January 2025 PCG Article Discussion

[Zloth]

My old 3080 card still has the power to run things like Cyberpunk with tons of fancy graphics, so burning $1000 to replace it seems silly. I do wonder how long a graphics card is likely to last, though. They've never been built for a long life.

 

[January's Ghost]

My old 3080 card still has the power to run things like Cyberpunk with tons of fancy graphics, so burning $1000 to replace it seems silly. I do wonder how long a graphics card is likely to last, though. They've never been built for a long life.

I had a 3080, but Alan Wake 2 convinced me to put out for a 4070TI

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Politics are banned on this site. Please avoid even though PC Gamer frequently posts political stories. We have people of varying beliefs, and we don't want to instigate any poor behavior.

We dont like **** fights, but stopping independent fact checking isnt a good thing unless youre someone who benefits from lies and misinformation being spread without being properly challenged.

If anyone would like to fact check that statement, be my guest.

 

[ZedClampet]

We dont like **** fights, but stopping independent fact checking isnt a good thing unless youre someone who benefits from lies and misinformation being spread without being properly challenged.

If anyone would like to fact check that statement, be my guest.

Did I say I had a problem with any of that? No, I did not. You can say stopping fact checking is wrong without bringing politics into it. Lots of people on both sides of the political aisle benefit from misinformation, and we need to do what we can do to minimize it.

I've noticed a lot of people have difficulty spotting political comments when they agree with them. As someone in the middle, I don't have that problem.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Did I say I had a problem with any of that? No, I did not. You can say stopping fact checking is wrong without bringing politics into it. Lots of people on both sides of the political aisle benefit from misinformation, and we need to do what we can do to minimize it.

I've noticed a lot of people have difficulty spotting political comments when they agree with them. As someone in the middle, I don't have that problem.

If you read my statement carefully its actually totally apolitical. Like January'sGhosts post.

If we accept that all sides benefit equally from misinformation and lies not getting fact checked, of course.

 

[BeardyHat]

My old 3080 card still has the power to run things like Cyberpunk with tons of fancy graphics, so burning $1000 to replace it seems silly. I do wonder how long a graphics card is likely to last, though. They've never been built for a long life.

My 970 was still going strong when I sold it about a year or two ago and upgraded to a 1070, which is also still doing service in my HTPC (briefly in my eGPU so I could play Dishonored 2).

I'd be shocked if it died by next year, which would be its 10th birthday. Haven't tested Cyberpunk with it (maybe I will just for fun?), but it's been running Lies of P and Dead Space Remake just fine this year.

 

[neogunhero]

My old 3080 card still has the power to run things like Cyberpunk with tons of fancy graphics, so burning $1000 to replace it seems silly. I do wonder how long a graphics card is likely to last, though. They've never been built for a long life.

I’ve had my Zotac RTX 2060 since February 2019, so almost 6 years exactly. Not the most powerful card of course, but with regular cleanings and two thermal paste reapplications, it still runs at top spec. I believe well made cards can last for a very long time with regular cleaning and maintenance. I bet your 3080 will last a good few more years and be powerful enough to run everything you throw at it, unless you game in 4K.

 

[isleepinabed]

I have a GTX 1660 Ti and so far haven't really felt like it was lacking.
This, perhaps, says more of my taste in games than anything else...

With the rise of AI and the apparent plateauing of computer graphics I've become more interested in leaner, power-efficient SoC with GPU co-processors.
But I'm confident Nvidia will still find plenty of buyers at those prices.

 

[ZedClampet]

Path of Exile 2 players are calling foul on Elon Musk's high-level hardcore character after he streams his struggles with core game mechanics

Could've been stream jitters, I suppose.

www.pcgamer.com

As expected, Elon is probably paying people to level his accounts in Diablo and Path of Exile.

"The wierd [sic] part to me is that he feels he needs to brag about being a pro gamer for some reason," Elbjornbjorn said. "Dude put a car his company designed into space on a rocket his other company designed, why the hell does he need to brag about gaming?"

 

[Pifanjr]

Path of Exile 2 players are calling foul on Elon Musk's high-level hardcore character after he streams his struggles with core game mechanics

Could've been stream jitters, I suppose.

www.pcgamer.com

As expected, Elon is probably paying people to level his accounts in Diablo and Path of Exile.

"The wierd [sic] part to me is that he feels he needs to brag about being a pro gamer for some reason," Elbjornbjorn said. "Dude put a car his company designed into space on a rocket his other company designed, why the hell does he need to brag about gaming?"

Because he wants other people to think he's cool. It seems that's the major motivation for anything he does.

 

[Frindis]

Supposedly he was a good Quake player back in the day, so maybe he wants to show people he still got it, to be in with the boys. He couldn't have chosen a worse game to fake though because if there is one thing Path of Exile players know, it is Path of Exile.

 

[ZedClampet]

Supposedly he was a good Quake player back in the day, so maybe he wants to show people he still got it, to be in with the boys. He couldn't have chosen a worse game to fake though because if there is one thing Path of Exile players know, it is Path of Exile.

I think it's clear that at least he does play it some. That impresses me considering all the other stuff he has to do. I couldn't care less if he's any good at it.

 

[ZedClampet]

TikTok's time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he 'opposes banning' it

"I don't see any president, including future President Trump, being able to resolve this in a way that's satisfactory for US national security."

www.pcgamer.com

We could only have 9 days of Tik Tok left. On the one hand, I'll miss its place as sort of a zoo for idiots and a feeder program for the Darwin Awards. On the other hand, we won't have nearly as many viral bank robbery schemes.


*Standing next to an ATM in revealing clothing*

"Hi there"

*lip syncs and dances for a moment with pursed lips*

"Today I'm going to show you a life hack for easy money!"

*Commits fraud by typing into the ATM that they are making a $10,000 deposit, inserts an empty envelope into the deposit feed and then withdraws $5000*

"It's just that easy!"

*Does some more lip syncing and dancing before deciding to close the video with the "Leap in front of a speeding car challenge". Ill-gotten money explodes with the impact into a cash cloud and drifts around the highway*

 

[isleepinabed]

18 games the PC Gamer team can't wait to play in 2025

There's lots to look forward to this year.

www.pcgamer.com

Hell of a shout for R-Type Tactics (unsure if it will indeed come out this year).
Outside of that highlight I appreciate it's not all blockbusters.

 

[BeardyHat]

TikTok's time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he 'opposes banning' it

"I don't see any president, including future President Trump, being able to resolve this in a way that's satisfactory for US national security."

www.pcgamer.com

We could only have 9 days of Tik Tok left. On the one hand, I'll miss its place as sort of a zoo for idiots and a feeder program for the Darwin Awards. On the other hand, we won't have nearly as many viral bank robbery schemes.


*Standing next to an ATM in revealing clothing*

"Hi there"

*lip syncs and dances for a moment with pursed lips*

"Today I'm going to show you a life hack for easy money!"

*Commits fraud by typing into the ATM that they are making a $10,000 deposit, inserts an empty envelope into the deposit feed and then withdraws $5000*

"It's just that easy!"

*Does some more lip syncing and dancing before deciding to close the video with the "Leap in front of a speeding car challenge". Ill-gotten money explodes with the impact into a cash cloud and drifts around the highway*

People will just move to another platform and continue the idiocy. I have no dog in this fight, I don't use social media, at all, but this is just a power grab by big US Corpos; if they can help get TikTok banned, people will instead use Instagram Reels or YouTube shorts.

This isn't about privacy or the Chinese government or anything else except putting more money into the pockets of Capitalists. If our government truly cared, they'd actually do something about the whole Salt Typhoon hack instead of just telling us to use an encrypted service like Signal.

18 games the PC Gamer team can't wait to play in 2025

There's lots to look forward to this year.

www.pcgamer.com

Hell of a shout for R-Type Tactics (unsure if it will indeed come out this year).
Outside of that highlight I appreciate it's not all blockbusters.

First I'd heard of this, but as a sucker for Tactical games, I'll be grabbing this on PSP immediately to try out.

 

[ZedClampet]

I was referring to the original forum post in this thread, not the article. I see where we got confused here.

Would it bring the thread to balance then if I pointed out that Kamala literally means 'Horrible' in Finnish? IMO Political figures on any part of the spectrum shouldnt be above ridicule.

If people in here arent insulting each other directly and its related to games or tech then its most likely fine. There are some social issues that arent related that do get shut down for obvious reasons.

No, what is there now is not the original post. He's edited it, and it's fine. I should have gone back and made sure it was still the post I originally read.

 

[Zloth]

I think it's clear that at least he does play it some. That impresses me considering all the other stuff he has to do. I couldn't care less if he's any good at it.

This jumped out at me, too. How many CEOs know that a game like Path of Exile even exists?? Of those, how many only know about it because some family member mentioned it?

And then he cheats at it. And makes it obvious to everyone that he's doing so instead of just hiding the fact. It's like he doesn't even realize he's not the one who got that good.

 

[ZedClampet]

And then he cheats at it. And makes it obvious to everyone that he's doing so instead of just hiding the fact. It's like he doesn't even realize he's not the one who got that good.

Anyone who's gotten as far in business as Musk has knows how to rationalize at god level. He probably thinks everything is fine.

Valve's Steam page currently lists a second mystery game alongside Deadlock, sending Half-Life 3 theorists into another frenzy of speculation

But before you get too excited, it could just be gift cards.

www.pcgamer.com

No, really this time...

 

[Zloth]

Half Life 1, 2, and episodes remastered!

 

[neogunhero]

Ubisoft had an absolutely dire 2024 and desperately needs a win

And I'm not convinced Assassin's Creed Shadows is going to be it.

www.pcgamer.com

Not the exact article I’m talking about since PCG hasn’t posted about it yet, but Ubisoft has recently hired the help of financial advisors (CNBC article) to find any strategic moves before going ahead with a potential buyout from Tencent. On one hand it’s kind of sad to see, Ubisoft used to be revered as one of the biggest developers and publishers in the entire industry. Look at their catalogue from the 90s to late 00s, they had some major hits and helped create whole franchises. These days they just can’t seem to get a break, and I have no idea what is causing that. Maybe the workplace abuse, sexual misconduct, and generally being a bad place to work at has something to do with it. On the other hand, they need a total revamp of their entire company culture and beyond if they wish to remain in the game for much longer.

• “Ubisoft said in a strategic update Thursday that “leading advisors” had been hired to explore “transformational strategic and capitalistic options to extract the best value for stakeholders.””

Whenever I read those words, it makes me fill with glee just how much I love to play video games. It’s not for my entertainment, it’s for shareholder profits!

Jokes aside I get it’s just a part of the business, but I’m a firm believer in if you do right by the customer, they won’t let you down. If you focus on making the best games possible, maximize fun and entertainment values rather than what is most profitable, you would never be in the position Ubisoft is in currently. You may not sell millions of copies like each Ass Creed game does, but you will have created something with real artistic value, passion, and something that is deeply cared for by the players. If you instead decide that profits is the main focus of the business, that bleeds out into your end product, which will eventually be picked up upon by players. Not every player is totally privy to this, but still having a small portion of players seeing through the veil of capitalism could be a bad thing for you as a company.

Ubi had a good balance of creativity/innovation/profits, but in these past few years those first two points have been overshadowed by profits.

 

[Pifanjr]

Ubisoft had an absolutely dire 2024 and desperately needs a win

And I'm not convinced Assassin's Creed Shadows is going to be it.

www.pcgamer.com

Not the exact article I’m talking about since PCG hasn’t posted about it yet, but Ubisoft has recently hired the help of financial advisors (CNBC article) to find any strategic moves before going ahead with a potential buyout from Tencent. On one hand it’s kind of sad to see, Ubisoft used to be revered as one of the biggest developers and publishers in the entire industry. Look at their catalogue from the 90s to late 00s, they had some major hits and helped create whole franchises. These days they just can’t seem to get a break, and I have no idea what is causing that. Maybe the workplace abuse, sexual misconduct, and generally being a bad place to work at has something to do with it. On the other hand, they need a total revamp of their entire company culture and beyond if they wish to remain in the game for much longer.

• “Ubisoft said in a strategic update Thursday that “leading advisors” had been hired to explore “transformational strategic and capitalistic options to extract the best value for stakeholders.””

Whenever I read those words, it makes me fill with glee just how much I love to play video games. It’s not for my entertainment, it’s for shareholder profits!

Jokes aside I get it’s just a part of the business, but I’m a firm believer in if you do right by the customer, they won’t let you down. If you focus on making the best games possible, maximize fun and entertainment values rather than what is most profitable, you would never be in the position Ubisoft is in currently. You may not sell millions of copies like each Ass Creed game does, but you will have created something with real artistic value, passion, and something that is deeply cared for by the players. If you instead decide that profits is the main focus of the business, that bleeds out into your end product, which will eventually be picked up upon by players. Not every player is totally privy to this, but still having a small portion of players seeing through the veil of capitalism could be a bad thing for you as a company.

Ubi had a good balance of creativity/innovation/profits, but in these past few years those first two points have been overshadowed by profits.

This reminds me of the article I shared a bit ago advocating for caring about the names of the developers that make the game instead of the names of the companies.

It's the developers that make the game a success and I believe the decline in quality of major game studios is directly linked to their terrible work environments, which causes their (best) developers to leave.

 

[ZedClampet]

Ubisoft had an absolutely dire 2024 and desperately needs a win

And I'm not convinced Assassin's Creed Shadows is going to be it.

www.pcgamer.com

Not the exact article I’m talking about since PCG hasn’t posted about it yet, but Ubisoft has recently hired the help of financial advisors (CNBC article) to find any strategic moves before going ahead with a potential buyout from Tencent. On one hand it’s kind of sad to see, Ubisoft used to be revered as one of the biggest developers and publishers in the entire industry. Look at their catalogue from the 90s to late 00s, they had some major hits and helped create whole franchises. These days they just can’t seem to get a break, and I have no idea what is causing that. Maybe the workplace abuse, sexual misconduct, and generally being a bad place to work at has something to do with it. On the other hand, they need a total revamp of their entire company culture and beyond if they wish to remain in the game for much longer.

• “Ubisoft said in a strategic update Thursday that “leading advisors” had been hired to explore “transformational strategic and capitalistic options to extract the best value for stakeholders.””

Whenever I read those words, it makes me fill with glee just how much I love to play video games. It’s not for my entertainment, it’s for shareholder profits!

Jokes aside I get it’s just a part of the business, but I’m a firm believer in if you do right by the customer, they won’t let you down. If you focus on making the best games possible, maximize fun and entertainment values rather than what is most profitable, you would never be in the position Ubisoft is in currently. You may not sell millions of copies like each Ass Creed game does, but you will have created something with real artistic value, passion, and something that is deeply cared for by the players. If you instead decide that profits is the main focus of the business, that bleeds out into your end product, which will eventually be picked up upon by players. Not every player is totally privy to this, but still having a small portion of players seeing through the veil of capitalism could be a bad thing for you as a company.

Ubi had a good balance of creativity/innovation/profits, but in these past few years those first two points have been overshadowed by profits.

The head honcho needs to go. Because of his ego, they basically abandoned PC back when Epic became a thing. You know they sold a tiny fraction on PC compared to what they could have sold. Partly this is just due to exposure. They released several new IPs that got zero traction on PC. No one even knew they existed.

To be clear, every time a company has released detailed sales figures, I've looked and PC has outsold both PS and Xbox--not combined, individually. So that's a huge amount of money they just didn't want, apparently. The key to this being the Chinese market.

Then they just stopped finishing games. They used to release a new AC game every year and a new Far Cry game every couple of years. Plus new Clancy games, etc. All of a sudden they weren't releasing anything at all for large chunks of time. My speculation is that all the people who knew how to really run making a AAA game got fired during the personnel problems with sexual harassment.

That theory is probable worth about how much I paid for it, but it makes sense to me

 

[ZedClampet]

Man on hopeless quest to recover $600 million of Bitcoin from landfill is finally told by the High Court to quit it, says he's 'very upset'

"It's not about greed, I'm happy to share the proceeds but nobody in a position of power will have a decent conversation with me."

www.pcgamer.com

I'm just posting this so that we can all feel good about it not being about us.

 

[neogunhero]

Man on hopeless quest to recover $600 million of Bitcoin from landfill is finally told by the High Court to quit it, says he's 'very upset'

"It's not about greed, I'm happy to share the proceeds but nobody in a position of power will have a decent conversation with me."

www.pcgamer.com

I'm just posting this so that we can all feel good about it not being about us.

I can only imagine his anguish, but realistically how was he planning on combing that landfill? I read that it’s technically the landfills property, and even with a crew of guys the effort is futile. I felt the same way when my girlfriend accidentally lost one of her white colored wireless earbuds in the snow this weekend. Gone forever, no use in searching for it.

 

[ZedClampet]

I can only imagine his anguish, but realistically how was he planning on combing that landfill? I read that it’s technically the landfills property, and even with a crew of guys the effort is futile. I felt the same way when my girlfriend accidentally lost one of her white colored wireless earbuds in the snow this weekend. Gone forever, no use in searching for it.

You'd still be out there frostbitten and dying if that earbud was worth $600 million