Video Games are Real

Author: Caleb J. Ross

  • Unboxing the Annapurna Interactive Deluxe Limited Edition (8 PS4 games) from iam8bit

    Unboxing the Annapurna Interactive Deluxe Limited Edition (8 PS4 games) from iam8bit

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    I’ve been looking forward to the Annapurna Interactive Deluxe Limited Edition collection of PS4 games for a long time. Finally, it’s in my hands. Join me in this rare Caleb Gaming unboxing video. What makes this collection so special? Why am I excited about this collection of games? Watch to find out.

    This collection from iam8bit includes physical disks of Donut County, Gorogoa, Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition, Outer Wilds, Sayonara Wild Hearts, Telling Lies, Wattam, and What Remains of Edith Finch.

    This collection is the only way to get a physical disk version of the game Telling Lies. Until now, Telling Lies was only distributed as a digital game.

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  • What Does Cyberpunk 2077’s Failure on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One Mean for Google Stadia’s Future?

    What Does Cyberpunk 2077’s Failure on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One Mean for Google Stadia’s Future?

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    Cyberpunk 2077 on Google Stadia is considered one of the best ways to play the highly anticipated video game. How did this happen?

    Stadia is surging right now because CD Projekt Red created broken versions of the game for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. But to suggest that Stadia lucked into this position is simply wrong. Stadia has been built to handle spec-intensive games like Cyberpunk 2077. Even if PS4 and Xbox One ran the game well, Stadia is still delivering on its value proposition. If Stadia didn’t work, it would be suffering in the headlines just as PS4 and Xbox One are right now. But it’s not, because Google Stadia works. CD Projekt Red’s failure to make a game that can play on last-gen consoles has allowed Stadia to shine. It didn’t make Stadia better. Stadia has been good for a long time.

    What do I think should Stadia do now? Honestly, nothing. Stadia should keep doing what it’s doing. Continue providing a solid service. Continue adding games. Expand the service to even more countries. Take this Cyberpunk 2077 bump as a windfall. Remember, Stadia was giving away controllers and chromecast ultras before the news of the broken game broke. They already saw Cyberpunk 2077’s release as an event to build a campaign around. Any change in course due to this windfall is a deviation from the long-term plans and would likely compromise those plans.

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  • Dear Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X Scalpers, I Love You.

    Dear Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X Scalpers, I Love You.

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    Playstation 5 and Xbox Series consoles are hard to come by. That’s mostly due to scalpers buying up all the stock and re-selling at a huge markup on eBay. There are lots of parties responsible for this. Retailers could strengthen their checkout systems. Sony and Microsoft could enact…I don’t know…something. But through all of this scalping nonsense there’s one party in particular I’d like to talk to: the scalpers themselves. I love you, scalpers.

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  • Why does the GLaDOS car in Cyberpunk 2077 scare me more than anything else in this game? (Portal reference)

    Why does the GLaDOS car in Cyberpunk 2077 scare me more than anything else in this game? (Portal reference)

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    So I just finished playing by far the most interesting, and humorous, mission I’ve played so far in Cyberpunk 2077.

    During a mission called “Don’t Lose your Mind,” in-game A.I. taxi company Delamain solicits you to track down several autonomous vehicles in the Delamain fleet that have gone rogue. You must locate the vehicles, subdue them, and ultimately restart their software so that the head Delamain A.I. can regain control of them. So far, it feels like your basic RPG fetch quest, right? But this quest is different.

    Each vehicle has broken free from Delamin of its own accord, meaning the sentient A.I. that controls each vehicle has consciously decided to run away. This results in your job being part driver and part counselor as you not only must chase down these vehicles, but you must also talk down these vehicles.

    But this mission is interesting for more than just gameplay reasons. For the first time in this game I was hit by the powerlessness of humans in an A.I. powered world. Vehicles could simply decide to drive their passengers off a cliff. And considering autonomous vehicles are, in today’s 2020 world, a real thing, I found myself questioning the ethics of artificial intelligence in a way that even other invasive technologies like always-on listening devices–Alexa or Siri, for example–haven’t done.

    But what makes this mission in Cyberpunk 2077 so scary is that it uses humor to lessen the discomfort. It’s scary to see how humor can be used to pacify us?

    The cake is a lie.

    Portal is a great game.

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  • Cyberpunk 2077 first impressions without sleep

    Cyberpunk 2077 first impressions without sleep

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    I played Cyberpunk 2077 through the night. No sleep. Here I give my first impressions of the game immediately following that full night of no sleep. Is Cyberpunk 2077 good? Is my review positive? Well, maybe, but my no-sleep brain won’t really let me articulate such thoughts very well.

    Enjoy this awful video.

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    Disk Cart’s channel

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  • It’s okay to be hyped for Cyberpunk 2077. Hype can be good!

    It’s okay to be hyped for Cyberpunk 2077. Hype can be good!

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    I’ve been trying to tamper my expectations for Cyberpunk 2077 because hype can only lead to inevitable disappointment, right? Actually, I don’t know. I think there’s a positive side to hype that rarely gets discussed, so that’s what I want to do in this video.

    I’ve come to realize that hype can be good. For me. For my happiness. Even if hype is also good for greedy game companies. It’s okay for hype to serve both parties. It’s okay for gamers to be hyped (and happy) and for publishers and developers to be hyped (and happy).

    Here’s the book I held up briefly: https://www.amazon.com/Primed-Perform-Performing-Cultures-Motivation/dp/0062373986

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  • Why Big Game Companies Do Big Stupid Things?

    Why Big Game Companies Do Big Stupid Things?

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    Video game publishers sometimes make questionable decisions. As a video game fan, I often wonder why publishers do things that seem to ignore the wants of the very gamers they are trying to sell to. But then I learned about the stock market, and the light bulb flickered.

    Even if you aren’t old enough to invest or have no plans to ever invest, if you like video games, understanding the stock market can help you understand some of the seemingly dumb decisions giant game publishers make. Giant publishers like Activision Blizzard, EA, and Nintendo. We’re going to talk about all three in this video.

    But first, a qualifier: I’m not a financial expert. Don’t buy stocks based on this video. (more…)