Quoting: MrBellesNo one else is asking this, but I'm not sure how exactly removing physical cards will make things safer as opposed to digital ones. In physical stores, there are people that can step in and prevent someone from being scammed, while if they are instructed to purchase the cards online, there is less of a chance for an outside observer to step in, and it won't give them as much time to figure out they're being duped. I know Steam's website can still issue the same warnings that stores are putting on signs, but I haven't purchased a gift card online before so I'm not entirely sure.

I don't think Valve or any one involved is worried about people being scammed in stores. The scams happen through private sellers and the second hand market. The reason physical cards are prime scam targets are many:

- they don't disappear once used
- it's impossible to check whether they've been used
- often people likely to buy cards are also more susceptible to be scammed (kids for example)
- they're hard to trace
- by the time the scam is discovered, the scammer is long gone

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Their point is valid, but, like others in the comments, I think chance-based purchases as a whole should be regulated as a form of gambling.

I would disagree with the "cereal box prizes" comparison though. At least where I'm from, these tend to be seasonal and when they are included the price of the cereals do not change. Also they're cheap junk, when more valuable options are available (like a bowl) it's done through stamps collecting.

Quoting: SlayerTheChikkenBanning something completely is kind of ridiculous imo because it starts to step on freedom of choice; people have the choice, just like people have the choice to eat 10 big macs in a row, but you can't ban everything just because some people have no self control.

In most countries I know, gambling is not outright banned, instead it is regulated. Things like odds have to be displayed and audited, age restricted access and so on.

The whole argument is whether lootboxes constitute gambling. Them being recognised as such would be really bad for their predatory business model, but probably wouldn't change much for any adult who enjoys the thrill.

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Quoting: PlayingOnLinuxphone

Quoting: hell0In my opinion, both are a fool's errand as the games ultimately run in untrusted environments. Imagine if you could edit your account's balance through e-banking and your bank's solution was to require the use of a "denuvo-secured" browser.

You are speaking about banking apps? 😂 Most of them blocking smartphones where people installed GrapheneOS as more private and secure OS and that is an "untrusted environment" to banks. Even worse when you run non Android Linux on phone, because most banks do not even offer an app for other systems than Android/iOS or any alternatives to their apps.

It's not exactly the same. Even if you hacked their apps and ran them somewhere else, you still wouldn't be able to freely edit your bank account. What banks are wary of, is providing customer support because it costs money.

Personally, I believe these bans are stupid and strongly doubt it would increase their costs in any significant way, but I am not a bank exec so what do I know.

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Quoting: CaldathrasI didn't know there was such a thing as Denuvo Anti-Cheat, but I don't generally play the kind of games that require Anti-Cheat. So, they do both DRM and Anti-Cheat then. From the reactions here, both are a pain in the butt.

Their core business is anti-tamper, i.e. preventing modifications. It makes sense for them to use their technology for both DRM (ensure the DRM system is not disabled) and anti-cheat (ensure no alteration to the gameplay).

In my opinion, both are a fool's errand as the games ultimately run in untrusted environments. Imagine if you could edit your account's balance through e-banking and your bank's solution was to require the use of a "denuvo-secured" browser.

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Gave it a go and it is indeed quite fun, and pretty cheap too!

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Had this game on my wishlist for a long time. Sounds interesting and it definitely looks amazing, but between the incomplete state, slow updates, poor communication and steep price for the package, I never could justify a purchase. Looks like it was the right call, unfortunately.

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Swiss here, maybe I'll buy games through Steam again. Currently, the difference is so ridiculous that it's often a better deal to pay the full price in a third party store than to buy on sale through steam. Also nobody, beside fellow swiss steam users, can send me gifts.

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I am among those who believe LLMs are just another tool (admittedly overhyped, misused and with concerns like environmental impact).

Even so, I have yet to find ai-generated textual content which I can stomach for more than 15 seconds. All these websites feel like a jumbled mess of words trying to drown their own egregious lack of precision in a verbal diarrhoea.

Here is to GoL on point and enjoyable content. ❤️

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I believe this is among the most sane implementation of age gating I've seen so far.

As defined, it can be (should be) entirely on device and only provides the relevant info. The responsibility falls with the device owner to perform the age check and not some dodgy third party.

Sounds like a much better solution than most parental control softwares available today, which are either invasive, fallible or both. Instead of a website/program displaying a popup "are you over X" it'd call an api which answers yes/no. And the return of that api can only be changed with root access to the device. I really don't see any harm in that, it does not provide any more info than you already do when answering the same age popup on steam/a porn website/etc.

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Going to test this!

I've been keeping an eye on castle come [External Link] which has a somewhat similar concept, unfortunately no demo yet though.

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