I think Villeneuve has been working on some screenplays, including Rendezvous with Rama, which is going to be sick. His screenplays are always 11/10 and are in part responsible for his incredible movies.

I don’t think feature parity would entice anyone across. It would need to be much better than Steam to entice migration, and it’s hard to conceive how much work and money that would require.

I agree. I am forced to use dockers with Unraid and I really don’t like them. For me, the benefits are very limited compared to the extra hassle. I think they have become so popular on Linux because they sidestep so many issues related to distro fragmentation. This is yet another example of how the “freedom” of Linux prevents long term innovation and general OS improvements. Especially in terms of UX.

Epic is the second largest online store by revenue, so you are objectively wrong by a wide margin. Users are spending a lot of money on the platform. Much of it goes to their flagship games like Fortnite. Similarly to how much of Steam’s revenue comes from their flagship games like Counter-Strike.

Does it? Lets envision the minimum viable product for a game store. You have a very basic web interface and you download games or installers from it. Something like itch.io, or similar to GOG. Is using Epic’s launcher better than just downloading the installers from a browser? I’d argue not, given the hastle of creating a new account, installing the launcher with all its spyware and using it, rather than the bare minimum of just downloading an installer, running it, and then running the game directly.

I support DRM free games too but I think you’re making a large assumption here that most people prefer that to one-click launcher install/updates/management.

Look at how other platforms have eaten into Steam’s control most successfully without resorting to anything too shady. Humble Bundle and Fanatical offer unique bundles with better deals. Itch.io works more closely with devs, esspecially smaller devs. GOG cut out a niche by specifically seeking out old games to licence or fix themselves, as well as by ensuring everything is DRM free.

I have seen no evidence of either Itch nor GOG eating Steam’s lunch. Quite the opposite. Steam continues to grow fast, while GOG is barely breaking even. I can’t find the financials for itch.io so I don’t know how well they’re doing.

Just to be clear, I would love for Epic to invest more into their launcher. I’m merely putting my product manager hat on and accepting that that is unlikely because the business case is bad.

And you think Epic implementing some or all of these would encourage Steam users to switch? Why would they? Steam already offers all of that.

Let’s remember they are already the second largest games store. Okay, let’s assume they try to compete with Steam on features. What do you think it would take to get users to switch?

Only 28% of adults voted for this

Uh, isn’t that how American elections work? It’s decided based on the proportion of people who voted, not on the proportion of all adults. Trump won the popular vote 49.9% to 48.3% with the second highest number of votes in U.S. history. I don’t think any democracy divides votes by the total number of adults. How would that even work?

I think the vast majority of users only use launchers to launch games. For that purpose, it does that perfectly fine. I suspect that even if Epic invested billions into bringing their store up to feature parity with Steam, users still wouldn’t switch. They’d need to be leaps and bounds better, and that’s hard to comprehend in terms of features and cost. I think they’re making the smart move sticking to their wheelhouse.

It “engaged” 1.5 million players. That includes EA Play and Game Pass, so actual sales are even lower.

It’s the most efficient card on the market in terms of watts per frame. The 4080 is close behind though.

That gives me a little hope but who hired them and allowed that writing to remain in the game? Are they fired too?

I agree. The decision to a) task said writers with the project, and b) allow said writing to make it into the game is unforgivable. Players will put up with almost anything with a Dragon Age title, but not bad writing. Any management with that level of incompetence will do it again.

I was lucky to snag a PNY 5080 but this looks like the tightest launch since the 3080. Maybe worse. Supply chain analysis suggests we’re going to see a lot more stock in the coming months so no one should feel left out.

The judge would immediately shut that down for creative avoidance. This is an order to sell, not break up. The DOJ specifically indicated behavioural remedies in this case, meaning Google must not remain in control of Chrome.

Most male computer uses watch porn and would not want an AI to log that. Many women find porn sickening and don’t understand it and will never understand male urges that result in watching it. The fact that this got into a finished product tells you a lot about Microsoft’s corporate culture.

Excellent point. We saw exactly the same phenomenon play out with Google and Gemini. The tool created racially diverse Nazis. Even a few minutes with the tool revealed major issues. There must have been hundreds of people who witnessed the slow moving train crash in realtime, but were either unwilling or unable to speak out. I think these companies have clearly cultivated a hierarchical culture of fear and intimidation. I recently left a job in which my manager was ex-Google. The stories she would tell were appalling. Her command-and-control style was, frankly, disgusting. She permitted zero critical feedback or discussion. It was her way or “fuck off.” I found that very instructive as to how these companies have morphed into shells of their formers selves. I’m not bullish on the future of these companies. They’re coasting very well on the fumes of their historical successes, and I think their demise is all but assured.

Yeah the concept is pretty damn cool. It’s just horrifying to have a company own and control that data. I suspect this is like Xbox One launch disaster in 2013, in which Microsoft initially required all consoles to have an always-online connection. People rebelled, but today and certainly on our current trajectory, it now looks like Microsoft was just a little ahead of the curve. I think people will eventually become a lot more comfortable with companies owning their data because the benefits will be so enormous. I’m not happy about that future, but I think I understand it.

Google is on a tear. First Bard, then Gemini, now snippets injected into search results. All spectacular failures.

It’s not like the technology is a con. Brain implants have been iterated upon for decades. This is just the latest incarnation - after extensive animal testing. I don’t think we have a right to tell a quadriplegic they may not meaningfully improve their lives because we feel the risk is too high. They’re locked in a living prison.

Director and Executive Producer Jonathan Nolan was also heavily involved in Westworld, which had exactly one good season before it shit itself to death. Also this is Amazon Studios which produced both Rings of Power and Wheel of Time. Executive Producer James Altman, has one other credit: Associate Producer for Super Troopers 2. In fact most of the writers and producers have poor resumes.

I’m hopeful but not naive.