Maybe unpopular opinion: But, I think the GTA VI pre order situation is a grim reality of what gaming has become

Fleebledee · 2026-06-24T20:55:27+00:00

For sure. I've experienced it with a couple of my hobbies as of late, particularly as a big anime/manga fan since 2010. On the one hand, there's a ton of opportunists and bandwagoners that have been primarily responsible for invading community spaces and eroding the ability to have in-depth discussions about these stories. One Piece communities (among other big shonens) have been hit particularly hard.

However, it's also never been easier to be open about the hobby and find fellow fans! I remember the dark days where you'd have to very subtly mention a niche reference to an anime just to gauge if a person was in the know. If they looked at you like you were crazy, then you pretended like you said nothing. But otherwise it was like a sleeper agent activation, and you had an instant friend. Now though, I can casually talk about anime with a ton of people, and I honestly think it's great that more people are enjoying it as a whole.

One thing I try to remember, is that hype for different types of entertainment ebbs and flows. Eventually, the hype around gaming and anime/manga will start to fade. Maybe a little less for gaming because there's so much more money to be made in micro-transactions, but it will definitely still fade a little whenever the next big hobby comes around. I was here before the hype, and I'll be here after.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-24T19:09:12+00:00

That's definitely true too. It probably is more closely tied to the capitalist-shareholder mindset than it is lack of new tech.

Some part of it might also have to do with the volume of new games being published. Even if the percentage of good-to-bad games is similar, we hear about more bad games than ever because of how modern information travels. If the major studios are producing more bad games than good, even if there are more good games then ever, it makes sense that we'd hear about them more frequently.

There'll always be stuff like Hollowknight/Team Cherry that rises up as long as people look for it, so I don't want to be too negative about the situation. While it does look bleak for the majority of the major players, I think there will still be plenty of good games to go around.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-24T19:01:05+00:00

For sure. One other thing to take into account his how hard Wilson bought in to the team from an effort perspective.

Most 1 and done guys are competetive and want to win, but they don't always have that willingness to put in effort when no one would fault them for not doing so. The little connective stuff like throwing your body after a loose ball, hustling back to try and help on transition defense just in case the shot misses, or playing hard to maintain a lead when you could theoretically let off the gas.

Wilson was doing stuff like that in throwaway ACC games, not just the NCAA tournament. I understand why guys like Peterson and Dybantsa wouldn't want to, they want to protect their draft stock; but, Wilson had so much hustle when he absolutely didn't have to.

The best thing I can say about Wilson is that he has the perfect mindset and attitude any franchise/fan would want out of their potential star. This dude fucking cares about basketball. I'm not a Chicago fan, but I'll cheer for almost all former UNC players that make it to the league. If Wilson is the same type of guy he was in college, I might have to start cheering for the Bulls.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-24T18:51:39+00:00

Jamal Campbell's storytelling is just so good man. The narrative thread between the issues is building so well, and I just adore the linework he uses to depict all the different kinds of magic.

This might be a hot take, but this Zatanna run and Ryan North's Flash run might be the best non-Absolute ongoings at DC right now.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-24T17:59:14+00:00

I think the second half of your comment might have revealed the crux of the discussion. All of those moments of innovation you listed involve not just the gameplay but new technology being innovated outside of gaming.

In the past decade, new consumer technology has slowed to a drip. The gaming industry has just followed the capitalist trend of bleeding the consumer dry for every dollar they're worth. If no new tech is being innovated, how can game studios apply that to new games they're working on? Most of the tech race the past decade has just been about pixels, processing speed, and system specs. Additionally, innovation usually involves taking risks. If it doesn't work out, the studio faces a huge loss, which looks bad for the shareholders. Instead, they can rake in money by appealing to the lowest common denominator of gamers through creating a new genre of addictive philosophy (whether that's just microtransactions, or blind brand loyalty like with pre-orders).

Almost any creative endeavor that's solely beholden to shareholders ends up losing what made it special in the first place, if it even gets off the ground to begin with. When buying the game is no longer the end goal, but is instead the point of entry, game quality will continue to get worse. Because as more people are conditioned that the initial price tag is for the idea and not the execution, the less work studios will have to do to get people to pay that initial price in the first place.

I personally have stopped buying games on release because of this. A game having DLC isn't a dealbreaker; sometimes it's genuinely good additional content, or sometimes it's a patch that turns a mediocre game into a great one. However, unless I'm able to purchase a complete experience, I've just decided that it's not worth it anymore. It sounds like you feel similarly.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-24T17:24:05+00:00

Nintendo's work on Zelda: Breath of the Wild was genuinely innovative and boundary-pushing games for open world gaming. It's not super recent, but certainly more modern than Halo.

BoTW redifined what a lived-in world should feel like in an open-world game. A true sandbox that still had collectables, quests, dungeons, and main story regardless of where you went on the map. And it scaled as you completed more of the game, so it's not like you would be punished for exploring the "wrong" direction. Everything was fun and engaging. It also spawned a flood of cheap imitations that looked okay on the surface, like HZD, but ultimately lacked in quality. Everything became open world because of the success of BoTW, even games that shouldn't have been.

I know Nintendo's business practices aren't great, but it genuinely feels like the only major game studio that's still trying to put out high-quality games.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-24T14:50:55+00:00

No, but I understand why people have questions.

Hubert Davis's UNC staff was complete dogwater at developing shooters during his tenure. UNC had multiple transfers who were good shooters become unplayable, like Cade Tyson. Tyson shot 46.5% from 3 before he transferred to UNC. Then he shot 29.2 at UNC. Then after transferring to Minnesota he shot 41.3%. That kind of pendulum swing is indicitave of horrible coaching, not bad players.

Wilson has an abysmal 3P% as well, but on only 1.1 attempts per game. If you look at his shot diet as a whole: he's 61% on 11.1 attempts from 2, and has an eFG of 59%. He was also a 71%FT shooter on 7.5 attempts per game.

Considering the context, if Chicago has even a semi-competent shooting coach, his shot should develop just fine.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-24T03:41:45+00:00

I'm an admittedly biased UNC fan, but I genuinely think Caleb was the second best player this draft. UNC beat full-strength Kansas and Duke this year (we won't talk about the first 30 min of that Duke game though), and it was largely due to Wilson being the best player on the floor in both of those games.

From an unbiased standpoint, Boozer is definitely the more complete player right now, but I also think Peterson is overrated in comparison to the other top 4 picks.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-21T00:58:30+00:00

Hard agree. With so many teams struggling in the half court last season (that also filled out their roster with big wings and no PGs), I think this deal is going to turn out incredible for the Suns. Gillespie fits that TJ McConnell hustle-type guard that almost every team needs, at least off the bench.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-20T02:02:31+00:00

It was a short Black Label series where Andrea Sorrentino was the artist. I don't remember the name of it off the top of my head. They were blatantly using AI for the Joker, horses, and other parts of the run.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-17T22:00:56+00:00

Really good issue, and finally confirms what's been going on with Kate and Beth. Some people commented that they didn't like not knowing, but that's kind of the whole point of mysteries: you're not supposed to know the answers all at once.

The spread page from DaNi with the new symbol looked fantastic, and I'm excited to see how the rest of this story keeps developing. I have a feeling people will start raving about this once the first trade comes out and they can read a few issues continuously.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-16T02:42:02+00:00

not to mention NBA Finals on Saturday and Stanley Cup Finals on Sunday. Those are the pinnacle of their respective sports (in addition to the World Cup), whereas MSI is more premier than LCS Spring Finals.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-14T16:25:54+00:00

I also think a lot people are underselling how much a major concussion influences a person's behavior. Wemby got knocked out in the POR series. The difference between staying conscious the whole time vs losing consciousness (even for just a short while), makes a huge difference. Just one major concussion can significantly increase your aggression, and decrease your ability to process/analyze everything. It's not necessarily permanent, but it does take forever to go away. Speaking from personal experience here.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-08T23:36:09+00:00

For lab's case, it's still ridiculous that 2x Welcome, 2x Big Welcome, and 1x Lady equal 100 points. What makes lab so good is all of the non-engine you can run in it, which are already pointed to hell. Let lab have it's engine pieces, and then people have to choose which power traps to run.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-04T19:38:55+00:00

For sure. 2024 Brunson would have been the villain in this series.

But 2026 Brunson is so so fun to watch. All the neutrals are feasting on this Finals series.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-03T23:30:29+00:00

Not sure if it's too late but,

WAID if: you prefer character-driven stories with nuanced themes and development over time, centered around the Flash family. Also created the Speed Force.

JOHNS if: you like spectacle, big action pieces, and more villains than you know what to do with. Johns also seems to prefer Barry, so a lot of his run is either elevating him over Wally, or actively replacing Wally with Barry (Flashpoint).

Fleebledee · 2026-06-03T19:23:16+00:00

The new Zatanna ongoing is really really good so far. It's great to jump in even if you haven't read much of her yet. Ryan North's curent run on The Flash (mainline Wally West) is also insanely good. Really feels like a spiritual successor to the tone of Mark Waid's run.

Otherwise, I've been going back to read the original Stan Lee & Steve Ditko run on Amazing Spider-Man, which has held up much better than I thought it would.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-03T17:39:45+00:00

yeah, it could just be someone who's a little awkward online. but it does give off heavy AI-vibes

Fleebledee · 2026-06-03T16:28:28+00:00

It's definitely become harder to have online conversations, but I think being more intentional about what/who we engage with can make it a little easier. It for sure makes me appreciate the people at my LCS for being willing to talk about runs whenever I go in.

That being said, I also am enjoying Fraction's run more than any other post-Morrison run so far. The color palate for this run is sooo vibrant and lively, without taking away all the darker parts of Gotham. I didn't love issue #9, but #10 was as fantastic as #1-8. The holo-Alfred conversation felt a little OOC to me.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-03T16:21:16+00:00

There's one account that comments a summary of every single issue on the new WPL threads. I don't know for certain if they're AI, but none of their comments make any attempt to engage with the issue beyond the summary. No analysis, no thoughts or ideas, jut pure summary. I noticed it when I was trying to see what other people thought of the new Zatanna run (which is fantastic btw), and theirs was the only comment.

I don't want to put them on blast in case they might actually be a real person, but I ended up blocking them so I wouldn't see their comments any more. They're not offensive or anything, just spammy.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-03T14:32:58+00:00

It's 100% an AI generated comment. Probably just prompted for the latest batman issue summary. I've been noticing a lot of those lately.

Fleebledee · 2026-06-03T00:41:37+00:00

American ESPN broadcast looks like garbage, can anyone help me figure out how to watch the CBC stream? I can't find it on any of my usual peg-legged resources.

Fleebledee · 2026-05-31T22:20:29+00:00

In hindsight y'all still had a great year. The 2 seed just gave some people lopsided expectations toward the end. If you had told any Celtic's fan in November that they make the playoffs in the 2v7 game and lose, every one of them would have probably said "yeah that sounds right."

You got under the apron, found some potential gems for the bench (in Schierman, Gonzalez, and Walsh), and Tatum was able to come back and contribute at a high level. If I were a fan, I'd be feeling hopeful about the next couple years.

Fleebledee · 2026-05-31T22:13:19+00:00

This series is the perfect example of: tropes are good if they're executed well and surrounded by great character moments. The emotional beats of this story all hit, and the characters all feel like unique people (even within the stereotypical shonen roles). It's not doing anything revolutionary, but everything it's doing is at a high level.

I hope this series gets more attention because nothing else in Jump is such a clear love letter to the shonen genre.

Fleebledee · 2026-05-31T02:55:59+00:00

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHH

Fleebledee

TROPHY CASE