The article points out how other sites and articles are calling it a dead game due to the fact it doesn’t have the 1.5 million concurrent players now (it did in Feb). Not that’s it’s been abandoned by the developer, but that is not getting the daily player counts that games as a services expect and how this game is bucking that trend and it’s a good thing.
I wasn’t aware Palword was supposed to be a game as a service.
To me game as a service are games like world or warcraft or apex legends.
Their whole point is to get money by microtransactions and recurring payments using constant new content to keep players engaged.
You’re making the same points as the article (and the devs), hence OP stating that what he posted is not the “clickbait journalism” that you appeared to accuse it of being originally.
If you were saying the other articles referred to in the headline are clickbait journalism, then I’m pretty sure we’re all on the same page. Your phrasing was just a little ambiguous at first.
It’s a sold game not a live service, as long as they deliverer all updates who cares, the media also had this discussion with Manor Lords decaying numbers, after it sold millions…
No, it’s not dead. The number of players is irrelevant.
A “dead game” is a game that needs work but is not under any development. It could be in Early Access, and incomplete. Or, it could be released, but still incomplete (looking at you, 7 Days to Die). Or, it could be an MMO that needs ongoing server maintenance, but they shut the servers down.
A game that is being worked on and making good progress isn’t dead. A game that is complete and relatively bug-free, but not being worked on, is not dead. An MMO getting no new content, but just enough labor to keep the lights on and the servers up, is not dead.
I guess an MMO or multiplayer game that has mandatory multiplayer aspects could be considered Dead if there aren’t enough players available to reasonably play the game. But Palworld is a single player game, or co-op with friends, not really an MMO.
I feel this way about Back 4 Blood too. It got a taste of backlash for not living up to the hopes of Left 4 Dead players - but, it has plenty of its own enjoyable elements (Left 4 Dead doesn’t really let you run a “build” that “specializes” in one thing and accepts a set of weaknesses). The developers announced they were going to stop updating it - but that only means it doesn’t file into the category of junky “Live service” noncompetitive games, which to me is fine. People shouldn’t necessarily avoid it on sale, the servers are up and it’s still fun.
It’s a ridiculous metric anyway. There are dozens of ancient MMOS that still manage to crawl along because a few hundred subscribers is enough to fund one or two developers in maintenance mode effectively forever. See also indie studios like Spiderweb Software who’ve been sustainably selling games to their fans for decades. See also indie roguelike devs who manage to make their one game a job by having a patreon and a few hundred fans. See also retrogaming. See also the boomer shooter renaissance.
Games on the whole have never been less dead, unless their studio intentionally smothers them by shutting down servers and locking off access.
Palworld has a dedicated server accessible through steam tools, no license required. I use it myself for my family’s instance. The game is still in early access as well, and small improvements keep rolling out.
I have a Steam Deck and love it… But part of me really likes the idea of the Pocket (not necessarily the aluminum one). It’s rough, cuz I’ve never gotten into FPGA stuff before, and this run is going to be a one-time thing. I guess I’ll hold off until the regular plastic ones are available again?
Specifically the form factor. I have a lot of nostalgia for the GBC and SP, and the smaller size means it’s much easier to carry and whip out while traveling. Currently, my Steam Deck is used for when I’m on a long (6+ hours) flight or when I’m staying somewhere for a weekend. I don’t feel great about bringing it out while taking a bus or train, and it’s a bit much to bring out while sitting at an airport gate for 45 minutes.
That being said, I would hate to split all my saves and progress between the two systems, so maybe I’ll just remain on the Deck.
Interesting take, I think my Deck is a great size and it easily fits in my shoulder bag, I bring it everywhere. Don’t have a want for anything smaller honestly, it feels so good in my hands, anything smaller just gives me hand aches after a bit. But I can understand your perspective.
I’m a shorter dude (5’8"), so while I’m in love with my Steam Deck, it’s definitely a little much for me sometimes. Heavy to hold up, and I carry it in the OEM case. That being said, I’m a HUGE fan of the new case and basically only use the inner case, leaving the outer shell at home.
When they came out with the OLED (and the special edition) instead of giving the regular shell, it was 2 shells. 1 thinner one that’s a bit thicker than the deck, and then the big one with a handle and the elastic covering a space to carry the charger. The small one actually velcros into the big case.
In my previous comment I mentioned the OLED LE, that stands for the OLED Limited Edition you mentioned. And no, there’s no inner case I somehow missed. It’s just the one large one.
RIP my impulsivity and FOMO. Ordered a black one. Though I may have an out, since my credit card company flagged it as fraud and said they cancelled the transaction.
I have a steam deck, and have used a friend’s analogue pocket. They aren’t even the same category of device, and the analogue is literally the best emulation experience I’ve ever used. The screen, by itself, is a better emulation experience for GBC games than the steam decks default experience.
Yep, ask anyone who owns both. Nobody is playing a Gameboy game on a Steam Deck when they have an Analogue Pocket. Experience is much better, it just feels right on it.
That being said, if that’s not an important thing to you then a Steam Deck will play Gameboy games with near perfect accuracy and no issues, as well as do a million other things. So it’s indisputably a better value.
I would never pitch an Analogue Pocket at someone because if its the kind of thing you want, you already know about it and probably have one.
and the analogue is literally the best emulation experience I’ve ever used
The Analogue Pocket doesn’t use emulation. That is literally the entire point of that device, and the reason they can charge 10 times as much as you would pay for an Anbernic device with the same form factor
Obviously piracy would be terrible and nobody would do it, but imagine how great GBC games would be on the Steam Deck if such a thing were possible! I’d probably play those pretty regularly!
arstechnica.com
Aktywne