Quoting: Purple Library Guy

Quoting: Mountain ManThe problem is not capitalism, it's human nature.

Meh. It's like the nature/nurture debate--the two both operate. Human nature exists, kinda, but societies are not all the same and how human nature is expressed is different depending on the social environment. Even within the broad system of capitalism, the broad umbrella of "the West", and the narrow confines of the present day, Finns seem to act quite different from Americans in how they approach economic life, despite both being human and presumably heir to the same "human nature".

Really, IMO invoking human nature is a bit of a dodge. It means nobody has to be responsible for anything and nobody ever has to try, because if anything is shitty, well, that's just inevitable because human nature. That's not how trade unionists won the weekend.

Quoting: redneckdrow

Quoting: Mountain Man

Quoting: redneckdrowNot to mention that ephemeral crap such as skin pricing is beyond predatory. I've never bought any "skins" for any game, and never will, and $25 is a good reason why! They aren't "micro" transactions at all at this point!

Criminently, they must think my mama named me Nutsy!

By the way, Blizzard Hospitii delendum est!

You may not be willing to buy a skin for $25, but obviously enough other people are for Blizzard to consider it to their advantage to keep it at that price.

It's like this: would you rather sell a $5 cosmetic item to 100 people, or a $25 cosmetic item to 25 people?

Obviously, that's just good business sense. It's the people that buy the stuff that make playing any popular game a chore for anyone over the age of majority with two brain cells to rub together.

Let me be clear, I wouldn't buy either purely cosmetic or pay-to-win stuff at any price. I never bought the horse-armor in Oblivion! Darn it, Jim, I have principles!

Giving in just feeds the problem.

Also, the fact that most of the stuff is aimed at age groups typically without an understanding of the words "financial restraint" or "budget" galls me.

But really, that's a societal problem, huh? I'm scared to how bad it will be by the time I have kids. (Yes, I'm the 30-ssomething who's never dated. :tongue: Mainly by virtue of having the full use of only one arm and being unable to drive, and the fact I haven't met the right girl yet. But I'll figure all that out in due time.)

Quoting: redneckdrowNot to mention that ephemeral crap such as skin pricing is beyond predatory. I've never bought any "skins" for any game, and never will, and $25 is a good reason why! They aren't "micro" transactions at all at this point!

Criminently, they must think my mama named me Nutsy!

By the way, Blizzard Hospitii delendum est!

Quoting: benstor214

Quoting: PenglingI think I prefer this AI-written movie...

Meh… I think I prefer Sump’n Claus ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Quoting: redneckdrow

Quoting: Grogan

Quoting: EhvisAnd nothing of value was lost.

Yeah, it's not a CEO that does the work... only implements policies to make investors/shareholders money. This is not necessarily aligned with making good products.

I mean, Ayn Rand was less self-absorbed than your average CEO these days. Sigh, the older I get, the more I understand that unscrupulous tactics are the main pitfall of Capitalist/Free-Market economy. Yet, though it may be scummy, I'd take a scummy free-market over any other form of market.

Extremes in any form of market are terrible, no matter who that market is controlled by.

I had to write a paper on Free vs Closed vs Single vs "Post-Free" markets as a teenager, and my A.P. Government and Politics teacher gave me an extension after I showed her the first six (Unspaced! :dizzy: ) pages. It was double that before I was done. I have never had that much to say on a topic since. I went way beyond the assignment, because I went "down the rabbit hole" as it were; I've been burned out on writing for nearly a decade-and-a-half since.

Spoiler, click me

Apropos of nothing, and without revealing too much else, I also happened to pass three A.P. exams that year. I still haven't gone to College (University to you folks across the pond), but if-and-when I do, I'll have quite a few classes that I won't have to take. I never want to touch College Algebra again; it was all I could do to get a B- in that class! I still dream about polynomials and imaginary numbers! :cry:

Capitalist, Communist, Republican, Monarchist, Oligarchic, Theocratic, Fascist, and Anarchist economies all have things that make economics equally nightmarish. Not to mention that any of those governments can any/multiples of those economies, irrespective of their politics.

Doesn't mean I have to tolerate scummy CEOs! My grandfather was a member of Local 89 his whole life! He even paid his dues every year after he retired! I'll be a union man 'til the day I die and stand judged. Power to the people!

Quoting: SakuretsuYet another Acti/Blizz game coming to Steam just to get a well deserved review bombing.