• Zamboni_Driver@lemmy.ca
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      7 days ago

      Gabe is a pretty good billionaire. He has made a lot of people happy. He doesn’t spend his money trying to manipulate society. I think Gabe deserves a new yacht.

        • imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          7 days ago

          Can’t remember a single Valve game that is $60 (today $80?) that has a Battle Pass, built in micro transactions that are pay-to-win, half-assed DLCs that should’ve been in base game, or a game being unfinished mess on release.

          Valve is not a saint. But even with lootboxes they bring way more good to gaming industry in comparison to literally any other gaming company.

          Bonus round!

          Can you guess a game that has all these 4 points?

            • imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              7 days ago

              But the money from that goes to professional players that participate in the tournament and to organizers who organize the event.

              How much money from battle pass goes to Fortnite/Battlefield/COD pro players?

              • Gt5@lemmy.zip
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                6 days ago

                You didn’t say anything about where the money goes, you just said you can’t recall a Valve game with microtransactions or a battlepass. Dota has both.

                If we want to have a discussion about how they spend that money, then I agree, Valve does a much better job than EA or Blizzard or similar

        • Zamboni_Driver@lemmy.ca
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          7 days ago

          For cosmetic only items, and in return they let everyone play for free. It doesn’t bother me as a business model.

          • JackbyDev@programming.dev
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            7 days ago

            I don’t think monetizing gambling addictions so others can play for free is a great argument.

              • Bronzor@lemmy.ml
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                6 days ago

                You realize people can’t choose if they are addicted to gambling right? It’s the same as any addiction. Most people don’t even realize they have a problem until they have hit rock bottom.

                • Zamboni_Driver@lemmy.ca
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                  6 days ago

                  Gambling in any way is a problem. It’s a dumb activity which leads only to sadness. There is no safe amount of gambling.

                  I blame alcoholics for drinking, not brewers for brewing beer.

              • JackbyDev@programming.dev
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                6 days ago

                Gambling disorder is recognized by the DSM, this comment comes across as victim blaming and ableist.

          • yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de
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            7 days ago

            Gambling addictions have very high suicide ideation and suicide attempt rates. The exact numbers seem ti vary from study to study but I haven’t found any with percentages below double digits.

            Gambling addictions are not uncommon either, with 1-3% of the general population being affected [Wikipedia]. Risk factors include starting young and online gambling by the way. Guess who encourages both?

            If I had to guess, thousands of people have committed suicide at least partially due to Valve. “Partially” because case gambling could’ve been the entry into other forms of gambling that cemented gambling addictions.

      • misk@piefed.socialOP
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        7 days ago

        Multiple online casinos for underage customers that he runs disagree.

          • misk@piefed.socialOP
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            6 days ago

            Man can’t be responsible for all the nice things in Steam but absolved of creating a lootbox/gambling empire.

            • ysjet@lemmy.world
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              6 days ago

              No, I mean he literally does not run those. It’s like blaming the bank for ‘running a drug empire’ when someone buys some weed.

              • misk@piefed.socialOP
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                6 days ago

                Isn’t he CEO of Valve, a company with famously lean amount of staff?

                • ysjet@lemmy.world
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                  6 days ago

                  Yes, he’s the president of Valve, not the CEO of multiple online casinos for underage customers. Those generally are not based in the US in the first place.

      • titanicx@lemmy.zip
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        7 days ago

        You don’t know what he does in the dark. You don’t know the decisions he makes, the moves he pays for, or the things he does. You only see a very small amount of his actual life.

  • greedytacothief@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    7 days ago

    Why is everyone acting surprised, this has been Gabe’s thing for a long time? He’s super into boats and submarines and owns a submarine company or something like that. i think I’m burned out from the news cycle, getting outraged by this just feels like a waste of my emotional energy that I could spend somewhere it will matter.

  • mlg@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    Would bet cash money this article was sponsored by Tim Sweeny, who is also a billionaire lol.

    Not saying this excuses Gabe Newell in any way, but this was made purely to attack Valve’s newly announced product.

    They had no issue when a billionaire with an order of magnitude more wealth than both Tim or Gabe went around advertising his shitty Amazon MMO:

    https://www.pcgamer.com/jeff-bezos-heralds-new-worlds-success-after-many-failures-and-setbacks-in-gaming/

    It’s impossible to say where New World will be in a year, whether it will be on the road to obscurity or finally giving World of Warcraft something to sweat about, but right now it’s a huge success that validates the commitment and patience Amazon has taken with it. Bezos may not have had a direct hand in its creation, but as the person who greenlighted Amazon’s foray into gaming more than a half-decade ago, you can understand his pride in it.

  • Chaotic Entropy@feddit.uk
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    7 days ago

    I suppose we can be reassured that the Obscene Yacht industry is still going strong despite the cost of living crisis.

  • muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works
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    6 days ago

    I never understood the appeal of anything rich people like. A yacht? An HOA? A supercar? These don’t appeal to me at all. If given them I would hate them.

    I mean it might be fun to buy a politician but otherwise it sounds boring.

  • Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyz
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    7 days ago

    Most comments ITT boil down to two things:

    • “cat shit is shit, so it’s the same as elephant shit”
    • “cat shit is not the same as elephant shit, so it’s not shit”
  • Jayjader@jlai.lu
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    7 days ago

    The materials were also chosen with an eye on reducing maintenance and repetitive tasks for the yacht’s staff, so traditional materials like teak decks and wooden handrails are out, and composite alternatives are in. The diesel-electric power plant works alongside a battery storage system that allows Leviathan to operate for long stretches with no emissions, and it also features an advanced wastewater treatment system.

    On the one hand, it’s nice that mr Newell seems to be reducing the footprint of their luxury yacht above and beyond most of what I have heard happens in the rest of the luxury yacht industry. On the other hand, I shudder to think of what the footprint for the manufacturing of this custom-designed, one-of-a-kind luxury yacht looked like. Not to mention ‘composite’ usually means some sort of plastic, so now there’ll be one more thing spewing microplastics directly into the ocean…

  • melfie@lemy.lol
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    6 days ago

    When I first glanced at the title, I got excited because I saw Steam Machine and $500. 😔

  • Marzanna@scribe.disroot.org
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    7 days ago

    Why not to spend this money on charity? Or a political party who oppose fascist? Or, heck, spend it for weapons for Ukraine! I don’t understand.

  • Avicenna@programming.dev
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    6 days ago

    Imagine having a dedicated yacht hospital for yourself when most can’t afford decent healthcare. I hope people stop idolizing Gabe, he is just your run of the mill billionaire.

  • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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    7 days ago

    What is it with millionaires and yachts?

    I hate boats, even on a calm day in a lake which is only about 2 m deep I’m constantly convinced the damn thing is going to sink.

    Do people actually like being on boats, it’s basically like being in a cramped apartment that is really inconvenient to get to and from, that constantly experiences a never-ending earthquake, why is that anyone’s idea of a good time?

    Also I really hope somebody has tested that submarine extensively.