Join us on May 30th at 10 AM CT for our six-month celebration livestream event on Second Wind! We'll be announcing new things, revealing first-looks at upcoming things, new merch and more. We'll be looking to raise additional funds for our long-term sustainability, so if you enjoy our work consider joining us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/SecondWindGroup

@danielcalabrese5769

Ай бұрын

This video has just described me when it comes to AAA games I no longer feel that urge to buy day one and pre order is not even something in my vocabulary anymore except of course like this video said when it comes to fromsoftware I paid the elden ring dlc the day it was available and indie that are under $40 aud that I have been looking forward to. I'm still working on not buying games that are on crazy cheap sales like a game that is only $7 at 90% off is still hard to resist at times but no because my backlog is so big I am getting much better at just waiting as I have plenty to play already. Unfortunately my friend still buys assassin's creed games collectiors edition with the statue and everything as a pre order but I still say "cool bro" when he tells me because I remember being similar to that many years ago.

@XDRosenheim

Ай бұрын

@@danielcalabrese5769 No studio/publisher is good enough for me to pre-order something from them. If their earlier titles were so good, they should have enough money to survive a new release. Should they be in hard need of money, they can go to the bank and get a loan.

@juubatuuba8354

29 күн бұрын

There are games you can not buy any more. Like original baldurs gate 1 and 2. In some cases pirating is the only way to preserve games.

"I'm also not worried about being late to the conversation because, thankfully, I'm an introvert." Amen brother, amen.

@lateraltwo

29 күн бұрын

I feel seen, and I'm not on the schedule for social niceties, please leave

@svenbtb

29 күн бұрын

Honestly though. Once you get over FOMO your gaming options are so much better

@TheDeceptiveHero

29 күн бұрын

I have a tendency to be an absolute late bloomer when it comes to discovering amazing content, but by that it’s much easier to focus on stuff that aged like fine wine and I get to see it for what it is, unbiased by hype in either direction.

@JasonX909

28 күн бұрын

Honestly it feels to me like FOMO is kinda going by the wayside. Like, most of my friends happen to have different interests so even when there's crossover it's treated like "Huh, cool that you're trying that thing I liked" rather than 'WHY HAVEN'T YOU DONE THIS YET??"

@Marksman3434

24 күн бұрын

I’m not an introvert, but I’ve learned how to steer clear from conversations and spoilers of games that I don’t want spoiled and don’t mind buying them years down the line when they’re much cheaper. I recently got a new gaming rig and finally playing so many games I’ve missed out on all these years and got quite a backlog of older games going that’ll keep me busy for years, letting me wait for the “new” games to get both cheaper and hopefully better too since lots of AAA titles these days come out in a broken state and unfinished, so it’s nice to buy them once all the updates and DLC are done

1) Never pre-order. 2) Treat kickstarters as a donation. 3) Do not buy day 1, or day 2, wait until the hype dust has settled. 4) Understand what you are buying, not what the marketing tells you that you are buying - READ THE TOS. 5) Understand your refund rights before buying.

@TheSkaOreo

Ай бұрын

This needs to be stickied on this thread. If you’re waiting for some mass boycott to force the gaming industry to change, then you’re going to be waiting a long time. Working within the system and actually reading up on games is a good way to make smart decisions . Basically everything OP mentioned in their posts.

@XDRosenheim

Ай бұрын

Also, you are buying the game as it is, not what it promises to be. (See: Early-access and betas)

@DavidPruitt

Ай бұрын

Watch reviews from someone who has the same tastes as you.

@irving_a3445

Ай бұрын

I go one step further, I consider Early access a donation, and kickstarters casting cash into the void and hoping something comes back.

@shatteredteethofgod

Ай бұрын

Consumers seem to really hate being informed unfortunately.

Man am I glad Second Wind is going well. What a good ending

@Petsinwinter2

Ай бұрын

I'd hardly even call it an ending. It's a fantastic start to a new chapter

@arnox4554

Ай бұрын

@@Petsinwinter2 This. But yeah, as an ancient veteran of The Escapist, I too was pretty surprised by the comeback. The Escapist has been going downhill for decades so I expected that it wouldn't be long for the site to shut down finally and the team members to also all go their separate ways, never to meet again. But here we are, with Frost nailing Cold Take after Cold Take and, of course, Yahtzee being as dependable as ever with the comedy. I need to check out some of SW's other content creators as well. And they need to start up another forum. Preferably without the BS of the overly restrictive and hypocritical rules of the past.

@Petsinwinter2

Ай бұрын

@@arnox4554 if you want my recommendation, JM8's been killing it with Design Delve

@gogauze

Ай бұрын

​@@arnox4554it was recovering really well under Nick's leadership, for several years prior to the mass walkout and the formation of Second Wind. Most of this content was already airing by then. Only a few of the longest running shows were affected by the changes, since our good guy EIC made sure the creator contracts allowed them to keep the rights to their work in the case of a catastrophe. It doesn't sound like it, but if you weren't around when everything went down, thousands of us simultaneously turned the old services into a ghost town, and migrated to what would become SW, all at once in the course of a week. And, bunch of new folks jumped on for the ride as it hit it's critical mass. I've, honestly, never seen anything like it first hand. It was very cool to be a small part of.

@Marsmuncher

Ай бұрын

@@arnox4554 I was only subscribed to Escapist for Zero Punctuation so when Second Wind started I immediately jumped ship as I'm so happy I did and I'm glad to continue to support them. As for other SW content I highly recommend Design Delve. Gives a fascinating and entertaining look behind the scenes when it comes to designing a video game. J is great with his little doggo and whilst it took him a few episodes for him to get into the grove he doesn't disappoint and alongside Cold Take with Frost and Fully Ramblomatic (and semi ramblomatic) with Yathzee it's some of my favourite content from SW.

"I shop, there for I am. I don't really buy that" Alright, Mr. nothing, take my upvote. that was good.

"Piracy is almost always a service problem..." Gabe

"The graphics are hardly noticeable" THANK YOU! Christ I wish the MARKETING scam of "but but but graphics/fps" would just die out.

@SurrealLeaf

Ай бұрын

I'd rather have PS4 looking games running at 60 fps at decent resolution than whatever we get now; "540p upscaled to 1080p / 30fps with dips". I wouldnt mind some end of PS3-era games either. Like hell, Last of us 1 came out on PS3 and I found it fine.

@Some_Really_Random_Dude.

Ай бұрын

I'd make the argument that FPS is actually important, but the rest is accurate.

@RapsCalorie

Ай бұрын

@@Some_Really_Random_Dude. In multiplayer, probably. I'm personally 100% in the "gimme 120FPS over 4k anyday" camp anyway though.

@kenpachi1989

Ай бұрын

To me every competent game since 2007 looks pretty much alright

@IAmNotKira

Ай бұрын

Things looking better isn’t a scam.

I voted involuntarily when Blizz locked out my bnet account of 20+years. Impossible, outsourced tech support meant I didn't get it back. Then I had to take a hard look at what I was actually locked out of. After a few weeks of reflection, I realized the prison had just let me walk out Scott-free. Got into woodworking, tracing a saw blade along a pattern scratches many of the same itches as gaming.

@davidnorton9997

Ай бұрын

You said it. Also nice to step back from a finished project. Great hobby. Just don't fall prey to the "you must use this tool brand or technique or you're not doing real woodworking." Feels very reminiscent of the attitude behind console wars. "My brand is better than yours... Because." Make some sawdust!

@UnfertigeGedanken

Ай бұрын

i started playing WoW back then when it came out, was addicted for three whole months. never had smth like this with a game. then a bounced fee from my bank account. couldn't play for two weeks. and then when i could again....the addiction was gone 🤷

@AHungryHunky

29 күн бұрын

​​@@davidnorton9997 Seems like involving online communities in your hobby is just a quick way to ruin it for yourself regardless of what it is. I like hiking and fishing, I stay far away from online communities for either of these. Any tips I could learn are immediately blocked by the extreme gatekeeping. "Oh you are not fully decked out in Patagonia" "Oh you only plan a 5 mile round trip you can fit into an afternoon, that's just a walk in the woods" "Oh your fly rod didn't cost at least 400 usd, how are you even fishing that Walmart trash?" Ironic I know, that I'm here on a gaming video.

@hazukichanx408

28 күн бұрын

As an added bonus, when you finish something in woodworking, that thing can serve a purpose. If you're going to do something repetitive, it may as well be productive in some way, and not just be a way to 'earn' imaginary things that will vanish whenever the servers go down. I'm all for playing video games and enjoying grindy ones too, if you like... but they need to be _fun._ That's job one for any game.

@JarethS

17 күн бұрын

The good ending we all deserve, but few have the fortune to find.

I'm gonna need a 3 hour video of Frost reading me bedtime stories, please and thank you. :)

@GayBearBro2

Ай бұрын

"Every 2024 Cold Take" video?

@SystemBD

Ай бұрын

With that voice, he would turn even the most colorful fairy tale into a noir detective story. And I'm all for it.

@USMC49er

Ай бұрын

He should read The Raven like James Earl Jones did for The Simpsons

@lazydroidproductions1087

Ай бұрын

“Good night, moon”

@red__guy

Ай бұрын

German bedtime stories!

"Never cook with a wine you wouldn't drink." - NY Culinary Arts School trained chef in the one cooking class I took.

@KSignalEingang

Ай бұрын

I make one exception to that rule - bottom-shelf Gekkeikan sake is great for cooking with, but I'd never drink it straight. Makes an OK cocktail though so maybe this is just half an exception.

@Naryoril

29 күн бұрын

Since I don't drink, that would mean I could never use wine, sake, mirin, shaoxing and so on for cooking.

Wine is made by fermenting the sugars in grape juice into alcohol. Dry is when there are little to no sugars left in the drink. The sweeter, the more sugar present. The details get quite involved and result in different wines, though. Red, rose, white, etc. Even age plays a role in that younger wines tend to have a "sharper" flavor while aged gets more smooth.

@Ceece20

Ай бұрын

My parents always told me if the wine tasted like alcoholic sugar, it was not dry. My default is red Zinfandel, so pretty dry as bones.

@Ghorda9

29 күн бұрын

unless it's distilled spirits, in that case dry means that it dries out your mouth

@fabe61

29 күн бұрын

Dry is not just absence of sugars, I'd argue it's also to do with a certain level of tanins

@Ghorda9

29 күн бұрын

@@fabe61 both tannins/oils and alcohol content dries out the mouth

Putting in Stan when you start talking about parasocial relationships and the lack of emotion in buying/selling products ( 6:23 ) is an absolutely fantastic move. Props to the editor.

I’m with Frost, I really haven’t ever cared about how pretty graphics are. As long as I’m having fun, I don’t care how a game looks.

@armelior4610

Ай бұрын

I like pretty graphics. But pretty and hardware-intensive are very different things. Artstyle is more important than how many particles or lighting effects you can display on a single frame.

@EssayOfThoughts

Ай бұрын

@@armelior4610 Seconding. A clear distinct Style can stand out way more than photorealistic graphics - it's like how Wolf Walkers stands out against Disney animation for it's own clear style, or Ghibli works against so many other anime. It makes them distinct as well as often aging better.

@jonathanmette8348

Ай бұрын

@@armelior4610 very good point.

@GothicCountryFan

Ай бұрын

Graphics as a seller really haven't felt like a selling point since like... 2007 when "Yeah but can it run Crysis" was a meme. It's kind of hilarious to go back over screenshots of graphical powerhouse games over 5 year intervals from 1993-now and see how little appreciable difference there's been in the last 5 years. I don't mean for this to sound like I am diminishing the hard work of game artists because it is absolutely incredible what is currently allowable in the visual fidelity department, but it's nothing like going from Doom (1993) to Unreal (1998) or Unreal (1998) to Doom 3 (2004).

@kamikazelemming1552

Ай бұрын

Exactly. I just played through Eternights, and the graphics are nothing that special. In fact, there are points where they look pretty cheap. However, the game itself is very fun, and the writing and characters were so good that I was completely invested in their stories and relationships. Anyone who says that graphics make a game is objectively wrong, and should be ignored.

Great Cold Take. I hope people take it to heart that brand loyalty is not going to lead to any kind of reward. You can be loyal to a brand, but that brand sure isn't going to be loyal to you

@2:44 "It's essentially paying the most I'll ever pay for a game in the worst state it's ever gonna be in." Remember when game developers tried their damnest to clean a game of bugs before release *_PRECISELY_* so that they'd be bought day one, at their most expensive? I miss those days. I miss them so bad. 😞

@studentt6064

29 күн бұрын

This era has never existed lol, you'll find tons of fan patches for all kinds of games. Hit games from back in the day were honestly worse in some aspects. These days I don't find many games that just crash straight to desktop, but I have played many 2000 era games that would just crash to desktop every hour like the original kotor. Crunch and delivering games too early is basically what both kotor 2 and dragon age 2 experienced. Many of those games had bugged questlines as well, and those would never get fixed. Vampire the masquerade is spoken of fondly nowadays but it also suffered from that kindof issue.

@RaethFennec

29 күн бұрын

@@studentt6064 Games have always had bugs, but I've been around since the early days of gaming and I can't remember almost any games on a cassette, cartridge, disk, or CD that had the kind of highly-visible playability issues that are fairly common in modern always-online games. Can you share your experience with old classic titles and major gameplay bugs? I know a few old games got recalled, but aside from that, were there really many you played back then that had issues on par with things we regularly see today like constant server disconnects, horrible lag and rubberbanding, desyncs, corrupt save files, server rollbacks, broken UIs, and soft locks?

I have several friends who will say with 100% confidence that Yahtzee carried the company before, and is the reason why so many people followed the crew to Second Wind. Not an unfair statement in my book, but I will say that in the past six months, Frost has very much become an equal pillar to this channel. If you see this, I appreciate you sharing your view on things, and how you go about doing so. Thank you and good luck going forward!

@jerrodshack7610

25 күн бұрын

He still eclipses everyone else in views, but they're catching up

@greywell2982

25 күн бұрын

The other company had horrible marketing, where they did not want to market their other videos.

My philosophy, which has saved me so much money over the past 5 years or so when I adopted it: Ignore sales. Do not buy a game until you are about to play it. Don't do it. Not for that price. No, not even for a single dollar. Not even a Humble Bundle with 40 games for $12. This means I bought Elden Ring at full price on launch day. This also means I bought Control 3 years after release for less than half price. Sometimes, a game I'm interested in ends up in a giveaway and I get it for absolutely nothing. But mainly, it means I haven't spent hundreds of dollars on games that I plan to play but just never get around to playing. And it means my money goes to games I actually play, not vaguely thrown into the void for games that had a neat trailer and a sharp sale.

@MegaArcon

Ай бұрын

A philosophy I can very much get behind. I once decided to finally organize my steam backlog after a far-too-long habit of pulling the trigger buying on-sale games with a "well how can I lose?" attitude. Two of the categories I made were called "poor purchase" and "will never finish" though perhaps those two are synonymous. After seeing how distressingly large those two categories got, I stopped my impulse buying. A $15 on-sale game that I will never play is a waste of $15. An $80 game that I sink hours into and leaves a smile on my face is $80 well spent.

@EssayOfThoughts

Ай бұрын

I have a similar-ish rule, though I will buy things even if I won't play them immediately if they're less than ~£3. This was mostly because until recently I didn't have a PC able to play a chunk of newer games but I had recommendations from trusted friends - if a game went under a certain price I'd get it for then. And now I _do_ have a PC that can play them I am enjoying playing through the backlog - with the firm rule of _no more games til I've finished these ones._ Honestly, the rule is holding up better than my "No more books til you've finished your reading backlog" rule (no impulse purchases since I got the new PC during lockdown!), so I count that as a win!

@DirranProductions

Ай бұрын

I took on a pick 3 system after falling into that trap. 3 games a year, you purchase, you play, no more. Rest comes from the current library.

@undvined

Ай бұрын

Frankly I'm amazed this is written like it's not more common. Not a single game in my Steam library is one I bought and never played; most of the ones I never played are free, from giveaways, or additional games from a Humble Bundle that I didn't care for but did play the game I bought the bundle for (at a cheaper price than buying it alone).

@mjc0961

Ай бұрын

Same. I used to buy stuff during Steam sales just because it was a good price and the game was supposed to be good, but eventually I realized I wasn't playing any of it. So for years now, I've followed the rule: If I'm not about to play it very soon, I don't buy it no matter how steep the discount is. It'll always go on sale again later, and maybe then I'll be ready to play it. If not... There is literally ALWAYS another sale.

i don't vote with my wallet to take down the evils on the gaming world i vote to lift up the good games out there. the big AAA games can do whatever as long as i can have my smaller and better games

All hail the credit talkover!

Y'know, I like that you put so much emphasis on care for people, talking about how it doesn't make you a good person for yelling at other people for what they buy.

Stop buying games based on popularity and brand name. Start buying games based on quality and enjoyment factor regardless if they were niche or not. It's as simple as that.

@Hawk7886

Ай бұрын

Sometimes games are popular because of the quality, like factorio. Damn I'm so stoked for the space age update.

@gamejtv

Ай бұрын

How do you know a game is enjoyable if you haven't bought and played it?

@OzixiThrill

Ай бұрын

@@gamejtv Or check the "hype" around it to hear qualitative opinions from other people; The biggest catch with these ideas of "only buy the good ones".

@Hawk7886

Ай бұрын

@@gamejtv pirate it, or buy it and refund it if it fails the sniff test

@grzegorzbrzeczyszczykiewic563

Ай бұрын

​@@gamejtv If you've seen gameplay of it, reviews of it, discussion around it, or it's already the kind of stuff you enjoy, then buy it. For instance: I enjoy rhythm games, so I buy rhythm games that have cool songs and fun mechanics; I don't like deck-building roguelikes, but gameplay, reviews, and discussions of Balatro made me confident it'd be extremely fun.

“It really makes you appreciate the taste of glass, if nothing else.” That sentence, that whole post credits, with that voice, might be the closest I’ve ever felt to witnessing the Tom Wait’s of a gaming generation.

In a very short time frame we went from Early Access games being risky purchases to now blatantly underbaked full releases which AAA studios stand behind with complete hubris. Money talks.

@toob4858

Ай бұрын

Honestly nowadays it feels safer to purchase an early access smaller title than a big triple A release

@Rystefn

29 күн бұрын

@@toob4858 Too true. It's a travesty, but it's the world we live in.

The last triple A game I bought was the Witcher 3 game of the year edition. Which was on 80% discount. I never felt a need to buy AAA games for full price.

Glad you called out r/patientgamers! One of my favorite subreddits, and the very rare gaming forum where dissenting or unpopular takes get a fair chance, and where in-depth discussion of games feels encouraged.

@Herrikias

29 күн бұрын

Of course, now we can all blame Frost for the subreddit being ruined, since it was a pristine bastion before this shout out.

The mention of the patient gamers subreddit makes me wonder if there's a similar community somewhere else, since I've gone effectively cold turkey on reddit use after their whole API fiasco about a year ago (not to mention all the other mistakes they've made since).

@LucaTheStar

Ай бұрын

I don't know if it exists but try looking for the Discord server for the subreddit, as convoluted as that may sound.

@mjc0961

Ай бұрын

@@LucaTheStar Ugh, I'd give up and use Reddit before I ever both with Discord

@Blueskyjewel

29 күн бұрын

There's also the Lemmy instance for patient gamers. The posts are less frequent, but the users there do try to put a focus on more thoughtful discussion.

@RaethFennec

29 күн бұрын

@@mjc0961 Oof. Just scribble permanent marker messages on the inside of the rest stop bathroom stalls like the rest of us.

8:54 - Rule #1... never drink cooking wine; it's not that type of wine. Rule #2... never cook with cooking wine anyway; cook with a wine you can stand to drink. Even better if you just buy two bottles; put one bottle in the dish, drink the second bottle with it.

@tobimisa

Ай бұрын

you'd genuinely be better off cooking with water than cooking wine (though if you Really can't get your hands on Any kind of wine a good substitute is usually chicken broth with a splash of red wine vinegar)

@robtibbetts890

Ай бұрын

Counterpoint: I don’t drink $3 wine straight out of a glass, I don’t waste $20 wine by mixing it with tomatoes and herbs. Marsala sauce without the marsala is just sauce. Shaoxing in a stir fry is irreplaceable, so is mirin, and I’d never sip either.

@1steelcobra

Ай бұрын

Cooking wine typically has a lot of salt in it, too. There is an exception, Shaoxing cooking wine is basically an essential ingredient to good chinese-style cooking. And Mirin is more like a sake with added sugar, so that's common in Japanese cooking.

@tobimisa

Ай бұрын

@@robtibbetts890 there's a major difference between shaoxing and mirin and what gets labeled as "cooking wine" in walmart

@shinigamidad

Ай бұрын

I enjoy Frost over here trying to figure out if he can make prison-toilet-cooking-wine cognac :)

my uncle imparted upon me a great saying: "you can spend a lot of money saving money like that"

"I want to bottle their joy and sell it in aerosol form" Just really liked that line lol

Total Biscuit reference at the start, you already know video is going to bang.

@costanzafaust

Ай бұрын

I was just watching some old TB reviews and reading all the comments, got really dusty in here for some reason.

@Voyajer.

29 күн бұрын

@@thecaptain6520 I like when people announce that it's safe to ignore their opinion.

"How does one 'dry wine'?" Frost over here asking the real questions.

@icarue993

Ай бұрын

I have never heard of wet wine either

@Ceece20

Ай бұрын

@@icarue993 Its usually just called "fruity" wine. Dry wine just refers to the content of sugar. Less sugar = more dry. If the wine tastes like Welch's, then they really didn't ferment the wine enough.

@user-pn4py6vr4n

Ай бұрын

On the chance that this is a genuine query, and I'm not misreading irony or sarcasm, when an alcoholic beverage is described as 'dry', it is referring to how complete the fermentation is. A dry wine, or dry beer is one that has had a large portion of the sugars fermented into alcohol, and has little residual sweetness or sugars. Depending on the specifics of the fermentation process, more or less sugar will be leftover, resulting in a different flavour profile. When I make beer, I aim to have a large amount of residual sweetness, more commonly found in drinks like IPA, or stout. The other end of the spectrum is a crisp, dry lager.

"Why do you need a drink for these?" Brings up philosophy: " I see. Carry on."

"What gasses my flabber..." Holy shit.

@OrangeDog20

Ай бұрын

*ghasts

I love how one minute Frost is rightfully calling me out on my broken relationship with video games and the next he's not only describing wine as Welch's Grape Juice that was let out in the car for too long (a relatable mood I can relate to and that Deltarune can too) but also just talking about wine in general in the end credits😆

@Ceece20

Ай бұрын

If its tasting like Welch's, then it's definitely not dry wine lol they put way too much sugar in those things.

the wine epilogue was gold! “Makes you appreciate the taste of glass”

Thanks to AAA publisher launching exclusive on Epic i no longer have to question if i want to buy on release. It'll be out on sale a year later for a quarter the launch price on a store i actually like

@uhobme2028

Ай бұрын

And ironed out to boot

@RaethFennec

29 күн бұрын

Better yet, just avoid those games entirely. :P I think the only game I ever got after it launched exclusive there was Satisfactory, and I got that for super cheap, and only because they've continued improving it ever since. The chance you're missing out on some truly great gem that's not available anywhere else is INSANELY small if they're making such a terrible, anti-consumer decision. There are plenty of other hits to play!

@neph9205

29 күн бұрын

@@RaethFennec i bought Cyberpunk at launch and i liked it. Played 20 hours, got my money worth and now i can come back a few years later to experience it anew. Same for Starfield. Bought at launch. played for 200 or so hours and will be back once the DLCs are out and mods are going. It depends. I also buy early access / DLCs on launch for devs i want to support. Rimworld, Hades 2 and The Forest being some of these titles

One thing I've really appreciated about the Second Wind crew is they're very good at understanding what makes a game interesting to different people, and conveying that information in a way that makes sense and helps people like me make choices about my purchases. The focus on smaller indie games is also fantastic, since I might not have heard about them without that bump.

"George R.R. Martin was looking for any reason to not keep writing Game of Thrones" Speaking as a reader of said series, I felt that line. I've pretty much accepted that book series will never be done. On the topic at hand, a lot of my buying habits mirror Frost's: - No preorders (haven't since Mass Effect 3) - Get best deal unless I explicitly trust the developer (Larian, Supergiant) - Don't buy day 1...preferably wait for GOTY edition to save on DLC nonsense. - No early access. I gave Larian and Supergiant love 2 points ago but I waited for their games to be out of early access before purchasing.

Wow. I did not expect to be nudged to the core of my being, my soul one might say, to ask myself questions like: - What absuse or trickery do I tolerate in my life? - Where do I draw the line and say "No more" when faced with corporations that assume I'll buy and consume because that's my job in their eyes and their world they try to sell and promote. Thank you. I needed this more than I knew. You gained a new subscriber today, whatever that may mean to you.

I bought Hades 2 the moment it became available on Steam for Early Access. I have no intentions of playing it until it's complete. With Supergiant Games' performance over the years, I trust them with my money more than my bank and want them to have it as soon as possible so they can continue to make their products. I would never dream of doing this for any other studio, other than a few select others that have a similar track record.

@sageoftruth

Ай бұрын

That's an interesting idea. I might try that. I've been burned by Early Access before, but it wasn't because the game failed to live up to my expectations in its complete state. It was because I played it early and ruined the experience I had when it was actually finished. So, buying early from a trusted company and playing later could be having my cake and eating it too.

@RapsCalorie

Ай бұрын

Hell, I wasn't huge on Hades and probably didn't even come close to finishing it and even I'm considering picking up 2. It's far from my top game but that shit was clean.

@IAmNotKira

Ай бұрын

That same logic probably was used to justify a pre-order of CP2077. If I had a decent gaming PC at the time I probably would have done so.

@NoName......

Ай бұрын

People said that about Project Red. No company is infallible.

@codyallen43

Ай бұрын

@@NoName...... CDPR was unfortunately the victim of their own hype and timing. They announced Cyberpunk 2077 way too early, and realized that the game wasn't even close to finished by the time the original release date came around. So they delayed it like 4 times in various lengths but even so the game was very much unfinished by the time the actual release date rolled around. But people were now clamoring for the game, hype was at an all time high and CDPR was already being heavily criticized for delaying the game as much as they already had. So they were basically forced to release the game before it was ready and paid the price. Most of that is on them. They got in over their head on a genre and scope of game they'd never tried before, set unrealistic expectations for both themselves on when they could complete it and for fans on what to actually expect from the game. But credit to them, they hunkered down and worked heavily on the game and now Cyberpunk is an incredible game I'd recommend to anyone.

*Slightly concerned Frost is getting into the cooking wine. Somewhat relieved that he's not breaking out the rubbing alcohol*

I still stick to my guns of "if this company has displayed any sort of unethical behavior I will not buy from them." Unfortunately, this mindset has and will continue to keep me from enjoying things; from accepting that every industry has no clean sausage factory. When I take this to its logical conclusion I will likely go mad and die if starvation... but at least "I won." Being human with infinite human needs just sucks.... so much.

@NoName......

Ай бұрын

There's no ethical consumption under capitalism

I am an ancient (by the standards of the Internet) member of Total Biscuit's old joke, House Biscuit. The house motto is We Do Not Preorder. It was the running joke but also an assertion - it's impossible to know if a game is good before it comes out and people get their hands on it. Don't preorder anything, no matter how hype it looks. Give it a few days after it comes out, at least.

“Voting your dollar” means people with more dollars get more votes…

@NoName......

Ай бұрын

And the people with the most money are usually the people who care the least about these things.

@44gouranga

Ай бұрын

There are countless people who already preordered the 130$ editions of the upcoming Ubisoft games. It works both ways, and we just have to accept that there are numerous people that wanna spend big on things that are widely considered subpar gaming experiences.

@bilak1

Ай бұрын

Now you're getting it.

@anonanonymous9670

29 күн бұрын

@@derigel7662 "Name a time where that has happened in gaming????" Any game with microtransactions Nearly every single mobile game

Never pre-order, never buy day 1, never purchase microtransactions, and never give money to companies that hate you.

@jlev1028

Ай бұрын

​@@thecaptain6520Bad fallacy. By "hate", the OP means actively screwing with the consumer whether by predatory monetization or deceptive marketing. Most companies may not care about the consumer so much as their money, but very few seem to be so malicious that it's like they want to lose money. You won't see Nintendo or Sega have the gall to shut down online servers without a word of warning or mock customers for lacking smartphones.

@user-pn4py6vr4n

Ай бұрын

@@thecaptain6520 Most companies are indifferent to you. A few have contempt for you, but it's rare that they genuinely hate you.

@dr6559

Ай бұрын

I bought Unicorn overlord day 1 and I don’t regret it at all. Vanillaware has my support.

If I had a dollar every time I've seen a AAA game go on sale for like 1/2 off with all the DLC like 6 months out from launch. I'd be financially solvent enough that I wouldn't be bitching about expensive video games.

About addictions I can't afford - gaming always struck me as an expensive hobby. But come to think of it - I haven't pirated a game in years. I buy only games that I'll enjoy, and if I don't like one, I can just refund it. And I found that I enjoy those games more, I return to them quite often too. I do not pre-order games and I have no intentions to. An amazing and simple, yet thought provoking piece. Thank you for that. And yes, graphics did not improved since 2017, it's just about stacking ray-tracing and upscaling on top of each other, and games instead of looking beautiful... look like covered in Vaseline.

@user-pn4py6vr4n

Ай бұрын

I don't think I have pirated a game since I was a child who had no disposable income. As an adult, it's much more convenient to just buy the game. If there's a problem so glaring that I don't want to buy the game, it turns out I also don't want to pirate it either.

@RaethFennec

29 күн бұрын

Gaming is one of the least expensive entertainment hobbies that exists. It's why it's become the largest entertainment industry in the world and surpassed even TV and movies. If you think about it, all the way back to Chess, Go, Mancala, or even the Royal Game of Ur, a small investment in a game set could produce endless hours of entertainment, competition, friendly rivalry, mental stimulation, and conversation.

It’s been my experience that deep conversations, of any kind, only happen between people who know each other well or in communities that have fostered a culture around that type of discussion. Seems that something about starting deep conversations feels too intimate to be done casually and/or makes people feel vulnerable. I know people want those conversations because if I ignore every social instinct that I have and post my deep thoughts about a game on Discord to try to start a conversation, somebody will usually take me up on it.

@protoman111

Ай бұрын

We need to have the deep and "hard" talks more these days I agree. Alot of times I rarely post on KZread or post very deep discussions because most people I interact with "don't have time" or "tldr" nearly everything i post. And some point we need to "make time" for the hard discussions otherwise we get things like companies nickle and diming customers or people who honestly think "just don't buy it 4head" is the solution when it's way more complicated (and is simplifying the actual issue).

@Bashfluff

Ай бұрын

@@protoman111 It's not even that; most consumers know that they're being fucked. We don't need to have long, drawn-out discussions about how long and hard the dick is. It's that games are art, and we rarely discuss them as anything more than a product. Having a discussion where you, y'know, have a conversation about the feelings that games bring out of you, how they're designed, whatever-- the idea of having that type of conversation makes a lot of people feel self-conscious.

@crushycrawfishy1765

29 күн бұрын

@@protoman111 To be frank with you, a lot of the time when people want "deep conversations" they really just want to stand on their soap box and dish out surface level knowledge while arguing how you're wrong and they're right. I will gladly make time for hard discussions, but I need proof that people are actually there for discussion and actually have things to say and not just babble their dogshit opinions.

@protoman111

29 күн бұрын

@@crushycrawfishy1765 That's fair. Though those are folks who don't want deep discussions: they want to hear themselves talk. Alot of people want to sound "smart" I generally don't interact with those people (as it's a waste of time). Unfortunately alot of discussion these days (irl or online) is about "I am right you're wrong" vs actually the exchange of ideas with respect to another person's perspective. To be fair it's a damn-near easy stance to take and fall into (I am guilty of it myself but try to avoid it).

@RaethFennec

29 күн бұрын

My experience is that the deeper conversations start with questions. You find the people willing you give you a chance on asking you a question, and you'll probably find someone who's interested in your opinion. Those are the opportunities for meaningful dialogue. But I know that for games I really, truly love, I absolutely enjoy engaging people on them to all ends. You find me someone who loves Caves of Qud and other traditional roguelikes, and I'll talk with them about it for hours. lol

I didn't get a PS4 until after the PS5 had been announced, and playing Horizon in 2021 still felt amazing when I got to it. I have no intentions of getting a PS5, but if I ever do, it will probably be around the same time in its lifespan. Games these days focus on the wrong things, there aren't enough good games to justify the cost of getting to play them, and that's the important thing to do: think about what you're actually paying for. Is it something you actually want, and if so, do you want it enough to justify the price tag? The first half of that, determining whether or not it's something you do in fact want, is I think the part a lot of people skip over these days. It's easy to let yourself be convinced you want something when you actually don't. I don't know, I'm rambling now. But this video spoke to me. Hats off to you, sir.

I enjoy the general Cold Take, but the credit commentary at the end gave me a much-needed laugh.

6:16 “They already defined us in that End User License Agreement that no one ever reads; we are End Users. Let’s not make things personal.” TRUTH!!!

Come with me and sail the seven seas. Freedom never felt so good

The silly asides at the end are one of the rare times I need to stick around once the meat a of a video is concluded. Thanks for being silly, Frost.

I used to have a policy where I'd add neat-looking games to my steam wishlist and then buy them when they went on a high enough percentage sale. "Saved" a whole lot that way - until I realized I kind of wasn't really playing half or more of them. Just growing the backlog. These days, I ask myself the most important question before any purchase: "Do I feel like playing this game right now?" Really helps with the backlog issue, and probably reduces my overall spending to boot.

On my first years of being a PC gamer, I was very much squandering most of my money on sales and bundles, a full FOMO victim, what helped me stop (aside from a big economic scare), was a variation of your guidelines: If I see a game on sale I have to ask myself these 3 questions: 1. Can I afford to buy it? 2. Do I really want to buy it? 3. Am I going to play it ASAP? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then I simply don't buy it, it managed to finally put a stop to my gargantuan Steam Library and has let me spend the past few years finally beginning to clear my eternal backlog!

@eneco3965

27 күн бұрын

Same (except I pirate everything)

@Roler42

27 күн бұрын

@@eneco3965 I rarely pirate anymore, if I see a game is good, I want to support it with my money. The only times I will truly pirate is if the game is delisted and I never got to play it, or if it's a classic I used to play but lost the install disc and no way to buy it outside of getting virtually robbed by resellers looking to get rich quick.

I think not using social media is the main reason i dont feel any rush to buy games when they release. Im more than happy to keep playing through my backlog while keeping an eye on digital stores for sales on games I'd like to play

The wine monologue at the end 👌

1:20 It's the washing machine that takes most of your socks. Make sure to rotate the drum and look for any stuck to it. Wisdom earned from a summer job working in a laundromat and talking with the owner who fixed all the machines and knew what got lost where.

Such a great delivery! Your voice and the lines you come up with are just a perfect blend! A real pleasure to find something like that on KZread :)

“You’re either watching Sun Dance Pig Man - AirTrash Duet, or you’re doing literally anything other than watching Sun Dance Pig Man - AirTrash Duet.” - Socrates

@yuichikita6018

Ай бұрын

"Socrates, are you high?" - Plato

This is my favorite take on the issues at hand. If I may be so bold, this changes the perspective from "the road to is lined with good intentions" into "Good intentions are no choice of their own."

The ramble at the end about wine was a rather unexpected joy.

This series is becoming my favorite content on the channel! And at first I only knew Fully Ramblomatic

Finally, a man who knows the rain cycle.

As a new viewer to Cold take I must say these are fast becoming my favourite videos on KZread

Wise man. Thanks for putting what i feel/think into words that i can now share.

"If your passion makes you hate another human being that way then maybe reconsider the thing you love" I feel like this applies to so many gamers nowadays its sad

I'm not convinced that games age. If you're willing to meet them half way, rarely is a game's age the problem outside of compatibility.

It is good to have principles. I also think it's good to consolidate all the information about oneself as a gaming consumer in one readily accessible place. This was the year I started a spreadsheet where I log all game purchases. I know all the platforms do this themselves, but I feel there is power of volition to be gained from doing it oneself.

@danielnice1695

Ай бұрын

@@thecaptain6520 Thanks. Appreciate you saying that.

that final wine rant really got me lol, excellent video as always.

I have very similar policies. Honestly, with the market the way it is, it's not too hard to be a savvy consumer. I play video games almost every day, and yet I only pay full retail price for 1 AAA game a year. Everything else I either get on sale or try it through the Game Pass service or borrow it from a friend. I never pirate, and I sometimes even buy the games I love multiple times (like, buying both a physical and digital copy). But sadly, the market it geared largely towards day 1 sale numbers. So while my policies are good for my own wallet and mental health, they aren't actually an effective way of influencing the industry.

Thank you for this post. I enjoy your work.

Fantastic analysis. Appreciate the insight and I very much vibe with all these practices and ideas. GGs

Awesome video as always, Frost, but the twist at the end of the outro was great lmao

another banger, nice

Love the banter during the credits. :)

Loving these new outro rambles!

Just another great video Frost. Thanks

the writing in this one was flawless

Thank you for your work.

That outro bit makes me want to just hear Frost ramble about things now

Like a wise man said: "Stop preordering games!", in his British accent.

Man I really enjoy these

Pre-ordering games has become paying to QA them.

This is becoming my favorite Second Wind content.

God I love this man's brain. Keep 'em coming, the colder the sweeter

I love cold takes, it's crazy how much of this video I align with when it comes to purchases. I take my take look for the price carefully and check reviews let's play of the games. Too many times have I bought things I ended up not playing or even worse not enjoying but feeling the guilt that I had to finish them.

The end of the video wine rant was the best!

Really enjoyed the ramblings at the end there

You hit the nail on the head with piracy: its a service issue more than anything. If going through all the hoops and risks involved IS worth it to someone, then they probably are impoverished, and they wouldn't be shelling out 70$ multiple times a year on something like that anyway. But poor people deserve to experience things. Now AND later.

my favourite second wind show!

Cold Take, and Frost in general is one of the best things on the internet!

I pirate 90% of the games I play. Goes for most things. Living paycheck to paycheck with a wife that can't work and two teenage boys means most funds go to the things I have to pay for. I listen to a LOT of audiobooks while working, and play many games a months as my main hobby. Mabey get one or two brand new games a year, FF16 and Elden Ring were the last. Almost never get DLC for games. If I had enough money, I think I'd buy more, indes for sure. Feel bad not paying for games from smaller devs. But, when it comes to keep food on the table, the car running and the kids in clothing, it comes down to do without or pirate. I'm also older, and was in my teen during the torrent boom. Grew up with its as the best option for anime and other things.

in 2012 i decided to not buy any game, with the exception of some indie games, until they were at least a year old and on sale. going that first year without buying any new games was far easier than i thought because I already had a backlog. after that i never felt like i was lacking for new games to play since there was always something new to me coming along. and over the last decade plus ive accidentally fallen farther behind than a year on a ton of stuff.

Cold take has became my favorite part of second wind.

i love the drunken wine rambling at the end

It's funny that on the internet, I always see people loudly proclaiming that pre-ordering is a terrible practice and we should never do it, and I almost never see anyone defend the practice. And yet someone must still be doing it. I wonder if this is one of those information silos where everyone on one side of the debate is just talking amongst themselves.

XD Frost humor still makes my day no matter how chaotic evil it goes XD

Sebs says things without pause or accent and some things are easy to miss if you were doing dishes and got distracted for a moment. “If your passion makes your hate another human being, it’s time to reconsider things you love” Listen to it, hear it, comprehend it.

I'm not a gamer. I haven't dedicated myself to a game for years and have no intention to get back into the hobby. But I'll be damned if I miss a cold take because the writing and perspective is brilliant and something I won't miss.