One thing I see as underestimated is that having a major standard device is huge for indie development and could greatly benefit the most flourishing artistic landscape....
Its so easy to develop for the steam deck and steam devices. Just FYI it really is just another machine. Theres no “unlocking” or “side loading” or anything. Its just a computer. Thats it!
I personally don’t care for the controller, but I will say that if I didnt have a steam deck with the track pads already, I would probably get one.
The Steam frame looks interesting. Ill keep an eye out. It might be cheaper than a huge big screen. But IDK. VR always feels like a gimmick.
The Steam machine looks awesome. Ill probably get one. I like PCs that happen to be consoles cause I can rip them apart and upgrade/fix as I please.
I really hope Steam OS comes out for more than just 2 devices though. That would be AWESOME.
Big picture mode is great but certain games + controller + hardware combos still have issues with it. Whereas the steam deck has a fantastic time hooking into things.
I’ve got a small backlog of games on my laptop (running Arch Linux with KDE) through Lutris. I usually play with a keyboard and a mouse, but since I sit pretty close to my screen (ik bad habit), it starts getting uncomfortable after a while. So I’ve been thinking about picking up a gamepad for some more relaxed, couch style...
I remember the game grumps did a walkthrough of some sonic game and they were going through some guys 10+ year walkthrough that was really well done. It was hilarious some of the comments the walkthrough person wrote.
Today’s game is Monster Sanctuary. I was initially going to try and diversify The Halloween season by trying some obscure Indie Horror games, but literally all the ones i could find just didn’t seem personally appealing or weren’t really horror. Mostly for point 1 it was Mascot horror, which, i don’t have anything...
Its a fantastic game! Got really close to beating it but dropped off. Music was good, the actual monsters very fun. Some of the better pixel art and the controls were tight.
Some of the bosses are VERY hard, to the point I had to look up guides. Its worth the $$. Honestly I wish they had an easy mode or something to get us though the hardest parts.
They’re trying to soften the blow by adding new features to each tier, but it’s still just to disguise a price hike. More games are coming to the $15 tier, but it still won’t be day and date releases. First party games come to the $15 tier “within a year”, but that’s even excluding Call of Duty.
[alt text: a screenshot from a Pokemon game. In the screenshot, the camera is zoomed in on the Pokemon Eevee, and the in-game caption says: “What? My suffering is evolving!”. There is a meta-caption that says “not again”.]
Hades 2 is a really fun game. Ive played it heavily on early access and even if they didnt change anything, it would still be solid. That being said, and actual ending will make this game one of the best in the year for me.
One of the reasons being patent with games is worth it. In a year, they may fix the bugs, they may not. But the only thing you lose is a bit of time playing other games. And cheaper too :D
Slowly getting back into playing my collection lately since i have a little more freetime. I’m see there are so many consoles out there that can be modded to unlock certain features....
Honestly my "favorite" is my SteamDeck. In that it doesn't really need to be "modded" just install some software and away you go. At certain points ive made it into:
A desktop with mouse and keyboard
A satellite tracker (satnogs)
A retro gaming system
A quick media system (we had some movie nights and the laptop adapter died at one point).
The PSP was my first back in the day. It was awesome!! 3DS is also a close second. I think I have a ton of homebrew games. Ive seen some impressive wii/wii u stuff lately. And the switch / switch 2 mod scenes are pretty cool. Switch for now is the easiest with all the homebrew stuff people have been putting out. And the switch emulator(s?) that are coming out are pretty impressive. Was able to play a couple of games after getting and compiling the latest releases. Hard to find but totally worth it.
Im having a blast with the miyoo mini plus playing pico 8 games lately.
Saw this on some other sites. I was wondering why I didnt see too much development by 3rd parties for switch 2 specifically. There are messages online to use Switch 1 ATM because the dev kits are not available.
Given that there is already work on Switch 2 emulators, it wouldn't surprise me that Nintendo is trying to curtail the emulation crowd until they get more of their $$. And dev kits have had people reverse engineer them a while back.
I recently had the good fortune to interview the two developers of CrankBoy - an emulator for the Playdate console which allows users to play original Game Boy games on there (and yes, you can use that crank to play them!)...
Yeah I started to read comments on other sites and theres a LOT of speculation on this. But the actual article is pretty small. Thanks for breaking it down even further.
The only one I know some people have is Switch2 from my friend group. And its mostly mario kart. They stopped playing after a bit so it will be interesting to see what will occur there.
Overall you dont buy the system for the system, usually you buy it for hte games. And like you said....if the games are not there (PS5 games vs say steam/pc) then people are not incentivized to get it.
Today’s game is some more Mario Kart World. I think i’ve changed my opinion on this, because fuck. After playing through all the Grand Prix and just fucking around in the Open World, i think this might just be tied for my favorite Mario Kart. It has it’s flaws definitely and i don’t think it’s the console pusher...
This is interesting for a couple of reasons. One is that this is about as much market share as Mac ever had at its peak, and almost twice as much as it has currently. Another is that, if you click the link for the site’s Steam Linux Data Tracker, you can see that English-only Linux market share (a crude way of filtering out...
The newer macs are also relatively in a state of flux with apple figuring out what works and what they want to invest in. Brew didn't work well for a good year after the M1 made its debut. I remember trying to get things working and it was a nightmare. It's still somewhat difficult to program for. And game devs often will do whatever it takes to release a game...which can include some strange code that only works on a blue moon or s very specific.net version.
It's getting better each year or so but I can't blame valve wanting to just skip all the ballony untl it's in a better place.
Agreed, I dont think its a good idea to have ANY company own near 100% of the market with PC gaming. Can you imagine the DRM and copyright protections shenanigans you could pull if you were the only effective player? Valve is mostly benevolent....but theres always a chance it goes downhill with just one asshole.
I dont claim to be in the video game industry only a dev. And macs can be easy or VERY hard to develop under depending on the underlining tools. If they dont have them....you basically have to build them from scratch (like Expo/mobile development, brew custom mac specific libraries, gnu tools that use a language not supported, etc... etc... ). If they have the libraries already installed, and is supported by apple, it becomes a breeze and, best yet, they are better than windows at less breaking changes. Not security mind, but breaking program changes. Or at least it seems like it last 10 years or so.
The M1 Arch was a departure but not from their own tooling, just everyone elses. That from what I understand a lot of games stopped working right when the M1-3 became a thing in steam. But again someone else can correct me if im wrong. I saw the effects from a friend trying to get steam working on a newer macbook pro but I am again not an expert when it comes to the gaming industry.
Steam Machine is huge for indie development
One thing I see as underestimated is that having a major standard device is huge for indie development and could greatly benefit the most flourishing artistic landscape....
Steam Hardware [new Steam Controller, Steam Machine, and VR headset Steam Frame, coming in 2026] (store.steampowered.com)
No prices yet. I may never financially recover from this.
Gamepad for Linux Gaming?
I’ve got a small backlog of games on my laptop (running Arch Linux with KDE) through Lutris. I usually play with a keyboard and a mouse, but since I sit pretty close to my screen (ik bad habit), it starts getting uncomfortable after a while. So I’ve been thinking about picking up a gamepad for some more relaxed, couch style...
To the rapidly aging person reading this: GameFAQs is 30 years old, and people are sharing their memories of the venerable guide hub (www.pcgamer.com)
Ritual of Raven Trailer (cuddly.tube)
Trailer zu Ritual of Raven von Spellgarden Games/Team17....
Undertale GBC - Continued Development after Ruins! by Aki (blaqberry.itch.io)
Undertale demake made for the Gameboy Color
Day 461 of posting a Daily Screenshot from the games I've been playing
Today’s game is Monster Sanctuary. I was initially going to try and diversify The Halloween season by trying some obscure Indie Horror games, but literally all the ones i could find just didn’t seem personally appealing or weren’t really horror. Mostly for point 1 it was Mascot horror, which, i don’t have anything...
I love stardew valley. looking for an alternative that is made for controller experience.
after long day at my job, i just wanna kick back and relax. maybe holding a controller instead of keyboard and mouse would be nice....
A New Golden Age Of Browser Games (hackaday.com)
Massive Pokemon leak purportedly covers next-gen games, scrapped ideas, and more (www.polygon.com)
Tobu Tobu Girl Deluxe - Open source Itch.io game that is fun to play on any gb/gbc systems (tangramgames.itch.io)
Open source, amazing music and gameplay. Can work with any gb/gbc system!
First US videogame champion, legendary programmer, and Interplay co-founder Rebecca Heineman is fundraising to deal with the costs of an aggressive cancer diagnosis (www.pcgamer.com)
Updates to Xbox Game Pass: Introducing Essential, Premium, and Ultimate Plans - Xbox Wire [prices going up] (news.xbox.com)
They’re trying to soften the blow by adding new features to each tier, but it’s still just to disguise a price hike. More games are coming to the $15 tier, but it still won’t be day and date releases. First party games come to the $15 tier “within a year”, but that’s even excluding Call of Duty.
eeeek (beehaw.org)
[alt text: a screenshot from a Pokemon game. In the screenshot, the camera is zoomed in on the Pokemon Eevee, and the in-game caption says: “What? My suffering is evolving!”. There is a meta-caption that says “not again”.]
Asus ROG Xbox Ally Gaming Handhelds Cost Up to $999.99, Preorders Open Now (www.pcmag.com)
Doug Bowser Retiring From Nintendo, Successor Announced (insider-gaming.com)
Hades II | Review Thread (93/100 OpenCritic)
Game Information...
Nintendo Customer Support Concern Following Outsourcing Decision Ahead of Switch 2's First Holiday Season - IGN (www.ign.com)
Nintendo slashes US based support
"Game directors and producers have too much power in their hands." Final Fantasy composer says there’s less creative freedom in game music nowadays (automaton-media.com)
Nobuo Uematsu
PICO-8 0.2.7 | RELEASE OVERVIEW (www.youtube.com)
Virtual Boy: Nintendo Classics - Announcement Trailer (www.youtube.com)
Incredibly cursed. Who asked for this.
Queer developers speak out as adult games remain in limbo following payment processor showdown at Steam and itch.io (www.eurogamer.net)
Borderlands 4 Launches To Mostly Negative Steam Reviews Over Performance Issues And Crashing (www.thegamer.com)
AAA game? Performance issues and crashing on release? Why I never.
Favorite Modded Console?
Slowly getting back into playing my collection lately since i have a little more freetime. I’m see there are so many consoles out there that can be modded to unlock certain features....
Amid Palworld Lawsuit, Nintendo Patents a System for Summoning a Character (gamerant.com)
'Keeping Retro Alive' - a chat with the developer of Batocera (my article!)
A few weeks ago I reached out to Lbrpdx, who is the developer of Batocera, asking him if he’s okay with the idea of an interview....
Digital Foundry is backing up the claims that Nintendo seems to be discouraging switch 2 development from third parties (www.youtube.com)
Saw this on some other sites. I was wondering why I didnt see too much development by 3rd parties for switch 2 specifically. There are messages online to use Switch 1 ATM because the dev kits are not available.
CrankBoy - the original Game Boy game emulator for the Playdate console (my article)
I recently had the good fortune to interview the two developers of CrankBoy - an emulator for the Playdate console which allows users to play original Game Boy games on there (and yes, you can use that crank to play them!)...
It Turns Out, Steam’s Adult Content Ban Has Been Plotted For A Year And Is Spearheaded By One Of Project 2025’s Leading Voices (www.thegamer.com)
Anyone know if this is true or not?
Sony is raising all PS5 console prices in the US by $50, starting tomorrow (www.theverge.com)
Day 398 of posting a Daily Screenshot from the games I've been playing
Today’s game is some more Mario Kart World. I think i’ve changed my opinion on this, because fuck. After playing through all the Grand Prix and just fucking around in the Open World, i think this might just be tied for my favorite Mario Kart. It has it’s flaws definitely and i don’t think it’s the console pusher...
Mina the Hollower – Release Date Trailer (Oct 31) (www.youtube.com)
I cannot wait for this game. Shovel Knight was one of my favorites.
Broad Payment Rules Put More Games At Risk, Says Storefront ZOOM Platform (thisweekinvideogames.com)
In Brief:...
This guy powering up every PlayStation generation and the nostalgia hits hard (i.imgur.com)
cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/34014818
Steam Survey for July 2025 shows Linux approaching 3% (www.gamingonlinux.com)
This is interesting for a couple of reasons. One is that this is about as much market share as Mac ever had at its peak, and almost twice as much as it has currently. Another is that, if you click the link for the site’s Steam Linux Data Tracker, you can see that English-only Linux market share (a crude way of filtering out...