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ABZU is free on PS Plus this month! (Gaming)

by CyberKN ⌂ @, Oh no, Destiny 2 is bad, Wednesday, May 03, 2017, 20:04 (2761 days ago)

Now everyone can experience the game from (some of) the makers of Journey that's like Journey if Journey was entirely underwater, but somehow also better than Journey.

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Link to PS Plus games page

Tales from the Borderlands and some other games are also free. I bought TftBL on sale for like a dollar at some point, but still haven't played it.

Unrelated, there's a new patch for Horizon Zero Dawn coming next week with more options for Photo Mode and other various fixes and features. Yay!

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Review

by Cody Miller @, Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Wednesday, May 03, 2017, 20:09 (2761 days ago) @ CyberKN

https://mobile.twitter.com/tevisthompson/status/819639657340096512

Sounds good no? Lol. Just warning everyone. Disclosure: I haven't played it.

You have convinced me to try Horizon Zero Dawn. Right after I finish the second quest of Legend of Zelda, then dishonored.

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Review

by CyberKN ⌂ @, Oh no, Destiny 2 is bad, Wednesday, May 03, 2017, 20:11 (2761 days ago) @ Cody Miller

https://mobile.twitter.com/tevisthompson/status/819639657340096512

Sounds good no? Lol. Just warning everyone. Disclosure: I haven't played it.

Still better than Uncharted 4, if that guy is to be believed.

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Review

by Korny @, Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Wednesday, May 03, 2017, 20:56 (2761 days ago) @ Cody Miller

That guy includes Clustertruck and Inside on his top 10 list, and Uncharted 4 on his worst? Careful, you'll cut yourself on all the edginess.
I think it's safe to say that we don't have to worry about needing to take this guy seriously (I actually have and have played those games).

That said, I played Abzu for a while, but stopped before it put me to sleep (it's just so dang mellow). I might go back at some point, but it's nowhere near as captivating as Journey, and the controls are a bit wonky.

As for Tales from the Borderlands, it's a great game, even if you're not familiar with the Borderlands games (I'd argue that the writing is even better, too). Episodes are short, but eventful, and I love how it incorporates aspects of the Borderlands games into the story (for example, the climax of episode 1 takes place in a Boss Battle between a Vault Hunter and a classically-crazy boss, with the protagonists not actually participating in the fight, as they have their own interests. Vault Hunter boss battles are just a thing that happens in this world around them).

You have convinced me to try Horizon Zero Dawn. Right after I finish the second quest of Legend of Zelda, then dishonored.

You'll need something to play, for sure, since you won't play Destiny 2 because of its Microtransactions (much in the same way that you didn't play the new Deus Ex, despite the fact that it's one of your most praised franchises). You definitely can't go wrong with Horizon Zero Dawn (can't wait to read your review on it!).

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Review

by Cody Miller @, Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Wednesday, May 03, 2017, 21:37 (2761 days ago) @ Korny

If Des2ny ships with microtransactions, then I will ignore the modes that have them. If it's like eververse and infects everything, then I won't buy the game. Promise. Full stop.

They snuck them in with Destiny, but I won't subject myself to it moving forward.

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Review

by cheapLEY @, Wednesday, May 03, 2017, 21:44 (2761 days ago) @ Cody Miller

That's a shame--I never did get a chance to play Destiny with you.

Does anyone really think there's even a chance Eververse doesn't come back?

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Review

by CruelLEGACEY @, Toronto, Wednesday, May 03, 2017, 23:58 (2761 days ago) @ cheapLEY

That's a shame--I never did get a chance to play Destiny with you.

Does anyone really think there's even a chance Eververse doesn't come back?

Call me pessimistic, but I'll be surprised if Eververse, blind boxes, and record books aren't far more prominent in D2 (let's face it, they're all part of the same casino-style addictive loop).

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Still overpriced.

by cheapLEY @, Wednesday, May 03, 2017, 21:32 (2761 days ago) @ CyberKN

My time is worth too much.

ABZU wishes it was half as good as Journey. It's pretty, and that's literally the only thing it has going for it. It doesn't have anywhere near the heart that Journey does, and feels like a half-baked "me too."

I don't begrudge anyone their opinion on ABZU, but I really would rather have the two hours I spent playing it back.

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Still overpriced.

by CyberKN ⌂ @, Oh no, Destiny 2 is bad, Wednesday, May 03, 2017, 21:43 (2761 days ago) @ cheapLEY

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sadly, I agree

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Wednesday, May 03, 2017, 21:55 (2761 days ago) @ cheapLEY

- No text -

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Lucky.

by Funkmon @, Wednesday, May 03, 2017, 21:38 (2761 days ago) @ CyberKN

I've been waiting for it to go on sale for cheap on PC or Xbox since it launched, but so far no big sale.

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Lucky.

by CyberKN ⌂ @, Oh no, Destiny 2 is bad, Wednesday, May 03, 2017, 22:32 (2761 days ago) @ Funkmon

I've been waiting for it to go on sale for cheap on PC or Xbox since it launched, but so far no big sale.

What's your Steam account name?

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Funkmon, but don't spend money on me.

by Funkmon @, Thursday, May 04, 2017, 14:11 (2761 days ago) @ CyberKN

It'll hit a sale eventually! Worst case scenario I buy a CD key from some guy in India on eBay in two years.

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Funkmon, but don't spend money on me.

by CyberKN ⌂ @, Oh no, Destiny 2 is bad, Thursday, May 04, 2017, 14:31 (2760 days ago) @ Funkmon

It'll hit a sale eventually! Worst case scenario I buy a CD key from some guy in India on eBay in two years.

It's already been 66% off during multiple sales. I bought a few copies during the last one to give to friends, and a couple are still sitting in my inventory.

The only Funkmons I could find on Steam are from Brazil.

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That's weird.

by Funkmon @, Thursday, May 04, 2017, 15:33 (2760 days ago) @ CyberKN

I don't know how Steam works then. I've had Funkmon since December of 2005. I see the Brazilian guy, but I also see this on my account page.
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http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197979931919/

Does that do anything? Or funkmon@gmail.com? I hate steam so much.

I'll accept a gift of this game since you already bought a bunch! Haha! I'm upset I missed the 66% off sale. I'll record a let's play in it that nobody should watch.

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That's weird.

by CyberKN ⌂ @, Oh no, Destiny 2 is bad, Thursday, May 04, 2017, 15:44 (2760 days ago) @ Funkmon

I don't know how Steam works then. I've had Funkmon since December of 2005. I see the Brazilian guy, but I also see this on my account page.
[image]

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197979931919/

Does that do anything? Or funkmon@gmail.com? I hate steam so much.

Your profile was flagged as "private" when I clicked on it, maybe that's why. Check your notifications now.

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I've been notified. :O.

by Funkmon @, Thursday, May 04, 2017, 15:46 (2760 days ago) @ CyberKN

I'm so excited.

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Lllllet's play

by Funkmon @, Friday, May 05, 2017, 04:36 (2760 days ago) @ CyberKN

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Box-quote worthy

by CyberKN ⌂ @, Oh no, Destiny 2 is bad, Friday, May 05, 2017, 16:30 (2759 days ago) @ Funkmon

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Top game for $10 or less IMO.

by Funkmon @, Friday, May 05, 2017, 16:45 (2759 days ago) @ CyberKN

I liked watching Journey better than I liked watching ABZÛ, but honestly it was a good 2 hours. It had a $60 game's worth of experience in it, but only $3 of gameplay. Not sure how to quantify it. I'll remember it forever. A lot of games have more gameplay than experience, like Mirror's Edge Catalyst, which is forgettable but fun, but this was less fun and unforgettable. It was so peaceful it made me want to sleep. It also was short enough and amusing enough to make me want to go get the collectibles on another playthrough.

Also I hope you didn't watch that whole Let's Play and just skipped to the end. I barely talked and made a few boneheaded moves in that waterfall puzzle room.

Anyway, whatever those guys release next, I'll definitely buy it on the first sale I see. But not at $20.

Thanks a ton for the game. I'm so glad I finally got to experience it.

Also I'm going to make that image the custom thumbnail.

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I watched the whole thing.

by CyberKN ⌂ @, Oh no, Destiny 2 is bad, Friday, May 05, 2017, 16:51 (2759 days ago) @ Funkmon

You were quite hard to hear at times- I think your audio mix might need some adjusting.

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You're right, I just didn't bother doing anything about it.

by Funkmon @, Friday, May 05, 2017, 18:27 (2759 days ago) @ CyberKN
edited by Funkmon, Friday, May 05, 2017, 18:30

After a couple minutes, I realized me talking didn't have a huge benefit to the video, and I didn't have much to say, so I didn't bother sitting close to the microphone. On my Life Is Strange LP, on the other hand, I spent 60% of it ranting so the mix was worth adjusting to get it right. I probably could have used the volume at the end but I also didn't have much to say there.

Most of my commentary on this one was "oh look a manatee." Who were adorable.

I think this game is a less is more approach, and I like let's plays to primarily be a way for people to play a game without buying it. So me being quiet is nbd. I envision someone searching YouTube for abzu let's play and clicking my thing as it's a single video to watch the game. I don't spend much time talking over it, I just let it happen and quietly mumble that I'm an idiot.

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Important PS+ PSA...

by Korny @, Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Friday, May 05, 2017, 13:31 (2760 days ago) @ CyberKN

Link to PS Plus games page

Be sure to check out all of the PS+ games every month, not just the ones for PS4. Many of the PS3/Vita games are crossbuy, meaning that you get them for PS4 as well (sometimes even down the road when a remaster is made available, a la Journey).

Last month I almost missed out on the PS4 version of 10 Second Ninja, since it was listed as a PS3 game, and we've had a lot of quick fun with that one. This month, Type:Rider is listed as a Vita game, but it (and Laser Disco Defenders) is available for PS4, and it looks like a good Limbo-inspired game, if a certain recent Playdead game left you feeling disappointed...


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Important PS+ PSA...

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Friday, May 05, 2017, 18:15 (2759 days ago) @ Korny

Link to PS Plus games page


... if a certain recent Playdead game left you feeling disappointed...

unpossible.

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Important PS+ PSA...

by cheapLEY @, Sunday, May 07, 2017, 12:42 (2758 days ago) @ Korny

Link to PS Plus games page


Be sure to check out all of the PS+ games every month, not just the ones for PS4. Many of the PS3/Vita games are crossbuy, meaning that you get them for PS4 as well (sometimes even down the road when a remaster is made available, a la Journey).

Is it possible to see any of that on the PS4? I never check PS+ anywhere but through the storefront on the PS4, and it's not showing anything but the actual PS4 games.

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Same PSA applies to XBL's Games with Gold, btw

by ZackDark @, Not behind you. NO! Don't look., Sunday, May 07, 2017, 19:58 (2757 days ago) @ Korny

- No text -

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Same PSA applies to XBL's Games with Gold, btw

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Monday, May 08, 2017, 11:16 (2757 days ago) @ ZackDark

At least XBL shows you all offerings on the Xbox (I know it makes sense for them--they have no mobile games and their 360 games are backwards compatible).

I despise the PSN website. What a finicky piece of crap.

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Same PSA applies to XBL's Games with Gold, btw

by CyberKN ⌂ @, Oh no, Destiny 2 is bad, Monday, May 08, 2017, 16:13 (2756 days ago) @ Kermit

At least XBL shows you all offerings on the Xbox (I know it makes sense for them--they have no mobile games and their 360 games are backwards compatible).

I despise the PSN website. What a finicky piece of crap.

Really? I love it.

The Xbox website has always sucked, though.

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Same PSA applies to XBL's Games with Gold, btw

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Monday, May 08, 2017, 16:49 (2756 days ago) @ CyberKN
edited by Kermit, Monday, May 08, 2017, 16:57

At least XBL shows you all offerings on the Xbox (I know it makes sense for them--they have no mobile games and their 360 games are backwards compatible).

I despise the PSN website. What a finicky piece of crap.


Really? I love it.

The Xbox website has always sucked, though.

But you don't really need the XBox website in order to do anything. By any modern online retail standard, they both suck. Also, PSN rarely loads correctly the first time in any browser I have, doesn't keep me logged in, sometimes doesn't even let me log in, and is as slow as molasses. When you go to the store, the interface changes completely. Free games are buried (I wouldn't mind clicking so many times if I weren't each time taken to an honest-to-God loading screen for a fricking web page). Games are often listed twice, even if it's a cross-buy deal. If you buy one version it doesn't tell you can't buy the other until you try to buy the other, and it doesn't tell you why you can't buy the other.

On the positive side, going to and using the PSN store through the iPhone Playstation app is reasonably easy.

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Same PSA applies to XBL's Games with Gold, btw

by MacAddictXIV @, Seattle WA, Monday, May 08, 2017, 16:57 (2756 days ago) @ Kermit

I've never used either website to download games... I just do it on the XBox dashboard. There is always a "games with gold" on the side that lists them all off for me. So basically I've never had a problem :D

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Same PSA applies to XBL's Games with Gold, btw

by Korny @, Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Monday, May 08, 2017, 17:14 (2756 days ago) @ MacAddictXIV

I've never used either website to download games... I just do it on the XBox dashboard. There is always a "games with gold" on the side that lists them all off for me. So basically I've never had a problem :D

The top left of the Crossbar on a PS4 is dedicated to PS+ (the free games, Plus exclusive deals, your free game library, etc...), but it doesn't list the PS3/Vita games that are crossbuy, which is my biggest complaint (if you pull up those games in the console store, they do show up as free, but they don't advertise that).

As far as the website goes, I just type "Free PS+ games" into google every month, and it's literally the first link. I just add all of the games to the cart at once, and check out. I don't know if that link auto-updates every month, but I've never bothered bookmarking it, since typing it on the address bar is just as fast.

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That's a good trick (for anything, really)

by ZackDark @, Not behind you. NO! Don't look., Monday, May 08, 2017, 19:51 (2756 days ago) @ Korny

Still doesn't absolve the website and its "anatomical flow".

I've found the Xbox website behaves a LOT better on Microsoft Edge, so now it's the sole thing other than Netflix I use on that damn browser.

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Same PSA applies to XBL's Games with Gold, btw

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Monday, May 08, 2017, 19:59 (2756 days ago) @ Korny

I've never used either website to download games... I just do it on the XBox dashboard. There is always a "games with gold" on the side that lists them all off for me. So basically I've never had a problem :D


The top left of the Crossbar on a PS4 is dedicated to PS+ (the free games, Plus exclusive deals, your free game library, etc...), but it doesn't list the PS3/Vita games that are crossbuy, which is my biggest complaint (if you pull up those games in the console store, they do show up as free, but they don't advertise that).

As far as the website goes, I just type "Free PS+ games" into google every month, and it's literally the first link. I just add all of the games to the cart at once, and check out. I don't know if that link auto-updates every month, but I've never bothered bookmarking it, since typing it on the address bar is just as fast.

Good tip. You still get that stupid loading page, though. I had the habit of going to playstation.com, then going to the store. Now I see the plus games are to the right of the store button, so I could just choose that and be there. And today PSN likes me and recognizes the cookie that has me logged in. If I have to log in, all bets are off.

The xbox.com experience is horrible today. A similar Games with Gold link takes you to the games. When I clicked on them, it prompted me to buy, which I thought was weird because I've already got the licenses. I noticed that as soon as I entered the Microsoft Store context, the site logged me out. Grrr.

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Same PSA applies to XBL's Games with Gold, btw

by Korny @, Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Monday, May 08, 2017, 20:25 (2756 days ago) @ Kermit

I've never used either website to download games... I just do it on the XBox dashboard. There is always a "games with gold" on the side that lists them all off for me. So basically I've never had a problem :D


The top left of the Crossbar on a PS4 is dedicated to PS+ (the free games, Plus exclusive deals, your free game library, etc...), but it doesn't list the PS3/Vita games that are crossbuy, which is my biggest complaint (if you pull up those games in the console store, they do show up as free, but they don't advertise that).

As far as the website goes, I just type "Free PS+ games" into google every month, and it's literally the first link. I just add all of the games to the cart at once, and check out. I don't know if that link auto-updates every month, but I've never bothered bookmarking it, since typing it on the address bar is just as fast.


Good tip. You still get that stupid loading page, though.

I just get a loading pop-up. I click confirm, and continue to put each game in the cart. Maybe it's extra annoying on a Mac?

The xbox.com experience is horrible today. A similar Games with Gold link takes you to the games. When I clicked on them, it prompted me to buy, which I thought was weird because I've already got the licenses. I noticed that as soon as I entered the Microsoft Store context, the site logged me out. Grrr.

Back when I'd try to get my GWG games, on top of everything, it would always prompt me to send for a verification code, in an attempt to get me to use Microsoft's two-step verification crap. The few times that I considered giving in, it always said that the service was unavailable. It became enough of a thousand cuts that I slowly stopped even checking the free games since odds are it was Pool Nation FX for the tenth month in a row (Xbone was usually unplugged, so I'd just build the library through the website)...

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Same PSA applies to XBL's Games with Gold, btw

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Monday, May 08, 2017, 21:21 (2756 days ago) @ Korny

I've never used either website to download games... I just do it on the XBox dashboard. There is always a "games with gold" on the side that lists them all off for me. So basically I've never had a problem :D


The top left of the Crossbar on a PS4 is dedicated to PS+ (the free games, Plus exclusive deals, your free game library, etc...), but it doesn't list the PS3/Vita games that are crossbuy, which is my biggest complaint (if you pull up those games in the console store, they do show up as free, but they don't advertise that).

As far as the website goes, I just type "Free PS+ games" into google every month, and it's literally the first link. I just add all of the games to the cart at once, and check out. I don't know if that link auto-updates every month, but I've never bothered bookmarking it, since typing it on the address bar is just as fast.


Good tip. You still get that stupid loading page, though.


I just get a loading pop-up. I click confirm, and continue to put each game in the cart. Maybe it's extra annoying on a Mac?

Nope. Windoze. I'm talking about the loading pages you get just by trying to load in the store. The pop-up you get trying to log in doesn't even work half the time for me. I've given up and used the phone app.

The xbox.com experience is horrible today. A similar Games with Gold link takes you to the games. When I clicked on them, it prompted me to buy, which I thought was weird because I've already got the licenses. I noticed that as soon as I entered the Microsoft Store context, the site logged me out. Grrr.


Back when I'd try to get my GWG games, on top of everything, it would always prompt me to send for a verification code, in an attempt to get me to use Microsoft's two-step verification crap. The few times that I considered giving in, it always said that the service was unavailable. It became enough of a thousand cuts that I slowly stopped even checking the free games since odds are it was Pool Nation FX for the tenth month in a row (Xbone was usually unplugged, so I'd just build the library through the website)...

Yeah, I realize that in Kornyworld everything playstation is wonderful and everything Xbox is shit. I'll say it again--they both suck.

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Same PSA applies to XBL's Games with Gold, btw

by Korny @, Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Tuesday, May 09, 2017, 01:05 (2756 days ago) @ Kermit

Yeah, I realize that in Kornyworld everything playstation is wonderful and everything Xbox is shit. I'll say it again--they both suck.

You're the one using a Mac, man... ;)

At least use Firefox. I can almost guarantee that those Windoze problems aren't something other folks are seeing.

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Same PSA applies to XBL's Games with Gold, btw

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Tuesday, May 09, 2017, 04:46 (2756 days ago) @ Korny

Yeah, I realize that in Kornyworld everything playstation is wonderful and everything Xbox is shit. I'll say it again--they both suck.


You're the one using a Mac, man... ;)

My problems have been on a windows machine. I thought I said that. It happens that when I think to go there, I'm usually sitting in front of a windows machine. My assumption is that it's worse on a mac. Most wonky websites are. I resent that I have to go there at all--a problem you acknowledge.

At least use Firefox. I can almost guarantee that those Windoze problems aren't something other folks are seeing.

I've tried using I.E., Chrome, and Firefox. PlayStation.com is flakey and ugly.

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Because I'm not one to be full of hot air...

by Korny @, Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Tuesday, May 09, 2017, 01:48 (2756 days ago) @ Kermit

Yeah, I realize that in Kornyworld everything playstation is wonderful and everything Xbox is shit. I'll say it again--they both suck.

Unlike some folks, I actually like to bring evidence to the table when I make a claim. So I booted up a screen recorder, and tried to download some games from both sites.

First, I went to the Xbox store, and tried to download the recently-released Prey demo:


No idea what happened the first time, but the second time seems about right.

Then I went to the Playstation homepage (logged in as my brother, since I already have the games), and in under a minute, had the free games page located, and three games downloaded; without any of those evil windoze...

I just spit the truth, man. See for yourself.

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Because I'm not one to be full of hot air...

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Tuesday, May 09, 2017, 05:14 (2756 days ago) @ Korny

Yeah, PlayStation needlessly asks you to confirm that you want to do what you just did. It's like with their updates. When I first got a PS3, I couldn't get over obsessed they are with confirmation buttons. Do you want to download this update? Confirm. Oh, you want to install this update you just downloaded? Confirm.

Xbox.com is broken today. PlayStation.com has been broken for me plenty. I'm usually on my lunch hour, trying to do something that should take 60 seconds. (Again, who else in 2017 has a loading screen for their website?) I remain convinced they both suck.

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Because I'm not one to be full of hot air...

by Cody Miller @, Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Tuesday, May 09, 2017, 05:42 (2756 days ago) @ Kermit

Yeah, PlayStation needlessly asks you to confirm that you want to do what you just did. It's like with their updates. When I first got a PS3, I couldn't get over obsessed they are with confirmation buttons. Do you want to download this update? Confirm. Oh, you want to install this update you just downloaded? Confirm.

Remember when you could be playing your games within seconds?

http://bombingtheuniverse.net/movies/quickstart.mov

Literally 5 seconds after I turn on the system I can play.

Today, we have the console OS boot. Then we have to select the game to launch. Then we have to go through splash screens and shit. With hardware thousands of times more powerful, why are we waiting longer?! Splash screens and logos are particularly stupid because they are 100% avoidable. Save that shit for the credits after you beat the game. It should immediately load the title screen.

Thanks for getting me riled up about modern design stupidity.

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Because I'm not one to be full of hot air...

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Tuesday, May 09, 2017, 18:20 (2755 days ago) @ Cody Miller

Yeah, PlayStation needlessly asks you to confirm that you want to do what you just did. It's like with their updates. When I first got a PS3, I couldn't get over obsessed they are with confirmation buttons. Do you want to download this update? Confirm. Oh, you want to install this update you just downloaded? Confirm.


Remember when you could be playing your games within seconds?

http://bombingtheuniverse.net/movies/quickstart.mov

Literally 5 seconds after I turn on the system I can play.

Today, we have the console OS boot. Then we have to select the game to launch. Then we have to go through splash screens and shit. With hardware thousands of times more powerful, why are we waiting longer?! Splash screens and logos are particularly stupid because they are 100% avoidable. Save that shit for the credits after you beat the game. It should immediately load the title screen.

Thanks for getting me riled up about modern design stupidity.

You're welcome. I will say I tend to leave my consoles in rest mode, which speeds up the start process. Launching Destiny is the bottleneck. One hopes that not having to support last gen speeds up Destiny 2. I don't mind logos and whatnot if they're skippable.

The number of times I've had problems with both platforms' websites is inexcusable given the cost of their services. We deserve better.

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