JaN0h4ck

AMD following Nvidia's naming scheme is even worse, I'd rather they follow their current one and use 600 series even if Nvidia didnt do this

I might finally stray from my Steam puritanism, this looks as ambitious than other projects like Raptr or the belated Xfire, but from a way more credible developer.
 
https://www.gog.com/news/bgog_galaxy_20b_all_your_games_and_friends_in_one_place_copy3
https://www.pcgamer.com/gog-galaxy-20-aims-to-bring-games-from-all-pc-and-console-platforms-under-one-roof/

The hype and expectations are our fault, not AMDs. its the fan boys out there and garbage sites reporting incorrectly on information. 

AMD does this every time they launch something. Over-hype the shit out of it so expectations are nice and high, then when it actually launches, it's nowhere near the hype and everyone is disappointed.

RX 6080 Ti XT Max-Q X

Read it. Don't believe it. I'm not even certain that it'll paper launch at E3 frankly. If it does, great. I'm betting the RX 3080 top of the line is more between 2060 and 2070, around overclocked 2060 performance, and with a $350 MSRP, right in line with RTX 2060, but with some aggressive third party deals to make it the better value. AMD will not compete on the high end so long as they're bound by an iteration of the GCN architecture IMHO.

Apple has launched a new trade in program that gives customers store credit for their old Apple products. If you do not have an Apple product Apple will still recycle the device for you. 

 
This program is designed to encourage users to give their old devices back to Apple to give users store credit towards new Apple devices as well as tackle the problem of recycling.
Apple runs on 100% renewable energy and, according to their PR, the environment is a top priority for them. This program will hopefully help Apple improve their ecological footprint by being able to reclaim more used devices and turn their old products into new ones. Something Apple has historically struggled at getting people do want to do. This program gives users incentive now. 
 
Users have options as to how to send their devices in and the choice is up you. This of course brings into question the security of user data.
 
Helps non-Apple device users information stay safe and helps existing Apple users transfer their data over to new devices. Nice!
 
Source: https://www.apple.com/shop/trade-in
 

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/ne9qdq/warranty-void-if-removed-stickers-illegal-ftc
FTC Says 'Warranty Void If Removed' Stickers Are Bullshit, Warns Manufacturers They're Breaking the Law
Federal law says you can repair your own things, and manufacturers cannot force you to use their own repair services.
Matthew Gault
Apr 10 2018, 12:30pm
 
As we’ve reported before, it is bullshit and illegal under federal law for electronics manufacturers to put “Warranty Void if Removed” stickers on their gadgets, and it’s also illegal for companies to void your warranty if you fix your device yourself or via a third party.
 
The Federal Trade Commission put six companies on notice today, telling them in a warning letter that their warranty practices violate federal law. If you buy a car with a warranty, take it a repair shop to fix it, then have to return the car to the manufacturer, the car company isn’t legally allowed to deny the return because you took your car to another shop. The same is true of any consumer device that costs more than $15, though many manufacturers want you to think otherwise.
Companies such as Sony and Microsoft pepper the edges of their game consoles with warning labels telling customers that breaking the seal voids the warranty. That’s illegal. Thanks to the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, no manufacturer is allowed to put repair restrictions on a device it offers a warranty on. Dozens of companies do it anyway, and the FTC has put them on notice. Apple, meanwhile, routinely tells customers not to use third party repair companies, and aftermarket parts regularly break iPhones due to software updates.
 
"The letters warn that FTC staff has concerns about the companies’ statements that consumers must use specified parts or service providers to keep their warranties intact," the FTC wrote in a press release. "Unless warrantors provide the parts or services for free or receive a waiver from the FTC, such statements generally are prohibited by the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a law that governs consumer product warranties. Similarly, such statements may be deceptive under the FTC Act."
 
The FTC hasn’t said which six companies it sent letters to, just that they “market and sell automobiles, cellular devices, and video gaming systems in the United States.” When we originally wrote about the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which prohibits the “tying” of a consumer good to a certain type of replacement part, several people suggested that maybe consumer electronics companies weren’t covered under the law. With Tuesday’s action, the FTC has made clear that all consumer electronics that cost more than $15 are covered.
“Provisions that tie warranty coverage to the use of particular products or services harm both consumers who pay more for them as well as the small businesses who offer competing products and services,” Thomas B. Pahl—Acting Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection—said in a press release.
 
We asked the FTC for more information about the companies that it sent the letter to, but it would not say. It’s a safe bet that Sony and Microsoft are two of them, though—the Playstation 4 and Xbox One video game consoles both come with stickers that claim opening the device voids the warranty. Apple’s slick design precludes such stickers, but Apple Geniuses are trained to look for the signs of consumer meddling and will sometimes decline warranty service if it’s been repaired by an owner or third party (we’ve heard mixed things on this; customers have had many different experiences at Apple Stores. In any case, Apple does discourage people from having third parties fix their devices.)
 
The companies have 30 days to update their websites and comply with U.S. federal law before the FTC takes further action. The commission hasn’t enforced warranty law with an electronics manufacturer yet, but it has used MMWA as a hammer in court before. In 2015, it settled out of court with BMW when the car manufacturer forced consumers to use authorized dealers to get repairs on its MINI line of automobiles.
 
I bought an Xbox 360 when it first launched and ran into the infamous “red ring of death.” I attempted to fix the problem myself and had to use online video tutorials and a hair dryer to keep the seal intact because I was terrified Microsoft wouldn’t repair my system if I needed to send it in. Back then, I felt as I was breaking the law, but it was actually Microsoft that was in violation.
 
I hope these warning letters are a nail in the coffin of stickers that freak out people who don’t know any better and just want their devices to work.
 
 
--------------------------------------
 
My commentary: About freaking time we see some kind of action on the right to repair. It pisses me off so much that I have to break these stickers just to open up my PS4/PS3/360 and clean the dust out in order to keep them in top working order. These consoles can have the most trivial and cheap to fix problems, like when my 360's disc tray wouldn't open. The fix was pulling a band off that connected two gears on the opening mechanism and cleaning the band with a Q-tip and some rubbing alcohol. I was able to do it without opening the system but it was a huge pain in the ass to do it that way and would have been much easier if I could have just opened the system and removed the drive. But I couldn't imagine paying $100 plus for someone to clean a fucking band and put it back in place.

Calling RT a non-bias news source for anything to do with Russia is laughable it’s state owned.....
 
Also Twitter can do whatever the hell it wants.

Lootboxes are gambling hmmmmm. 
Actually that depends. 
 
Ones which you can get Real currency in return if sold off (Even if the currency is limited to a platform like steam) Is classed as Gambling, 
Lootboxes which do not Use this system and gives you virtual currency for the game ONLY is not Gambling.
 
Now before people being to sh** post me instead of reading the full post. Lootboxes contain ELEMENTS of gambling. 
They contain the Suspense of was you payout worthy enough or did you just waist money, You think you will get something great because you where d*** over the last 5 times. Etc.
 
Lootboxes in general shouldn't be in games Which is why I don't mind the direction Germany is going. however for some games it is LITTERALLY how they function for example fantasy sport games like FiFa and Malden have had this type of system in it for Years. 
 
As @mr moose said this problem doesn't come down to poor parenting as everyone would know if you are denied something you go for the simplest route. this being denied you parent buying the game, You will go buy it yourself or get a friend to do so. On top of that not everything can be safe guarded by parents as something need to be taught through experience than just being told.
 
DLC's Expansions they are fine, I Don't mind paying for them if they are decent depending on the game, 
Micro transactions fine aslong as the don't take away from the base game.
 
Now Making games AO rated is Literally a stupid idea, No game company would do it, Purely due to the fact it would mean they can't sell it by normal sources like supermarkets or game stores. I would kill their following drastically.  Making it 18+ won't exactly work as their are 12 yo with 18+ games because or parents or halfas*** store clerks not paying attention. 
 
And like others have said if Lootboxes get removed something will replace it anyway, this being the old challenges system or a different system that's just a reskin of the lootbox system.
 
In short this is like a three headed snake, Cut one head off and two will grow back. 

Except under communism, nobody would have the money to afford the computers to play them.  

The main two reasons that lootboxes will be regulated;
 
The random nature of the 'gamble', gambling when you know what you stand to win can cause problems but blind gambling is hugely devious.
 
The majority of people looking in at this from outside the industry still see this industry as being primarily marketed to children, whether or not this is the case doesn't matter, that's the image and part of the reason why regulation will follow.

I think you missunderstood me. I am not against players supporting their game. I am however against the fact that lootboxes give you a chance of getting something, which is gambling and that should be banned.
 
I presume that is the whole problem with lootboxes. The gambling part and not the payment for goods.

im not 100% for banning the lootboxes, however im very inn when it comes to regulating them in a way that is not pay to win while it gives cosmetic options and maybe some premium service like world of tanks premium and warthunder premium. yes it gives you an edge in progressing, but you still have to work for anything you get. Removing lootboxes would be almost be the end for some free to play games. 

lootboxes ARE gambling, and should be treated as such
the problem with lootboxes is that theyre designed specifically to prey on children.
 
the solution isnt to ban them, its to require any game that has them, have an AO rating, that would end the problem faster than anything.
 
a single country banning them wont solve anything, itll just have a DE release version, or simply wont be sold there. but with an AO rating, it wont be available in box stores, and it wont be available on Steam or GoG, and probably will make it unavailable on console as well. that severely limits distribution and would kill this practice immediately.
The ESRB just needs to actually have the balls to do it.

If you read the relevant studies on marketing, consumer positioning and gambling you'll see it's not inexplicable at all, it's very explainable.   They are engineering these loot boxes to be seen as a very necessary component of success in the game.  Like all advertising and marketing it is about providing just enough of the right information and rewards structures to keep them coming back.  It's why every 5 year old on the planet wants a happy meal even when their parents have never taken them to Mcdonald's. 

Again, and this is again as the last conversation was done to death on the topic. But parenting has nothing to do with it.  Parenting style does not cause nor prevent addictions like this in any way shape or form.  You are literally trying to argue that education is all that is needed to prevent a gambling addiction.  Which flies in the face of nearly every study ever carried out on the topic.  

IMO all micro transactions need to go,along with paid 'small' DLC. They ruin the asthetics and/or game balance of pritty much every game they are in.
 
Asthetics only ..great ..but 9 times out of 10 those that have this make it so the game looks drab and dreary for those who dont buy asthetic items, and awsome and colorfull and full of effects for those that do. Rarely do we see any way of earning those same effects in game via grinding or rare rewards, with the exception of the odd event rewards.
And for those that do affect gameplay ..well thats P2W, and we all know how crap that is.
 
That said, i know MTX's are here to stay in some form. Lootboxes however, they are the worst by far, and they need to go.
 
I'm from outside the EU, but am still glad germany is going this route, the more countries (and states) that do this, the more pressure is put on publishers to not use MTX's, and influences other countires to follow suit. Here in the UK, we currently have bigger issues to sort out, but i hope the lootbox issue is eventually dealt with.

German Newspaper "Welt am Sonntag" released an article about a (yet unreleased) study from the university Hamburg, that finds that few players are responsible for most of the lootbox money made, which is characteristic for gambling markets. The German National Media Agency (Landesmedienstalten) is considering a ban of lootboxes with a possible fine for publishers of such games.
The possible fine is because of a ban of purchase appeals targetes towards Kids and Teens.
A decision is to be made in march.
 
I personally think, that this is the right way to go and that Lootboxes will disappear again. Even though publishers have to find different ways for monetizing their products, I'd rather pay 80€ or 90€ for a game like Witcher 3 than 60€ for a game like Battlefront 2.
Source: https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/webwelt/article173165689/Lootboxen-Wie-Computerspiele-suechtig-und-schliesslich-arm-machen.html

Well, I mean I am EU so I could go on Vacation to germany and buy games there whilst on holiday .
 
All jokes aside, I'm hoping other EU countries and non EU countries come to the same conclusion that lootboxes should be banned.

It can be ok to have them for like f2p game and just customizations and no p2w in any way. 
But some games doing shit like so while they charge full AAA price is lame. Specially since it seems they want to focus on that primarily and put the game at second place. If a game really needs such a thing to keep it alive it's a bad game. 
Personally idc about LB at all. Would be great to unlock stuff with certain progression not shitty rng but yeah. Need to monetize stuff, people pay for more rng clicks too, pathetic. 

And by saying those folks are stupid, you're saying that addiction is not real, or that it is within those people's control, thereby tossing out the last 50 years of pyschological research that says otherwise. Nice. Real nice.

Good please ban them. UK please do something similar. 

Good. Ban these stupid lootboxes.

German Newspaper "Welt am Sonntag" released an article about a (yet unreleased) study from the university Hamburg, that finds that few players are responsible for most of the lootbox money made, which is characteristic for gambling markets. The German National Media Agency (Landesmedienstalten) is considering a ban of lootboxes with a possible fine for publishers of such games.
The possible fine is because of a ban of purchase appeals targetes towards Kids and Teens.
A decision is to be made in march.
 
I personally think, that this is the right way to go and that Lootboxes will disappear again. Even though publishers have to find different ways for monetizing their products, I'd rather pay 80€ or 90€ for a game like Witcher 3 than 60€ for a game like Battlefront 2.
Source: https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/webwelt/article173165689/Lootboxen-Wie-Computerspiele-suechtig-und-schliesslich-arm-machen.html