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>But I can buy the same game on all three major consoles. Plus PC. Plus Steam, GOG, Humble, Epic (where I can get it free), or even pirate it with little troubl

>But I can buy the same game on all three major consoles. Plus PC. Plus Steam, GOG, Humble, Epic (where I can get it free), or even pirate it with little trouble (if I didn't have qualms with the ethics). You're still missing the point. There is no way to buy a game for Xbox without going through Microsoft's official channels and giving them their huge cut. There is no way to buy a game for Playstation without going through Sony's official channels and giving them their huge cut. There is no way to buy a game for Switch without going through Nintendo's official channels and giving them their huge cut. Being able to buy the same game on different consoles is immaterial. The stores themselves are the monopoly. >None of these stores do my email, dating, finance, math, fitness, banking, web. They're not fitting the computer role like laptops and smartphones. What difference does this make? If they did these things, would it suddenly matter that the only way to get software onto this platform was to give 30% of revenue to the console manufacturer?

echelon 5y ago
You're not getting it either. Consoles are subsidized toys. And there are half a dozen choices on the market, not to mention legacy systems. Phones are life. You can't do without them. There are two choices, both locked down hard. PCs went from free and open to Google + Apple duopoly. And the rules are draconian. Maybe 1995-2005 was an era before your time (given that your username is Zoomer), but modern computing is worse than it used to be. You have no idea what you missed out on, and you're speaking about a status quo that is a definitive downgrade. Steve Jobs put us in shackles and neck braces. But they're pretty and convenient, so we accept them.
- ZoomerCretin 5y ago
  You’re free to get a flip phone from 10+ brands, therefore Apple and Google don’t have any monopoly power over the phone market. Just get a different phone!

echelon 5y ago

You're not getting it either. Consoles are subsidized toys. And there are half a dozen choices on the market, not to mention legacy systems. Phones are life. You can't do without them. There are two choices, both locked down hard. PCs went from free and open to Google + Apple duopoly. And the rules are draconian. Maybe 1995-2005 was an era before your time (given that your username is Zoomer), but modern computing is worse than it used to be. You have no idea what you missed out on, and you're speaking about a status quo that is a definitive downgrade. Steve Jobs put us in shackles and neck braces. But they're pretty and convenient, so we accept them.

ZoomerCretin 5y ago
You’re free to get a flip phone from 10+ brands, therefore Apple and Google don’t have any monopoly power over the phone market. Just get a different phone!