I suppose the significance is that this is the 10-year anniversary (to the month) of this dystopian meme. While we fortunately haven't gotten to that point of corporate enslavement, it does feel like society has shifted increasingly in that direction since 2013.
I literally just saw a BMW advertisement yesterday that says it comes with 8 years of adaptive cruise control/driver assist, which then disables itself after the timer runs out (presumably unless you pay to license it again).
For a while now, the KTM motorcycle company has been selling bikes with a Demo Mode.
For the first 1,500 km, you get access to all of the electronic features of your new bike; then they get disabled and you have to pay to re-enable them.
It’s a little worrying that your anti-lock brake subscription might be cancelled due to credit card fraud, but what can you do? That’s I always prepay my DocWagon account.
If it's relying on something like detailed maps or something that need to be updated I could understand that; it costs money to rescan and keep that data up to date. If it's just the basic vision/radar adaptive cruise that's terrible like their heated seats.
I bet it's the worse of those two things, knowing BMW.
I think I am in a minority group of 1 for thinking that features that are payable extras are a good thing, actually.
I guess people who don't like it see it as losing features, and talk about _owning_ their vehicle, where I see it as the ability to fine-tune the cost of a vehicle depending on what features you do or do not want to license. With any luck, competition should end up giving a market price to each of these features, and you can just pay market price for what you want/need. In addition, the car should be easier to re-sell, as any options you cheaped out on, a secondary buyer can pay for if they want them.
To provide some historical context for this meme, the Xbox One had recently been unveiled and at the time was going to have a mandatory Kinect. It was rumored that the camera would be un-disableable and on at all times.
The "User attempting to steal online gameplay" bit came from Cliff Blezinski et al saying that splitscreen multiplayer and co-op was a mistake, because half the people who played didn't pay for the game. In the past ten years we have seen local multiplayer evaporate.
> In the past ten years we have seen local multiplayer evaporate.
Split screen multiplayer evaporated for many reasons. Besides business it's also technology.
I'm not sure you'll find a single indie split screen multiplayer game that uses a modern, queued graphics pipeline (Unity HDRP or Unreal 4+). Even among big commercial games, Fortnite notably supports 2 player split screen, but Rocket League, Borderlands and Gears of War are all Unreal 3 I think.
Local multiplayer is back thanks to Steam and their "Remote Play Together" feature. Remote players connect to the hosts screen share. It is excellent. No extra licenses required.
The Kinect Azure is pretty badass. I see why they would say that and it is very funny. I work in computer vision and NUI R&D and it's really hard to understate the accomplishment that is Kniect. I get why most people don't want to play dance games and don't like the machine looking at them but it is REALLY hard to package up solid solutions for the problem the Kinect solves and the Azure and surprisingly it's cross platform SDK are IMO one of the most beautiful tools every produced by humans.
I remember them being both around the same time. Was looking like we were on the verge of some absurd tech dystopia. Which was partially true, but it wasn't as weird as always on kinect and the mcdonalds patent.
Ironically when I try to open this page I'm IP blocked for using an ad blocker (actually I thought that was the joke at first):
Blocked IP Address
Your current IP address has been blocked due to bad behavior, which generally means one of the following:
You have been using Opera or Brave as a browser, or have installed the Ghostery add-on, and are unaware that these programs are hijacking your Internet connection for their own purposes
Note I'm just using plain old Chrome + Ublock Origin
I thought games were supposed to be fun and entertaining. If the developer makes it un-fun, then why keep playing? why not finding something else fun to do? e.g. play another game? learn a new skill? do something IRL? etc.
The theory outlined in Glued to Games (Ryan & Rigby, 2011) suggests that games we perceive as “fun” are actually satisfying our basic needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness.
If you satisfy your need for competency by playing video games and don’t get that need met anywhere else, then you’ll keep coming back, despite the developers trying to squeeze money out of you every time you log on.
> If you satisfy your need for competency by playing video games and don’t get that need met anywhere else, then you’ll keep coming back,
A different way to look at it is that my selfless dedication to video game KDR is helping to save other players from addiction, by eliminating their feelings of competency.
When it comes to anti-consumer actions taken by companies, many times one can take a blind eye to it as long as they can still play the game.
The problem is that’s it’s like a frog in boiling water. At some point you realize that you need to give your email, phone number, credit card info, money, advertising attention, and more just so you have the privilege of downloading their special launcher that is the only one that can run their game, which of course also requires you to install a root kit in your system for “anti-cheat”.
Only for you to open the game, which requires you to have internet, just to be able to play a single-player game mode.
The game’s fun though. And it only takes 5 seconds to actually load it up once you’ve downloaded everything and installed it. So it’s fine, right?
Consider it just like other software like Microsoft Windows. “It’s supposed to make your life easier, so if it doesn’t, why not just stop using it?” Because it still does make it easier, even with all of the crap that Microsoft does that we can rightfully complain about.
Perhaps also consider it like Twitter. Why stay if it’s so toxic? Because everyone is on there, and if you aren’t, then you’ll never talk to your friends, since it’s not like they’d move platforms just for your sake.
This is besides your point on anti-consumer practices, but games aren't solely for "fun".
Art is about experiencing something, a sad documentary, a tragic movie, a horror movie aren't "fun" in the candy and rollercoaster sense, games are the same.
One that speaks to me, I really enjoy factorio, but I wouldn't call it "fun".
For the core of your point though, getting locked into something because it's how you socialise, (whether directly with friends, or indirectly with a community), or via abusing addictive characteristics in consumers, games can still retain a base even without providing value like my other examples.
One big difference between now and back in the day is the prominence of professional gaming leagues. It's not just about stomping noobs for bragging rights; it can be a genuine dream for people like becoming an NBA star.
I know a guy who destroyed several friendships because he believed he could go pro in League of Legends.
Going to festivals is fun but requires long journeys carrying lots of heavy things and those generally are not very fun, especially on the way home.
The point of the meme is to mock the gates and hurdles you encounter in trying to get to the fun, not the fun itself.
For example, Microsoft potentially requiring people to have an always-on camera pointed isn't something that anyone wants, but they might tolerate it to play FortNite/whatever.
From the timestamps, I guess that this blurb[0] dates from the tail end of the DRM wars[1]. It's fascinating how the enshittification of various online services have led to a resurgence of that era's anti-establishment attitudes.
[0] possibly copy-pasted from an earlier 4chan post? The language style certainly seems to match.
I'm almost certain it's a 4chan "greentext" originally, yes.
It's from the time around the introduction of the Xbox One, which, as one of many policies for the console that were unpopular and ultimately rolled back before release, was going to require the Kinect camera to be plugged in for the console to function.
By this time there was already a well-known Black Mirror episode out involving computer vision tracking to ensure people really watched ads, so these ideas were floating around in the culture. As well as Sony's "say McDonald's to end the ad" patent surfacing around that time.
The xkcd comics you link to would have been quite a few years earlier... the reference to Sony then probably more for the controversy with the rootkit on their CDs, as well as their efforts to lock down Blu-ray discs.
>By this time there was already a well-known Black Mirror episode out involving computer vision tracking to ensure people really watched ads, so these ideas were floating around in the culture. As well as Sony's "say McDonald's to end the ad" patent surfacing around that time.
In addition, Microsoft actually filed a patent for a system that would use the Kinect to track how many people were in the room when watching rented movies, and upcharge you if you exceeded a certain number of people.
Unique unlock code at the bottom of each can? Some kind of scannable QR code or NFC system? They do not care if you dump the ooze into the toilet, so long as it has been purchased.
You could even region lock the cans! Make sure nobody is trying to cheat you by purchasing wholesale or across the border.
Edit: You could even make them like some kind of Nintendo Amibo action figure. Dedicated holder device with API interface to the game.
I suppose the significance is that this is the 10-year anniversary (to the month) of this dystopian meme. While we fortunately haven't gotten to that point of corporate enslavement, it does feel like society has shifted increasingly in that direction since 2013.
I literally just saw a BMW advertisement yesterday that says it comes with 8 years of adaptive cruise control/driver assist, which then disables itself after the timer runs out (presumably unless you pay to license it again).
For a while now, the KTM motorcycle company has been selling bikes with a Demo Mode.
For the first 1,500 km, you get access to all of the electronic features of your new bike; then they get disabled and you have to pay to re-enable them.
https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/ktm-demo-mode
1 reply →
The good news is that no BMW is going to run for 8 years
5 replies →
It’s a little worrying that your anti-lock brake subscription might be cancelled due to credit card fraud, but what can you do? That’s I always prepay my DocWagon account.
If it's relying on something like detailed maps or something that need to be updated I could understand that; it costs money to rescan and keep that data up to date. If it's just the basic vision/radar adaptive cruise that's terrible like their heated seats.
I bet it's the worse of those two things, knowing BMW.
[flagged]
7 replies →
I think I am in a minority group of 1 for thinking that features that are payable extras are a good thing, actually.
I guess people who don't like it see it as losing features, and talk about _owning_ their vehicle, where I see it as the ability to fine-tune the cost of a vehicle depending on what features you do or do not want to license. With any luck, competition should end up giving a market price to each of these features, and you can just pay market price for what you want/need. In addition, the car should be easier to re-sell, as any options you cheaped out on, a secondary buyer can pay for if they want them.
31 replies →
To provide some historical context for this meme, the Xbox One had recently been unveiled and at the time was going to have a mandatory Kinect. It was rumored that the camera would be un-disableable and on at all times.
The "User attempting to steal online gameplay" bit came from Cliff Blezinski et al saying that splitscreen multiplayer and co-op was a mistake, because half the people who played didn't pay for the game. In the past ten years we have seen local multiplayer evaporate.
EDIT: The Kinnect had a microphone in it too
> In the past ten years we have seen local multiplayer evaporate.
Split screen multiplayer evaporated for many reasons. Besides business it's also technology.
I'm not sure you'll find a single indie split screen multiplayer game that uses a modern, queued graphics pipeline (Unity HDRP or Unreal 4+). Even among big commercial games, Fortnite notably supports 2 player split screen, but Rocket League, Borderlands and Gears of War are all Unreal 3 I think.
3 replies →
Local multiplayer is back thanks to Steam and their "Remote Play Together" feature. Remote players connect to the hosts screen share. It is excellent. No extra licenses required.
And then they got burned by Sony at E3 and the whole sharing policies got rewritten.
The Kinect Azure is pretty badass. I see why they would say that and it is very funny. I work in computer vision and NUI R&D and it's really hard to understate the accomplishment that is Kniect. I get why most people don't want to play dance games and don't like the machine looking at them but it is REALLY hard to package up solid solutions for the problem the Kinect solves and the Azure and surprisingly it's cross platform SDK are IMO one of the most beautiful tools every produced by humans.
/i need one to record myself a la matrix https://vimeo.com/58286717
3 replies →
Pretty sure it was "say McDonald's to end commercial" from https://patents.google.com/patent/US8246454B2/en
I remember them being both around the same time. Was looking like we were on the verge of some absurd tech dystopia. Which was partially true, but it wasn't as weird as always on kinect and the mcdonalds patent.
1 reply →
I believe this to be at least a screenshot of the original version: <https://imgur.com/dgGvgKF>
Ironically when I try to open this page I'm IP blocked for using an ad blocker (actually I thought that was the joke at first):
Blocked IP Address Your current IP address has been blocked due to bad behavior, which generally means one of the following:
You have been using Opera or Brave as a browser, or have installed the Ghostery add-on, and are unaware that these programs are hijacking your Internet connection for their own purposes
Note I'm just using plain old Chrome + Ublock Origin
good time to post other ones like:
http://bash.org/?244321
Weird all I see is
username: solarwinds
password: *****
Man I first encountered that one in the Runescape days. Blast from the past.
If we're sharing bash.org links... http://bash.org/?795779
I still say "I put on my robe and wizard hat"[0] to people, although I don't think people get it.
0. http://bash.org/?104383
Can I ask something as an Old Guy(tm)?
I thought games were supposed to be fun and entertaining. If the developer makes it un-fun, then why keep playing? why not finding something else fun to do? e.g. play another game? learn a new skill? do something IRL? etc.
Serious q, please don't bash.
You have to first define what makes a game “fun”.
The theory outlined in Glued to Games (Ryan & Rigby, 2011) suggests that games we perceive as “fun” are actually satisfying our basic needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness.
If you satisfy your need for competency by playing video games and don’t get that need met anywhere else, then you’ll keep coming back, despite the developers trying to squeeze money out of you every time you log on.
> If you satisfy your need for competency by playing video games and don’t get that need met anywhere else, then you’ll keep coming back,
A different way to look at it is that my selfless dedication to video game KDR is helping to save other players from addiction, by eliminating their feelings of competency.
When it comes to anti-consumer actions taken by companies, many times one can take a blind eye to it as long as they can still play the game. The problem is that’s it’s like a frog in boiling water. At some point you realize that you need to give your email, phone number, credit card info, money, advertising attention, and more just so you have the privilege of downloading their special launcher that is the only one that can run their game, which of course also requires you to install a root kit in your system for “anti-cheat”. Only for you to open the game, which requires you to have internet, just to be able to play a single-player game mode.
The game’s fun though. And it only takes 5 seconds to actually load it up once you’ve downloaded everything and installed it. So it’s fine, right?
Consider it just like other software like Microsoft Windows. “It’s supposed to make your life easier, so if it doesn’t, why not just stop using it?” Because it still does make it easier, even with all of the crap that Microsoft does that we can rightfully complain about.
Perhaps also consider it like Twitter. Why stay if it’s so toxic? Because everyone is on there, and if you aren’t, then you’ll never talk to your friends, since it’s not like they’d move platforms just for your sake.
It doesn't have to be fun if it's addicting enough
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning_chamber
"Okay, but couldn't we at least make the game fun anyway?"
"No! It has to be just barely fun. If the game was TOO FUN then there would be no reason to MICROPAY in order to make it MORE FUN!"
This is besides your point on anti-consumer practices, but games aren't solely for "fun".
Art is about experiencing something, a sad documentary, a tragic movie, a horror movie aren't "fun" in the candy and rollercoaster sense, games are the same.
One that speaks to me, I really enjoy factorio, but I wouldn't call it "fun".
For the core of your point though, getting locked into something because it's how you socialise, (whether directly with friends, or indirectly with a community), or via abusing addictive characteristics in consumers, games can still retain a base even without providing value like my other examples.
One big difference between now and back in the day is the prominence of professional gaming leagues. It's not just about stomping noobs for bragging rights; it can be a genuine dream for people like becoming an NBA star.
I know a guy who destroyed several friendships because he believed he could go pro in League of Legends.
Going to festivals is fun but requires long journeys carrying lots of heavy things and those generally are not very fun, especially on the way home.
The point of the meme is to mock the gates and hurdles you encounter in trying to get to the fun, not the fun itself.
For example, Microsoft potentially requiring people to have an always-on camera pointed isn't something that anyone wants, but they might tolerate it to play FortNite/whatever.
Meta: this needs "(2013)" in the title.
From the timestamps, I guess that this blurb[0] dates from the tail end of the DRM wars[1]. It's fascinating how the enshittification of various online services have led to a resurgence of that era's anti-establishment attitudes.
[0] possibly copy-pasted from an earlier 4chan post? The language style certainly seems to match.
[1] https://xkcd.com/86/ and https://xkcd.com/488/ and https://xkcd.com/546/
I'm almost certain it's a 4chan "greentext" originally, yes.
It's from the time around the introduction of the Xbox One, which, as one of many policies for the console that were unpopular and ultimately rolled back before release, was going to require the Kinect camera to be plugged in for the console to function.
By this time there was already a well-known Black Mirror episode out involving computer vision tracking to ensure people really watched ads, so these ideas were floating around in the culture. As well as Sony's "say McDonald's to end the ad" patent surfacing around that time.
The xkcd comics you link to would have been quite a few years earlier... the reference to Sony then probably more for the controversy with the rootkit on their CDs, as well as their efforts to lock down Blu-ray discs.
>By this time there was already a well-known Black Mirror episode out involving computer vision tracking to ensure people really watched ads, so these ideas were floating around in the culture. As well as Sony's "say McDonald's to end the ad" patent surfacing around that time.
In addition, Microsoft actually filed a patent for a system that would use the Kinect to track how many people were in the room when watching rented movies, and upcharge you if you exceeded a certain number of people.
https://www.tweaktown.com/news/26574/microsoft_patent_could_...
This might just be fiction, but what would let the server know that the can has been drank?
The XBox's Kinect camera, which was introduced around the time this was written.
Unique unlock code at the bottom of each can? Some kind of scannable QR code or NFC system? They do not care if you dump the ooze into the toilet, so long as it has been purchased.
You could even region lock the cans! Make sure nobody is trying to cheat you by purchasing wholesale or across the border.
Edit: You could even make them like some kind of Nintendo Amibo action figure. Dedicated holder device with API interface to the game.
The always on camera watches you drink it. The qr code is either on the bottom of the can or in the lid if you buy the deluxe bottle version.
Actually if you dump the can out the window, they'll claim it's piracy.
Real-time blood sugar monitoring, if your customers aren't diabetic yet they could be drinking more. Coming soon to a dystopia near you.
something something we can fill x% of the user's visual field without inducing seizures
QR code on the bottom of a heat-sensitive can? Or maybe it's transparent, with the QR code printed the same color as the liquid?
Mandatory Urinalysis
Nice try, evil mountain dew marketing executive.
Xbox Kinect
I always hoped this meme would make an appearance in an episode of Black Mirror
It's pretty close to the premise of 15 Million Merits
This manages to be more dystopian even than the door scene in Ubik by Philip K Dick
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7444685-the-door-refused-to... (“The door refused to open. It said, “Five cents, please.” ...)