There was a really interesting interview on The Verge with the CEO of Telly. Basically, TVs are so cheap now because they make all of their profit selling your data. His pitch is “why pay for a TV and then also have your data mined. They should at least give you the TV for free.”
It’s frustrating because even if we buy a “premium” devices like an LG C3 or one of the nice Samsung TVs, they’re still going to spy on us. (PiHole FTW).
He’s right, but I don’t like the framing of TV companies are going to spy on you anyway so we’re the best option since you get a free TV. I would like the option to not be spied on. In fact I’m choosing that by not having a TV to begin with.
That’s one of the reasons i’ve stayed with a TV from 2009 for so long. It was just before they started doing all that Internet TV bullshit, so no spying possible.
You can still do that and get a TV (for now), you just have to not connect it to the internet. Mine has never seen Ethernet cable nor my wifi password and gives me zero problems. I don’t even use the TV interface since I have an HDMI switcher that auto switches to the most recently powered device.
isnt that why if you value privacy (or customization) youre supposed to not plug the tv to the internet and use your prefered streaming setup connected over hdmi. its ultimately a self inflicted problem of people using the built in stuff rather than take the time and setup an actual setup (that would stay the same between tvs as long as said device doesnt die on you)
then convenience is sold, especially if its free, then your data is going to be sold with it.
which is why ones better off with a modified Nvidia Shield or Apple TV to minimize data collection, if you arent using an HTPC for a streaming server. Not a binary system, its a game of whose doing it the least, and the TV companies have a huge incentive to collect money off the integrated stuff vs companies whose cost is moreso on the hardware, and make money off their intended subscription services (Apple One for Apple TV, Nvidia Geforce Now for gaming on the Shield)
It’s one of those games where you gotta ask, who asked for this? It seemed like the second game was doing very well. They should have gone the route of Counterstrike and just done and in place upgrade with the same content, but better.
Payday 2 was good for a while, but then it got buried under a mountain of DLC and people slowly stopped playing because of the aggressive monetization. They came out swinging with the same tactics in Payday 3 with only minor content improvements, so people weren’t as motivated to buy the same game again.
Cities: Skylines 2 appears to be going the same route.
To me, this is actually why I’d want a Team Fortress 3 rather than more updates. The wave of cosmetics in some way turned the previous game a bit unplayable.
Honestly I do understand why PC gamers are upset. But this isn’t exactly news. They’ve done this with every PC port. And given the clusterfuck that was GTA IV on PC I’m fine waiting another year for a GOOD PC port.
Again I get it. But I personally bought a Series X when PC gaming was too expensive to get into so I take it that’s who they’re gonna go for as well.
They’ve done it with every generation of GTA recently. It will probably not come out at launch, people will buy the console version, and then suddenly it comes out on pc a year later. We’ve seen the tactic before
GTA V was 2 years later and it even came out after the next-gen release. But I waited patiently, I skipped any spoilers for 2 years and it was well worth it. Also, GTA has such a long lifespan that the wait really doesn’t matter
The Switch 2 is also (likely) a handheld, and the Steam Deck is also similar in performance to the ps4/xbox as well, and only came out a year ago, so I wouldn’t expect anything much more than that (especially since the Switch 2 will probably be smaller and have a bigger battery).
Man, I have no interest in a handheld… I just don’t get the appeal there. I have a handheld already, it’s my phone. I want the next nintendo creation to bring me back to wii bowling, and that sort of crazy cool stuff.
Instead, the last console brought us worse controllers that cramp your hands, and lack innovative design.
I played Wii bowling on my steam deck. Using Dolphin, a Wii mote connected through Bluetooth, and a USB sensor bar. Then just a dock to put it on the TV and charge it.
Only thing that gave me trouble was the speaker in the Wii mote.
Kotaku out here dutifully defending the status quo. Maybe these complex, top-heavy, primarily commercially motivated hierarchies aren’t a good environment for the development of decent games. If those top people have a vision and a passion for their art, it’ll show. If they don’t and all they care about is money while throwing figurative scraps of creative freedom and control to their actual development and art teams, that’ll show too.
What Larian did right, more than anything else, is retain artistic integrity. They didn’t hold back to stuff anything behind a paywall or try to figure out how to design their game to appeal to whales. They had something they wanted to make, a franchise they wanted to do proper justice, and they knocked the ball out of the park.
Not because it’s perfect, because it isn’t, but because it is incredibly clear that they didn’t sell out their artistic integrity. It couldn’t have been made if they had.
That, I think, is what some development studios are worried about. Ultimately though, that’s a good thing. It offers the potential of changing the nature of the business to one that’s less about Skinner boxes and more about creating an enjoyable and maybe even profound experience.
Please do use Baldur’s Gate 3 as a weapon to cut money grubbing corporate filth out of the industry.
It’s the same bullshit as return2office, management has its interests which include armies of fungible resources they can track effectively via closure velocity.
It’s why big organizations are less efficient but they’re what we have because of marketing inertia (people assume big companies produce better product).
Yeah, but at the same time it makes the PS4 games a much better experience. I dunno if that justifies the spend for a lot of people, but I don’t regret getting one.
I had a lot of fun with my Vita even without hacking it. It had a longer lifetime than people realize, in part through digital sales and indie games that were planning to do PS3/PS4 releases anyway.
When a new generation starts, I hook it up in the living room, move the previous gen to the bedroom, and mothball the oldest gen.
So when I kick off, my kid, or grand kids, are going to discover organized boxes of gaming gear. I’m sure it will be all over whatever passes for social media then. :)
Currently:
Living Room - PS5, Xbox Series X, Steam Deck Dock.
I just got a second one because it was peanuts and came with two good controllers while mine are all kind of subtly broken.
I do actually have a PS4 with 5 controllers because once bit. I don’t know if I’ll find the time, but if I feel like playing something stuck on the three like infamous or demons souls, I can.
Maybe I’ll get the 5 one day. And maybe I’ll find that emulation can solve the old title problem.
Avoiding the sites ads and other garbage, I fed the url through the Kagi summarizer (“key moments” mode); here’s the output, verbatim:
Shawn Layden, former CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, has concerns about rising costs, consolidation in the industry, and game preservation.
Consolidation through acquisitions can reduce creativity as studios are absorbed into larger companies and projects.
Blockbuster games requiring huge budgets and long development times are risky and could limit creativity.
The focus on only a few popular genres may prevent gaining new players who are not interested in those genres.
Preservation of older games is important culturally but the industry has no unified effort to make past games widely accessible.
Backwards compatibility has improved but many games from platforms like PS3 remain difficult to play on new consoles.
Layden worries large acquisitions could reduce the number of creative voices as smaller studios are absorbed.
The entry of tech giants like Google, Netflix, Apple and Amazon could disrupt the game industry.
Layden believes companies need to take more risks, find broader appeal, and develop more sustainable business models.
While some acquisitions save studios, Layden remains concerned about the long-term impact on creativity within the industry.
I think as chairman of world wide studios beside shun yoshida, he hasn’t done a bad job. Game that came out that time were good and at least a bit more creative than at the moment. So i understanding to be more risky is a good point.
But he tells us now for years, that games get more and more expensive and i think he was as well responsible for very expensive games, like the naughty dog games. So does he think this popular games were a mistake?
No ads, ‘read this!’, ‘watch this video’, slide-out bullshit though. I got two paragraphs in and the text was like 1/4 of my phone screen, the rest were ads/links/slide-out offers. Fuck allllll that noise.
See, that’s the thing: I can’t install stuff for everyone’s phones. But I can offer a solution for others when I feel that it’s worth taking a minute of my day to do something for the benefit of many. So I did.
Or, more obviously: tf you complaining that I’m trying to help everyone? Lol
I have seen people post factually incorrect AI summaries often enough that I don't trust them by default. This one's crime was just not being a summary but a paraphrase, lol.
I asked it for key points though, as a wall of text seemed counter-intuitive. Out of curiosity, here’s the “summary” style:
Shawn Layden, former CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, has expressed concerns about consolidation in the video game industry leading to less creativity as large publishers acquire more studios. He worries that independent studios will lose their creative spark when absorbed into massive projects from big publishers. Layden also questioned if the industry can continue growing by relying only on the same popular genres. Additionally, he advocated for better preservation of older games, arguing publishers have an obligation to make their entire history accessible to new generations. However, game preservation often does not help the bottom line. In summary, Layden makes compelling points about the need for disruption, more risks with new IP, and greater access to gaming’s past to ensure its vibrant future.
I think you’ve done readers a service, I checked your comment before even looking at the article, as I’ve seen so many garbage articles posted here (no hate Lemmings, it’s not your garbage writing, it’s bad journos doing bad journo stuff).
I appreciate you fam, and those complaining of ads need (on Android at least) to use an ad blocking DNS (I use Adguard DNS) in conjunction with an actual ad blocker.
I find it laughable that there are people out there in 2023 not using some form of ad blocking.
Yeah, I roll with NextDNS + Iceraven with uB, and + (at home) I also run a secondary DNS check locally on my router for adverts (and other categories), in the unusual chance that either uB or ND let one through. I have built this dome around my/family’s devices, but I get that it’s tedious and many don’t understand how to do this, but want to get the benefit. Plus in this particular instance, I find it really cool how the Kagi ai tool works (I’ve used it a few times myself when I don’t want to read a novel-worth of an article) and I’m paying for the privilege anyway so why not share the output.
Cheers for the in depth response! I can’t decide if you’ve made my decision making harder, easier, or some combination of both.
In the rare occasions UBO/Adguard let one slip through, I find 99% of the time a refresh solves it (different ad it does pick up maybe?) Failing that, I just wait for an update and that process has yet to fail me.
I’ll have a look around, my server is not yet entered into service, but I am looking to run Pihole network wide, I have yet to decide on a DNS for it, but I will certainly give NextDNS a looksee as a starting point to see if it fits my use case.
kotaku.com
Ważne