Burning_Spear

I haven't had time to play yet but expect to put in at least a few hours toward reaching Completionist++ on Balatro. I've been adding a joker ot two to the Gold collection every day, so it still seems like I'm making progress. Happy holidays, everyone!

The music doesn't do much for me. I prefer something more intense or upbeat for Tetris. But the tetriminos are bright and easy to see against the backdrop, which is always a plus for me, as some of these custom themes make it difficult to see the gaps in your stack.

I played a bit of Tetris 99 last night to unlock the Zelda skin. This is one of the better ones. Otherwise, I've been plugging away toward Completionist++ on Balatro and will likely stick with that until after Christmas, when I should have the time to get into something new.

I'll have to try this. It looks like the top-down iteration I loved in Tetris Axis on the 3DS

@NintenGuy What I said was that PS4 and PS5 have sold 100 million combined during the Switch's lifetime. So based on your numbers, that's 181 million total. According to VGSales, PS4 sold 60 million by March 31, 2017, roughly the Switch's launch date. So that's 121 million since the Switch launch. OK, so I was off by 20 percent. My intent wasn't to short the PS sales but to note that Switch has had its success in a period in which 100 (121) million people invested in another, more expensive console, not to mention XBox sales. Not trying to start another console war — and I said there were arguments for both consoles — but was just presenting a counter to the person who said PS2's numbers were more impressive because of the time in which it was on the market.

@DwaynesGames It seems like it cut off in mid-November. My totals on my console list are greater than those on the Year in Review.

Balatro: 400
Does it sound like I have time for anything else?

But for the record, Splatoon 2 is second with 59 hours and Mario Kart 8 is third with 44.

@-wc- Agreed there. It seems like there aren't as many fresh ideas these days and that publishers are relying far too much on re-releases and sequels.

@-wc- There are other variables to consider too, though, such as the competition in the space (PS4 and PS5 have sold 100 million between them while Switch was doing its thing), smartphone competition, and the PS2's sales that were solely for its use as a DVD player. You can make an argument in favor of either console.

Pending Jim Ryan's updated U.S. sales count, to be announced in his next interview.

By PEGI's logic, media outlets should never report crime, as it teaches the skills necessary to commit crimes.

Absolutely ridiculous decision. If anything, knowledge of poker leads one to Balatro, not the other way around. And Balatro's tutorial has no mention of poker. If you don't already know it's based on poker hands, how would you be moved to go from Balatro to poker?

Not cool for them to be revealing this stuff ahead of the official announcement, if they are indeed doing that. I wouldn't have bought their product anyway, but they're now on my list of companies to forever avoid.

For now, I'm chipping away at Completionist++ in Balatro. I've gold-tagged more than 20 more jokers in the past week, so for the moment it still feels like there's regular progress being made. I'll probably start something new during the holiday period.

More to celebrate about Balatro on a night we're already celebrating Balatro. Easily the best game I've played in years.

"... to 'ensure indie game developers are not hindered or discouraged from pursuing their creative ideas.'"

Interesting take on copying.

I unlocked the classic Tetris theme in Tetris 99 last night, and more importantly, I got on a huge roll in Balatro and finally achieved Completionist+. So I expect I'll be knocking around in a bunch of games the rest of the weekend, maybe start chipping away at C++.

He left us way too soon!

Translation: We wanted your holiday money more than we wanted to deliver a complete product.

And what about the people who played it in dysfunctional form for seven months? I suppose rush jobs are the norm these days.

My backlog is saying, "Don't you dare!" And also, "Stop it with Balatro already!"

I guess Ubisoft just has to get used to not owning their studios.

@BIG3 Indeed, DQ11 does have a GOAT vibe to it. A super-interesting story and world to experience!

Same as usual for me: I'm chasing Gold stake on my 13th Balatro deck this weekend, with only two more to go after this. Completionist+ status in sight!

Ubisoft's version of Tom Nook will operate a rental shop instead of a store and will implore the player to "get used to not owning" their furniture and clothing.

"Looks like you've got your eye on that Opulent Rug, yes? That's 25 bells a day, quite a bargain, yes, yes."

I'm nearing Gold on my 10th deck in Balatro and hope to make good progress toward the 11th this weekend.

Bingo! Finally upgraded my Switch Micro SD to 1 TB, from 512GB. The old card will be on garden leave until Switch 2 debuts.

Balatro, please, so the past 280 hours of my life will be validated.

Here we go again: Half way to Gold on my ninth deck in Balatro after random chance finally bestowed upon me the elusive joker I needed for Completionist status last week.

Hey, Phil, did you ever think "other platforms" may have their own red lines regarding hosting your rent-a-game service??? I'll own my games, thanks.

Just to be clear: A plaintiff almost always has to prove damages, even if the defendant defaults. In this case, unless this idiot can show a legitimate reason for his default (maybe he was out of the country or hospitalized, for example), Nintendo must still prove why it is entitled to the amount of damages it is seeking (or entitled to any damages). In many instances, the defaulting defendant does not appear at that proceeding either, meaning Nintendo would face the easier prospect of arguing against an empty chair. But it's not likely that a judge would simply give Nintendo the damages it's requesting without a hearing on the evidence.

@Ganner First off, Completionist status was finally reached this weekend, in addition to gold-staking a seventh deck and (so far) closing in on the eighth.

I have no idea when this obsession will end, but it often does when I'm sitting around on a Friday night, ready to jump back into my current game, and then say, "I'll just play an hour of this other game first." And then OCD and ADHD take over, and the "other game" becomes the go-to and the game on the hundred-hour run becomes a dust collector.

@Ganner I'm a little beyond 250 now, which is why it's a little frustrating that I'm just waiting on one random joker to pop up to reach Completionist. I'm playing Gold Stake on my seventh deck this weekend.

How are you doing with SnowRunner? Did I tell you I bought it? It's in backlog at the moment, obviously.

What else? Balatro. I'm at 99.3 percent of Completionist, just needing one extremely shy joker to show his face during a run. Random chance is not my friend, I'm afraid. In the meantime, I'm closing in on Gold-staking a seventh deck.

This is called repackaging overstock before it becomes obsolete.

Still on Balatro. I'm working on gold-staking a fifth deck and have now reached 98 percent toward Completionist. Maybe a little Splatfest if my addiction allows. I also hope Mario Party Jamboree will finally be booted up.

Gave these a whirl last night. I like Slay the Spire most.

Not much time this weekend, as family stuff and sports are taking priority. I downloaded Mario Party Jamboree but spent about five hours on Balatro last night, so it looks like Mario Party will have to wait until next week.

@Ganner Keep moving that timber, buddy!

I'm still — still — attacking Balatro. I beat Gold stake on Checkered Deck last night and will turn my attention to another deck this weekend. Completionist status is coming into range.

@axelhander I don't share the underlying sentiment, but my goodness was that funny.

@Ganner Hey, Ganner, I picked up SnowRunner. I haven't gotten to it yet because something else is sucking up all my free time, but I'm looking forward to hitting the (off)road.

I started with more than six hours of Balatro last night. I'm working my way up the ladder toward Gold stake on the Checkerboard deck now, having hit Gold on two others. I also unlocked three more jokers on the way to Completionist.

It's a beautiful weekend here, and there's playoff baseball in this house, so that may be it. I probably need to get away from this Balatro addiction for a couple of days!

Wishing them well, as long as they ditch the idea that gamers have to get used to "feeling comfortable with not owning your game." Otherwise, vaya con dios.

The Financial Times also ran a piece on this, I believe Thursday, with the only complaint being there wasn't enough about the history behind the games, like how Miyamoto arrived at the company and gained so much influence over development, or the origin of the GameBoy, for example.

The Balatro addiction continues here. Six hours last night. I'm trying to Gold Stake a second deck. Yellow.

The law should be that once you buy the game its license can't be revoked and that it must be available for free redownload (as long as proper credentials are provided) for a reasonable period after the sale. It's nice that they have to let us know they can revoke the license, but that doesn't really make things better at the bottom line.

Mine was delivered this afternoon. A nice addition to the collection!

@ChromaticDracula @Not_Soos If you still have your GBA or a PS2, you can grab compilations of 2600 Activision games.

So now we're good until the next DLC and an even-steelier book?