pale blue pixel
@palebluepixel.bsky.social
games are art, exhibit A: “I used to be an adventurer like you. Then I took an arrow in the knee." exhibit B: "You have died of dysentery."
Billionaires yield powers that no individual person should never have. Taxing their excessive income and wealth does not impact their daily lives (they’ll still have every luxury), but it’ll lessen corruption and raise funds to benefit people they exploited along the way.
January 21, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Billionaires yield powers that no individual person should never have. Taxing their excessive income and wealth does not impact their daily lives (they’ll still have every luxury), but it’ll lessen corruption and raise funds to benefit people they exploited along the way.
We can only fucking hope. We’re running out of red lines here.
January 17, 2026 at 3:17 AM
We can only fucking hope. We’re running out of red lines here.
I still can’t tell if Microsoft’s new gaming strategies will result in world domination or dumpster fire.
January 17, 2026 at 3:14 AM
I still can’t tell if Microsoft’s new gaming strategies will result in world domination or dumpster fire.
Slightly diminish a game.
The Legend of Zelda: Kazoo of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Kazoo of Time
January 12, 2026 at 4:07 AM
Slightly diminish a game.
The Legend of Zelda: Kazoo of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Kazoo of Time
I think you’re right, but for some, it was about being part of a group. Knowing that you were part of a community experiencing the same games and feeling the excitement like the Halo 3 launch. Those days are long gone and hard to replicate now with any brand.
December 26, 2025 at 4:45 PM
I think you’re right, but for some, it was about being part of a group. Knowing that you were part of a community experiencing the same games and feeling the excitement like the Halo 3 launch. Those days are long gone and hard to replicate now with any brand.
Oh I agree. I think exclusives are bad for consumers, but they also drive people to a specific brand / box. There simply isn’t excitement or brand loyalty around Xbox without strong exclusives, and you can see this in the data mentioned in this thread.
December 25, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Oh I agree. I think exclusives are bad for consumers, but they also drive people to a specific brand / box. There simply isn’t excitement or brand loyalty around Xbox without strong exclusives, and you can see this in the data mentioned in this thread.
This is the downward spiral many warned about when that first report came out of “just four games”. It’s the gradual but inevitable descent into irrelevance.
December 25, 2025 at 6:07 AM
This is the downward spiral many warned about when that first report came out of “just four games”. It’s the gradual but inevitable descent into irrelevance.
I need to get this back to the table so badly.
December 24, 2025 at 4:22 AM
I need to get this back to the table so badly.
I agree with that. My point is that the trend is towards PC options that are “console like” experiences, and future consoles that run PC storefronts. So, being in the PC ecosystem seems like the best investment right now.
December 22, 2025 at 11:47 PM
I agree with that. My point is that the trend is towards PC options that are “console like” experiences, and future consoles that run PC storefronts. So, being in the PC ecosystem seems like the best investment right now.
Steam / PC would give you much more stability and flexibility for the future.
December 22, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Steam / PC would give you much more stability and flexibility for the future.
Exclusives might be bad for the industry and consumer overall, but they give identity to the brand. Without them, no one cares about the ecosystem.
December 22, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Exclusives might be bad for the industry and consumer overall, but they give identity to the brand. Without them, no one cares about the ecosystem.
If only MS had built upon what the 360 pioneered. They had the blueprint and threw it in the trash.
November 22, 2025 at 4:13 PM
If only MS had built upon what the 360 pioneered. They had the blueprint and threw it in the trash.
That would require most on congress to not be sycophantic lap dogs.
November 20, 2025 at 4:13 PM
That would require most on congress to not be sycophantic lap dogs.
Having recently completed Keeper, I’m surprised it didn’t at least get a nomination for Art Direction. Absolutely beautiful and insanely creative experience. Great job @doublefine.com !
November 18, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Having recently completed Keeper, I’m surprised it didn’t at least get a nomination for Art Direction. Absolutely beautiful and insanely creative experience. Great job @doublefine.com !
Not much drama here, as E33 will likely be the winner.
Best Indie Game seems the most interesting and seems like a tight race between Silk Song, Hades II, and E33. Love Blue Price but it will not get enough votes being English only.
Best Indie Game seems the most interesting and seems like a tight race between Silk Song, Hades II, and E33. Love Blue Price but it will not get enough votes being English only.
November 17, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Not much drama here, as E33 will likely be the winner.
Best Indie Game seems the most interesting and seems like a tight race between Silk Song, Hades II, and E33. Love Blue Price but it will not get enough votes being English only.
Best Indie Game seems the most interesting and seems like a tight race between Silk Song, Hades II, and E33. Love Blue Price but it will not get enough votes being English only.
This is a much stronger message than anything else they’ve said in the past 18 months: “it starts with console”. Maybe they’re learning that their core fans still care about this deeply.
November 17, 2025 at 4:41 PM
This is a much stronger message than anything else they’ve said in the past 18 months: “it starts with console”. Maybe they’re learning that their core fans still care about this deeply.
It’s the same from the perspective that it is a form of machine learning. But GenAI uses an entirely different (and relatively novel) model architecture, and more significantly, does not require meticulously labeled training data. The training data is self descriptive (next word dynamics of text).
November 15, 2025 at 9:35 PM
It’s the same from the perspective that it is a form of machine learning. But GenAI uses an entirely different (and relatively novel) model architecture, and more significantly, does not require meticulously labeled training data. The training data is self descriptive (next word dynamics of text).
SteamOS - yes, possibly. But there are challenges and limitations there too with no kernel anti-cheat, meaning some of the biggest draw games aren’t supported
Steam itself - not a differentiator, as the next Xbox will support it just like any PC would.
Steam itself - not a differentiator, as the next Xbox will support it just like any PC would.
November 14, 2025 at 4:10 PM
SteamOS - yes, possibly. But there are challenges and limitations there too with no kernel anti-cheat, meaning some of the biggest draw games aren’t supported
Steam itself - not a differentiator, as the next Xbox will support it just like any PC would.
Steam itself - not a differentiator, as the next Xbox will support it just like any PC would.
All great points. A big issue I see is messaging for the next Xbox. While game enthusiasts understand what they are aiming for the average consumer will be very confused if it is not properly marketed. And that’s not one of Microsoft’s strengths.
November 13, 2025 at 1:55 PM
All great points. A big issue I see is messaging for the next Xbox. While game enthusiasts understand what they are aiming for the average consumer will be very confused if it is not properly marketed. And that’s not one of Microsoft’s strengths.
I dunno, I think this makes Microsoft’s next offer a lot less unique. They are already going to struggle to justify their hardware’s existence and this will definitely not help.
November 12, 2025 at 10:18 PM
I dunno, I think this makes Microsoft’s next offer a lot less unique. They are already going to struggle to justify their hardware’s existence and this will definitely not help.
I think it’s much bigger than that. With Xbox being the world’s largest publisher and putting all games on Steam, and Sony porting all of their IP over with delayed releases, it basically plays everything except Nintendo content.
November 12, 2025 at 10:08 PM
I think it’s much bigger than that. With Xbox being the world’s largest publisher and putting all games on Steam, and Sony porting all of their IP over with delayed releases, it basically plays everything except Nintendo content.
My god Valve came for the jugular with perfect timing as Microsoft fumbles around with an incoherent and vulnerable strategy for their gaining hardware.
November 12, 2025 at 10:06 PM
My god Valve came for the jugular with perfect timing as Microsoft fumbles around with an incoherent and vulnerable strategy for their gaining hardware.