Microsoft Consoles and Updates

[Guest]

Yeah they’re fucking idiots. Remember before Indy came out they kept pushing the fact it’s coming to PlayStation 5 lol. And yet people earning more than we’ll ever know made these decisions and had meetings beforehand.

[Maryokutai]

This went under the radar but Microsoft stopped selling/renting VOD movies on their store recently. Don't have a link at hand but it straight up says so if you open the movie app on Xbox.

 

Probably doesn't affect too many people but I did occasionally use the service, not so much in recent months though. Should probably thank them for making it easier to give them less money in the future I suppose.

[mfnick]

Yea, heard about that too. As always with this stuff it’s incredibly shit and a reminder how easily all this digital stuff can disappear. Yea you can watch the ones you already own for now but for how long? 
Are you able to download them at least and keep them or watch elsewhere? 

I stopped subscribing to most streaming services and buy a lot of stuff instead through Apple. They’re not great but have decent sales and I download loads to a hard drive - which is an essential option IMO. I’m positive it’s ended up being cheaper than using subscription services too - counting the months I used to waste on them. 

 

 

[Nag]

https://www.theverge.com/news/714458/microsoft-xbox-age-verification-uk-social-features

 

I'd imagine Sony and Nintendo will follow suit at some point... 🙄

[one-armed dwarf]

This whole thing seems like a really bad idea, cause there's a huge legal burden (I think) on sites having to process PII and so many sites/services might just decide to block the UK entirely. I don't know which party came up with it, Tories or Labour, but there's a whiff of the whole 'lets make encryption illegal' thing about it.

[Nag]

Considering a VPN gets you past most of it it just seems like a colossal waste of time... I know you can't do that on an Xbox but still.

[DANGERMAN]

1 hour ago, one-armed dwarf said:

This whole thing seems like a really bad idea, cause there's a huge legal burden (I think) on sites having to process PII and so many sites/services might just decide to block the UK entirely. I don't know which party came up with it, Tories or Labour, but there's a whiff of the whole 'lets make encryption illegal' thing about it.

It's a really old policy. It started with Cameron, then got reworked by May, who enacted it, but it was delayed by subsequent governments. Labour have just let it happen when they'd have probably been better off quietly scrapping it or delaying it again. It's as badly thought out as people said it was pre-Covid

[shinymcshine]

7 hours ago, Nag said:

Considering a VPN gets you past most of it it just seems like a colossal waste of time... I know you can't do that on an Xbox but still.

 

 

[Guest]

Ive watched a couple of videos, one criticising an ill thought out scheme and saying users will always find a way to avoid age verification. 

 

And while this may be true to an extent it also I think is over looking a deeper issue. 

 

Most people are focusing on the save the children from porn side of things. 

 

However this clearly goes way deeper, Steam / Video / shopping sites. 

 

Many sites / services we which contains adult verification needs to comply? 

 

So use a vpn? Fine for now till you look that many other countries are looking to follow suit. 

 

Is this really about shielding people from harmful content? Or a big push for data collection and control? 

 

Your photo, details, web habbits all stored online for use, could argue nothing new, but this has been predominantly stored by business who we choose to entrust. 

 

Not goverment mandated data centres, where all your details are detailed / monitored. 

 

But not on goverment servers, contracted out to third parties to store / monotor. 

 

A global push for total internet control, under the guise of protection. 

 

Nothing new? An over reactive post?  Or is the Internet as we knew it officiay dead? 

[Metroid66]

Like personal freedom, personal responsibility, and freedom of speech.

 

I'm not a political animal but even I'm starting to believe the conspiracy theories. I've ordered some tinfoil online.

 

Or would have but I don't have a VPN and was thus unable to verify that I was able to use it responsibly and not suffocate myself.

[Sly Reflex]

I am sure my xbox live account is older than 18.

 

I am sure they will make me verify, even though this is the case. Whatever, I just won't use it.

[Nag]

And another one bites the dust...

 

Can't say I'm overly bothered by something we knew literally nothing about tbf...

[Maf]

Yeah, this is more of a lesson in not announcing stuff before you’re happy with the game. 

[Maryokutai]

A bit weird they didn't just outright say so because the name kept coming up a lot.

 

From a consumer perspective it's not a big loss I suppose, but I wonder what'll happen to Avalanche now. That's a huge project they just lost and Just Cause is probably off the table as well (with Square Enix holding the rights). 

[one-armed dwarf]

Arkane speaking up, MS have sacked people for this type of thing before so fair play to them: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/-microsoft-has-no-place-being-accomplice-of-a-genocide-arkane-union-workers-demand-microsoft-cut-ties-with-israeli-regime

[Maf]

Maybe I just dump the Steamdeck 🤔

 

 

[Nag]

It'll be interesting to see just how much this is in English pounds... how much is a Steam Deck now?

[Maf]

Too much 

[mfnick]

I don’t get it? What’s so good about that? Genuinely I don’t know, is this something people have been asking for? Is it the start of a streamlined Windows for gaming everyone has been asking for or something? 

 

Didn’t seem particularly easy or fast either… Way too many button presses. I’m sure it’s just one button on the regular ROG. 

[one-armed dwarf]

Yeah I don't get it either. I guess it has gamepass, but I don't know how much would be saved when you have to buy a really expensive bit of hardware in the first place. 

 

Windows is something I'd like to have less of in my life, not more. Especially with all the generational cruft that it has, its control panel shit from windows 7, bits of windows XP, the inconsistent visual language of it. Now throw in a handheld gaming shell on top of it.

 

edit also it's partnered with ASUS, if you want to see some crimes against UI, install their armoury crate software if you have one of their graphics cards.