raze2012's recent activity
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Comment on China is dealing with its own manosphere in ~life.men
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Comment on China is dealing with its own manosphere in ~life.men
raze2012 Link ParentThat's what third places were for. I can't speak for how Asian cultures developed in this regard, but the idea was that you make it easy for community to meet, group up, and support each other in...Family was the answer to many social challenges, but it's not anymore. How do you deal with that?
That's what third places were for. I can't speak for how Asian cultures developed in this regard, but the idea was that you make it easy for community to meet, group up, and support each other in order to get some of that social value. It doesn't replace the "ideal" of raising a family, but it's an important part of any person's social circle.
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Comment on US Federal Communications Commission approves test of space mirror to light night sky despite outcry in ~space
raze2012 Link ParentThis is uncreative and inefficient. We can't get more initiatives to build up solar panels and improve our battery storage tech, but we sure can decide it's a good idea to launch a bunch of...This is uncreative and inefficient. We can't get more initiatives to build up solar panels and improve our battery storage tech, but we sure can decide it's a good idea to launch a bunch of mirrors into space and just laser beam the sunlight into panels 24/7. Who was asking for this?
It sounds like something I'd hear on a Jimmy neutron or Dexter's lab episode. Except it's endearing when a 10 year old genius does it and explains it away with technobabble. Not so much when spending millions of taxpayer dollars and being unable to explain all the obvious issues with this.
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Comment on There is no reason to buy another PlayStation or Xbox in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentI do wonder if next generation that beings the Steam machine into serious consideration for some players. The cost isn't great, but it might still be competitive if the rumored pricings of the...Users who may have a PC but are couch gamers. If you just want to kick back and play games on your TV with a controller
I do wonder if next generation that beings the Steam machine into serious consideration for some players. The cost isn't great, but it might still be competitive if the rumored pricings of the consoles are close to true. If ram prices do come down that might also be a chance to hit a much more attractive price point as well. One where a Steam Machine + Deck combo might still be cheaper than a PS6.
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Comment on There is no reason to buy another PlayStation or Xbox in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentI resonate with your main point. But I do find it funny that your comparison points are Wind Waker vs BOTW. The former where you are autopiloting as you sail for minutes on end between...I resonate with your main point. But I do find it funny that your comparison points are Wind Waker vs BOTW. The former where you are autopiloting as you sail for minutes on end between destinations and then by endgame you are listlessly finding a whopping 21 mcGuffins needed to access the final boss. The QoL of a faster sail was much needed in the HD version.
But in some ways I feel that is the spirit of most Zelda's; spending some time to just navigate around the over-world and take in the wild between the towns and dungeon crawling. Be it being completely lost in Zelda 1, failing to catch the drawbridge in time in Ocarina of Time, or fooling around in the massive map of Tears of the Kingdom. That downtime was your time to absorb the world.
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Comment on There is no reason to buy another PlayStation or Xbox in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentThat was the lie told by disc manufacturers as we moved towards digital titles. Somehow Steam is rising in popularity because it's the only one that kept the facade up for any reasonable amount of...Supplier marginal cost doesn't have anything to do with the price and the value of the good to the consume
That was the lie told by disc manufacturers as we moved towards digital titles. Somehow Steam is rising in popularity because it's the only one that kept the facade up for any reasonable amount of time.
Consumers will buy the game if the utility they get from it exceeds the price that they have to pay subject to their budget.
Sure, but as anyone working with websites know, any amount of fritction, even fractions of a second from an extra click, can cost you a surprising amount of traffic. Attached consumers value something highly, but those that aren't attached are fleeting.
(now once you capture the market; go for it. Let Twitter take 20 seconds to load some nazi posts and steer you to an app that sucks your battery like a vampire. You won, your value is at critical mass).
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Comment on There is no reason to buy another PlayStation or Xbox in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentI can barely predict how September will look. 2028/2029 may very well be an official or unofficial depression by that point. or escalation into a larger war. Other industries and US consumer...The very article this post is about is about that. In the end, the PS6 will sell well, because there's just enough people that aren't price sensitive about consoles or games.
I can barely predict how September will look. 2028/2029 may very well be an official or unofficial depression by that point. or escalation into a larger war.
The sales numbers should not be surprises, and it's not because of people being financially irresponsible,
Other industries and US consumer spending doesn't make me confident about that, on a macroeconomic level. American households are taking enormous debt for credit, cars, and even some absurd mortgage plans. Something's gotta give.
I don't think a $90 game or $1000 console will be the cause of analysis 20 years from now, but it'll certainly be jammed in as a little tidbit in the grand history of 2020's consurmerism.
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Comment on There is no reason to buy another PlayStation or Xbox in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentGoing from a 160k/yr job to hoping your freelance gigs hold up through the year sure does change how you view costs. The 20k credit card debt helps too. Went from having some 3-400 dollars a...Honestly it always surprises me how cost sensitive (or, at least, performatively cost sensitive - based on sales numbers, people may not be as sensitive as they portray themselves as) games media/social media is.
Going from a 160k/yr job to hoping your freelance gigs hold up through the year sure does change how you view costs. The 20k credit card debt helps too. Went from having some 3-400 dollars a months is subscriptions (which included some hundred dollars of patreons) to basically only subsisting on YouTube premium, even cancelling some unexpected ones like Discord and Google Drive. Gaming spending plummeted less from cost and more because all my energy diverted into the job search.
I'm sure I'm not unique. Especially given Monday's news.
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Comment on There is no reason to buy another PlayStation or Xbox in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentNot in this economy and clown job market. I put off buying a Switch 2 with more games that I want and that's half the predicted price. It's not just that these electronics got more expensive,...The cost is negligible.
Not in this economy and clown job market. I put off buying a Switch 2 with more games that I want and that's half the predicted price.
It's not just that these electronics got more expensive, people's quality of life got worse. lots of people out of a job, graduating into a very stale market. are struggling with everything else around them that is more necessary rising in cost, and ovarall morale is simply down. There'd be a time enthusiasts would happily buy 2 or 3 different consoles and that's reduced down to picking and choosing what works for them.
If I think about it deeply the main reasons I buy consoles is simplicity, consistency, and integration in my home entertainment setup.
I bought games for exclusives, cost, and (a minor kickback) the ability to display the collection like any other kind of library. I have one bookshelf of books and another of game cases; it's just neat being able to have friends take a glance and ask or mock my taste,
Playstations exclusives appeal has dwindled down to Astro Bot and Ratchet this gen. the cost is so high that I'm questioning why I don't just triple down with a workstation I can use for my professional work as well as playing games with better performance.
Many PC gamers seem to have a superiority complex that has changed little in the last two decades but regardless methinks consoles are here to stay.
I don't really consider myself a PC gamer. But as a software engineer, all those downsides were never a barrier for me; I was just accustomed to a certain way of play. It wouldn't be the first time I changed my habits to fight enshittification, and it probably won't be the last.
I don't think consoles will die out. Nintendo plays the long game and has reset the industry once long ago. But Xbox is definitely teetering and Sony is going down a rocky road. They seem to want their own super game at all costs, and I worry they may try to go for broke next generation. Broke that makes Concord seem like a rounding error. They want a game like Roblox or Minecraft without the decades of investment needed, and we all know how that will end.
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Comment on Bethesda, id Software reportedly hit hard by Microsoft layoffs in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentSadly, nothing except healthcare is stable these days. Seems like games was simply a canary in the coalmineA lot of people end up leaving the industry for other fields purely for stability.
Sadly, nothing except healthcare is stable these days. Seems like games was simply a canary in the coalmine
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Comment on Microsoft’s Xbox to cut 3,200 jobs, divest five studios in major overhaul (gifted link) in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentCertainly. There's no labor law that can indefinitely keep someone's job forever. But time is our most valuable asset and having months to prepare for the worst is better than waking up one day...the strong labor laws in France only prolong the inevitable for Game Studios.
Certainly. There's no labor law that can indefinitely keep someone's job forever. But time is our most valuable asset and having months to prepare for the worst is better than waking up one day and realizing you cannot log into your workstation anymore.
I'm assuming Microsoft wanted to try, but ultimately realized they had no standing to really do so in a quick fashion. Because no, a profitable company shouldn't be able to quickly fire its workers.
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Comment on Microsoft’s Xbox to cut 3,200 jobs, divest five studios in major overhaul (gifted link) in ~games
raze2012 LinkDamn, so instead of just getting it all out of the way at once we have a 50/50 of instant layoffs and a slow roll of the rest over 2026/7. And then another 3200 in Microsoft as a whole. Then...Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox plans to eliminate 3,200 jobs, or around 20% of its staff over the next year
At Xbox, 1,600 jobs will be eliminated on Monday, the rest over the next 12 months, according to the letter.
Damn, so instead of just getting it all out of the way at once we have a 50/50 of instant layoffs and a slow roll of the rest over 2026/7. And then another 3200 in Microsoft as a whole. Then implications of more to come.
At least some studios managed to spin out of it instead of being shut Down. Though having Ninja Theory being sold to an "undisclosed buyer" isn't exactly reassuring these days. That just screams "vulture capitalist private equity firm" to me. Hope I'm wrong.
Guess we now know that Xbox has, or had, about 16k employees. Now down to 12.5k or so.
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Comment on Microsoft’s Xbox to cut 3,200 jobs, divest five studios in major overhaul (gifted link) in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentAlso once again shows why strong labor laws are a must. I'm sure they would have gone the way of the Austin branch if Lyons wasn't based in France. It's a shame it's such an uphill battle with...Also once again shows why strong labor laws are a must. I'm sure they would have gone the way of the Austin branch if Lyons wasn't based in France.
It's a shame it's such an uphill battle with other working fellows just to understand this concept, though. Crabs in a bucket.
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Comment on Physical disc production ending in January 2028 for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentFair. You just never really know. Things changed so fast and plenty of well meaning people have given advice that became outdated that I don't blame people personally for it. Also, my industry is...Fair. You just never really know. Things changed so fast and plenty of well meaning people have given advice that became outdated that I don't blame people personally for it.
Also, my industry is games, so I suppose there's a bit of a guilt factor in trying to play games when I should be developing them.
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Comment on Reddit will require you to be logged in to use old.reddit.com in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentThe reddit app sucks for a dozen different reasons, so I use 3rd party apps They remove 3rd party apps, so I decide to the website. The website in many case is literally unusable, with ugly...The reddit app sucks for a dozen different reasons, so I use 3rd party apps
They remove 3rd party apps, so I decide to the website.
The website in many case is literally unusable, with ugly overlays pushing you to use the app. So I use old.reddit
Now they are effectively removing Old.reddit, because along the way I removed my accounts and only read stuff logged out.
No, I'm not using that dang app. I'm not even sure how long the app will be usable logged out anyway. Ads aren't an issue for me because I have 3 different levels of ad blocker, so that's not even the biggest issue. I just want a usable UI to browse the remaining fee communities for niche hobby news and for corporate to get out of my way.
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Comment on Reddit will require you to be logged in to use old.reddit.com in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentNope, I'm not going into that cycle again. I make an account just to make a specific comment. Promise I only lurk after that. End up commenting more and more. And then realize I fell into the hole...For those that for some reason still want to do it - making a burner account with a temporary email is really quick
Nope, I'm not going into that cycle again. I make an account just to make a specific comment. Promise I only lurk after that. End up commenting more and more. And then realize I fell into the hole again and delete my account.
Haven't made any account in almost 4 years now. I don't even have the whim to consider making another one now.
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Comment on Reddit will require you to be logged in to use old.reddit.com in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentReddit will die. It won't be in the magnificent just desserts method, though. Spez will get his stocks vested, sell at the first good window, and then a new CEO will come in with the purpose of...Reddit will die. It won't be in the magnificent just desserts method, though. Spez will get his stocks vested, sell at the first good window, and then a new CEO will come in with the purpose of vulturing off whatever makes the most short term money. At some point numbers die down as thr friction of using the site becomes too much, and then Reddit effectively dies as a site, likely replaced by a very similar site that will do its own cycle. Thars the live cycle of publicly social media these days. It's not a model designed for infinitely growing funds.
The only surprising thing is the rise of LLMS, which reddit capitalized on to become a large "organic" data scrape to make money no other "traditional" forum could think of. But that gravy train is dying out, and pushing bots onto the site reduces that kind of value.
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Comment on Reddit will require you to be logged in to use old.reddit.com in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentCompanies large enough ultimately only get killed by themselves, not any particular consumer revolt. That's just the way it is. Enshittification only works at the end of the day because the...I guess I'm just more mad that we didn't get the critical mass in that first wave of public outcry to *kill reddit.
Companies large enough ultimately only get killed by themselves, not any particular consumer revolt. That's just the way it is. Enshittification only works at the end of the day because the unaware or uncaring vastly outnumber the principled.
It would have been nice for that to happen, but at the end of the day I'd prefer to focus more on fostering the community I want than hoping for the day justice prevails. You can't save everyone, and not everyone wants to be saved to begin with. Maybe from there we can for coalitions that can fight for policy (where you truly enact change), but that only comes once in a blue moon, and still probably requires some proper centralizing force.
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Comment on Papa Johns can predict when your fridge is empty in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentWell that's a shame. At the same time, I suppose it wouldn't be hard some 15 years after that story to find dozens or hundreds of other situations very similar to it, so I guess I'll need to dig...Well that's a shame. At the same time, I suppose it wouldn't be hard some 15 years after that story to find dozens or hundreds of other situations very similar to it, so I guess I'll need to dig for a more truthful sample that concisely shows how scary it is letting companies identify trends out of a bunch of seemingly random data.
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Comment on Papa Johns can predict when your fridge is empty in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentGlad my state has some protection against this. But we've been long overdue for a US version of GDPR.Glad my state has some protection against this. But we've been long overdue for a US version of GDPR.
It's less a serious plan people desire, and more a historical trend. Wars are optimal distractions for government with disrest that is too large to suppress. It also knocks 3 birds with one stone by embracing nationalism and achieving whatever conqeust goals the leader at the time has.
Regardless of how entitled the men are here, I don't think it's a problem China (or hell, any other country) will solve in a mentally healthy way. And it will get worse before it gets better.