I mean, I get it too (Gaming)

by Kermit , Raleigh, NC, Sunday, July 05, 2026, 15:12 (21 hours, 25 minutes ago) @ Vortech
edited by Kermit, Sunday, July 05, 2026, 15:16

Hmm. Just the other day I drove my Saturn over to Sears to pick up some Kodachrome film to use on my vacation, which of course I'd planned using a travel agent. I'm visiting Italy, by the way, inspired by the movie ROMAN HOLIDAY--a friend had loaned me her copy of it on betamax last year. I dialed her up the other night to thank her again, but the line was busy. Yeah, the established producers stay established and nothing ever changes.

The fact that some things are old does not prove any point that cuts against anything I have said.

Maybe let’s back up, because you’re right—we’re getting far afield here. You criticized my use of the phrase “invisible hand” when describing how free markets work. And I agree that it doesn’t always work that way in every particular case. The minimally viable product is a real phenomenon that we see in shrinking candy bars and whatnot. What does that have to do with old things? How do things get categorized as old? Because they are replaced by something newer. Why are they replaced? Because what is a minimally viable product is affected by innovation and competition. And yes, maybe the immediate replacement is worse (as with VHS), but in the long-term that’s not a constant to say the least. DVDs are obviously superior to betamax. The nature of change is that there are losses to go with the gains. Is every product better in every way than what replaced it? Of course not, but do more people have access to greater benefits than they had before? On the whole and over enough time, I think the answer to that question is undeniably yes.

We both can be right in describing different aspects but still incomplete. These are your points that I take issue with.

1. Producers deliver less and get more. 



Like I said, a real issue that is more likely to happen with large corporations that have some sort of lock on the market. We must be diligent and ensure fair competition. Focusing on large corporations, however, presents a distorted view of our economy—at least in the US. Small business make up 99.9% percent of US companies. They represent a little less than half of our GDP. 


2. Innovation comes from the iconoclast “financed by the seedier parts of the system.” 



Considering what the gets the most attention in the media, I assume you’re talking about the Elon Musks and Sam Altmans and the VCs associated with them. See previous answer—the focus on this ignores a huge chunk of our economy. Small business owners are often hustling 80+ hours a week to out-innovate their competitors. There’s a brewery in western North Carolina that was started several decades ago by a Jamaican-Chinese immigrant. They’ve weathered hurricanes and changing tastes (less drinking) to become a tourist destination with large indoor and outdoor spaces of activities and events. They’re now moving into food service. Maybe they’ll never end up on the cover of Forbes, but they are innovators and that’s the free market, too. 


3. Critics are the source of ideas, not the “wisdom of the crowd.”

We might be using different words for the same thing. You ever do a usability study? The most talented designers in the world can't reliably predict how users will actually react to their product. And you’re right, the best solution may not be what they say they want. On the other hand, several iterations of “best solutions” still may not be what they want. Consumers get a vote, and when they don’t buy, they are being critics. And now we’re getting back to the invisible hand. There isn’t a discussion or plan, but there is the behavoir of many customers acting out of their personal self-interest.

Nobody said only Cody can have an opinion. That's a straw man you have introduced into the conversation. My question has been why you think only Cody can't share his opinion.

Of course Cody can have an opinion. My issue with Cody is almost always his presentation, and this thread started because of his opinion that living with no guest option in the new Halo game equated to not having respect for oneself. Since then, Sony made their stupid disc announcement, an issue truly worthy of anger. Cody can be the boy who cried wolf, but in the latter case, Sony is being a bona fide wolf. Even though I have many fewer PS discs than Xbox discs, I won’t see myself buying a PS6 because I’ve yet to see that what I’ll gain exceeds what I’ll lose. I can easily imagine not updating either of my consoles for years and I don’t think I’ll be alone, which means PS6 or Helix exclusives will be slow coming. We’ve got to figure out a way to ensure that a purchase is a purchase. I expect there to be lawsuits. I expect that the landscape will change. 



Here is the bottom line: what I appreciate about free markets as opposed to alternatives to it is the former’s ability to self-heal. There is a thermostatic effect at work: with every problem comes an incentive to solve the problem. But what about the big corporations like Sony? Sony survived 35 years to be featured as an ad in both Bladerunner movies. Many big brands featured in the first movie didn’t. Bring on creative destruction.