Lurker > gu-gohan

I've been saying for years that subscription models like Game Pass are not sustainable. The fact that Microsoft has been talking about revenue for years without ever providing clear profit figures says it all. The financial results would actually be significantly worse if they had put more effort into developing their own games. Once-great franchises like Halo, Gears of War, or Fable have been left to rot for years. They may acquire multi-billion-dollar companies like Bethesda or Activision/Blizzard, but it's obvious they have no plan for what to do with them. Good corporate culture and leadership look very different.

Subscription models have a very negative impact on the video game market. In the end, they restrict the free, independent market. Developers and publishers become increasingly dependent on the service provider (Microsoft) due to cannibalized sales figures and the same ultimately applies to customers (gamers). The result is that a mega corporation like Microsoft can exert massive influence over the content and pricing of products (games). Honorable intentions such as enriching the video game world by developing great games are nowhere to be found at Microsoft. It's solely about gaining long-term market share. The motto is: If I'm too incompetent to understand and enrich the video game world, I'll just buy my way in.

That's how the Game Pass model works, and that's exactly why I reject it.

My salary is good. Despite the high living costs in Switzerland, I'm able to save around $2000-$2500 a month (not including retirement savings). Part of it is spent on vacations, going out for dinner, video games, apparel, and other things. But I always put a decent amount away for bigger investments in the future (new car, new furnitures, new TV, other expensive stuff).

I'm on track with my retirement plan, too. When I retire, I'll be getting around $3100 from the state pension fund, around $4800 from my employment pension fund, and around $1500 from a private pension fund each month.

It's not my intention to brag. I't just pure luck that I was born in a rich country and that I made a couple of good decisions in my life.

That tells everything people need to know about him. A real pos. It's a tragedy that the USA is led by people like that.

Hey, das geht ab! Wir feiern die ganze Nacht!

Moin, moin, werter Kollege.
Wie geht's denn so?
Na dann ist ja alles in Butter.

I do, but only once or twice a week. And even then, I have to force myself. My biggest problem right now are my working hours (45+ hours a week at the moment). When I get home, I feel exhausted and want to relax. I know that working out would be better than just hanging around. But it's not that easy when you're tired.

In my case, it's a temporarily thing. As soon as our project at work ends (around april next year), I should have more free time again. The more free time I have, the more I'm motivated to work out.

My Alpha Sapphire stopped working. Ever since I found out, I boot up all my 3DS games once a year. I only have digital games for Switch, so no problem there.

Is it recommended to boot up DS games, too?

In Switzerland, we write decimals with a point.
For example, 1.5%.

In Germany, they use a comma instead.
For example, 1,5%.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Thank you for providing some informations.

This is crazy, especially when considering that the USA is easily one of the most influental and rich country of the world. You have practically no worker rights at all. Damn.

For example, this is a legal work week in the state of Georgia.
Monday: 8am-midnight
Tuesday: 12:01am-midnight
Wednesday: 12:01am-8pm
Thursday: 7am-midnight
Friday: 5am-5pm
Saturday: 5pm-midnight
Sunday: midnight-10pm

I personally work about 45 hours a week on average at my job.

At a previous job, 100 hour work weeks were the norm. As were months where I didn't have a single off day.

Unbelievable.

I mean, I totally believe you, but what the hell... O_o

I work on a salary basis. So all extra hours get compensated. I can choose between payout or using them to take some days off. I usually choose the latter because free time > money for me. But I'm still very much looking forward to the point where I don't have to work 45-46 hours a week anymore. It's just too much, especially when it goes on like that for months if not years.

I've heard that American work culture is pretty fucked up. Am I right in assuming that this is primarily because workers have few rights?
I've also heard that people work incredibly long hours. I thought we in Switzerland already had it bad...

My employment contract stipulates an average working week of 42 hours, which I already consider quite high. For about a year and a half, a small team in which I am a technical leader has been working on a huge project that is slowly coming to its end. Currently, I often work 45-46 hours a week, and I hate it.

Fortunately, everything else about my employment is great: the team, the short commute, the work content, etc. So I'll bite the bullet. But I hope things will be better next year. No one should have to work that many hours for a long period of time. In the end, no one from the higher ups says "thanks" to you. They just take it as granted.

008Zulu posted...

Considering how much you have to fact-check the answers it gives, it would be considerably more time effective just to search for the information yourself.

Exactly.

That's why AI should never serve as a legitimate source.

MartavisBryant posted...

Top tier: Pulp Fiction > Inglourious Basterds > Django Unchained (but I'm really splitting hairs here, as I like all of them as much as any movie I've ever seen)

Amazing tier: Kill Bill: Vol. 1 > Kill Bill: Vol. 2

Still amazing, but slightly lower tier: Reservoir Dogs = Jackie Brown = The Hateful Eight

Good, but bad for Tarantino tier: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

We don't talk about it tier: Death Proof

Wow, 100% same!

Bass posted...

Region 3 my whole life.

Never went abroad?

I've never lived in the US. The last time I was there as a visitor was in 2023 and the last destination was Washington DC.

tremain07 posted...

It already is, its' also a far right wing platform owned by the murdocks thanks to Trump, Democrats really fucked this move up horribly and not only did it backfire and turn all of social media against them it gave the republicans an even stronger opportunity to turn it all into propaganda for the right wing to the point other countries are being affected by this shit.

Unfortunately, you're right.

I really, really hope the EU and Switzerland don't give in. They need to regulate all social media platforms and make their owners accountable. We don't want that shit here.

Trump and his goons have no idea how much they destroy the trust and loyalty a lot of countries/people had in the USA. This will hurt a lot of companies and thus people in real life.

WTF...

Insane.

You shouldn't drink alcohol at all, or if you do, then only for pleasure, as is widespread here in Europe. So, only for positive reasons. I like drinking one beer, one gin tonic or one glass of wine on my days off and do that for ten years. It only happens 2-3 times a year on special occasions, that I drink more than that. I don't have any physical or mental illnesses, so I'm fine with that routine. But if you don't feeling well, you shouldn't drink at all.

It's never a solution for people seeking an escape or trying to alleviate their depression by drinking alcohol. Never.

They hit us (Switzerland) hard.

But the other way around, the USA, or rather their citizens, are just as affected. And such actions ultimately only lead to the US losing the last bit of trust it still has here in central Europe. Many people are openly talking about avoiding American products in the future, or at least buying them less frequently.

Tariffs are almost always harmful for everyone. Especially when they are imposed without reason, at completely excessive levels, out of the blue, and using blackmail methods.

No clue why some people dislike it. Always thought it's a good movie.

Yeah, it's crazy. Good old times.

Gen 7 was so great. So many great games.

By Platform:
Dreamcast: 6
Game Boy: 10
Game Boy Advance: 18
Game Boy Color: 8
GameCube: 48
NES: 12
Nintendo 3DS 60
Nintendo 64: 44
Nintendo DS: 26
PlayStation: 2
PlayStation 2: 10
PlayStation 3: 20
PlayStation 4: 164
PlayStation 5: 50
PlayStation Vita: 6
SNES: 22
Switch: 27
Switch 2: 5
Wii: 30
Wii U: 12
Xbox: 34
Xbox 360: 112
Xbox One: 8
Xbox Series X: 2

By Format:
Physical games: 385
Digital games: 349

By Genre:
Action: 6
Action RPG: 40
Action/Adventure: 86
Adventure: 24
Beat'em Up: 10
Cinematic / Interactive Film: 6
Compilation: 3
Fighting: 17
First-Person Shooter: 69
Hack & Slash: 23
Horror: 31
Metroidvania: 18
Monster Tamer: 10
Party: 14
Platformer: 85
Puzzle: 12
Racing: 26
Rhythm: 2
Roguelike: 1
RPG: 9
Run and Gun: 5
Sandbox Action-Adventure: 33
Sandbox RPG: 24
Shoot'em Up: 3
Simulation: 7
Sports: 48
Stealth: 23
Strategy: 10
Survival: 2
Tactical RPG: 12
Third-Person Shooter: 14
Turn-based RPG: 38
Visual Novel: 23

Some notes here:

• I try to link each game to one - and only one - genre/subgenre, even if they're hybrid and contain elements from more than one genres. It's just the way I like to organize my games.
• The term "sandbox" isn't quite right... "Open-world" would probably be the better term. I like to separate regular Action-Adventures and RPGs from others with huge open environments (such as Red Red Redemption or Skyrim). Again, it's a personal thing how I like to organize my games.
• The genre "Action" is just a container for games that contain action elements and don't fit in another, more specific genre/subgenre.

Yes, I like tracking and organizing my collection :D

Billionaires are so out of touch with reality. I wished, more people would stop hailing to them. Instead, they should hail to people who have the best interest of our planet and its civilians in mind. To people, who are decent human beings and add something meaningful to our society while not harming others.

tripleh213 posted...

My knees crack when I get up

This so much, lol ^^

qwerti posted...

those who got 200-600, 600-1000;

ya gunna finish tham?

No. I've only completed 351 out of the 736 games I have. I intend to complete about 50-60 from the currently unfinished games. What's left after that are just games I own, but never intend to finish.

What needs to be mentioned: I do count multiple versions of the same game as two games. For example, when I buy a game and get the PS4 and PS5 version, I do count them as two games because technically they're two versions. This artificially increases the number of games in my collection a bit. If I wouldn't count multiple versions of the same games individually, the number of games I own would be closer to 600 I think...

Some of the games I haven't finished (and have no intention to ever finish) I got for free at conventions or community events (for example, as tournament prices). They just happen to be in my collection.

736

Beverly Kills Cop

1.5-2 hours on weekdays, 3-4.5 hours on saturdays and sundays.

One of the main problems is that many of their toys and other products contain plasticizers, which can be harmful to health and are therefore banned in the EU.

Another problem is that all the crap people are ordering from them is not only causing even more stores to close, but also leading to a massive flood of packages. From an ecological perspective, it's a disaster.

Beyond Food & Evil

Half-Wife

Zeus Ex

Room

Ghost Prick: Phantom Detective :D

I've never used AliExpress, Shein, Temu and all that crap, nor will I use them in the future. It's a matter of principle to me.

One of the best and most important movies ever made.

Some friends told me they had to turn the TV off after listening to him for a minute.

Seriously, no one except far-right nuts take him seriously here in Switzerland. What an absolute awful human being.

I was never into that perverted stuff. Sure, as a teenager, I might have watched one or two anime series of that kind. But I quickly realized that it didn't interest me at all.

As a child, I much preferred watching classics like Captain Tsubasa or Dragon Ball. As I got a little older, I discovered films like Akira and Ghost in the Shell, or anime series like Cowboy Bebop and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Later, I developed a fondness for works by Satoshi Kon, such as Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Paranoia Agent, Tokyo Godfathers, and Paprika. Of course, I also watched practically all of Ghibli's films.

Those are the real anime treasures for me. Not the perverted stuff. I wish young people would appreciate more serious anime series or those with more depth.

MWF Wo Nercy

2urok T: Eeeds of Svil

Tario Mower Pennis

Binja Naiden Glack

621 posted...

yup everyday. unfortunately all the countries I wanna live in require learning a new language. and basically starting from scratch.

Canada or Ireland aren't an option?

Or at least in a blue state, if you live in a red state.

wanderingshade posted...

I live in Detroit so I think about taking the short drive to Windsor Ontario and just living there.

Yeah, Canada would be one of a few obvious choices I guess.

Due to the Trump administration, I mean.
Just curious.

Greetings from Switzerland.

Social media in general is very dangerous for society, because it boosts echo chambers. Individuals and groups with certain interests deliberately misuse it by spreading lies and hatred. And unfortunately, a large part of the population is prone to propaganda.

I really hope that the EU doesn't bend the knee before Trump and the Tech Bros. We shouldn't let their distorted views of mankind influence as more than they already do. On the contrary, we need to regulate them and hold them accountable for the content on their sites, and if they don't comply, then bye.

I've made up my mind years ago and won't use social media or AI in my private life.
I also try to reduce my dependency on US hosted apps. Haven't made a full cut yet, for example, I still use a couple of Microsoft apps, a few Google apps, Android and Whatsapp. But I'm always looking for alternative apps hosted in the EU.

These people are so lost.

I've always loved that movie, despite some people calling it overrated.

sfcalimari posted...

I can't remember any common English verbs that have been adopted into German or French but I imagine the French would put -er on an infinitive and Germans would put -en. Or maybe they just adopt nouns like le weekend.

Oh, we adopt a lot of english verbs into our language (swiss-german, that is).

We say "chillen" for "to chill", "gamblen" for "to gamble", "haten" for "to hate" and a lot more.

It's quite common by people under age 45 or so.

Funkydog posted...

We use lots of foreign words as our own that never got 'anglicised'

Of course, we do that, too.

But "to schlep" really sounds so lol to us native german speakers ^^

Just found out that "to schlep" is an english verb. It sounds so un-englisch. We use "schleppen" in german-speaking countries but I never heard about "to schlep" in english before.

Another word that always amuses me is "Kindergarten". It's the same term as in german. Why not calling it "Childrengarden"?

:D

EPR-radar posted...

In this case, a highly educated dumb person.

If nothing else, it's a useful reminder that education has no necessary relation to intelligence, either way.

Agreed.

Last time I ate frozen Pizza must be ten years ago or so. I like them freshly made by myself (yes, including the dough).