3 ms·

If you're referring to Steam et al, I don't have to use Steam on my device.

by croon 5y ago

falcolas 5y ago
I'm referring to Sony's, Microsoft's, and Nintendo's console stores on the Playstation, XBox, and Switch respectively. Which, as a side note, you are forced to use on those devices.
- smoldesu 5y ago
  Dang, I better go uninstall Retroarch from my Switch and Xbox then...
  - falcolas 5y ago
    And you can also root your iPhone... The comparison is still legitimate.
  - evilduck 5y ago
    Do you have a link to that for the Switch eStore? I'd love to check it out. Maybe an Amazon link for a Retroarch game cartridge I could buy?
    - smoldesu 5y ago
      https://docs.libretro.com/guides/install-libnx/ https://docs.libretro.com/guides/install-libnx/
      - evilduck 5y ago
        Oh, so you don't have those options to install Retroarch from Nintendo and you're ok with the Switch needing to leverage a hack to freely do what you want? How is this a qualitatively different situation from Apple then?
TimSchumann 5y ago
The ‘Steam’ platform never appears on any list comparing financials. I suspect it’s because the parent company ‘Valve’ is privately held, not publicly traded.
evilduck 5y ago
Apple's cut is the same as Xbox, Playstation and the Switch and you _do_ have to use their stores and their physical media sales also gets a cut. The Switch can already be hacked to run Android and play other games from other stores, the latest Xbox and Playstation are essentially just blessed configurations of PC hardware, but everyone is totally cool with that situation and those devices being locked down and restricted. Why is nobody up in arms about those? The standard being asked for and the outrage only being applied to Apple seems... fake.
- howinteresting 5y ago
  Apple's devices are personal computing devices, not video game consoles.
  - falcolas 5y ago
    Not really. They're general computing devices which perform "blessed" activities. They simply have a broader (though, not that much broader these days - you can do a surprising amount on a console) range of blessed activities. Consoles still play games as a core competency, but they can also also run a broad array of apps. I can, for example, watch YouTube and Hulu, and browse the web, on my Switch.
  - evilduck 5y ago
    Please explain how the Xbox isn’t then. It has storage, runs applications, has a web browser, standard PC input peripherals and hard drives work for it. The hardware is essentially just PC hardware. It seems like marketing difference more than anything else.
- falcolas 5y ago
  > Why is nobody up in arms about those? This made me think about why I'm more and more OK with hardware being limited to "blessed" activities. The older I get, the more time I like to spend doing activities, as opposed to spending time configuring software and hardware to do activities. I don't value getting things working as its own endeavor anymore. As such, and after spending several decades fighting Microsoft, Apple, and Linux to play videogames on my PC, I value a console's focus on playing games as their core competency. I like that I can turn on my playstation, pick a game, and not have to figure out the optimal settings for my graphics card, installation options, or wonder if my drivers are properly updated for this game. Sure, it's not perfect, but it's also no longer my job to perfect. I still use a computer to do general computing tasks, but it's only doing the tasks I can't do elsewhere. And those tasks are few in number, though great in importance to my hobbies.

If you're referring to Steam et al, I don't have to use Steam on my device.

by croon 5y ago

If you're referring to Steam et al, I don't have to use Steam on my device.

I'm referring to Sony's, Microsoft's, and Nintendo's console stores on the Playstation, XBox, and Switch respectively. Which, as a side note, you are forced to use on those devices.

smoldesu 5y ago
Dang, I better go uninstall Retroarch from my Switch and Xbox then...
- falcolas 5y ago
  And you can also root your iPhone... The comparison is still legitimate.
- evilduck 5y ago
  Do you have a link to that for the Switch eStore? I'd love to check it out. Maybe an Amazon link for a Retroarch game cartridge I could buy?
  - smoldesu 5y ago
    https://docs.libretro.com/guides/install-libnx/ https://docs.libretro.com/guides/install-libnx/
    - evilduck 5y ago
      Oh, so you don't have those options to install Retroarch from Nintendo and you're ok with the Switch needing to leverage a hack to freely do what you want? How is this a qualitatively different situation from Apple then?

TimSchumann 5y ago

The ‘Steam’ platform never appears on any list comparing financials. I suspect it’s because the parent company ‘Valve’ is privately held, not publicly traded.

evilduck 5y ago

Apple's cut is the same as Xbox, Playstation and the Switch and you _do_ have to use their stores and their physical media sales also gets a cut. The Switch can already be hacked to run Android and play other games from other stores, the latest Xbox and Playstation are essentially just blessed configurations of PC hardware, but everyone is totally cool with that situation and those devices being locked down and restricted. Why is nobody up in arms about those? The standard being asked for and the outrage only being applied to Apple seems... fake.

howinteresting 5y ago
Apple's devices are personal computing devices, not video game consoles.
- falcolas 5y ago
  Not really. They're general computing devices which perform "blessed" activities. They simply have a broader (though, not that much broader these days - you can do a surprising amount on a console) range of blessed activities. Consoles still play games as a core competency, but they can also also run a broad array of apps. I can, for example, watch YouTube and Hulu, and browse the web, on my Switch.
- evilduck 5y ago
  Please explain how the Xbox isn’t then. It has storage, runs applications, has a web browser, standard PC input peripherals and hard drives work for it. The hardware is essentially just PC hardware. It seems like marketing difference more than anything else.
falcolas 5y ago
> Why is nobody up in arms about those? This made me think about why I'm more and more OK with hardware being limited to "blessed" activities. The older I get, the more time I like to spend doing activities, as opposed to spending time configuring software and hardware to do activities. I don't value getting things working as its own endeavor anymore. As such, and after spending several decades fighting Microsoft, Apple, and Linux to play videogames on my PC, I value a console's focus on playing games as their core competency. I like that I can turn on my playstation, pick a game, and not have to figure out the optimal settings for my graphics card, installation options, or wonder if my drivers are properly updated for this game. Sure, it's not perfect, but it's also no longer my job to perfect. I still use a computer to do general computing tasks, but it's only doing the tasks I can't do elsewhere. And those tasks are few in number, though great in importance to my hobbies.