Back in January, a fat greedy Ubisoft exec in France said that gamers will get comfortable with not owning games. Gamers reacted in the most logical, reasonable, and very tranquil way... ah who am I kidding, gamers as usual got very emotional, got into their feelings, and sent the usual death and rape threats whenever their bubble wrapped safe space existences are visited by reality.

The Ubisoft stooge may have put in inelegantly but he was 100% correct. Anyone who has a library on Steam, EGS, GOG, PSN, or XBL is already comfortable with non-ownership and anyone who has digital games who disagrees is a low IQ hypocrite with no critical thinking skills.

Let me paraphrase every EULA attached to all software: we purchase not a game but a one time arbitrary highly revocable license to access the software. Please sit down for this next part: no gamer owns anything on any digital game store. And I'm fine with it because all the digital games I "own" were acquired via steep discounts or subscriptions.

So I agree with the Ubisoft empty suit except for one thing: gamers are already comfortable with non-ownership of games. Good or bad (and I think it's bad), the game industry is moving toward 100% digital access to games. The industry wants to be where music is and where movies are currently moving toward. If you don't like it (I certainly don't), there are other hobbies like stamp collecting where you can keep all the goods.

Let me end on a helpful life note. Please think or do research prior to saying or doing anything or reacting to something. It can be very productive to measure words prior to expressing them.

Please take this in the most gentle respectful way possible: some of you all are really REALLY pathetic.

Every time I read a badly spelled improperly grammared limited vocabulary low IQ post stating "SONY IS TEH ROOOLZ AND MICROSOFT IS TEH SUXXXORRRSSS!" or vice versa, I lose a bit more of what little respect I have left for humanity in addition to a brain cell or two.

Here's a news flash: the video game industry writ large does not like you. The only thing they like about you is that green paper in your pocket and devising new innovative ways to separate as much of it from you possible. If the industry could wave a magic wand and make you all vanish but leave the green paper behind for them to collect, they would do it in a nanosecond.

Do you all really believe that Microsoft cares what gamers think when they cashiered studios and workers? I checked their stats and their stock is up 1.11% since the closures and firings, their market cap sits around $3.1T, their shareholders are ecstatic that they swung the axe and they are rewarding them for it.

Oh and I'm coming for you too Sony. Do you all really believe that Sony cared about PC gamer outrage around HD2 forcing them to get PSN accounts? They were going to ride out the always temporary online outrage and didn't change course until HD2 got pulled from 177 countries. In other words, they weren't going to do jack squat until they were measurably going to lose revenue.

So please adopt a mercenary transactional relationship with the video game industry because I guarantee the industry views you all that way. You give them money, they provide a product or service, that should be it, you don't owe them anything more least of all your loyalty. Phil, Doug, the SIE co-CEOs, and every other corporate executive stooge are evil despicable people whose sole life purpose/fiduciary duty is to keep the share price high, they are not your friends. Quit simping on them like the laughable band geek who actually believes the head cheerleader likes him.

As for me, I couldn't care less if they live or die, if the entire industry dropped dead tomorrow, I'd shrug and find another hobby. They don't care about me so I don't care about them.

I see more hand wringing, pearl clutching, and virtue signaling from the online internet mob after Microsoft’s latest massive layoffs and studio closures.

The loud crass online minority is trying to shame Microsoft but gamers, corporate execs, and shareholders don’t feel shame. Game companies are businesses first, they’re not charities, and their chief concern is keeping shareholders happy.

Gamers don’t care. None of this will prevent anyone from buying Gears 6, Forza Horizon 6, or GTA6 to play on their Xboxes.

Gaming is fine as long as it’s not the center of your life and you better have other aspects of your life in check.

A guy who is in great physical shape, has a robust social life, knows how to get girls, is educated, well employed, dresses/talks/behaves like a mature adult wants to play Zelda or a few rounds of Call of Duty, that is perfectly fine. He’s earned his leisure time.

However if a guy is a fat misanthrope loser who has achieved nothing in life, he hasn’t earned the privilege of down time. He needs to put the controller down, grow up and level up but most modern men are fat hapless losers with no capacity for self improvement and who believe nothing is their fault.

Quick update: my prediction is becoming reality. T2 announced about 600 layoffs. There will be more reductions once GTA6 ships.

None of this will cause any gamer to boycott GTA6. Because gamers just don’t care.

@Realmjumper: virtue signaling 101. I've been told I'm somewhat psychic so I will make this prediction: you will buy and play GTA6 no matter what and you will not care about crunch or layoffs or even if R* sacrificed a bunch of puppies to get it released.

You used the word harsh. Let me impart a harsh truth: no one really cares about anyone else because we all are self interested solipsistic creatures. Our interest in and regard for others (including our own family members) does not stretch far beyond what value others can add to our lives and how useful they can be to us.

Not one bit. Gamers are completely amoral and like any other customer, they don’t care about how the sausage is made, as long as it’s cheap and delicious.

I guarantee two things about GTA6: there will be extensive crunch and once it releases, there will be layoffs from R* and T2. Not one person on this board or even on this planet writ large will say “the crunch and layoffs bother me so much that I will refrain from buying and playing the game!” Not one person will prevent themselves from buying a PS5 or Xbox because Sony and Microsoft cashiered 900 and 10,000 employees respectively (on a side note, that big delta indicates how much larger Microsoft is than Sony).

So please let’s stop the insincere virtue signaling and keep it 1000 (as the kids like to say). You all may yell, scream and gnash your teeth about industry misbehavior but like DLC/MTX/loot boxes, you all will end up buying their stuff anyway.

I am shocked that Sony didn’t charge for the Valhalla update for Ragnarok. Sony is infamous for nickel and diming their customers and one solitary instance of doing something for free does not negate their many other instances of reaching and grasping for more cash.

Oh and before I get accused of Sony hate: Microsoft is a despicable reprehensible corporation that should be broken up and operated as individual entities. Nintendo rehashes its games and hasn’t had an original idea in five years. Anyone who fanboys over these corporations and actually believes that these companies care about them is a moron.

@davillain: please read more carefully. I never claimed Sony would charge for corrective patches, no one in their right mind would charge for those.

Sony is charging gen 8 game owners for gen 9 ports, I can absolutely see them charging for the privilege of playing base PS5 games at PS5 Pro specs. Starting with Spider Man 2 and God of War Ragnarok.

Where did I post that womens are to blame? Most modern mens are fat, lazy, dumb losers who talk, dress, and act like teenagers. If I was a womens who could finesse these simps for free attention or act in whatever ratchet obnoxious manner without the mens standing up for himself, I'd do it myself.

The bottom line is ANY mens who allows his womens to talk over him, interrupt him, correct him, answer questions that were directed to him, and dominate and embarrass him during a bidness meeting that does not involve her is a simp. ANY mens who allows his womens to openly flirt with mens and cuck her mens right in front of him is a beta simp. These mens cannot be trusted in bidness situations because they are weak and impotent, they cannot lead their own lives or control their own relationships so they should not be trusted to lead or control anything else.