Breve

Yeah that's true, I was thinking more of consoles but I suppose Steam doesn't really have any bearing on that market. I guess the better equivalent for PC would be DRM free games where it's downloadable, and could be backed up to physical media (not provided). 😅

I think the direct parallel was Netflix. It used to be the only platform of it's kind with an extensive catalog, so it was a far easier sell for people to sign up and stay subscribed. Even at it's peak though, Netflix never managed to kill off physical media because there are still fans who want to own that disc of their favorite TV show or movie that they could watch anywhere, anytime. Then when other media companies wanted to grab their share of streaming revenue by clawing back their stuff from Netflix and setting up their own smaller catalogs, thinking they would get the same retention that Netflix achieved, instead people started to play the subscription hopping game. In the wake of this, sales of physical media are even seeing an increase too.

I feel like Steam comes close to being the "Netflix" of games because even though it's not literally streaming games and doesn't use a subscription model, it still has an extensive catalog and acts as an alternative to owning physical copies of games which comes with both benefits and drawbacks. I'm pretty sure that if publishers keep trying to claw their stuff away from Steam though, that we'll see a similar uptick in people returning to buying physical copies as a result.

Belonging to a fandom or other special interest community is typically something that is done through self-identification, which is different than identities that are not chosen, but still part of a broader idea of identity. There are plenty of examples of these self-chosen identities: Trekkies, Potterheads, Bronies, Cumberbitches, etc. Simply watching Star Trek doesn't make you a Trekkie though, it's a label people apply to themselves when they feel invested in that thing and want to be part of a community of people who feel the same. That's all. I also hate to tell you that there are themed sex parties at Star Trek conventions too, so does that make being a Trekkie a kink? Is doing the Vulkan salute and telling someone to "live long and prosper" in public forcing that kink on others?

What's funny to me is the streaming model for media already has shown this won't work out well for gaming companies. When a new game drops people will sign up for a month, binge it, then cancel their subscription. They could try and trickle out DLC to get people to stay subscribed, but unless the DLC is significant people will probably just wait a while until a bunch of DLC is available then binge it again.

Personally I can only focus on one or maybe two major games at a time so I'd be happy to only pay a small monthly fee to one major game company at a time over paying for several $80 AAA titles a month.

I've become a fan of KDE Neon. It's based on Ubuntu LTS but with the the most up-to-date KDE release.

I would like to show these copyright lawyers one of my original pieces of copyrighted art, then hide it and ask them to describe it in detail. Once they have done so, I'll use the similarity between their description and my artwork to prove in court that they now have an illegal copy of my copyrighted work in their brain and I would that removed as per my rights. Slam dunk.

Copyright infringement is about the act of reproduction, not the tools used to reproduce it. The court effectively said the LLM itself is not illegal just like a photocopier or CD/DVD burner is not illegal. It's illegal if someone used an LLM, or photocopier, to make an unauthorized copy of a protected work though.

The changes that lead to the protest were only the preparations for an IPO. When that sale actually happens, I think things will get even worse with new corporate interests and influence. This story isn't over.