That makes sense. Microsoft didn’t enter the console market for gamers or gaming- they entered it to beat sony. The PS2 had a linux distro you could load on it to try to sell it as a computer to circumvent luxury import taxes. If it WAS a computer, it would compete with Microsoft Windows. They were worried that a console could just sell software instead of games and be a competitor, so they threw a ton of money trying to run Sony out of business.

Microsoft never really wanted to win gaming. The war was against an enemy that wasn’t really a threat. So not killing off a console wasn’t really a “loss”.

Older games are also meant to be beaten. I remember games that had reviews saying, “This game will take 40-60 hours to complete”, and that was it. You could replay it if you wanted, but it was just an experience.

The new idea is live service games. Games you can never really beat, you just grind at it forever. That or they have a bunch of add on things to make the game take a lot longer so you keep playing the same thing over and over again. I’m not saying they’re not fun, just that they lack a satisfying conclusion and variety.

…did they sell the pirates DVDs ON Amazon? That would be funny, and mildly ironic on how Amazon has zero accountability for all the counterfeit jank junk they sell.

I’ve not had kids, but I’ve had many dogs. It’s a similar thing where people who have had a few good dogs look at a ‘bad dog’ and blame the owner. The dog needs training, or discipline, or whatever… And they’ve never had a dog that had issues. Until you do get that one stubborn little asshole where nothing works. Yes, we’ve tried that- the dog is willfully just a little asshole. Still love 'em, still give them the best life you can- but you know them too well and just know that they are going to be a pain and do bad things no matter what. All you can do is try to mitigate the damage and make sure they don’t hurt themselves.

For our dog that was like that- it just took a long time for him to grow old enough to slow down. Then he became the sweetest and best dog ever.

Good luck on the kid. Hope they figure it out sooner rather than later.

Pleasure yourself with the all new McDonald’s McRib this Easter.