In game ads coming to XBOX...

[Hot Monkey]

If this recent news is true I will cancel my XBOX Live account and launch my console of the nearest bridge. Or maybe gut it, pack it full of litter box treats and FedEx it to Microsoft with a colorfully worded greeting card.

So let's see... I already pay for...

1. The console purchase price which is nearly double the previous console, not backwards compatible and like all consoles destined for rapid obsolescence.
2. Fast internet service which is not optional.
3. XBOX Live subscription so I can actually play online with friends.
4. Game titles that I buy and "own" have regular forced DLC updates that add to original purchase price if I want to stay current with content.
5. The majority of the cool content/skins/goodies are pay to play add on purchases as well.
6. Also rumored to be coming soon is that if I "purchase" and download a title and do not play it for a certain period it can be deleted from my account. WTF. This is not "purchasing" this is renting.
7. And now I get to watch in game ads on top of all this?

Nope. If this is for real I'm all done gaming. Thanks for ruining yet another enjoyable pastime. Honestly I should have quit somewhere around #4 when Destiny started piling on the pay to play DLC content. Enough is enough. If/when these in game ads kick in I'm done. I'll just read a book or workout more. I only really game to stay in touch with some old friends. And for the record they feel exactly the same way. We'll just find other ways to stay connected.

End of rant. Grumble grumble groan.

 

[PaulyT]

Yeah that would suck. As a PC gamer (where most of my games are through steam), hopefully this wouldn't be possible since it's not all coming through one company. I guess in theory steam itself could try to do something like that, but I can't imagine the outcry/blowback that would cause.

 

[Botch]

Enshittification extends its ugly tentacles everywhere.
Unfortunately, what you're doing, @Hot Monkey, is the only thing we can do, and not enough of us do it.
I've done the following, and many of them are frustrating:
- I refuse to fly commercially anymore (as of 7, 8 years ago?)
- I refuse to pay sirius XM another nickel; never again
- I refuse to pay for lawn treatments anymore; 31 years ago I got a single treatment in the spring and my lawn was gorgeous. Then they went to two treatments/yr, then to four, and now they want to treat my lawn six times/year! No more.
- I refuse to pay for amazon Prime anymore. There still are a couple items I can't find locally, but by careful order combining/waiting I usually get free shipping; if it takes ten days vs two, that's fine.
- I refuse to renew my longtime subscription (since ~'99) to Cooks Illustrated. Folks on my BBQ forum told of trying to cancel their digital subscriptions (on credit card), and being put thru the "you'll have to talk to my supervisor"/put on Hold/getting disconnected for up to 40 minutes, trying to wear you down (see sirius XM above). I've always renewed my CI subscription via check (which is the only way I'll subscribe to anything from now on), and the bill stated, "Since you chose Auto-Renew, send no money now, we'll bill you, oh and it'd be So Convenient to just send us your CC number..." GAAHH!! I never chose Auto-Renew (I never will) and this thread has got me fired up enough to write my FU letter to them now.
- I refuse to eat at Burger King ever again. Their drive-in sign lists a "Whopper Meal", for $7 (prices estimated, it's been awhile). Voice on the speaker asks, "Would you like a Regular or Large?" I scan the sign again, Regular was $1-something more and Large $2-something more; I told her "Just the Small". She comes back with, "We don't offer a small, would you like a regular or a large?" Me: "I want the $7 Meal you have advertised on your sign!" Voice: "We only offer a Regular or a Large, which would you like?" Me: "WHY DO YOU OFFER A $7 MEAL IF YOU DON'T SELL ONE?!?" Voice: <crickets> Fortunately there was no one ahead of me in line; I drove off. Would love to know if this is just a UT thing, or nationwide...
- And I absolutely refuse to watch ads on EweTube. Zuckerberg and buddies came up with a clever idea: offer free video hosting, collect the data on viewers, and sell that data to merchants for targeted advertising. I knew that going in and I was okay with it; zuck and buddies became billionaires, billionaires!, with that idea; you'd think they'd be eternally happy. But, no. They must have MORE MONEY!!! So they started shoving ads, then non-skippable ads, then ads internal to the video (usually interrupting the video mid-sentence). I started using a program called Wipr, then another called Vinegar, and now my ad-blocker of choice (for ewetube) is a companion program to the DuckDuckGo browser called Duck Player. They have a software update once or twice a month, they're on top of it, and they're still free (I'd pay for it, I really like it).

Blah, blah, blah, go to bed Botch! Thanks for letting me vent.

 

[Hot Monkey]

Now that was a proper rant thanks for that. I feel better about the whole Xbox thing already LOL seems minor in comparison. I’m still opting out though.