And 54 cents a month is more than the ad revenue generated by a non-premium user running adblock, hence Google would prefer it.

It’s certainly the option Google would prefer, which essentially always means it’s unethical.

Your point isn’t without merit, but your framing of it certainly is. The comparison made in the initial post is apples to oranges, but your experience is nothing more than anecdote and implying digital is universally cheaper is absurd. Allow me to counter your anecdote with one of my own:

Only a few months after release, I picked up an Xbox copy of Cyberpunk 2077, brand new from a big box retail chain and with a complimentary steelbook case, for $5.

What needs to happen is regulation. Pro-consumer governing bodies (which don’t exist in the US, but the EU has been on a roll) mandating the right to transfer a digital license.

As for the stores, Xbox offers GameStop a small percentage of the revenue from every digital game purchased on a console sold by GameStop. That feels like a healthy compromise for an all-digital business model.

Keep an eye out for Dell Refurbished to run one of their 50% off deals. Recently they had 9th-gen i5s with those specs in that price range, and they’re refurbished business laptops so generally higher build quality than consumer hardware.

I’m not sure why you’re trying to convince me of the merits of physical media? I did not, and do not, disagree. It’s a more flexible option, and more options is always better for the consumer. But the reality is that physical media, in its current iteration, doesn’t offer all that much protection. The only universal benefit of physical media is the ability to regift or resell. It’s a great benefit, but it hardly liberates consumers from dependence on servers.

As for my original point, it simply read to me as if this person was giving the GameStop exec credit for something he did not say. I wanted to make sure his comments were seen in an accurate light.

A broken clock.

If only that was what he was saying. He doesn’t care whether they’re dependent on servers. The vast majority of physical games sold today are already nothing more than an entitlement and some of the game files, with the rest being downloaded after you insert the disc. He’s only concerned with Gamestop getting their cut, both in new game sales and especially in their bread-and-butter trade-in market.

There are bugged quests, glitched cameras and abruptly disappointed dialogue aplenty in the back half of the game, for sure. Mind sharing your complete game settings? And are you overclocking or something? I’m genuinely astounded by the performance you’re getting and would like to try to recreate.

Yeah, I went back and tried it again yesterday, fully updated. I have no idea how anyone is getting 30 FPS on steam deck in act 3, unless they’re in the camp or something.

Glad I could brighten your day, friend :) Thanks for sharing

Gotta assume those BG3 Steam Deck numbers are gonna tank as people get into acts 2 and 3. Act 1 runs quite well on deck, but no amount of low settings or disabled features provides an acceptable level of performance.

Linux seriously needs to figure out laptop battery life. Not much chance of going mainstream when installing it means a 50% drop in your battery life. Until then, I’ll use Linux on my desktop and just disable all the adware spam shit in Windows on my laptop.

Anyone who wants AC Mirage and Nightingale? Anyone who supports disrupting the duopoly that, driven by corporate greed, has effectively priced the “budget card” out of existence over the last decade? Those 2 are just off the top of my head.

If I was in the market for a GPU, I’d probably buy Intel Battlemage on principle. At least then I can criticize the current state of the GPU industry without being hypocritical.

Imagine cracking a game that’s already on gog lmao

Curious to hear what settings you were using? Because after this steam deck fanatic kept harping about how it was a perfect experience from start to finish if you have the right settings, I went back and tried it on my Deck. In act 3, in a sparsely populated area of the city, I was hovering in the low 20s with frequent dips into the teens. With everything set to low (except textures on mediu) and all the visual flourishes like god rays, bloom, etc disabled. FSR couldn’t even improve things.

Lmao. Mate, I was an early adopter of the steam deck. I appreciate it for what it is, and I acknowledge its limitations. Meanwhile, you live in a fantasy where those limitations don’t exist and you’re unable to even acknowledge basic, objective facts. It’s fine that you love your steam deck but Jesus Christ, go touch some grass. Get outside your bubble for a second.

Agreed. It’s a lack of publisher support that has created the issues with Linux gaming. To some extent I understand, given the minute market share Linux has historically possessed, but ultimately it’s just corporate greed. Valve is serving as a force for change, though; not altruistically, but a force nonetheless. Once Linux has a large enough install base, publishers will go where there’s money to be made, whatever anti-cheat concessions they have to make.

Sure. My point was that a $400 Steam Deck can’t install the game. There needs to be some additional purchase.

The only reason the S is iffy here is because of couch co-op, which is already virtually extinct in the AAA space. The S is fine for what it is. But I also wouldn’t buy one at MSRP. I own 2 Series S consoles, but I paid $350 new for both and got a free headset with one of them. At $200, which is what it will likely be selling for again this black friday, it’s a steal. It’s twice as powerful as the Deck and it can properly utilize game pass.