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- frostypanda@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish7 days
Of course it didn’t. I don’t think some people understand how completely irrelevant the individual is when it comes to corporate decision making. They don’t care if you’re upset. They’re either going to do something extreme, then dial it back (on purpose) to something worse but not as bad, or they’re going to ignore you. If they keep at it long enough, newer generations just grow up thinking this is all normal.
Look at DLC. Younger people on here probably think that’s normal or good. But older people can remember a time where when a game was released, it was expected to run out the box or you’d immediately refund it because they sold you a broken product. And the game was whole, not locked behind paywalls. Even when PC games got DLC, The Sims still looked absolutely crazy for the sheer cost of all those expansions. To probably well over half of the users here, though, this is the new normal.
My best advice is to support and enjoy indie games that do things right (and can probably run on your PC without costing you a fortune), or start learning to enjoy older games (there’s tons of great ones out there!), most of which can be found easily and played on just about any modern computer. SNES, Sega Genesis, Gamecube, PS2, 3DS, etc. There’s so many good games out there.
And of course, don’t be afraid to find other hobbies. If you really want to make a difference, stop giving any money to these corporations. Video games aren’t a necessity. You can choose not to support Sony gaming, simple as that. Not temporarily, but until their business practices change whennever.
- Idontwanttowork@lemmy.worldEnglish7 days
I agree.
However, gaming is an important hobby for me, and some games are exclusive for playstation.
But now, I usually just wait for sales (many AAA tittles nowadays don’t worth first day purchases anyway).
Also, as you have mentioned, getting other hobbies is also a good idea, I am now running or hitting the gym everyday. Lossing weight become my new hobby now.
- Nelots@piefed.zipEnglish7 days
The Sims 1 (2000) had 7 DLC. The Sims 2 (2004) had 18 DLC. Halo 2 (2004) had several multiplayer map pack DLC. Doom 3 (2004) had at least one DLC. Star Wars Battlefront 1 (2004) & 2 (2005), KotOR (2003), and The Clone Wars (2002) all had DLC. Practically every sports game on the original Xbox had roster DLC.
I think DLC were more common than people remember, even if its not to the scale it is today.
- frostypanda@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish7 days
On PC, yes. That’s basically what an expansion pack was. But Sims 2 DLC was absolutely ridiculous in comparison. I realize I put ‘Sims’ in my original post, but I had been talking about Sims 2. It’s actually mild compared to some games now.
- 7 days
I used to want a PS5, what would have been my first PlayStation, but I changed my mind and am sticking with PC. They never saw my money so they don’t know it’s missing. This is why “voting with your wallet” is more nuanced than just “don’t buy Sony things.”
People who buy Sony things need to stop buying Sony things. Money the company is taking for granted needs to dry up. Boycotts only work if the in crowd becomes the out crowd.
7 daysYea the reason sony is doing this now is because it’s the dead zone of this generation cycle. Console sales are falling, people are cancelling PS Plus subscriptions, and they’re taking the hits deliberately now so it’s ancient history by the time they announce PS6.
Boycotting now means very little. There’s already an natural boycott happening as people have lost interest in console gaming. It’s just a reaction to being upset, rather than a real sacrifice targeted to inflict the pain necessary for Sony to consider changing.
- 7 days
People haven’t lost interest in gaming. The entire global economy has gone to crap. People dont have the disposable income they used to have, and food, gas, and utilities are more important to buy than video games.
Many people have moved to PC gaming because they already have a PC and Steam and GOG have very affordable games and vast libraries to choose from that isn’t available on console, most of which are unlikely to have performance problems on their device. PC also has the most discount sale events for games, I am pretty sure.
If they could actually afford it, gaming spending would be higher, especially on walled garden consoles. Guaranteed.
- ThomasWilliams@lemmy.worldEnglish6 days
They have stopped making optical drives because they are obsolete. You could see it coming a few months ago when the disc version was being dumped off at only $50 more.
- Funkt4st1c@lemmy.worldEnglish6 days
Also its kind of difficult to put a 250gb game on a disk. Id be very surprised if the disk held any info whatsoever nowadays past a license.
Actually, you’d be surprised! I thought all disc games still shipped with the game? You would be missing any patches, though.
We’ve bought a couple PS5-era PS4 games and they came on two discs.
Of course not. It’s all about voting with your wallet. It needs to hurt their bottom line.
- ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.netEnglish7 days
The article says that there’s not enough people mad about it to hurt their bottom line. You’re basically proposing to continue doing something that had 0 effect so far.
100% of the gamers still interested in physical media could stop buying and it still wouldn’t make a dent. It’s just not a large part of the market anymore.
And even if it was, we’re long past the point of voting with your wallet anymore in this age of tech oligopolies. You’re going to have to get politically active if you want this. Plenty of allies to be found in cultural preservation efforts across many different media!
And even if it was, we’re long past the point of voting with your wallet anymore in this age of tech oligopolies.
Respectfully, the hell we are. Telling yourself there’s nothing we can do about it perpetuates the cycle. For one thing, you could probably stick to just the physical media that already exists and never run out of great video games to play, and besides that, depending on what’s important to you, there’s DRM-free games.
The end-users aren’t who the big names in the industry are responsive to anymore. It’s the shareholders. Alanah Pearce has been banging this drum for a while now; I recommend following her content for more on the topic.
Besides, I didn’t say there’s nothing we can do. I mentioned exactly what you can do. Get politically active. Connect with others working on media preservation. Help with data collection and research to inform good public policy. Advocate and spread the word. Vote for candidates that pledge regulation and anti-trust action. Back the development of new candidates that will if none exist in your districts.
- zikzak025@lemmy.worldEnglish7 days
They’re right, though.
Enshittification makes companies money by being actively consumer hostile. Companies know they will lose customers by making unpopular decisions. But these days, they all know how to keep making more money in spite of/because of it.
Sony knows people hate this move. But the problem is that it saves them way more money than they’d ever lose in sales. They get to have a more captive audience with lending/reselling no longer a thing, no longer have to pay for materials and distribution for discs, no longer need to include a disc drive in the cost of the console, etc.
And they know the gambit will pay off, because what are people going to do otherwise? Pay the cost of a PS5 just for RAM?
I already outlined two things you could do instead. Casually overheard on the subway, I know the average Joe who just plays NBA 2K is becoming more and more aware of his other options as the one he liked grows to be worse in some way, whether his line in the sand is physical media or not.
Yes, Netflix got worse; buy some Blu Rays instead…you might find that they’re higher quality video than what Netflix has been sending you anyway, and you can get them pretty cheap on sale. PlayStation got worse; play your games somewhere else, even old or low spec ones that run on machines you already have or that you can afford. You won’t be the only one in this predicament, and game developers are going to have to start targeting a lower spec to survive. These companies get you used to a thing and either cut benefits or raise prices or both, but they’re not essential to your survival or happiness, and there are other things you can do in response.
- Madzielle@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish7 days
Dont use playstation, but I want to get a PS2 so I can play this old game, metropolismania. I want it so bad. Dont want to fuck with emulators on the PC. I want a PS2 I can plug into the 2010 TV with the little yellow and red plugs. Turn to channel 3. xD
There is so much content if you work backwards. Im def getting old, but all this tech over reach has me reaching for simplier days as of late.
- bluelander@lemmy.mlEnglish7 days
Composite video used the input channel, RF/coax was the one that made you turn to channel 3 :P
For what it’s worthy, PS2 emulation on PC is in an awesome spot right now. Lots of handhelds that do it well now too! Honestly it’s less hassle than getting composite video working on a newer tv, so definitely keep that 2010 set working while you can.
Hell, you can even run PS2 games FROM DISC with pcsx2! Pop 'em into your desktop, hit play.
HDMI to composite adapter should have you covered (for the most part) connectionwise.
- godsammitdam@lemmy.zipEnglish7 days
If you actually give a shit, delete your sony account and move to pc. I said as much when this boycott was announced, their systems wouldn’t even notice it. If you want to affect their bottom line you have to leave and not come back. Concessions are only gained if you’re willing to walk out entirely. And you have more rights around ownership digitally on pc anyway. I’ve never bought a digital title for a console and that’s the way it will stay. There is 0 reason to be on a closed ecosystem as a gamer. Get your friends to join, set up local learning/gaming sessions, make new friends, own your hardware again, get linux, get drm free games, support indie devs and fuck AAA titles that serve you unfinished slop.
- itsoveranakin_@piefed.zipEnglish7 days
If you actually give a shit, delete your sony account and move to pc.
There’s a reason why Sony announced their digital-only platform around this time. People who bought a PS5 want to play games while not spending the money you’d need for a PC. Now with RAM, graphics cards and storage prices going to the clouds, even less people are able to build/buy a PC. Even if the PS6 costs 799€ (or something around that price range), it will be way cheaper than buying/building a PC, especially since the crisis won’t stop in the near future.
- godsammitdam@lemmy.zipEnglish7 days
I mean, rumors are that it’ll be $1000-1200 which is wild. But with a company making every choice currently to be as greedy as possible in the gaming space, maybe not that wild lol.
However, you can build a similar unit still for around the same price. It’s not much cheaper (having built several hundred units working in the pc industry myself.) And this explosion in pricing has only brought those numbers closer together. Consoles used to be sold at a loss. That has become less and less true, especally as they exclude components such as 4k blu ray lasers and include only slightly modified silicon based off the same consumer grade pc components, that price delta keeps closing.
You can find countless videos on youtube still being made today of budget pc builds that are targeted to be on par or better than consoles for around the same price. And if you factor in your monthly sub to play online with friends for PS plus and instead funnel that into a better system…well, the math pulls even more in favor of the open ecosystem 🤷♂️
- 7 days
As much as I agree with you about owning your games and moving to Linux PC, I have to disgree when you say there is 0 reason to be on a closed ecosystem as a gamer.
I’ll probably never buy a Playstation again as I’m in the process of moving my gaming to Linux (Steam Deck for now, gaming rig when the prices go down), but Sony games used to be/are great and everything works perfectly out of the box.
Pc gaming/Linux is becoming better, but it’s not there yet for ease of use.
- godsammitdam@lemmy.zipEnglish7 days
If everything was already perfect I don’t think we’d be in this situation lol. When trying to affect change, sacrifices have to be made. When workers strike I don’t think they’re expecting a better situation than the status quo lol. It takes courage to stand on principle.
In this case, sacrificing a bit of time to learn and set things up and/or some games that are full of microtransactions and anticheat, like CoD or Valorant, is a pretty easy choice imo compared to an actual strike lol. With Proton and new distros like Bazzite you can even have a console-like experience. Heck, with things like Kazeta you can even have a physical media like experience. Just costs a little time.
- 7 days
I’m ready to make the sacrifice, but a lot of people aren’t because consoles still have advantages.
That’s why I have to react when people are saying that consoles have nothing over PC. It’s true for us, but not for everyone.
They announced the end. Everyone is back at playing Playstation as if nothing happened. Well off course not everyone, but the majority.
- Widukin@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish5 days
I after the no-disc announcement, saved the current PS5 software number for when it eventually gets jailbroken, unplugged it and it’s been sitting in my colset ever since. I’ve upgraded the GPU and RAM in my older PC, installed Bazzite, and now (about 4 weeks later) my PC gaming library has grown from 12 titles to like 80 for about €100. I pirated every other title I had on PS, that were too expensive. I’m never going back to consoles again.
- mysterious_cake@feddit.nlEnglish7 days
They had announced the end before they started the boycot so everyone at Sony knew it’s nothing to worry about.
- 8 days
Keep doing it until they feel it and know! A one time blackout isn’t enough, there needs to be consistency.
Most people just don’t care and the tiny majority that does will just be ignored by Sony. Who cares about a tiny fraction of customers protesting when demand is so high that the PS5 Pros are out of stock everywhere https://www.tomsguide.com/gaming/playstation/ps5-pro-restocks-latest-updates
- steelplatedmech@piefed.caEnglish7 days
Others just quietly left like me with the last Sony console I got being the PS4.
Only consoles I’m interested in picking up are ones I can jailbreak.
