the16bitgamer

@the16bitgamer@programming.dev

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Sony PS5 sales drop 46%, even before recent price increase⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  That was the Switch for me. Went PS3 -> Wii U -> Switch then when Nintendo started charging I stopped playing.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Steam is basically a PC gaming monopoly, so why isn’t anyone mad?⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Because “gaming” is bigger than PCs. Steam has their own hardware and it sell like 1/100th of a PS5 or a Switch.

  So Valve has a lot of room to compete with.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Amazon Luna Removing Paid Games And Offering No Refunds⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Wow this article was not informative and their links are broken.

  This is the support article they are referencing: www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?node…

  This is the changes

  A-la-carte game purchases are no longer available. Previously purchased titles will remain playable through June 10, 2026, after which they will be removed from Luna.

  Bring Your Own Library will no longer be supported. Games previously played in this manner will no longer be playable on Luna after June 10, 2026.

  Ubisoft+ and Jackbox Games subscriptions sold through Luna are discontinued. New subscriptions are no longer available for purchase, and any active subscriptions purchased from Luna will be cancelled at the end of your next billing cycle.

  Third-party game stores (EA, Ubisoft, and GOG) are being removed from the Luna platform.

  For the refund

  Can I get a refund for games that I had previously purchased?

  All purchases of a-la-carte titles through Luna are final, and we do not accept returns, except as expressly stated in the Digital Products Return Policy. However, you can continue to access your purchased titles through your linked third-party platform account. If you have questions about a specific purchase, please contact Amazon Customer Service.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Explain it like I'm 5: Why is everyone on speakerphone in public?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I blame the lack of a headphone jack.

  Done get me wrong, boom boxes were a thing in the 80’s and 90’s, and there is the modern day equivalent of terrible Bluetooth speakers.

  But without a convenient $5 tool to quiet your device it’s obvious most people will resort in speaker phones if they want to quickly hear something.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Whats the best way to clean up 15 years of stuff around the house?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I moved around a lot so had to be selective on what I’ve kept.

  My goto was finding a home for everything. If I was keeping it, it needed a space I could put it when I was done. And not in a box labeled misc. or a shelf with everything else.

  I do allow myself a “I want to keep this because I like it” box. But when it’s full I need to throw things out from it.

  You’ll still have clutter, it’s unavoidable. But compared to before should be less.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Ian's Is Still The Best Site For Tying Your Shoelaces⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Wanna learn how to tie your shoes? It’s a very easy thing to do Just sit on down and I’ll give you the scoop What’s that? It’s called a “loop de loop”

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Switch 2 Sales Reportedly Struggled Over The Christmas Period⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  The biggest issue is the price. I remember a time when even the poorest kid in class had a Nintendo because it was cheap.

  The last cheap Nintendo was the 2DS over a decade ago. Most parents are looking for cheap hardware with entertainment and there isn’t anything which comes close to it.

  Even the switch lite is the same price as the PS3 bundle back in the day. And it came with 2 real controllers and a game.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨The Best-Selling Video Games Since 2020⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  As someone who has beaten the game. The cash grab part is just after your first day and the “open world” starts up.

  It’s not a bad game, but it gets pretty bland and generic once the main loop of ditching school starts.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Trying to find a messenger bag at Amazon⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I see you too have a waste of retail space known as Best Buy/Best Buy Mobile in your community.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Trying to find a messenger bag at Amazon⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I will not defend Amazon. But the lack of local retail/price gouging which is shipping in Canada keeps pushing me to Amazon.

  I need a role of 3D printable filament or an SD Card. The nearest store is 1-2 hours away and costs twice as much for the convenience, buying from the manufacturer may not possible and if it is shipping cost just as much as the product.

  I would love it if there was competition, but there isn’t and Amazon knows it. So for the most part I just buy from brands I know are safe.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Even Xbox developer kits are getting a big price hike⁩ ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Thanks Tariffs

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Virtual Boy: Nintendo Classics - Announcement Trailer⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  On the one hand this is a blatant cash grab.

  On the other, compared to the $1000 for Jacks Bros this is the deal of the century

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Today’s game consoles are historically overpriced⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Can confirm, got PS4 for $200 (used) and most games for $10-$20 each new.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Steam Survey for July 2025 shows Linux approaching 3%⁩ ⁨⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m doing my part

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Does anyone else find it suspicious that there wasn't any criticism on here about Stop Killing Games until after it hit 1.4M signatures?⁩ ⁨⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I don’t find it suspicious. Bring attention to it and it’ll get more votes. Ignore it and it’ll go away.

  Now that it’s passed multiple thresholds and is gained a lot of support. They will not try and stop it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I have about 55 hours of flights coming up. I’m thinking about the deus ex collection. Any thoughts?⁩ ⁨⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  5 is older so uses less resources

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I have about 55 hours of flights coming up. I’m thinking about the deus ex collection. Any thoughts?⁩ ⁨⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I’d personally aim for something like Civ. Long play sessions, but can be put down if needed

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Even in android Microsoft is still trying to get you to use edge⁩ ⁨⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I work in IT at a company who uses outlook, but has locked down the phones so the users can’t install anything.

  I can say without a reason of the doubt that outlook on Android is hateful.

  It’s still a 2010 era android app with non of the desktop features working. Like the signature not syncing with your saved ones. And focused inbox hiding important emails.

  But since the phones are locked down. These dark patten ads are twice as annoying since the user thinks there phone is broken. They just removed the Microsoft 2fa prompts on setup. But I saw this and almost cried.

  Don’t assume that users are smart enough to read or understand how this works. They press buttons until it works. If we didn’t force google play to not allow edge to download our users would’ve been in a much harder situation to support.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨The Faculty, any day⁩ ⁨⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I never liked those quilting bees or the bingo parlours. I wanted to live life to the extreme.

  —-

  The sound track and voice acting punched well above the movie’s aesthetics.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Former PlayStation exec says "$70 or $80" games are a "steal": "As long as people choose carefully how they spend their money, I don't think they should be complaining"⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  According to Nintendo my legitimate backed up software is causing them to loose money. At this point even if the legal way is wrong, then why not go full sail.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Google hits back after Apple exec says AI is hurting search⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  There’s a few thing ecosia still gets wrong or offers the wrong answer. But 80% of the time it is correct.

  Using it on all my devices.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Today's Survey. One point for everything that you have NEVER DONE⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  Born in the mid 90s in Canada. You guys should’ve seen the state of book fairs in Canada. It was easier to pay via cheque than credit card.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨How to Backup/Dump/Rip PS1 Games Using Brasero on Ubuntu 22.10 (Linux)⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  A cross platform option would be Power ISO. It has an option for the bin/cue format CD games are in and I’ve used it on Linux. It can also do ISO for DVD games

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Your all-time favorite game? Let's discuss the best options!⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  With endless replay. Rollercoaster Tycoon 1&2. Shout out to Open RCT (sim city 3000 is a close second)

  Console favourite- The Legend of Zelda Links Awakening

  Sound track - Chrono Trigger

  That long play (where you forget what you were doing if you put the game down) - Metroid Fusion/Prime

  Pokemon - Emerald or Soul Silver depending on my mood.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why do most Americans use an iPhone?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  Because an iPhone isn’t “that” expensive when you buy it on a plan. I mean it’s only $38 CAD for the new iPhone 6e on a Contract. That’s with my paycheque to paycheque budget. /s

  Though honestly that’s the mind set of these users. Sure they are literally paying $100+ CAD more than MSRP. But to them since it includes the data it’s a good deal.

  Now bellow is my view as a guy who manages and orgs fleet of Samsung phone, developed apps for both Android and iOS, and is the defacto IT guy for my family.

  I think the lean towards iPhones comes from budget Android being crap, and peer pressure from those around them. Get a cheap A series Samsung or a Budget Acer and you are just asking for a slow and buggy experience where the mic will just stop working after 2 years. Or it’s running Android One.

  Even an older iPhone like the 6s is still supported by many apps. Plus since it once had flagship specs. The soc has more power and runs better than anything new from Android. It’s the same logic that if you get an older iPad for the same price as a new Fire Tablet the iPad will be better than a fire tablet.

  The solution is to get a more expensive Android. But once you get to the price point of a Samsung S series, you might as well get an iPhone. The price is comparable, and you don’t loose out on features like the App Store (google play is a steaming pile in comparison). Plus iMessage and FaceTime is seamless and Airdrop “just works”.

  My relative had Android for years and struggled to use them. I finally convinced one of them to use an iPhone XR by the time the 14 was coming out, and now my Nan is texting and doing FaceTime. They could’ve done this before with the budget Android their carrier gave them. But the work Apple did to make it feel intuitive is brilliant. In fact because of the confidence boost from the iPhone, she’s even gotten herself an iPad to do her crossword puzzles.

  On top of that, unlike Apple. There is no guarantee that if you pay more for you Android that I’ll keep getting support. Most phones struggle to offer more than 2 years. And with the fiasco around the Pixel 4 battery, it’s hard to believe the biggest players “promises”. Compare that to Apple and while the promise 7 years, realistically it can be 10 years.

  For me the reason I swapped over was the Play Store being hot garbage. And the disgusting amount of uninstallable bloat on it. I tried for years to install custom ROMs and midrange Chinese phones to get around it. While it works, I grew tired of the work required just to keep my phone up to date. And the loss of built in features since I was going u official. Like the loss of 2/3 cameras in the app (trying to find a cracked gcamera which enables both is a chore), and contactless pay (evolution x worked sometime, and locked me out other time).

  Don’t get me wrong iOS isn’t better than Android. I miss my headphone jack, FDroid, side loading my own apps, the ease of adding custom ringtones, and custom launcher. Oh and being able to use 3rd party web browsers that aren’t skins of Safari (WebKit). But when updates come through I’m not concerned. My contactless pay works. Ad blocking is possible and I can’t complain about the cameras.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨need helpbuiltding a PC, not sure where to ask⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  Arch isn’t too hard with the AUR offering packages that said I only stuck out with Manjaro. They had a GUI to help with the install.

  I personally wouldn’t advise using it if you are new to Linux. I use Linux Mint and it’s been amazing for my work load. (Cad video editing and games.)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨need helpbuiltding a PC, not sure where to ask⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  While the safe bet with Linux is AMD, it’s not like Nvidia or Intel are bad options for Linux. (,running RTX 3050 and 12100f).

  It just depends on your platform and how comfortable you are with tinkering.

  From my testing, Ubuntu based, is the easiest to get up and running while Fedora and arch can take a bit of work.

  For my recommendation, look at the games you wanna run and see what they recommend for hardware. An in general safe bet, 12th gen Intel i3/i5 or 3rd gen Ryzen is a good bet for cheap hardware still in stock in stores or online. Upgrade is good (12-14th on the same socket & 1-5th gen Ryzen on the same socket).

  Graphics cards works on both, and AmD and Nvidia works on Linux, though Nvidia is behind on support, but not by much games will be stable.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What are the pros and cons to buying a smart watch from temu?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  Pro: Price, Convenience, Looks

  Cons: Much like buying an “iPhone” from Temu, the price is usually reflected in the quality.

  Don’t get me wrong, there are cheep smart watches if you look for them or go second hand. But what you’ll find advertised on Temu isn’t it.

  Build quality is usually the first to suffer, but you’ll find mislabeled batter info a 500mah instead of the promised 1000mah. Or an LCD instead of an OLED.

  But those are things we can adapt too. The biggest problem is software. That’ll do and close enough has been the name of the game for years now. And sometimes “smart” just means it can (badly) track your steps and pretend to check your heart rate with a led pretending to be a sensor.

  ---

  Alternative

  If you are looking for any budget electronics try looking for last years or a few years ago models. I got a Garmin Forerunner 235 in 2022 for 1/5 of its asking price because I found a deal on eBay.

  I’d also look into the landscape of the market you are buying into and seeing who is actually making these things, and what is running on it.

  For smart watches I found the answer was

  Apple

  Android with Watch OS (Samsung google and many more)

  Garmin

  If the watch isn’t running android watch os or is made by Apple or Garmin. Assume its good too be true and look into it more, or look elsewhere.

  Good news China is lazy and one clone usually is made by many factories and someone else made a video about it. Might not be the same name, but it’ll be close enough.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨2024 is about 75% done. Let's recommend the best games of 2024, but with a twist: only the ones with no paid DLC!⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  #Pepper Grinder (Steam/GOG/Switch/PS4/PS5/XB/ONE/S/X)#

  Released in March of the is year (and in August for non switch consoles) Pepper Grinder is a traditional 2D platformer with a world map, levels, and a gimmick of using a drill to travel underground like a dolphin through water.

  Its platforming has a good rhythm to it, with a nice momentum when you go in and out of the dirt. The best way I can describe the game is that it feels like a Mario Gimmick level that’s been expanded to its own game.

  If I had any complaints about this game, is that the boss fights are a bit too tedious. Not impossible as I’ve been able to beat them. But requires a bit more precise movement than the levels which preceded it.

  Overall though, I haven’t played a 2d platformed in ages which I’ve actually wanted to go through in ages. And it is a welcomed addition to my gaming library.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Let's discuss: Nintendo DS⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  Honestly since the New 3DS screen is so small, the slight blurring is negligible to my eyes. So long as there isn’t certificating in the image, like shimmering and or screen tearing, I don’t noticed it.