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> But they make no sense at all for durable goods that can last for years without significant upgrades, like cars. Which is why there is a war on durable goods

> But they make no sense at all for durable goods that can last for years without significant upgrades, like cars. Which is why there is a war on durable goods, such as trying to develop viable cloud gaming to replace people's gaming computers with subscription services.

pdonis 5y ago
> Which is why there is a war on durable goods Yes, and that war is not being fought to protect the interests of people generally. It's being fought to protect the interests of businesses that don't want to adapt to changing technology and market conditions. They would rather have planned obsolescence than recognize that some goods really don't need to be "upgraded" very frequently and see those resources allocated into new goods and services that would create more wealth. It would be better in the long run for everyone if that trend were reversed.
shreddit 5y ago
I like these services a lot. I only need a laptop for my daily stuff, but once in a while (once a month?) i want to play a AAA Game. A gaming PC would be a waste of money.
- pdonis 5y ago
  That doesn't mean you don't want a durable good at all. It means you want a durable good (the daily stuff laptop) plus occasional access to a particular service (playing a game). But many businesses would prefer that you give up the durable good altogether--that instead of your laptop for daily stuff, you entrust all your data and computing capacity to "the cloud" and just access it from your smartphone, which in their model you are basically renting from your phone provider.
sofixa 5y ago
Maybe not everyone wants or can afford a gaming computer? Being able to play any game from a tablet, phone, laptop or TV is very useful. And at the current costs of hardware, and the evolution of hardware requirements, even 2-3 subscription services come out cheaper than building an equivalent gaming rig.
- withinboredom 5y ago
  Maybe. A near-top of the line gaming rig (pre-chip shortage) would cost about $3kUSD and my last one is only just now starting to get weak from 2018, so it lasts you about 4-5 years. So as long as all your subscriptions and other costs come in less than ~$50USD per month, you’re probably saving money. Edit to add: upgrading the graphics card nets another 2-3 years instead of replacing the entire machine. Which probably reduces the ceiling to closer to $40USD per month.
  - sofixa 5y ago
    If you have Stadia Premium ( not necessary, you can play the free version), GeForce Now, Microsoft Game pass ( which comes with XCloud gaming whatever), you're at <$40 (~$35 if my calculations are correct). There's also the advantage that you can start and stop them at will(per month), so for instance if you go on a vacation for a month and know you won't play at all you can cancel them all ( and even continue playing all the games you've bought on Stadia for free).

pdonis 5y ago

> Which is why there is a war on durable goods Yes, and that war is not being fought to protect the interests of people generally. It's being fought to protect the interests of businesses that don't want to adapt to changing technology and market conditions. They would rather have planned obsolescence than recognize that some goods really don't need to be "upgraded" very frequently and see those resources allocated into new goods and services that would create more wealth. It would be better in the long run for everyone if that trend were reversed.

shreddit 5y ago

I like these services a lot. I only need a laptop for my daily stuff, but once in a while (once a month?) i want to play a AAA Game. A gaming PC would be a waste of money.

pdonis 5y ago
That doesn't mean you don't want a durable good at all. It means you want a durable good (the daily stuff laptop) plus occasional access to a particular service (playing a game). But many businesses would prefer that you give up the durable good altogether--that instead of your laptop for daily stuff, you entrust all your data and computing capacity to "the cloud" and just access it from your smartphone, which in their model you are basically renting from your phone provider.

sofixa 5y ago

Maybe not everyone wants or can afford a gaming computer? Being able to play any game from a tablet, phone, laptop or TV is very useful. And at the current costs of hardware, and the evolution of hardware requirements, even 2-3 subscription services come out cheaper than building an equivalent gaming rig.

withinboredom 5y ago
Maybe. A near-top of the line gaming rig (pre-chip shortage) would cost about $3kUSD and my last one is only just now starting to get weak from 2018, so it lasts you about 4-5 years. So as long as all your subscriptions and other costs come in less than ~$50USD per month, you’re probably saving money. Edit to add: upgrading the graphics card nets another 2-3 years instead of replacing the entire machine. Which probably reduces the ceiling to closer to $40USD per month.
- sofixa 5y ago
  If you have Stadia Premium ( not necessary, you can play the free version), GeForce Now, Microsoft Game pass ( which comes with XCloud gaming whatever), you're at <$40 (~$35 if my calculations are correct). There's also the advantage that you can start and stop them at will(per month), so for instance if you go on a vacation for a month and know you won't play at all you can cancel them all ( and even continue playing all the games you've bought on Stadia for free).