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Easy Allies |OT3| "That sounds like the GameTrailers guy!"

Mikey Jr.

Member
Excited to see Kyle finish the marvel that is Beastly tonight.

I was running on the treadmill, watching the Beastly playthrough.

I kid you not, I almost fell off at the "I am no more".

I fucking lost it. I'm running, while laughing hysterically. Not a good combo.
 

Erevador

Member
Everyone should listen to how Ben opens Frametrap. I'm very impressed with what he has to say and how he goes about saying it. He's vocalizing exactly that sneaking, sick feeling that some of the game coming out right now are making me feel (Shadow of War, Battlefront 2, etc).
 

ToonLink

Member
I have to say, I'm loving how Ben is changing up when he does the hottake in Frame Trap now. I didn't see it coming this week lmao.
 
Everyone should listen to how Ben opens Frametrap. I'm very impressed with what he has to say and how he goes about saying it. He's vocalizing exactly that sneaking, sick feeling that some of the game coming out right now are making me feel (Shadow of War, Battlefront 2, etc).
I cannot wait to listen to the episode. I absolutely love it when Ben goes all out because he has a fantastic way to articulate his thoughts without coming over as some bitter, cynical ass.
 
The Shadow of War lootbox controversy was so overblown here on GAF that it was outright embarrassing that so many people were maliciously misinformed about how they were implemented in the game itself. So many right-wing scare tactics used that I was damned sure the next thing I was going to read is that they were using lootboxes to smuggle in Isis fighters to destroy your America-loving hometown.

Beat the game in the standard action-adventure gametime and wouldn't have even known about the damned things if it weren't for all the scare threads here. And you're still going to get those threads by people who haven't even come within a hundred miles of the game talking about how they heard you can't get past the first act without spending time in the marketplace (because that is how misinformation warps facts over time).
 
The Shadow of War lootbox controversy was so overblown here on GAF that it was outright embarrassing that so many people were maliciously misinformed about how they were implemented in the game itself. So many right-wing scare tactics used that I was damned sure the next thing I was going to read is that they were using lootboxes to smuggle in Isis fighters to destroy your America-loving hometown.

Beat the game in the standard action-adventure gametime and wouldn't have even known about the damned things if it weren't for all the scare threads here. And you're still going to get those threads by people who haven't even come within a hundred miles of the game talking about how they heard you can't get past the first act without spending time in the marketplace (because that is how misinformation warps facts over time).

Not everything about the lootbox scare is about content that is gated off.

Some of us just don't give a shit about the profitability of publishers as they increasingly sneak in more and more ways to profit off a $60 purchase all the while putting those very things in games that were going to sell a ton anyways.

I can only hope they flop but I know most of them won't because they are blockbuster games to begin with.
 

UrbanRats

Member
Not everything about the lootbox scare is about content that is gated off.

Some of us just don't give a shit about the profitability of publishers as they increasingly sneak in more and more ways to profit off a $60 purchase all the while putting those very things in games that were going to sell a ton anyways.

I can only hope they flop but I know most of them won't because they are blockbuster games to begin with.

And i'd like to point out, before people go out and start crying about the terrible 60$ cap, and worry for the poor publishers, watch BunnyHop's video on their creative tax dance.


It's one of the reasons why i really don't give a shit about their supposed plight.
 
Ben breaking down how more and more anti consumer DLC practices have seeped into regular AAA games, and have been defended and normalized in conversations over time is just so fucking sad to listen to.
 

Karu

Member
Sighed a little when Ben introduced the topic as the hottake, but man while there are dozen discussions outthere in various podcast, most of them are a variation "I enjoy these micro trans actions", Ben did really good. Good segment.
 

UrbanRats

Member
Sighed a little when Ben introduced the topic as the hottake, but man while there are dozen discussions outthere in various podcast, most of them are a variation "I enjoy these micro trans actions", Ben did really good. Good segment.
I don't understand how anyone could enjoy them.
Even if you have a lot of money, they are a shitty design in general, even when free.


Besides, I'm even pissed off when people claim that "cosmetic ones are fine", as someone that enjoys cosmetic rewards more than anything, in a game.
Unless they're really fucking stupid like golden guns or camo textures.

But like, extra costumes used to be a cool reward (think or resident evil 2 for example).

Now a lesser of two evils (ie "cosmetic is less bad than pay to win") has mutated slowly into "cosmetic is perfectly fine".
 

J-Skee

Member
The Souls Retrospective is done?! Can't wait until the rest of the videos are uploaded. I need that Bloodborne episode.
 

Mikey Jr.

Member
Horizon Spoiler Mode was fun. Too bad they didn't get into the story revelations as much as I wanted.

You know Kyle was the driving force behind the opening with the keys.

And it was awesome.

No one ever does anything fun without Kyle.
 

dickroach

Member
re: Frame Trap
LOL @ Kyle talking about his mom finishing The Unfinished Swan
that's exactly what he used to do in some Final Bosman bits: go on and on and on about everything he liked about a game, and then give it like a 2.8
 

abrack08

Member
Surprised to hear the Hottake is about Loot Boxes, considering EZA Fixed Loot Boxes on the podcast last week 🤔.

I'm just kidding Ben, it was a great discussion.
 

Budi

Member
Surprised to hear the Hottake is about Loot Boxes, considering EZA Fixed Loot Boxes on the podcast last week 🤔.

I'm just kidding Ben, it was a great discussion.
I'm still at the beginning of Ben's rant. But I really wasn't happy how EZA "fixed" loot boxes in the podcast, what I got from it was "they are mostly fine".
 

abrack08

Member
I'm still at the beginning of Ben's rant. But I really wasn't happy how EZA "fixed" loot boxes in the podcast, what I got from it was "they are mostly fine".

I don't know if that's fair, the segment name was clearly tongue in cheek. I just think they didn't have great ideas to fix loot boxes because... it's hard to fix loot boxes. Other than "no more loot boxes." Plus I get the impression they don't bother Jones as much as others and he kinda led the fixing discussion.



Edit: Loved this line Kyle threw out in Frame Trap,
"You're paying time to not pay money."
 

Auctopus

Member
Whenever a company has a found a new way to make money, they won't stop. Just like when Sony realised they could make people pay for online, it's never going back.

It's better to practice not buying in to tactics that you don't agree with then expect some sort of return to the way of the 90s/Early 00s because it's never going to happen.

It's not that I agree with it or think people should be lethargic towards particularly dirty tactics but it's a waste of time and energy to tweetstorm developers/publishers or whine on forums when you can just vote with your wallet.
 

Hasney

Member
Whenever a company has a found a new way to make money, they won't stop. Just like when Sony realised they could make people pay for online, it's never going back.

It's better to practice not buying in to tactics that you don't agree with then expect some sort of return to the way of the 90s/Early 00s because it's never going to happen.

It's not that I agree with it or think people should be lethargic towards particularly dirty tactics but it's a waste of time and energy to tweetstorm developers/publishers or whine on forums when you can just vote with your wallet.

Eh, online passes did stop. I don't know the reason for it, but they all stopped around the same time.
 

Auctopus

Member
Eh, online passes did stop. I don't know the reason for it, but they all stopped around the same time.

Huh? I mean the transition from PS3 to PS4 PSN? Its even recently had a price hike...

I’ll also note that discussion isn’t worthless, I didn’t mean to discourage or diminish Frame Trap. But to expect change from forum discussion is incredibly optimistic.
 

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
Great Frametrap. I echo similar feelings regarding how stuff gets worse overtime if people just take it. That's why my general stance is I may not care about every issue brought up everywhere but if it's a + in the end for consumers I at least won't argue against it.
I experienced this attitude of not just acceptance but even defense for stuff like region locking, the diablo auction house, lack of dual audio and recently a shocking lack of quality for localization, etc and it's just frustrating to deal with that given that the fear that everything would likely just get worse if people never talked up and took everything is the same for those. Thankfully people have not stayed silent on a lot of these.
That is not to say to always cry out against all of these things as long as there is a good reason for it. When licensing problems make dual audio unfeasible that's just how it is.
Sure there is always an excuse but sometimes that's all there can be sadly and that also doesn't mean that the excuse can't be very valid.
But for lootboxes I have a hard time seeing the necessity when the base game is already 60 bucks like the podcasts talks about it just feels coldly calculated they value the sales from the whales more is what it is in the end(hard to blame them). I guess I'm content to skip on these games entirely. 2017 makes it incredibly easy too with no shortage of stuff to spend your time on.
 

abrack08

Member
Huh? I mean the transition from PS3 to PS4 PSN? Its even recently had a price hike...

I'll also note that discussion isn't worthless, I didn't mean to discourage or diminish Frame Trap. But to expect change from forum discussion is incredibly optimistic.

Think he was referring to this:

Whenever a company has a found a new way to make money, they won't stop.

He just gave an example of companies stopping using a method that was making money. Whether that was due to people complaining online or just very few people actually buying them, we probably won't ever know.
 

Hasney

Member
Huh? I mean the transition from PS3 to PS4 PSN? Its even recently had a price hike...

I'll also note that discussion isn't worthless, I didn't mean to discourage or diminish Frame Trap. But to expect change from forum discussion is incredibly optimistic.

Yeah, but I mean this one element of earning more money did stop. You know those codes you got in Sony and EA games to activate online modes last gen?
 

Axass

Member
I don't understand how anyone could enjoy them.
Even if you have a lot of money, they are a shitty design in general, even when free.



Besides, I'm even pissed off when people claim that "cosmetic ones are fine", as someone that enjoys cosmetic rewards more than anything, in a game.
Unless they're really fucking stupid like golden guns or camo textures.

But like, extra costumes used to be a cool reward (think or resident evil 2 for example).

Now a lesser of two evils (ie "cosmetic is less bad than pay to win") has mutated slowly into "cosmetic is perfectly fine".

It's America's culture of "think of the poor megacorporations, they need to make money too!".

Being european and hating extreme capitalism I'll never understand that mentality.
 
Whenever a company has a found a new way to make money, they won't stop. Just like when Sony realised they could make people pay for online, it's never going back.

It's better to practice not buying in to tactics that you don't agree with then expect some sort of return to the way of the 90s/Early 00s because it's never going to happen.

It's not that I agree with it or think people should be lethargic towards particularly dirty tactics but it's a waste of time and energy to tweetstorm developers/publishers or whine on forums when you can just vote with your wallet.

Talking about it raises awareness and enables people to make more informed decisions with their wallet. If we're just making these decisions in isolation I think it has a pretty muted effect. I just can't see any logical reason to not talk about it.
 

Axass

Member
Whenever a company has a found a new way to make money, they won't stop. Just like when Sony realised they could make people pay for online, it's never going back.

It's better to practice not buying in to tactics that you don't agree with then expect some sort of return to the way of the 90s/Early 00s because it's never going to happen.

It's not that I agree with it or think people should be lethargic towards particularly dirty tactics but it's a waste of time and energy to tweetstorm developers/publishers or whine on forums when you can just vote with your wallet.

As I've said more than once, voting with your wallet does "jack shit", because the uninformed masses don't care and will buy into the products anyway. That way the situation is going to get worse and worse. We're already a minority, if we don't speak up about the issue we'll simply be trampled more and more.
 

ShaithEatery

Neo Member
I think people need to realize that the majority of sales are most likely from people who don't follow games media all that much and are indifferent to their general money-making practices. To me, that means that "voting for your wallet" only goes so far because most people simply won't see that message and consider not buying it as a "vote." The sharing of frustration to the companies directly (in a respectful and intelligent manner) sounds like the most effective way to get that message across.

Edit: B10 by Axass lol, pretty much the same point.
 
Those Ben Divinity 2 impressions...

Yes! Glad he's enjoying it a lot. In regards to the discussion about talking to pets, I'm sure Ben will get to it in Act 2, but there are some animals who simply have the best combo of funniest dialogue plus hilarious voice acting in gaming.

Particularly a certain Magicockerel.
 
Eh, online passes did stop. I don't know the reason for it, but they all stopped around the same time.
Yea that was curious. But in my mind it ended because they saw the steady rise of digital distribution and that with the increase of micro transactions out weighed the online pass tax
 

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
Those Ben Divinity 2 impressions...

Yes! Glad he's enjoying it a lot. In regards to the discussion about talking to pets, I'm sure Ben will get to it in Act 2, but there are some animals who simply have the best combo of funniest dialogue plus hilarious voice acting in gaming.

Particularly a certain Magicockerel.

Listening to the FT impressions on it right now and watching a bit of Ian streaming it before I'm srsly considering bumping Ys8 down and just getting this. The buzz for this divinity has just been getting stronger and stronger. I've even seen people get into it on my steam fl that never played a CRPG before.
2017 poses hard choices.
 
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