...OpenAI is a decade old now...

As an aside, I have always had a bit of a time/depth perception issue, but that just blew my mind. I would have said 2, maybe 3 years ago at most.

I agree with all of the responses here. Beamer summarized the biggest issue in 3 words: "aren't well informed".

Yes, late stage capitalism is a technical term that is relevant, but it is overused to the point that it's become an excuse for just about everything that is financially challenging -- even when it doesn't apply.

Voting with your wallet is also a buzz word, but it is something that could be more relevant when actually used properly. Like Beamer said, people generally aren't well informed and poor decision making makes that strategy mostly irrelevant. Unfortuntate...

Mr. Tact wrote on May 12, 2025, 13:17:

D-Rock wrote on May 12, 2025, 11:04:
I'm just tired of the 'late stage capitalism' buzz term being thrown around at the drop of a hat.

To this I feel like I need to say something which is the equivalent of "If it is true, it isn't bragging" -- but I can't quite find the right words...

Maybe "If it's true, it isn't buzzing" ?

D-Rock wrote on May 12, 2025, 11:04:
I'm just tired of the 'late stage capitalism' buzz term being thrown around at the drop of a hat.

To this I feel like I need to say something which is the equivalent of "If it is true, it isn't bragging" -- but I can't quite find the right words...

1) This is not the place to have in-depth discussions on the intricacies of economic and political principles
2) You aren't giving any indication that it would be at all useful to have a debate on this at ANY level.

"Late stage capitalism" is an actual term that has a definitive meaning. Whether it is and how often it is used as a "buzz word" is irrelevant to me. No economic system is inherently better or worse than any other; it's how open to abuse any system is left open too. Human nature, not economics, is the overriding issue. If we had anything less than an utterly dysfunctional governing body, capitalism can be made to work rather well. So could socialism or the barter system. "Vote with your wallets" is way more of a buzz term than anything said here. We have had every combination of democrat and republican-controlled branches since the establishment of the US, and this has continued to avalanche into a worse problem every decade. We're in the "late stages" now - as in this is very rapidly approaching the state of unsustainability - hence the term.

D-Rock wrote on May 12, 2025, 11:04:
I'm just tired of the 'late stage capitalism' buzz term being thrown around at the drop of a hat. I wish everyone would stop trying to be edgy and start voting with their wallet.

Why, though? We are in late-stage capitalism. Our wealth inequality has surpassed that of the days of robber barons. Luxury items have come down significantly in price while necessities have skyrocketed. And we're the only nation on the planet with fewer public companies now than 20 years ago, with private equity constantly buying things up and shutting down competition. Even our public companies keep merging, making it so most categories have 4-5 competitors that box out any start-ups from coming in. Even to that point, what's the last major company you can remember making an impact? OpenAI is a decade old now, and I struggle to remember any others coming up through the cracks to make an impact.

As for voting with our wallets, people think they are, but aren't well informed on what actually helps us and just go with what they're told. I mean, we have one of the people here telling us how tariffs were beautiful and would bring back American jobs while reducing our income taxes now also celebrating a 90 day deal to end tariffs. We're not a well-informed public. Maybe has to do with consolidation of the media industry...

D-Rock wrote on May 12, 2025, 10:27:

Mr. Tact wrote on May 12, 2025, 09:08:

Avus wrote on May 12, 2025, 02:09:
My last Nintendo product was just a Wii controller (not the console).

Mine was a Super Nintendo which I believe I bought in 1990.

Were you in Japan in 1990? If not, then it didn't happen.

Well, I did say "I beleve", didn't look it up. But you are correct, it was 1991 -- a grievous error on my part.

Beamer wrote on May 12, 2025, 10:55:

Why must there be an alternative? It's not black-and-white. You can make tweaks to your system without radically overhauling it. So yes, you can criticize capitalism and want to change our implementation without wanting socialism or communism.

I get confused at how many people don't seem to get this.

I had a feeling you'd be the first to reply lol.

I agree with you on this. I'm just tired of the 'late stage capitalism' buzz term being thrown around at the drop of a hat. I wish everyone would stop trying to be edgy and start voting with their wallet.

Prez wrote on May 11, 2025, 21:30:
You're right for sure. Chances are none of us will ever need to worry; we obey the rules and that is generally that. But knowing that someone COULD if they wanted to encourages me to take steps to protect myself in the event of the unlikely. I'm not a Switch owner (I haven't owned anything Nintendo since the SNES) but I do know that many emulated Nintendo games are available in several places. "Protect what you own", not "take what isn't yours".

I definitely agree with this philosophy. It seems wise to me.

There is also the possibility that a third party figures out how to deactivate things or causes other mischief. I suspect that it would be incredibly annoying to try proving your innocence. In a sane world, nothing you paid for could be taken away without legal action and you starting off as being innocent. The companies would also have to pay for the legal fees of the accused if they are found not guilty.

Most of my Switch 1 games are physical, except when not possible. Except for Metroid Prime 4 (the 4th game in the trilogy), there is nothing else that I am looking forward to playing on Switch 1/2. Generally, I have been disappointed with the games Nintendo has produced for a while now.

D-Rock wrote on May 12, 2025, 10:36:

Prez wrote on May 11, 2025, 20:14:
late-stage capitalism

What is a better alternative to capitalism?

Why must there be an alternative? It's not black-and-white. You can make tweaks to your system without radically overhauling it. So yes, you can criticize capitalism and want to change our implementation without wanting socialism or communism.

I get confused at how many people don't seem to get this.

Prez wrote on May 11, 2025, 20:14:
late-stage capitalism

What is a better alternative to capitalism?

I hope that the Switch 2 is less popular than Nintendo anticipates. I'm assuming that the way they control it requires internet connectivity?

No hardware device should require an internet connection to function. Between that and subscription requirements there are very few good consumer options available anymore. Start voting with your wallet!

Mr. Tact wrote on May 12, 2025, 09:08:

Avus wrote on May 12, 2025, 02:09:
My last Nintendo product was just a Wii controller (not the console).

Mine was a Super Nintendo which I believe I bought in 1990.

Were you in Japan in 1990? If not, then it didn't happen.

Avus wrote on May 12, 2025, 02:09:
My last Nintendo product was just a Wii controller (not the console).

Mine was a Super Nintendo which I believe I bought in 1990.

Fun fact, easy online cancellation is already required by law in California. For example, a while back I needed to cancel a gym membership but the gym would only allow you to cancel it if you went to the gym in person. I changed the home address for my account to a random address in CA and when I refreshed the page there was suddenly a button to cancel my subscription.

This probably works for a lot of services.

I consider myself lucky that i never love any Nintendo product. My last Nintendo product was just a Wii controller (not the console). I just bought one so I can bring to play with my friends. There were many (non gamer) people hyped into Wii console but the Wii hype also died VERY FAST. No one even care Wii U afterwards.

Nintendo products are a hard pass for me.

Nintendo could say that they retain hardware ownership of the Switch 2 in perpetuity and will come to your house and punch you in the face twice a month for good measure and people would still be tripping over themselves to give them their money.

You're right for sure. Chances are none of us will ever need to worry; we obey the rules and that is generally that. But knowing that someone COULD if they wanted to encourages me to take steps to protect myself in the event of the unlikely. I'm not a Switch owner (I haven't owned anything Nintendo since the SNES) but I do know that many emulated Nintendo games are available in several places. "Protect what you own", not "take what isn't yours".

Prez wrote on May 11, 2025, 20:14:
Valve can also arbitrarily decide to force close my account and ban me, theoretically stealing thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of games from me. I say "theoretically", because I wouldn't lose access to anything except their platform. In the digital late-stage capitalism age, where executives don't give a shit about ownership rights because profits trumps all other considerations, you have to be taking steps to protect yourself. Complaining about it afterwards is pointless and already too late.

I completely understand what you’re talking about, Prez, and this is slightly different because it is talking about making hardware unusable, not just an account.

Sure, Valve could delete my account, and I can still use my Steam Deck if they do. Nintendo wants people to lose access to everything.