Not even just that. They approached games that has already promised not to be exclusives, including kickstarter games that had already been funded with that promise, as well as buying games and removing them from other stores.
They were paying to have the games removed from better stores so they wouldn’t have to compete. That is an example of anti-competitive practices, not just making a better product and charging more for it.
That feels awfully soon. I hope they can actually create enough new content for this, as Below Zero felt far too similar to the first. It felt more like a new game plus rather than a full-price sequal.
I’m not suprised. On one hand, there wasn’t exactly a lot of marketing around it. I didn’t even know it was announced until last week, and I follow gaming news and some VR news. On top of this, its an expensive, casual device - the sort of thing a kid will ask for after seeing someone else using it, not something people are lining up day-one to buy. At least something like the Valve Index, for all its disadvantages, very clearly targets enthusiasts who will go out of their way to seek out newer or better products. If Valve decided to release a Valve Index 2 (or for a more direct comparison, a Valve Index Pro) I’d be willing to bet their day-one numbers would look better, even if their overall market is much smaller.
Its a somewhat more story and gameplay focused than Cookie Clicker, but still pretty chill. I won’t say too much more, considering that it’d just spoil the fun of discovery.
These aren’t mobile games, they’re desktop games, and this isn’t anything new. These same themes and effects have been used for decades. As someone else points out, even the retro Mario games have you use spinners and slot machines. RNG is exciting and helps make a fun and engaging game. I mean, by that same logic, a game like Catan should be banned because one of its primary mechanics is just being rewarded for favorable dice rolls, as you would be when gambling on dice.
What about Vampire Survivors, as well as numerous other games, using spinners or other slot-machine-like animations to represent RPG drops? Should all of these games be banned for the same reason? If anything, many of these better re-create the slot machine experience with their flashy effects and more substantial results.