Video Games: Gears of Borderlands

[Centrist Simon Steele]

On 10/7/2019 at 9:19 AM, Werthead said:

Interesting that Rockstar and Microsoft seem to be playing off the Epic Store controversy to their own ends. Both the Rockstar launcher and the Windows 10 Store have got a lot of criticism from gamers, but now people seem to be eagerly using them if it means sticking it to Epic.

I'll probably wait for the Steam release in December for RDR2, as I doubt I'll be done with The Outer Worlds by then. Although that does mean that Steam RDR2 will be coming out almost simultaneously with Phoenix Point. Hmm.

I still don't get the Epic hate. Exclusives did kind of suck if you sunk your money into a PS4, and something you wanted was only (ever) to be on Xbox. On PC tho? Just download the app. It's not like Steam is so above board in how they deal with customers.

[Werthead]

6 hours ago, Simon Steele said:

I still don't get the Epic hate. Exclusives did kind of suck if you sunk your money into a PS4, and something you wanted was only (ever) to be on Xbox. On PC tho? Just download the app. It's not like Steam is so above board in how they deal with customers.

I use Epic and don't have problems with it, but I get the annoyance with games that were previously announced as coming out on Steam - or worse were crowdfunded with the explicit promise of coming out on Steam - and then locked into Epic at the last minute. The criticisms of Tencent, the Chinest company with a track record of trading users' info who own 40% of Epic, are also reasonable.

[Werthead]

This is...quite something.

[Centrist Simon Steele]

On 10/9/2019 at 3:43 PM, Werthead said:

I use Epic and don't have problems with it, but I get the annoyance with games that were previously announced as coming out on Steam - or worse were crowdfunded with the explicit promise of coming out on Steam - and then locked into Epic at the last minute. The criticisms of Tencent, the Chinest company with a track record of trading users' info who own 40% of Epic, are also reasonable.

I didn't know that about Epic's ownership, that is troubling.

[RumHam]

I'm am excited to see what Killer Queen is all about later. I remember reading a long article about the arcade game months ago and thinking it sounded amazing.

[Corvinus85]

1 hour ago, Simon Steele said:

I didn't know that about Epic's ownership, that is troubling.

You have to wonder how a game store launched only last year is able to entice game developers with all this cash.

[Centrist Simon Steele]

8 minutes ago, Corvinus said:

You have to wonder how a game store launched only last year is able to entice game developers with all this cash.

Fair point. I'm still inclined to side with Epic as devs get more money and all of our data is for sale. I don't believe Steam is likely much better. I might be wrong

[Proudfeet]

8 hours ago, Corvinus said:

You have to wonder how a game store launched only last year is able to entice game developers with all this cash.

I don't think that has to do with who owns the company, companies raise capital if they don't have sufficient cash. And Epic itself is fairly established, so I don't know where you are trying to go with "game store launched only last year". 

[Jace, Extat]

2 minutes ago, Proudfeet said:

I don't think that has to do with who owns the company, companies raise capital if they don't have sufficient cash. And Epic itself is fairly established, so I don't know where you are trying to go with "game store launched only last year". 

Now you're confusing me. How do you think a company raises capital if not from the investors? 

[Proudfeet]

I meant that the investors doesn't necessarily have to be Tencent.

If you meant raising cash, companies either raise capital, get a loan or use whatever reserves they have from their operations. 

I read Corvinus' post as they are only "a year old" so they shouldn't have any reserves and that Tencent is the only investor willing to splurge, which to me is ridiculous.

[Jace, Extat]

When it makes up 40 percent of the company that strikes you as ridiculous? How do you think Tencent aquired 40% of Epic? They aren't friendly venture capitalists. And venture capitalists are far from friendly even when not reporting to a party officer.

[Proudfeet]

So? You can make it up from other sources.

How? Tencent is an internet giant. If you meant why instead, then sure, I agree with you. We have already seen how Activision Blizzard acts with 5% of Tencent ownership.

Also, "game store launched only last year" owns Fortnite. Are you even sure they received additional capital investments to fund their aggressive strategy? 

[Jace, Extat]

Call me American-centric, but I have an inherent distrust of Chinese companies. Make no mistake it's jealousy, not contempt. I wish fervently that the American legiature had the capacity and will to direct its commercial enterprises like a totalitarian state. Good for the state, detrimental to the ruling class. As opposite that may sound, any student of history could tell you the same.

[The Anti-Targ]

On 10/10/2019 at 3:43 AM, Simon Steele said:

I still don't get the Epic hate. Exclusives did kind of suck if you sunk your money into a PS4, and something you wanted was only (ever) to be on Xbox. On PC tho? Just download the app. It's not like Steam is so above board in how they deal with customers.

It is ridiculous for PC gamers to be moaning about simply having to download and use another launcher, The only cost is some HDD space. It's not like that time Rise of the Tomb Raider went PC and Xbox exclusive meaning PS4 owners (without a decent gaming PC) had no way of playing the game unless they spent hundreds of dollars to get the hardware and then pay for the game. Rise of the Tomb Raider was multiplatform and then went exclusive for a year (While MS and and Crystal Dynamics spent months obfuscating about it being a 1 year times exclusive trying to imply it was a permanent exclusive to scare PS4 owners into buying an Xbox if they ever wanted to play RotR).

And it's not like moneyhatting to get yourself a decent game library on your new platform is anything new. Sega did, Sony did it, MS did it, Nintendo did it.

As for the Tencent / China connection, I'm not bothered. The shit state of business and politics around the world, Tencent pissing about with my information doesn't concern me any more than Google, Facebook, Amazon or Cambridge Analytica pissing about with my information.

[The Anti-Targ]

7 minutes ago, Jace, Basilissa said:

Call me American-centric, but I have an inherent distrust of Chinese companies. Make no mistake it's jealousy, not contempt. I wish fervently that the American legiature had the capacity and will to direct its commercial enterprises like a totalitarian state. Good for the state, detrimental to the ruling class. As opposite that may sound, any student of history could tell you the same.

You should have an inherent distrust of companies, regardless of connections to govts or the country from which they hail. I distrust the American, European and Japanese multinationals just as much as Tencent. But if I want to live the life to which I have become accustomed I don't have amny options other than to engage with them.

[Jace, Extat]

2 minutes ago, The Anti-Targ said:

You should have an inherent distrust of companies, regardless of connections to govts or the country from which they hail. I distrust the American, European and Japanese multinationals just as much as Tencent. But if I want to live the life to which I have become accustomed I don't have amny options other than to engage with them.

Fair enough. And I've no love lost for the likes of industry minded entities, however I'll readily admit that my considerations take into account the supremacy of the American status first and foremost, for obvious reasons. I've said before and will state again without shame; tribalism has its purposes. 

[The Anti-Targ]

1 minute ago, Jace, Basilissa said:

Fair enough. And I've no love lost for the likes of industry minded entities, however I'll readily admit that my considerations take into account the supremacy of the American status first and foremost, for obvious reasons. I've said before and will state again without shame; tribalism has its purposes. 

Indeed: to divide and oppress.

Interestingly, multinational corps recognised ages ago that it's best to regard the world as a single whole. Doing so allows them to prosper, and to carry out business in a nastionalistic environment unequipped to deal with multinational corporations who are able to operate basically with impunity since there are no global institutions able to regulate their behaviour in the way we expect national institutions to regulate the behaviour of companies within its borders.

[Proudfeet]

3 hours ago, Jace, Basilissa said:

Call me American-centric, but I have an inherent distrust of Chinese companies. Make no mistake it's jealousy, not contempt. I wish fervently that the American legiature had the capacity and will to direct its commercial enterprises like a totalitarian state. Good for the state, detrimental to the ruling class. As opposite that may sound, any student of history could tell you the same.

And that's fine. I don't trust Tencent either. I don't have an issue with what Wert posted but the way Corvinus framed it just triggered me.

[felice]

I'm looking forward to this: https://www.fig.co/campaigns/chorus-an-adventure-musical/about - an interactive musical from Bioware's former lead writer.

[Centrist Simon Steele]

On 10/11/2019 at 1:40 PM, Corvinus said:

You have to wonder how a game store launched only last year is able to entice game developers with all this cash.

I'll be honest, my mind is cynical. I felt like the big increase is royalty percentage shows how much these store fronts were gouging from devs. "Turns out we could give half the revenue back to devs and we'll be millionaires instead of multimillionaires" or something.