@raze2012@lemmy.world

comments

• Wealth doesn’t trickle down, but losses do. Sadly, AAA studios collapsing will affect indies’ abilities to get funding , so expect to feel some pain there too.

  This is already being felt these last few years as many gaming publishers shifted to funding AI.

  on Microsoft patent describes in-game advertising triggered by boss fights, loading screens, and cutscenes in c/games@lemmy.world · 4d ago

• I don’t think it’s inherently bad. We don’t need to use double the world’s energy to power it (as we see with open weight models) . We don’t need to centralize it in trillion aire companies. We don’t need to leverage an entire global economy on it. We don’t need to use it to replace human labor without a proper economic model.

  Those are all aspects of greed and stupidity. None of that is inherent.

  on Linus Torvalds used AI to fix a Linux bug, and now LLM critics on Linux face an uncomfortable choice in c/technology@lemmy.world · 3 Sep 2026

• But we very much do enforce times on when not to use calcs. Thars the whole point here.

  on Linus Torvalds used AI to fix a Linux bug, and now LLM critics on Linux face an uncomfortable choice in c/technology@lemmy.world · 3 Sep 2026

• nothing is good nor evil, but thinking makes it so.

  But i see the issues on both sides of the aisle. Kind of like how social media is a great tool that brings about instant worldwide communication. But those merits don’t cancel out how it’s been used to exploit the human psyche, influence elections, and even coax genocides.

  In this case, the downwind effects from encouraging use by mature professionals is impacting the impressionable future. And no one seems to care about the future anymore.

  on Linus Torvalds used AI to fix a Linux bug, and now LLM critics on Linux face an uncomfortable choice in c/technology@lemmy.world · 3 Sep 2026

• A cloud is a cloud in this case. I’m here stuck on the ground in the meantime.

  Baby steps. You want looser piracy laws, you need to get people used to owning digital stuff.

  on Physical Video Game Software Dollar Sales Plunged to an All-Time July Low of Just $85 Million in the US — the Worst Total Since Tracking Began in 1995 in c/games@lemmy.world · 1 Sep 2026

• If a format is “superior”, but is made “inferior”, is it truly “superior” to begin with?

  We can daydream about ways to resell, keep, and lend our digital goods. But I’m more judging in the current day.

  on Physical Video Game Software Dollar Sales Plunged to an All-Time July Low of Just $85 Million in the US — the Worst Total Since Tracking Began in 1995 in c/games@lemmy.world · 25 Aug 2026

• literally the only problem

  hides all the benefits of ‘one thing’

  on Physical Video Game Software Dollar Sales Plunged to an All-Time July Low of Just $85 Million in the US — the Worst Total Since Tracking Began in 1995 in c/games@lemmy.world · 24 Aug 2026

• Pretty much western development studios in a nutshell, sadly. Try to go for a model that maximizes engagement and hope the mass monetization comes from various forms of MTX. But lootboxes can’t be used anymore, so you’re stuck focusing on skins. But skins are still expensive to produce and can’t be put out fast (which is how mobile games get away with that).

  So there’s big numbers in the beginning but not enough money coming in to justify the expensive production. Executives don’t let it cook on the market long enough and just shut it down early. Even though by all other metrics, it was a good game with potential to foster a new franchise/sub-franchise. No one wins. Its Multiversus all over again.

  on 2XKO Active Development Will End in December 2026 in c/games@lemmy.world · 20 Aug 2026

• I don’t think we disagree. I’m just talking about how the sausage is made. Squeaky wheels get the grease.

  on Behold, "the whole story of Steam's economy in one picture": the top 1% of games earn 84.5% of estimated revenue, and most games barely make anything in c/games@lemmy.world · 20 Aug 2026

• Networking is always important. And those AAA studios probably have dedicated lines of support to Valve that can open up such deals way more easily than an indie trying to email support.

  Valve also does try to highlight some successful indies, but that’s a small slice of indie pie. While every other AAA studio is that direct line gained from events, existing networks reaching out, etc.

  on Behold, "the whole story of Steam's economy in one picture": the top 1% of games earn 84.5% of estimated revenue, and most games barely make anything in c/games@lemmy.world · 20 Aug 2026

• It’s a thing. If you’re an inspiring indie dev, it’s hard numbers to let you know if you can work with these numbers. If you’re just a gamer, they probably don’t matter at all.

  The 1% numbers makes me question by there aren’t more AA initiates out there. we don’t get many 5-10m budget games these days, but the typical AA game is (conservatively) making 15m dollars. So if you can turnournd a game on the level of Claire Obscur (which IIRC had a 10m dollar budget) in 4 years, there should be openings for potential success.

  Guess it comes down to the lack of investors who care at that level (who wouldn’t just throw it at AI)

  on Behold, "the whole story of Steam's economy in one picture": the top 1% of games earn 84.5% of estimated revenue, and most games barely make anything in c/games@lemmy.world · 20 Aug 2026

• Given the way they estimate sales numbers, it’s probably too different a curve. I imagine there’s both a lot of bottom of the barrel adult games that still manage to get some sales off (as opposed to none for most non-adult games) and there’s a lower sales ceiling that still results in surprisingly strong revenue compared to a game with similar reviews.

  on Behold, "the whole story of Steam's economy in one picture": the top 1% of games earn 84.5% of estimated revenue, and most games barely make anything in c/games@lemmy.world · 20 Aug 2026

• ice cream flavor sales

  Strawberry’s fallen on hard times. We need to seize the means of chocolate production and distribute the wealth among all our fellow flavors.

  on Behold, "the whole story of Steam's economy in one picture": the top 1% of games earn 84.5% of estimated revenue, and most games barely make anything in c/games@lemmy.world · 20 Aug 2026

• Would Pareto be ecstatic or rolling in his grave at this disparity?

  on Behold, "the whole story of Steam's economy in one picture": the top 1% of games earn 84.5% of estimated revenue, and most games barely make anything in c/games@lemmy.world · 20 Aug 2026

• It seems that’s partially taken into account:

  New analysis of 99,206 Steam games illustrates just how extreme the economics can be on Valve’s PC gaming emporium

  Over 8,000 paid games analyzed never received a single Steam review

  This report also only looks at premium games, meaning free-to-play giants like Valve’s Counter-Strike are left out, as are “non-game software, adult-only titles and unreleased entries.” The list of 99,206 was selected from a base of 136,281.

  The only caveat is that revenue is estimated, so there can be big swings in the data.

  The standard multiplier here is 35, so this research assumes one Steam review is worth 35 sales at a game’s current listed price, though you can also use a more “conservative” 20 or “generous” 50 in the report’s impressive graphs.

  on Behold, "the whole story of Steam's economy in one picture": the top 1% of games earn 84.5% of estimated revenue, and most games barely make anything in c/games@lemmy.world · 20 Aug 2026

• Bro. The kids are alright. Not pristine perfect beings who will being about a new era of prosperity.

  Besides, why you putting it on “the kids discovered vaping”? That sounds like something a billionaire would say to deflect from the huge lobbying campaign they made to distinguish vapes from cigarettes.

  on Young people increasingly don't trust AI - or the billionaires that keep telling us we should all love AI, survey finds in c/technology@lemmy.world · 17 Aug 2026

• with about as much irrational hate as the people they despise, like Trump.

  Thanks for outing yourself. Makes it easy to just skip the conversation and not bother trying to open up a conversation made in bad faith.

  on Young people increasingly don't trust AI - or the billionaires that keep telling us we should all love AI, survey finds in c/technology@lemmy.world · 17 Aug 2026

• I wish I could blame it all on these kinds of people. In reality it’s about 60% of the story or so. They’ve always been around but they weren’t this bold a decade ago.

  A small part is the political climate over the last decade. That’s a topic worth its own encyclopedia one day, and games is affected as well.

  A large part is that games just isn’t doing well financially right now. Because everyone in tech wants to invest in AI so there’s a lot less money in the space. Smaller or medium sized teams can’t get funding and less pitches get approved. Larger studios are “fine” but companies are using this time to cash out. Which is why you hear about Activision selling out to Microsoft and EA to Saudi Arabia. Layoffs at small companies happen because they need to (or companies simply shut down) , layoffs at large companies happen to make the number go up.

  Last decent chunk of the problem is the landscape of games is changing. Converging more on “forever games” rather than traditional console experiences. This is an emerging problem that will get worse over the coming years, something even the consoles themselves are trying to shape itself around.

  on Saber CEO scorns writer who says she was fired in favor of AI with confusing, combative statement in c/games@lemmy.world · 14 Aug 2026

• And to the people, not knowing your employees (or giving a damn to look them up) implies a structure where leadership is disconnected from the craftsmen that actually bring value to the company. Making leadership look out of touch, unrelatable, and outright crass.

  Not to mention that he proves the writer correct in their accusation by admitting he does use AI and relishes in it.

  on Saber CEO scorns writer who says she was fired in favor of AI with confusing, combative statement in c/games@lemmy.world · 14 Aug 2026

• Untitled Avatar: The Last Airbender title

  That one was already cancelled, by the way.

  on Saber CEO scorns writer who says she was fired in favor of AI with confusing, combative statement in c/games@lemmy.world · 14 Aug 2026

• I’m heavily downvoted in this comment section because I dared ask a hypothetical philosophical question?

  If you do it in a way that feels like you’re “just asking questions”, that’s a dishonest gesture often used in alt-right pipelines to astroturf discussions. sealioning is what it’s grown to be called.

  If you were being genuine, I’m sorry you weren’t believed. But this is sadly an increasingly common internet tactic out there.

  on Woman Calls Out Doctor Wearing Smart Glasses During Consultation Where She Had To Take Off Her Clothes: 'They Need To Be Banned' in c/technology@lemmy.world · 12 Aug 2026

• old school 80’s/90’s sci-fi humor. They’d often use some superpower or new tech with “x-ray vision” that can conveniently see through clothes but not skin…

  I imagine the rest can be left to your imagination on how that humor was utilized.

  on Woman Calls Out Doctor Wearing Smart Glasses During Consultation Where She Had To Take Off Her Clothes: 'They Need To Be Banned' in c/technology@lemmy.world · 12 Aug 2026

• I don’t hate tech. But we are definitely in time of techno robber barons who have long drained any benefit of the doubt. Meta especially deserves no grace.

  There’s a clear disctinction these days bewteen “Tech” and “Big Tech™️”. This is firmly in the latter.

  on Woman Calls Out Doctor Wearing Smart Glasses During Consultation Where She Had To Take Off Her Clothes: 'They Need To Be Banned' in c/technology@lemmy.world · 12 Aug 2026

• Are there alternatives outside of paging. I know the risk of texting sensitive information, but I figured there’d be a more modern system than paging.

  on Woman Calls Out Doctor Wearing Smart Glasses During Consultation Where She Had To Take Off Her Clothes: 'They Need To Be Banned' in c/technology@lemmy.world · 12 Aug 2026

• the answer to your question is “K-shaped Economy”. Lot of people doing this are in fact doing way better than they were 4 years ago. Some of them are indeed taking out more debt to do this, but most haven’t felt the pain of this modern economy.

  on More People Are Pre-ordering The $100 Edition Of GTA 6 in c/games@lemmy.world · 12 Aug 2026

• I would argue that Valve should’ve just have upgraded the Steam Deck and I find that a far more worthwhile device.

  They still do plan making a Steam Deck 2. But given that the Steam Deck OLED also needed a 300 dollar price hike, it’s clear that it would have had a similar fate. IDK how many steam deck players being ready to pay 4 figures for a handheld.

  ( I say this owning an 800 dollar GPD Win 4).

  on More People Are Pre-ordering The $100 Edition Of GTA 6 in c/games@lemmy.world · 12 Aug 2026

• on More People Are Pre-ordering The $100 Edition Of GTA 6 in c/games@lemmy.world · 12 Aug 2026

• well that makes the hiring or trial process much easier, no? I don’t think the problem here is “I can’t tell if my employee gives a fuck”.

  And I can tell you that passion is not something lacking in the games industry.

  on Supermassive Games announces layoffs, up to 75 positions to be affected in c/games@lemmy.world · 12 Aug 2026

• How is a small company realistically going to test if someone is worth hiring or not.

  we got into this stupid market because we spent decades neglecting training. When you don’t train for what you need, you don’t get good at identifying what skills you really need in order to succeed.

  So this question is already too far gone. If someone has most skills but is missing one: train them for it. Even if the training is as informal as "give them a few weeks in a low stakes environment to work on less valuable (but less risky) work.

  on Supermassive Games announces layoffs, up to 75 positions to be affected in c/games@lemmy.world · 12 Aug 2026

• They bought out Rare and did nothing with them for 15 years. Now they are just “The Sea of Thieves” devs.

  Imagine a timeline where they became a 2nd party Nintendo studio instead.

  on Dev at id Software says Microsoft 'burned a lot of bridges' in the industry: 'They fundamentally don't understand art, they don't understand games' in c/games@lemmy.world · 10 Aug 2026

• You’d think they’d understand tech at the bare minimum. But slashing your team of highly technical people who made engines for almost 30 years sure disproves that notion.

  on Dev at id Software says Microsoft 'burned a lot of bridges' in the industry: 'They fundamentally don't understand art, they don't understand games' in c/games@lemmy.world · 10 Aug 2026

• Well. If 90% of the market ends up game streaming, that’s what the vast majority of game devs will target, even indies.

  That kind of marketshare implies that Steam gives up the idea of local games. And if that happens we’ve already lost the fight. I don’t think it’ll go that far for a very long time.

  Besides, developers still need hardware to develop games. So the idea of them ceasing to make consumer GPUs seem far fetched. They are needed for a lot more than just playing the biggest games.

  Like we can go back to the usenet days when the internet was a niche.

  Well we’re here aren’t we? It’s not the 90’s, but we also came here because we refused to let adslop become our future of forums and disusccion. We don’t need 90% adoption to foster a community. If we could get to .1% we’d already be in a very good place.

  on Take-Two CEO Says We'll All Be Streaming Our Games In 3 Years in c/games@lemmy.world · 10 Aug 2026

• Unless you are willing to find a new hobby, there will always be a game you will compromise on if you have these sort of values, and millions of people that just don’t care enough.

  Sure. A few games here and there built upon decades of investment. Not every single AAA game ever. I don’t think it will be sustainable for any attempts to make new IPs or anything that isn’t already making hundreds of millions per year.

  I don’t have the answers

  Probably indies for a lot of enthusiasts who aren’t stuck in a specific AAA moat.

  on Take-Two CEO Says We'll All Be Streaming Our Games In 3 Years in c/games@lemmy.world · 10 Aug 2026

• Microsoft can’t even justify an online subsciption service for $30/month. They already bacled down that price. And I don’t think we need to talk much about Stadia who tried the “pay $60 to stream a game” model.

  No way in high hell this takes off. The economics aren’t there and the competition is too strong. Not to mention I don’t think the internet infrastructure is quite ready for that kind of mass streaming anyway.

  on Take-Two CEO Says We'll All Be Streaming Our Games In 3 Years in c/games@lemmy.world · 10 Aug 2026