to the table that Steam LS doesn't? Valve already put in a ton of work to get Steam OS as good as it is- would Xbox/Microsoft do that too? If it just uses Steam OS, what does the hardware bring that differentiates it from the Deck?
4. Software. I don't know what the unit cost of a Deck is, but I'm guessing it's pretty close to the sales price. The Deck does not need to be a profit center for Valve as long as it drives software sales on Steam. The Microsoft store has already failed- would an Xbox store on such a device manage to be profitable? Would it be locked down and incompatible with Steam? Maybe they could partner with Epic to compete? I'm just having a hard time seeing Xbox/Microsoft enter that business model.

What might be more likely is something like the Portal or G-Cloud. An ARM-based, lightweight product designed to be used for cloud gaming with GamePass. Maaaaaybe some local streaming from your PC or Xbox too. Even with that they would be competing against other products and pretty much every smartphone and tablet. There might be room to move some units, but similar to Sony I don't see that being huge.

This looks like an ad for Pyre by SuperGiant Games if it came out in the early 2000's.

Weird to use a picture of a child predator in an unrelated meme

Is that the Smilodon?

I meant in terms of establishing good diplomatic relations between the US and Russia. From the fall of the Berlin wall up until the Obama administration it looked like relations were steadily improving as Russia was becoming more capitalist. Also at least from the US perspective it's probably the most famous case of exposing a hostile foreign diplomat to American values.

I remember reading articles about how Russia was giving away land and paying people to come populate their rural eastern provinces. I'm not sure exactly when the sentiment changed- Putin clearly didn't like Obama, but at this moment I can't remember any specific incidents pior to the Crimea invasion. Before that, I remember them being seen as an economically inferior, but developing, potential ally. Similar to Japan before it's "miracle", lumped into BRIC with Brazil, India, and China as a potential new place to do business.

As for Yeltsin being bad for Russians? Eh, probably. I'm content leaving discussion to those whose special interest is recent Russian history.

As a black person she'll alienate the racists in the DNC. There aren't as many as the DNC, but it would be naive to think there aren't any. As much as I don't want to cater to racists, beating Trump is more important right now.

As a woman she will alienate misogynists. Same thing.

As a cop she's going to alienate a ton of voters. She's recently changed her positions on a lot of crime-related issues like marijuana, but idk how much that's going to help her win the BLM crowd.

I'll vote for her if she's the pick, no question. Heck, there are very few people the DNC could nominate at this point that I wouldn't vote for. I suppose as Biden's VP she was kind of nominated in the primary if you squint. But yeah... DNC elites appointing a cop at the last minute doesn't strike me as the best way to fight fascism.

Identity politics aside, I like a lot of what she claims to support, but that's assuming that she's truly no longer the prosecutor she used to be. She has good records on reproductive rights, economics, LGBTQ+ support. My biggest gripe with her would be she's still just as pro-Israel as Biden and most of the DNC seems to be.

In other cases? Perhaps. There is the famous story of Boris Yeltsin visiting the US in 1989, visiting a grocery store, and realizing that capitalism was superior (honestly the whole thing never smelled right to me and I've never seen a direct quote from Yeltsin about it, but whatever). I'm sure there are other cases where normalizing relations and sharing culture has helped to ease tensions.

Kim Jong Un doesn't need any of that. He grew up and went to school in Switzerland. He's a huge fan of basketball and American movies. He is familiar with American culture already. North Korea's hostilities aren't about competing ideology, but about Kim Jong Un maintaining power by carefully maintaining a balance between his own military leaders, China and (to a lesser extent) Russia versus the US, South Korea, and their allies. It's in China's interest right now to have a belligerent puppet state who is annoying to the west without actually escalating to war. Until those geopolitics change, taking Kim Jong Un to see America's least favorite past time is only promoting and encouraging authoritarianism.

Victor Gruen is widely considered the inventory of the modern shopping mall. He was an Austrian Jew who immigrated to the US when the Nazi's annexed Austria.

I can't find much specific on his political views, but I've seen him described by historians as "far-left" and "socialist".

Shopping was originally a small part of his vision. He wanted to make an indoor, air-conditioned version of European pedestrian areas. Residences, schools, libraries, hospitals, parks, etc. He hated how the mall he envisioned became the shopping mall. He was influenced by Disney Land - trying to make a planned neighborhood that optimized the human experience. In turn, Disney took a lot of influence from him to make EPCOT.

So I don't know that he was a Marxist, but he denounced the capitalist hellscape that his malls eventually became.

It's the same reason why factory workers don't join unions or go on strike.

The system is designed to enforce compliance and keep individuals focused on submitting in order to meet their short-term, basic needs. Desperation is the design. When everyone is forced to choose between standing up for themselves or feeding themselves and their families, most people throughout history choose food.

They didn't create Shadow of the Colossus. They were a support studio for Team Ico.

Same thing for almost all of their games. The Astro series is from Team Asobi. Gravity Rush was from Team Silent/Team Gravity/Project Siren (that studio kept changing its name). Parappa the Rapper was NanaOn-Sha. Death Stranding was Kojima Productions. Patappn was from Pyramid.

LocoRoco was an original, but that series hasn't been touched since 2008. I doubt many of the original devs were even still there by 2021. Ape Escape and Legend of Dragon are similar.

Japan Studio has too many games to check them all, but all the ones that I recognize as good and memorable games are from other studios.

Out of curiosity, why are you annoyed at them closing their Japan studio? They have a ton of game credits, but were mostly a support studio. Like, technically they have credits on Bloodborne but I think everyone pretty much agrees that's a FromSoft game.

The only recent original games from them I see is Knack and Knack 2. Personally I thought they were pretty decent and are better than just a meme game, but at the same time they weren't exactly successful hits either. Is there some hit game or series I'm missing here?

And what was left of them was just merged into Team Asobi. Which I find kind of funny because Asobi was originally a team from Japan Studio that was split off.

In the last balance patch they buffed it to 18%

Um... Yes. Just to be clear, I am advocating that Wyoming produce less coal.

And for the US (the whole world really) to consume less.