this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2023
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It's going to be funny by me saying this as I not only play games but I also write for an online publication about video games. But the fact that there are some games out there asking for more money just so you can... what, play 6 days earlier is asinine!
Partner asked if I pre-loaded Starfield and I said yes, I'm so keen for this game of course, I'm going to preload it. But it's on Xbox Game Pass (PC) where it's "free"-ish (I mean I'm spending $10 a month so it's not entirely free but it's not like I'm shelling out $100 for a new game), found out that if you buy the deluxe version you can play the game this Friday instead of next Wednesday. Looked up the cost and it's $170 for the "deluxe" version, whereas the standard edition is $120. I am not shelling out $170 just to play a game 5 days earlier. But not only that, but Jesus Christ video games are expensive. I totally get the fact that their pricing hasn't really changed and that it used to be $80 in the 90s and that was expensive. But wages haven't really gone up, we're in a cost of living crisis, still dealing with the pandemic, etc. The fact that it's even an option to pay $170 to play a video game 5 days before it "officially" comes out is just... I cannot believe it, but it's not really shocking in the grand scheme of things.
Just... ugh. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.
And people will bite at that price just to play it a few days earlier.
I don’t know if they’ll be allowed to stream it in those 5 days but that could equal a lot of money for them which they’ll make back in no time.
I’ve already seen threads somewhere of people finding the cheapest option to upgrade to deluxe. I think it involves going to the Turkish regional store?
I didn’t look too much into it as I was just scanning discussions.
I did find a way to upgrade to the deluxe version for $60 but I don't know if that is like if you've bought the base game? Because I'm playing it through Xbox Game Pass, so I haven't actually "bought" the game so to speak. I don't know.
That's interesting, I don't know what happens when you do that with a gamepass game.
I hope it actually counts or you're out $60 when gamepass removes the game.
Yeah I'm just gonna wait + watch my partner play it (because they have the money to buy it earlier).
Did you see the price increase of PS plus subscriptions?
All tiers up by about 20% in Australia.
30% increase approx over in the US.
Good thing I don't do PS+ anymore. God damn.
It's why I left behind LoL, anything made by Acti-Blizz, EA, Ubisoft, etc. Too many microtransactions (and player toxicity) and these FOMO-inducing 'offers' and 'deals'.
I find I have been a much happier time playing indie games, or CRPGs (bg3 now, but a huge fan of Obsidian, Paradox, and Larian). Moving away from the other devs/publishers I mentioned before has done wonders for my mental health and gaming motivation
Yeah I've stopped playing Activision-Blizzard stuff before the Hong Kong Protests but that sort of cemented it with the BlitzChung situation. And then the whole sexual assault that really drove it into the ground (really happy to hear OW2 is the lowest rated game, I mean I do feel bad for the devs but...). Since I've started reviewing games, I've actually enjoyed playing more indie games. I haven't been able to review a lot of the big triple A titles because they don't give out a lot of review codes, like Nintendo only gave out 2 codes for I think Sword and Shield, and that obviously went to IGN Aus and Press Start because they're the biggest online publications (which iunno, is weird that IGN has all these different location sites and you'll see on Metacritic like so many IGN reviews. I get it for countries that don't speak English, but do y'all really need an IGN, IGN Australia, IGN UK, it's unnecessary).
But yeah, most of the games I've reviewed have been indies, some like big indies like Coffee Talk 2 and Blanc, and some smaller ones like Best Month Ever! and RE:Call. Though I have been able to do features on games from big studios, specifically Sony. Was able to sort of "review" but not a scored review of Spider-Man PS4 on PC, Ratchet and Clank and Sackboy. The only other triple A studio I can think of that I did a review for was Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires from Koei, but they're not like "Western" big.
Also I'm so glad you can get BG3 working! I've finally finished act 2 after playing it for 80 hours. I had to go back to the start to save a character because the first mini boss of the final battle in act 2 was so freaking difficult. But man, the performance issues are bad.
The devs know there's plenty of rich people who need to have things before everyone else. I still haven't played cyberpunk as it would mean upgrading my graphics card, which still works great despite being a 690 and basically a vintage card now. But the fan crap before that game was insane. I remember speaking to loads of people who bought new systems for it. Then it dropped and the hype died after a month. They still have their insane systems they love of course.
There are still quite a lot of new games which run perfectly on my 1280p monitor and look amazing. Sure, there's better experiences to be had I'm sure, but for someone who still plays minecraft most of all and isn't worried about when gta6 will drop why upgrade until the 690 tanks?
Man I was so keen for Cyberpunk, but then after a lot of the trans stuff came out, I got less and less excited. I did end up playing it (you can probably deduce how I got it) and like it was okay???? It ran fine on my computer, but yeah glitches galore. Nothing game breaking but yeah. You are honestly not missing out. I know that they're getting a new expansion soon, where they're going to update everything that'll be interesting.
Yeah I don't have like the best specs, but my rig isn't dogshit. I just need an SSD because apparently all games now need that to run on (seriously, BG3's performance is so bad, yet the detect graphics will always put it on ultra).
I basically ignored it, I tend to get less interested in things the more they get hyped. I didn't hear anything about trans stuff. can you explain?
So your character's pronouns are tied to your voice. So if you wanted a deeper voice but playing a feminine character, they'd address you as he/him and also opposite with a higher pitched voice but on a masculine body. Like there are a lot of cis men and women who have higher and deeper voices, but the fact that they're tied to your pronouns is wild. It also sexualises trans people, makes them a commodity. They do have a trans character who is sort of subtle with their transness (like they have the trans flag on their car and mentions in their personal quest about some stuff I can't remember much), but it's really just bare minimum. Especially in a genre where that sort of stuff is at the forefront. Transhumanism (which is the philosophical thought of the advancement of humans) is like a major story in the cyberpunk genre.
I also love the idea of transhumanism. It's pretty easy for a big dev to get that shit right. How many trans and gender diverse people are devs ffs? hahaha. gah.
Yeah I think it's a trend that transwomen are often in IT/tech fields. (Trend is not the right word I just can't remember what the word is)
It's common. I expect to see a lot of us girls at pax.
Love seeing us LGBTQIA+ folks at PAX, a lot of us are enforcers too!
Never been but I'll be working at a stall this year with other trans and enby folks.
Ahh, well, if you need some help around PAX, let me know! You working around the diversity lounge then I take it?
Yes I think that's where the stall will be. It was really popular last year apparently. I think the organisation I volunteer for might be ok, but thanks all the same. Might see you there though, let's chat about it closer to the time!!
Definitely! I probably spoke about it last year then. I know the place I write for was there at the diversity lounge too so that was great (but also terrible). But yes, I'm up for talks closer to PAX!