this post was submitted on 14 Sep 2026
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[–] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 25 points 1 month ago (3 children)

And even if it was, we’re long past the point of voting with your wallet anymore in this age of tech oligopolies.

Respectfully, the hell we are. Telling yourself there's nothing we can do about it perpetuates the cycle. For one thing, you could probably stick to just the physical media that already exists and never run out of great video games to play, and besides that, depending on what's important to you, there's DRM-free games.

[–] zikzak025@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago (2 children)

They're right, though.

Enshittification makes companies money by being actively consumer hostile. Companies know they will lose customers by making unpopular decisions. But these days, they all know how to keep making more money in spite of/because of it.

Sony knows people hate this move. But the problem is that it saves them way more money than they'd ever lose in sales. They get to have a more captive audience with lending/reselling no longer a thing, no longer have to pay for materials and distribution for discs, no longer need to include a disc drive in the cost of the console, etc.

And they know the gambit will pay off, because what are people going to do otherwise? Pay the cost of a PS5 just for RAM?

[–] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

I already outlined two things you could do instead. Casually overheard on the subway, I know the average Joe who just plays NBA 2K is becoming more and more aware of his other options as the one he liked grows to be worse in some way, whether his line in the sand is physical media or not.

Yes, Netflix got worse; buy some Blu Rays instead...you might find that they're higher quality video than what Netflix has been sending you anyway, and you can get them pretty cheap on sale. PlayStation got worse; play your games somewhere else, even old or low spec ones that run on machines you already have or that you can afford. You won't be the only one in this predicament, and game developers are going to have to start targeting a lower spec to survive. These companies get you used to a thing and either cut benefits or raise prices or both, but they're not essential to your survival or happiness, and there are other things you can do in response.

[–] SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 3 points 1 month ago

Well, once I stop paying for their products I really do not care how shitty of a company they become. I'm already free of them. Enshittify away.

[–] Ashtear@piefed.social 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

The end-users aren't who the big names in the industry are responsive to anymore. It's the shareholders. Alanah Pearce has been banging this drum for a while now; I recommend following her content for more on the topic.

Besides, I didn't say there's nothing we can do. I mentioned exactly what you can do. Get politically active. Connect with others working on media preservation. Help with data collection and research to inform good public policy. Advocate and spread the word. Vote for candidates that pledge regulation and anti-trust action. Back the development of new candidates that will if none exist in your districts.

[–] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

I watch her stuff from time to time, and I've heard her beat that drum. But how do shareholders get a return on their investment? Customers have to buy whatever the company is selling. PlayStation already knows choppy waters are ahead with the component crisis, and they've told shareholders that their plan for this storm is to focus on further monetizing their existing customers rather than trying to expand, because they don't think the latter is very likely to happen. What do you think happens to their shareholders if you refuse to be monetized?

[–] Doc_Crankenstein@slrpnk.net 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Respectfully, they never said there was nothing we can do. They said the method you proffered was ineffective.

The very next sentence they said was "you're going to have to get politically active"

[–] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

And that will help as well, but wherever you spend your money, or don't spend it, is effective. People just like to ignore the times that it's visibly caused change and focus on the ones where they can't see it or it hasn't happened yet.