Don’t worry about it, you were right.

It might actually preclude some games from even getting a Switch port at all due to performance.

You are right, I mixed it up with something else.

It’s how Denuvo works on PC.

I was actually agreeing with you and in no way do I think it’s ok because everyone does it. Rather, I’m very dismayed that everyone does it. Yes, it seems like a good idea on paper to use paid alpha and beta releases to fund development but the system has been shot to hell by the fact that the overwhelming majority of publishers who do this abuse it.

I prefer a single upfront purchase, though I am not against the idea of expansion packs or meaningful DLC (extra character races, maps, campaigns, etc). For online games, I think cosmetic DLCs are a good way to bank server costs. People who don’t want to buy them aren’t missing out on anything really, and the people who do get some nice swag/street cred to show off.

What I am completely against is pay-to-win crap.

In PvP, skilled players are at a disadvantage against prepubescent kids with daddy’s credit card and that really ruins the experience.

The most ridiculous to me is when you can use real money to buy items/skills/exp for single-player games. I remember being shocked to see that there were several launch-day DLCs for Tales of Zestiria for packs of healing items or early weapons that are normally obtainable in-game, just to help you out in the beginning. There used to be cheat codes for this sort of thing, now the “cheat” is forking over cash.

Not only is it predatory, people are actually paying for something the game already gives them access to, essentially giving the publisher money for being able to play, and then giving them more money for being able to play less.

Steam is riddled with Early Access games that were abandoned before ever reaching a final release. If you reach your financial goals before finishing the game, you’ll get a bigger payout by moving on to another project than by keeping your promises. Users are outraged at first, but their memories are short-lived. Lather, rinse, repeat.

There are some notable exceptions, though. Kerbal Space Program comes to mind.

Wouldn’t it be possible to create some kind of “post-browser” that takes input from the web browser and displays it after passing it through ad blockers and whatever else?

You just summed up how all knowlledge of everything has ever and will ever manage to exist does.

Thank the heavens for people who dump ROMs and share them online. Seriously. When people think emulators they think piracy, but it’s vital to conservation too.