I would like a Splatoon-like game on other platforms (namely PC). I liked the gameplay and aesthetic in Splatoon 2 (haven’t played 3), but was annoyed that Salmon Run was only every other day and I sucked at aiming with joycons/pro controller, so competitive modes weren’t the greatest for me.

I’ll call it a night in a few minutes. I need more iron…

A pair of official Joy-Cons is around $80 USD.

Agree on both points. It’s nice to have options. I think the real fun will begin when Valve opens SteamOS up for other platforms, so it can be put on these higher-end handhelds, and even desktops.

I also like how they try to stay within a certain price range and focus on experience and efficiency, rather than push the latest hardware.

Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear. I am not against Epic because of their privacy policy. I don’t like Epic because of their business practices and owners, and don’t want to give them anything, even if it’s just a bogus email address and a few clicks or whatnot. And no, I never tried to imply other companies don’t do the same thing.

Here’s the bottom line, as far as I’m concerned:
I don’t like Epic, and want nothing to do with them. If others want to interact with them, even if it’s just for the free games, that’s their decision to make.

They collect and use quite a bit more than that, it’s in their privacy policy:

https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/privacypolicy

Sure, their primary focus is most likely generating interest and usage of their platform, but they’ll also use analytical and statistical information to influence their business decisions.

If that’s something you don’t care about, then more power to you - enjoy your free game.

On a personal note, I made the decision as a consumer to not interact with them as much as possible. Even when I did have an account to collect free games years ago, the only thing I actually played was a Satisfactory alpha/beta event. I have more than enough games to play, so I am not concerned with collecting their free games.

But it does. You’re still giving them your data, which they can use for all manner of things. If that’s something you don’t care about, then more power to you - enjoy your free game.

Ultimately, if you want a free game and have no issues with Epic, then hurray, you get a free game. Some of us don’t like Epic and prefer to give them nothing (including our data), even if it means passing up on free games. I have no shortage of games to play, so I won’t be missing a free copy of FO3 or whatever else they decide to offer up.

I’m currently playing through a FO4 mod run, so sounds like I better finish before this update drops and breaks all the mods.

I agree that Division 1 had a better atmosphere. The snow covering the ruined city gave a bleak and oppressive tone, which was a much better fit for the theme of the game.

There are still people actively playing the game, and the endgame is in a pretty good spot overall imo. I would definitely keep an eye out this holiday season and nab it when it goes on sale. Go get 'em, agent!
Edit: I just checked Steam and it’s currently 70% off.

The Division 3 wasn’t technically announced, it was just mentioned during an investor press release. I wouldn’t expect it to release for at least another 5 years. The Division Heartland is a spin-off PvPvE survival shooter, akin to the Survival mode from The Division 1.

Personally, I’m glad they’re continuing support for Division 2 as the game’s right up my alley as far the kinds of games I like. If they’re putting this kind of TLC into it, then they likely have more content planned than whatever is slated for 2025.

I can only speak for myself, but I completely passed on GTA5 because they took so damn long to bring it to pc, then once it was, the only “sale” they would have on it was when it was bundled with those shark cards.

Early access isn’t necessarily different from a beta version, it’s just the name of the program used by devs to generate some revenue and get feedback during development. The game can be in alpha or beta or whatever.

Personally, I avoid games in early access on principle (with a couple exceptions) as I would rather play them once they are completed.

A lot of devs already do this. That’s what Steam Early Access is for. Now, whether or not the devs actually listen to feedback is a different story…

To add to this, bring back content I paid for. I bought Forsaken and took a break before finishing it, and now it’s gone.

What is or isn’t immersive is subjective, for sure. As far as a UI goes, some people may think that having a UI with too many elements or taking up too much space can detract from actually experiencing the game and its environments.

I didn’t say anything about actually believing you are the character. Immersion doesn’t have anything to do with deception and is more about being engrossed or deeply involved with something. You can be immersed in other things too, like a tv show, book, or tabletop game.

I think it’s less about being “tricked” into believing you aren’t actually playing a game, and more along the lines of having the mindset that you are actually playing as your character. It’s more like the difference between performing tasks, going from A to B, and checking boxes on a list, versus actually feeling like you’re going on an adventure.

I gave him a dolla

It’s next on my list to play!

Whew, what a relief!

JK, though I have been waiting since before 1.6 to play again.

I’m right there with you. I’m bummed to hear this news, but would much rather wait a year than have it release this year and be hot garbage.

The Epic v Google lawsuit is bringing to light a lot of interesting tidbits of info, so I think it’s just that. It’s an interesting tidbit, but not really relevant to much outside the trial. That said, I do like seeing this kind of info shared, as it gives us a peek behind the curtain of these megacorps’ operations.

I can tell folks here didn’t read the article. These talks were in 2018, when Stadia was still a thing.

https://www.eurogamer.net/fortnite-promises-fixes-after-age-ratings-update-frustrates-players-with-inappropriate-cosmetics

Basically, Fortnite is rolling out a new system with user-generated “islands” that can have their own independent rating from the main game. If an island is rated E for everyone or E10+(as opposed to the base game’s rating of T for teen), some of the game’s cosmetics aren’t able to be equipped in those areas. People are upset because 1. they paid for those, and 2. apparently there are inconsistencies between what is allowed and what isn’t.

Unfortunately, many games nowadays are digital only, especially on PC. The last “physical” game I bought (Mass Effect Andromeda… yeah, I know) was just a box with a key to redeem on Origin. While DRM-free games are a thing, it’s not always an option.

Last year’s TGA was somewhat exciting because they gave away a bunch of Steam Decks. I normally just see the winners posted the next morning, along with any new game trailers.

A large big-box store and the line wasn’t single file. A lot of people were in small groups as well. I could be misremembering since it’s been years, but there were maybe 2-300 people.

As much as I dislike Musk, I want to see his setup. Does he have some crazy custom home theater setup for maximum immersion, or does he just sit on the couch or at a desk like the rest of us?

I attended the Switch release at my local Best Buy. I decided to swing by after work on a whim (I work evenings) and managed to snag a sheet to reserve a copy. There were probably a few hundred people in line, but nothing crazy like the line wrapping around the store or anything.

I’d say find a youtuber or streamer who has similar tastes to you and follow them. Personally, I follow SkillUp and ACG.

You can also check out OpenCritic for a review aggregator.

I played off and on a bit, and purchased Forsaken when I was playing last. I took another break before playing through it all, then they sunset the content. I paid for content that I never got to finish and can no longer play. So yeah, I’m definitely done with Destiny 2 and probably whatever else Bungle puts out.

Go with what you know, I guess. He’s obviously passionate about MMOs.

I remember seeing a lot of criticism on him back in his WoW days. After he left, Blizzard had to hire two people to fill his role, one for PvE and one for PvP. It was amusing to see the general sentiment go from “good riddance!” to “omg please come back! these guys are worse!” over the span of several months.

The article is referring to subscription services like Game Pass, rather than games built using a live service model.

The sunsetting of some of the content pissed me the hell off. I bought Forsaken, and took a break before finishing it, so I paid for content that I won’t be able to play. On top of that, the FOMO and pressure to buy the battle passes to play the new content just put me off.

Take this with a grain of salt, but a few years ago, I remember a discussion in /r/overwatch where someone said they practice sniping by playing osu.

I got Fallout 1 and 2 in a 2-pack for $10. This was back in the early '00s before the others were released. I loved those games so much.

Hey that was me, too! Definitely worth $4 for that game, and a free box of cereal, lol.