Will

Got myself a few controllers:

I totally agree with the long term targets of Tencent as outlined by @Nicktendo but I really don’t think this will hit the console makers in the same way. The issue with Apple is that the iPhone is, for many people, their one computing device, and they are tied into one app store and one store only. It’s not (yet) the case with consoles, as there are multiple physical shops you can buy from - though I don’t think it really makes much difference here. Even if Apple loses and this suddenly opens up to anyone to make a store you still need to actually get it in front of people. On an iPhone you can make things available via the web but you still have the issue of making them discoverable. I imagine 90% of users are not going to bother with this, they are completely OK with the App Store. On a console how the hell are you going to distribute your new store in the first place? Even if you manage that nobody is going to put their content on it because why would you annoy the first parties? It’s just not going to happen. I agree, but I don’t think they stand a chance of things getting this far. Sentiment against Chinese tech is only getting worse and they will be kicked out of Western markets if they push this too far. I get why people think this but it’s really not an accurate depiction of what they’re taking issue with it. When the App Store started 30% was very fair, and it was a game changer. Now I’m not so sure. Back then people were selling premium games at $10 dollars and it was a one time distribution charge. On mobile the market has moved on and now the platform gets 30% of all your revenue for not really doing very much after the initial download. On console for a full game download I think it’s still fair. Of course the lower amounts would be better though. I think this is key. IF any of this stuff were to go through you still have to compete with the incumbent stores. There is no way these third parties would get anywhere near the quality or market share of the existing stores.

I just can’t see this being a thing. The machines are going after completely different audiences. If I’m in the market for a Switch I’m not going to change over to this as it doesn’t serve the same purpose.

I’m inclined to agree but I do think it’s possible they go really low with it. I’d say the most risky thing they can do is leave the Series S out there unchecked at a price POINT way below anything else this generation. Is this confirmed now? Last I saw it’s still just rumored.

It’s definitely not much of a cost difference in terms of production, I think I saw people saying around $10 to $15 when you’re buying in that sort of bulk. But I think it totally misses the point of having a discless system, anybody that buys this version is completely locked into the PSN ecosystem. Forever. On every piece of content you buy Sony is taking 30%, for first party games it’s 100%, it very quickly adds up to gaining back the loss on console sales. I was thinking it would be around $100 difference between the two, but Sony can afford to go for much more of a loss. Imagine if the disc-based system is $500 and they put the digital version out at $250 - all of a sudden it’s advantage Sony and a lot of people are going to go fo that digital version. Going to be a very interesting couple of weeks as we find out more.

Yeah people are bonkers if they think it’s going to compete. Sony are targeting something completely different to Microsoft and a console like the Series S is not part of their plan. Microsoft may have really played a blinder with their $250 pricing. I don’t know exact numbers but I bet the majority of people do not have a 4K TV yet. That little console could do really well over the next few years.

So it must be vastly weaker than the Series X or else why would anyone go for that model? I’m still totally confused by what Microsoft are doing, and really don’t have any idea what they want me to buy from them. The two consoles at least look WAY better than the PS5 models.

This is great advice. Add on to this any pay rises you receive just save the extra (or at least a portion of it) and it can quite quickly add up.

I agree it’s not huge, but 720 is so bad compared to everything else we use now (and it was back when the Switch came out too). I guess it depends what Nintendo actually launch, for me I’m hoping for a Switch Pro rather than a New Switch. If it’s just a new Switch then yeah, it may be another fairly cheap device with another low-res screen.

Enjoyed episode 42 but listened in weird bursts over more days than I usually would, so my thoughts are a bit sparse this time. Two things really stood out for me. I almost entirely agreed with @Nicktendo on the Switch Pro stuff aside from the screen res, I just can’t see how they could keep the 720p screen and call it Pro. I think it will be 1080 on device and then the tech stuff to boost it on screen - actually sounds awesome, hope Nintendo are listening to your wise words. My other thought was that the closing music sounded like the lighthouse family.

Actually I have no idea, generally I don’t take much notice of who reads them as they tend to be just fine for listening to while running whoever it is.

I really want to try these at some point. Was put off by the awful film but I only ever hear good things about the book. Might make these my next set of Audio Books.

I just got sent some new Lego:

I hope so, but as things stand I more and more expect next year to be total domination by Mercedes. At least behind them is close so on days where they mess up it could be anyone’s to win. I totally agree with this. It was one of the few (maybe the only) races where I didn’t really care who won, but I’m definitely glad Gasly did. This year he’s like a totally different person and was putting in amazing drives even before this win. I could see him in a Renault in a few years time and if they’ve got their shit together by then could make for any amazing partnership. Absolutely! I was totally glued to the screen for the second half of the race, best stuff I’ve seen in ages.

F1 2020 Predictions Game Round 8 Results One of the weirdest races in years, a new winner and the first outside of the top three teams in years. Maximum points for this race were: Pole - Hamilton (10) Fastest Lap - Hamilton (10) 1st - Gasly (25 + 5) 2nd - Sainz (18 + 5) 3rd - Stroll (15 + 5) 4th - Norris (12 + 5) 5th - Bottas (10 + 5) The results for this round: @will' - 30 @BowserBasher - 20 And the overall standings (previous total in brackets): @will' - 376 (346) @Mandalore - 241 (241) @BowserBasher - 240 (220) @bob - 155 (155) @Nicktendo - 126 (126) @Goron_3 - 75 (75) Toscana Grand Prix Predictions: Pole - Hamilton FL - Perez 1st - Hamilton 2nd - Bottas 3rd - Perez 4th - Albon 5th - Ocon

Just fantastic. The engine changes seem to have knocked Red Bull back but the Mercedes are still quite a way ahead. At least with only one team ahead a curve ball like this can really make for an excellent race. The mid-field is so close that really anything can happen. If they can just reel in Mercedes a bit we’d have one of the greatest periods in the sport I think.

I would say so. I was very pleasantly surprised by it. Definitely don’t need any Sonic knowledge to enjoy it.

Well this race is pretty great. Most surprising turn of events in a long time. Going to be an awesome second half it it.

Sorry to hear it wasn’t the results you were after @MindFreak. Hopefully the condition is as mild as can be and you have a healthy baby. It sounds like you’re doing everything you can to ensure the kids have a good family so that’s much more than many already.

That’s awesome, congratulations! As @Julius says, debt can be a real challenge to overcome and it’s a quite an undertaking when things take a number of years. Next thing is to keep up the healthy financial life and continue to have a good mindset on it all. It’s much nicer when the numbers start getting bigger in the other direction!

Got it! Thanks, I feel like I’ve been learning a lot just looking into all of this stuff. With these new NVIDIA cards when should we expect to see 3rd party cards available? Is there a good reference site to check the differences between cards and pick out the one that’s most suited?

Good point. It seems that it does for graphics cards but not for some other things. Will keep in mind to use this as a starting point but fully check it out before I buy anything. Definitely planning on doing this, seems the motherboard I’ve got down at the moment has some. Totally understand the concept of just having a massive drive to store other stuff on. Not sure I’ll need it but storage is always one of those things I wish I had more of. On the smaller M2 for the OS what is the difference between that and the SSD I have listed? Is it just the case of smaller is cheaper and it’s good to have a ridiculously fast drive for loading times? With rotating games is it just a case of drag and drop the files across or would it need more work? Good to know, I’ve been looking at a lot of videos of H1 builds and it’s right at the top of my wishlist. Will keep an eye out for anything that might improve the form factor. Great to know, I was worried I’d dropped too far from the top end stuff I looked at. A friend recommended an 8 core 16 thread intel CPU might be better for gaming as most stuff is designed to take advantage of the configuration better - any thoughts on that? Ah that’s a shame, will keep an eye on what happens with this. I’m OK to wait a while as I’m thinking I’ll just stick with a PS5 this year and get the PC early next. This 3rd party card stuff... How does it work? Other companies just buy the internals, repackage it and sell it on? What are the advantages and disadvantages of getting something direct vs the 3rd party versions? Do they end up with compatibility issues or are they generally the same thing?

I took it to mean their were 35 transitions for the clock - could be wrong on that though.

I've been watching some YouTube videos and attempting to keep researching this, currently I'm looking at something like this. Two differences would be that I'll go for one of the new 3080 cards because it seems pretty great considering the price POINT. I also think I prefer the NZXT H1 case but it didn't seem to be listed there. What do you guys think? Anything I should reconsider before I continue on this path? I know there are other bits I need but these seemed like the ones I need to get locked down first.

Will be interesting to see how this goes. It’s going to be a lot of “stuff” but the vast majority of the stages at TGS generally don’t have much going on most of the time. Maybe it will do them some good to have to limit their shows to these time slots as opposed to running through the whole four days. I’m kind of sad it’s not happening in person. It’s one trip during the year that I really look forward to. The best thing about TGS is the merchandise hall so I’m definitely disappointed I can’t go and look through that buying crap for a few hours. Maybe that’s a good thing too though thinking about it.