this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2025
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The fun never ends. Clearly xbox is failing so they are trying their hardest to extract as much money as possible from whoever still hasnt sold their console yet

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[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 58 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (2 children)

Oh that is gonna piss people off.

Your ads are not gonna work the way you think they'll work, when every person who sees them is gonna feel like it's a middle finger.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 28 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (2 children)

Your ads are not gonna work the way you think they’ll work

They're banking on people too young/old to know how to navigate past the screen to accidentally sign up for shit.

My one-year-old son accidentally got ahold of my TV remote and signed me back up for Netflix by pushing random buttons a month ago. Had to go through the TV and scour it of all the little pre-installed buy-me apps to make sure that couldn't happen as easily again. Still not quite sure how to disable the "Netflix" button that's built into the remote, shy of carving it out with a knife.

[–] waterSticksToMyBalls@lemmy.world 22 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

You might be able to open the remote and put a sticker over the netflix buttons contacts on the pcb

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 10 points 18 hours ago

That's a good idea. I'll see if I can make it work.

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 5 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Yes. And that shit is a one-way door.

Every customer you piss off the way you are pissed off, is A LOT less likely to be a return customer.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 2 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Sure. But a lot of the marketing is geared towards younger people unfamiliar with the service. I remember getting deluged with ads my freshman year of high school and again my freshman year of college, for instance.

They're banking on their unsubscribe process being so obnoxious that they'll lose fewer people than they gain, year to year. And given the steady growth of revenues for these programs, it appears to work over the long term.

Yeah, you're pissing people off. But when everyone operates this way, it just becomes the standard for accessing this form of entertainment. Like ad reels before a movie starts. "Well, I just won't go to the movies!" is a hollow protest in the midst of the crowds of people fighting to get into the theater.

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 3 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) (1 children)

Ok?

It's not sustainable. Tricking people faster than they wise up to your BS is not a business model that leads to a healthy, content, customer base. And if it's what EVERYONE does, you get an unhappy SOCIETY.

No-one will enjoy where that leads, and is already leading.

It's a ratcheting mechanism. Unless something about capitalism changes SIGNIFICANTLY the masses will simply grow more and more discontent.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 2 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

It’s not sustainable.

In the same way that slot machines and roulette wheels aren't sustainable, sure. Once you figure out they're a scam, you stop playing them.

But you don't need to trick all the people all the time. You just need to trick enough people to turn a steady profit. Firms like Microsoft and EA have figured out a formula that's worked for a long time and now they're just running the playbook. Like any good bookie in Vegas, they make money off the suckers. And they reinvest a sizeable chunk of their profits into marketing to bring in new marks. And there's always new marks.

No-one will enjoy where that leads

There will be a dozen senior executives in a VIP lounge absolutely enjoying where this goes in another five or ten years.

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 2 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (1 children)

And there's always new marks.

If your market is small enough.

You bring up gambling. Its de-regulation and consequent proliferation via online casinos has made the problems it causes more likely to be addressed than ever.

The bigger your market grows, the more aware the cultural zeitgeist becomes, the more likely you are be ousted entirely.

A bookie in Vegas, one city, could keep running their casino forever, because there didn't use to be a casino in every persons pocket, worldwide, that might've already taught every new mark to be wary.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

The bigger your market grows, the more aware the cultural zeitgeist becomes

You'd like to think so. But look at Robinhood. Five years ago, everyone was screaming about how it was a rigged game. Citadel Investments was manipulating the options markets. Fidelity was getting insider deals. Everything was rigged. People needed to protest. Close out your account. Yadda yadda yadda.

What happened after that? As far as I can tell, Robinhood is more popular than ever. They're certainly more profitable than ever. There was never any reform or regulation. Mostly, Reddit and similar big name social media firms just purged all the whinners and inflated the profiles of the shills and hacks.

A bookie in Vegas, one city, could keep running their casino forever

DraftKings has been making money hand over fist. They're desperately trying to find new things for people to bet on. This isn't one bookie in one city, it's an international conglomerate that's expanded its market share around the globe. It is a worldwide bookie.

No shortage of marks. They all keep coming back.

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 3 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (1 children)

Remember when gamers found out Suicide Squad, which at one time did have real hype behind it, would be live service BS?

And people literally just didn't play it.

People. Even entire demographics, can a do learn.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

I honestly don't. Was never a SS head.

But I'll take your word for it

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 1 points 10 hours ago

Well yeah. It was being developed by Rocksteady, beloved for the Arkham games.

But interest, despite the marketing, dropped off a cliff the second people smelled live service elements.

The game came out a died a quick death even more quietly than Concord.

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 2 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (2 children)

Why are you trying to convince me my omptimism is futile?

What good does that do?

You're not wrong.

But all I'm doing here is saying "things can get better" and your replies are just you pointing out how bad things are right now, as if that proves the only way things can go, is to get worse.

The worse things get, the faster the number of people wanting to fix it will grow.

Am I wrong?

They're desperately trying to find new things for people to bet on.

No shortage of marks you say?

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Why are trying to convince me my omptimism is futile?

Because optimism without realism is just a recipe for cynicism later on. The problem of systemic gambling won't just fix itself.

The worse things get, the faster the number of people wanting to fix it will grow.

Advertising and other propaganda creates a great deal of countervailing pressure.

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 1 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

Because optimism without realism is just a recipe for cynicism later on.

Dude. I'm not on my way to cynicism. I'm past it.

If I didn't believe change is possible, then I'd be part of the reason it isn't happening.

Looking for, and pushing in the places it might occur, is how you help it come about.

How is that not realistic? What am I missing?

Does the way you argue, not contribute to maintaining the status quo, even as you agree that it is not desirable?

The problem of systemic gambling won't just fix itself.

Did I say it would?

Advertising and other propaganda creates a great deal of countervailing pressure.

That is a very verbose concession of a point.

[–] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 1 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

Why are trying to convince me my omptimism is futile?

Because they're miserable and they want everyone else to be miserable too

[–] artyom@piefed.social 3 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

It will work. Even if they get 10 new subscribers, it probably took them 20 minutes to whip up this splash screen. They're wasting much more of your time. And people have proven time and time again that they will get outraged but they'll never actually do anything about it. They won't stop playing Xbox. They won't stop buying games. People grow increasingly accepting of advertising and invasive business practices every day. Remember how angry everyone was at horse armor? Most people wouldn't think twice about it these days. It's so much worse now.

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 7 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (1 children)

It will work. Even if they get 10 new subscribers, it probably took them 20 minutes to whip up this splash screen. They're wasting much more of your time. And people have proven time and time again that they will get outraged but they'll never actually do anything about it.

For now. But eventually they do. That's how entire governments have fallen time and time again.

They won't stop playing Xbox. They won't stop buying games. People grow increasingly accepting of advertising and invasive business practices every day.

Indeed. People can get used to a lot. But being used to something isn't the same as being ok with it. No-one I know is ok with there being ads on their tvs, phones and laptops. Living with something isn't the same as accepting it. People are tolerating more BS than ever, but that doesn't mean they wont rally the second there's a way out of it.

Remember how angry everyone was at horse armor? Most people wouldn't think twice about it these days. It's so much worse now.

I still am. So are many others. Remember when people thought NMS would be a good game on day one? Remember when Fallout 76 was going to be bigger and better than 4? Remember Concord? Remember when Overwatch was going to have a story?

Suicide Squad.

There was real hype. The second people found out it was a live service, they simply didn't play.

Every fuckup, is another portion of the masses getting the memo. And the fuckups aren't stopping. If anything there's more of them than ever.

These corporations used to be afraid of looking bad, but mistakes happen. Except when they did, and stocks didn't suddenly implode, their takeaway was they could be horrible, and still make a profit. Because yeah, most people don't learn the first time. But what about the second? Or the third? Or the tenth?

If you ask me, given time, the one thing every person on this planet can do, is learn. Eventually.

The only reason Roblox and Fortnite keep growing is that there are markets they haven't penetrated. Finding new customers faster than the old ones leave doesn't work forever. There are only so many humans on this planet.

Meanwhile, indie games with actual passion behind them and fair business practices that still feed the mouths of the devs, without private equity firms in the middle sucking up all the value, are absolutely exploding.

XBOX is dying. MS won't say it, but they are less involved in the game-industry than ever. This price hike is a death-throw. Not the next step in their master plan to dominate the market forever.

IMO, the only gaming mega-corporation with the goodwill to exist 20 years from now is Nintendo, and even they are burning through the nostalgia people have for them faster than ever before in their insanely long history.

[–] artyom@piefed.social -1 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

But being used to something isn't the same as being ok with it

Doesn't matter if they're okay with it or not, as long as they tolerate it and don't do anything about it.

I still am. So are many others.

Sure but many many more have accepted it. Otherwise they never would have done it again.

Remember Concord?

Concord clearly had much bigger problems.

Remember when Overwatch was going to have a story?

I remember Overwatch still being a wild success regardless.

But what about the second? Or the third? Or the tenth?

We are on like 2905295734th now.

Meanwhile, indie games with actual passion behind them

Indie game studios could only ever dream of achieving the heights of revenue of games like Fortnite, that survives entirely on microtransactions.

the only gaming mega-corporation with the goodwill to exist 20 years from now is Nintendo

They are doing everything they can to screw their own customers and yet they pile in by the millions every time they have something new.

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 2 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Doesn't matter if they're okay with it or not, as long as they tolerate it and don't do anything about it.

Not being happy about it is the first step on the road to doing something about it. How does that not matter?

Sure but many many more have accepted it. Otherwise they never would have done it again.

Who is doing it again? I'm not.

I remember Overwatch still being a wild success regardless.

Is it?

We are on like 2905295734th now.

And? It takes as many times as it takes.

Indie game studios could only ever dream of achieving the heights of revenue of games like Fortnite, that survives entirely on microtransactions.

Why? There are absolutely indies who've made millions. Why is there zero chance that one day, the next Fortnite or Roblox comes from an indie?

It already happened at least once. Minecraft.

They are doing everything they can to screw their own customers and yet they pile in by the millions every time they have something new.

Yes. But again. It takes as many times as it takes.

[–] artyom@piefed.social -1 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (1 children)

You continue to view everything through your personal lens while turning a blind eye to the mountains of other people who don't care. There are no amount of times before people will walk away en masse. That much is abundantly clear at this point.

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 3 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

while turning a blind eye to the mountains of other people who don't care

People, fundamentally, care.

That's like the whole point of having a hobby.

No-one games because they don't care.

You won't find anything people are more passionate about, than something they do for fun.

I'm not claiming that there's some point where people magically come together and stick it to the megacorps.

I'm saying that if you consistently burn your fans in ways that result in them hating you, eventually, you wont have any.

That's not something that happens overnight. A slow-ass process that leads to a gradual decline, which you can only put off by duping brand new people who haven't sworn off ever purchasing your product again. But eventually, you run out of those, too.