You’re right, we tend to distill value per dollar - but that’s a 2-dimensional equation: games can either be longer but more expensive - or shorter and cheaper.

As an extreme example, I have gotten so much value out of games like Minecraft and Vampire Survivors that my cost-per-hour played is in single-digit cents. Neither is pretty (graphically), and both were very cheap early-access titles when I bought them.

Comparatively, I can’t think of any recent AAA releases have had anywhere near the level of replayability of indie passion projects.

Bit of a tangent, but I personally think the gaming experience peaked in the PS3/X360 era - and the industry has been largely treading water ever since. Nothing that’s come out over the last two console generations couldn’t have been done on those earlier platforms (albeit with lower graphical fidelity).

How would you rank Max Payne 2 in that comparison? It was more fun (subjective), prettier (objective), but shorter (from memory).

Legitimately, SR4 was my introduction to the series and I absolutely adored the shit out of it.

If you haven’t checked it out yet - The Gat Out of Hell expansion had a very similar super-powered play-style.

Fewer guns leaves more room in the safe (& budget) for ammunition.

It’s weird that I’m actively rooting for China to do it’s thing and begin to rapidly pump out cheap memory modules in such high volumes that they are able to over-satiate demand and put a downward pressure on pricing.

Before anyone tries to accuse me of copium or some other affliction, I would like to remind you that this is EXACTLY China’s modus operandi for the past 20-something years.

Both Samsung & SK Hynix were just in the news for issuing their DRAM division staff annual bonuses of well over $300K USD from a 10-15% pool of operating profits. The margins are there for China to squeeze once their manufacturing capability catches up - and it’s catching up very quickly.

The world is not America, there is no chance this would ever possibly happen.

I don’t think the personal market will completely die out, but it will definitely shrink by a significant percentage over the next ten years or so.

We’ll see a considerable volume of gamers move to thin clients, ditto for businesses, casual use (email, browsing, consuming media etc.) will continue to switch to mobile devices.

PCs will still exist as a hobby for enthusiasts, but we’ve definitely seen peak-component sales.

The only thing preventing a re-release of any of these “EA Trax” era titles is that they’re not willing to pay to renew those licenses.

加油 !

I know how you feel, I have similar regrets about Psygnosis the PS1 era - so many games that meant so much to me growing up, that I we couldn’t afford to buy. Most I either got to experience through demo discs, renting, or piracy.

But it’s OK - they might not exist as a company anymore. But their former employees still do, their art continues to live on, and you now own a piece of it yourself.

Master System 2
Super Nintendo
Game Boy
PlayStation
PlayStation 2
GameBoy Advance SP
PlayStation Portable
PlayStation 3
New 3DS
Steam Deck

I honestly think the 3DS was probably the most disappointing; I bought it on a whim 2nd hand from EB Games along with a copy of a Pokémon game (I don’t remember which). Mechanics hadn’t evolved much since Pokémon Blue, and the experience was kinda “meh” overall.

I also dabbled with a few other games, but nothing gripped me. The only saving grace for that console was that it rapidly appreciated in value since my purchase (like 5x?) due to the relative rarity of that particular colorway.

I was in primary school when the Game Gear was a thing, so my memory was foggy - but the adapter was definitely a thing:

I think one saving grace for the Game Gear was that you could also play Master System games using an adapter, if I remember correctly?

Not crazy talk, Australia currently leads with the highest per-capita uptake of solar panels and it’s having a noticeable impact on our overall energy costs:

https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/household-solar-electricity-generation-australian-national-accounts

We actually produce so much excess solar during peak times that households without panels can opt for electricity plans which offer free electricity between midday and 3pm every day (inc. weekends).

We’re also rolling out a heap of household batteries to better help take advantage of this surplus production and offset peak demand times too.

The world is rapidly approaching a post-fossil fuel world; the transition will be slow at first, and then drastic all of a sudden.

Costs can widely vary, but if you know someone locally who can buy and ship it for you - you’re only out of pocket the cost of the unit ($440), shipping ($20-30?), and GST if customs flags you (~$45).

Still a lot better overall than $700inc locally - but you will be stuck with a JP language only model and any other restrictions that come with it.

僕はウィーバーです!

$700 AUD is about equivalent, given its $449 USD (before sales tax, their version of the GST).

449 x $1.38 ForEx ~$620. +10% GST = $682.

The only way you could get it for a better price would be to buy it directly from Japan, where it’s only ~¥49,980 ($440 AUD).

The world needs a hell of a lot more love, honestly.

I have a JP launch edition PSP as my prized possession - but always wanted a PSP Go.

How were the ergonomics?

A lot of these LLMs heap praise on the user - some more blatantly than others - whether it’s warranted or not.

Those most susceptible tend to be the ones who don’t regularly receive that recognition in their day-to-day lives, so they become infatuated with this “AI” that treats them nicer than they’re accustomed to.

It become a bit of a parody of itself from the 3rd expansion onwards when they fully embraced pop culture references, but the first 6 years (up to the end of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion) it was literally everywhere (have you seen all of all of those celebrity commercials?).

It was a perfectly cromulent game as a single player - though nothing special. The real magic was playing with anywhere from 19-39 other people to co-ordinate through massive dungeons and kill the various end bosses.

For millions of people at one time or another, it was their primary way of socialising - and that was probably the most addictive aspect.