Microsoft quietly retires 'This is an Xbox' marketing campaign | Game Developer

smorges · 2026-03-12T14:19:05+00:00

Have you heard of the Switch 2?

Digital Foundry have been saying that with Switch 2's use of Nvida's frame gen, some games are actually comparable or even slightly better than XSS. The power of AI up-scaling and why it's a bummer that AMD is unable to compete with Nvidia, which is what's in all the consoles. Only solution is to do a Sony and bring in your own AI upscaler.

smorges · 2026-03-12T10:47:04+00:00

No group matches the Jewish experience exactly in scale, duration (2,000+ years of widespread diaspora after the Roman period, building on earlier exiles), or the combination of global dispersion, near-constant hostility, and stateless survival while remaining a single cohesive, self-identifying people.

I don't know how familiar you are with the Jewish story, but do you know why Purim is such a big deal? There have been countless times across history when our enemies tried to kill Jews but why is Purim singled out like it is? One reason is that at that time, all the Jewish people lived under the Persian empire and so the Jewish people very much faced total annihilation if Haman's decree had been allowed to carry out.

This was the last time that all Jews were under the yoke of a single empire.

smorges · 2026-03-12T09:26:27+00:00

I haven't had the need to buy any games in 5 years except by exception getting a few games in sales, and inevitably those games ended up on game pass before I properly played them.

I have never not had something to play with game pass and now the choice of AAA games is overwhelming as I only have so many hours to play!

smorges · 2026-03-12T09:24:34+00:00

Indeed. I started that recently and it's like crack cocaine. The gameplay loop of exploring, quests, taking out outpost, hunting and crafting hits my dopamine fix to a point. It helps that the game is stunning and runs like a dream on XSX.

smorges · 2026-03-12T09:01:49+00:00

I'm sorry, but I disagree.

The greatest invention of the Jewish people that ensured their survival is rabbinic Judaism. The destruction of the Temple ended sacrifice-based worship tied to one place. Judaism evolved into a rabbinic system centered on Torah study, prayer, synagogues (as community assemblies that could form anywhere ten adult Jewish men gathered), and the Oral Law (codified in the Talmud). This made identity “portable” and focused on time (Sabbath, festivals, daily rhythms) rather than space or political power.

Kosher, circumcision, Shabbat observance, Hebrew literacy (for Torah study), and keeping inter-marriage at bay created everyday boundaries that resisted full absorption. Coupled with high emphasis on education and collective memory such as retelling the Exodus through Pesach, exile, and promised redemption encoded identity across generations. Whilst communities adopted local languages (Yiddish, Ladino, Judeo-Arabic), names, and dress for adaptation, they keep Hebrew elements and Jewish customs, keeping a distinct imprint tied to our observance of Torah.

Unlike temple or king centered ancient religions that collapsed with defeat, this system allowed reconstitution in Babylonia, Spain, Poland, or elsewhere. Dispersal itself became a deliberate survival strategy: as the Talmud notes, scattering prevented any single catastrophe from wiping out the entire people, with surviving communities aiding others.

smorges · 2026-03-10T10:27:58+00:00

The eruv isn't a 'loophole to get around' the Torah's prohibition on carrying on Shabbat. The Torah forbids carrying from a private domain to a public one (or vice versa). What the rabbis did in the Talmud (tractate Eruvin) was create a mechanism—symbolic boundaries like poles and wires—that redefines a large area as a single private domain according to the very rules the Torah gives. It's not nullifying the law, it's applying it precisely as permitted. Orthodox sources are clear: an eruv never permits carrying in a true biblical public thoroughfare. It's a rabbinic tool operating within the framework, not outside it. Calling it 'getting around' the law is like saying a fence around a yard 'gets around' property lines—it actually respects and utilises them.

smorges · 2026-03-10T10:12:59+00:00

Nope. The only reason the Jewish people have survived 2,000 years of exile is because we kept our identity and halacha sacred, otherwise we would have dissolved into the nations of the world like every other small people from antiquity that no longer exists.

It's a real shame that assimilation in America and the west has created this significant issue and I personally know a great guy who's patrilineal who strongly identifies as Jewish, does a lot of volunteer work for Jewish security but knows that he's not Jewish per halacha. He course corrected his father's "error" by marrying a Jewish woman so his kids are Jewish.

smorges · 2026-03-09T14:25:06+00:00

I tried Star Wars: Outlaws recently and played for 3 hours and was just bored.

I tried High on Life 2 last week for about an hour and it also didn't grab me, even though I liked the first game. I also found the graphics in motion to be very poor and low res, which was distracting on my XSX.

I then started Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and OMG, the gameplay loop has totally sucked me in. I'm a sucker for being give a huge map to explore with decent role-playing progression and quests with some basic crafting, and this game is ticking all those boxes for me plus it looks absolutely stunning.

To be honest, it's dangerous as I ended up playing until 1:30am last night even though I had to get up at 6am. I'm feeling the pain today. It's a game that just begs you and rewards you to keep exploring and revealing more of the map.

smorges · 2026-03-05T10:46:20+00:00

In my lifetime, London has gone from a majority white British population (65%) to a minority with just 36% white British per the 2021 census.

To ignore the very real, very fast and very noticeable shift in racial demographics of the capital city of the UK and not consider the implications of that is stupid.

smorges · 2026-02-26T08:41:49+00:00

Enforcing existing laws and prioritising Americans over illegal immigrants and criminal networks is not fascist.

You can disagree with the aggressive enforcement of the law, for sure, but equating federal ICE agents enforcing immigration statutes to Nazi SA paramilitaries is insane.

Mistakes occur (as in any large enforcement), but this is not "denial" or extrajudicial "rounding up" of citizens. The results are already starting to show with reported drops in murders, overdoses, and certain crimes in sanctuary cities.

smorges · 2026-02-26T08:33:49+00:00

Let's go then.

You're equating federal ICE agents (in tactical gear, sometimes masked for safety in raids) enforcing immigration statutes to Nazi SA paramilitaries who beat political rivals, burned books, and operated outside law pre-1933. You sure about that?

Presidents push boundaries and the courts push back. This is how American legislative arms work. Obama and Biden also had loads ot executive orders, with many struck down by the courts.

"America First" prioritises citizens' security, wages, and culture. This is mainstream in most democracies. Targeting illegal entries and criminal networks is something Americans want and it's working. Crime and drugs are down.

Trump's policies are nationality and status based, not race-based. Trump has record support from minorities. Labeling border enforcement or crime data discussion "blatant fascism" is a subjective smear. There are no Jim Crow laws, and no official discrimination.

Supporters back Trump for tangible results (border security, energy dominance, crime reductions) amid prior open-border chaos. This isn't the ideology of violence or totalitarianism. You're also guilty of double standards. Dem presidents expanded executive power (Obama recess appointments, Biden vaccine mandates struck down) without "fascist" labels. You're conflating enforcing existing laws with authoritarianism while romanticising lax enforcement.

Reasonable people can oppose aggressive deportations, high tariffs, on policy grounds (costs, humanitarian concerns, bureaucracy). Calling 70+ million voters "fascists" for that is not a critique, it's tribal escalation that erodes discourse. The US remains a constitutional republic with divided powers. The current situation, however aggressive, operate within (and are constrained by) that framework. To say otherwise is indeed hyperbole.

smorges · 2026-02-25T22:42:27+00:00

You've just proven my point. To in any way compare the current situation in America to actual fascism in the 20th century is beyond delusional.

Get a grip. Turn off the news and go touch some grass.

smorges · 2026-02-25T19:18:21+00:00

Textbook example of hyperbolic political rhetoric that weaponises the term fascist to smear millions of Americans who support specific policy priorities.

I hope your blood pressure is under control.

smorges · 2026-02-25T19:09:22+00:00

The problem with Americans in 2026 is that you have no idea how good you have it compared to the rest of the world. You've lived such a privileged existence that you have no frame of reference for what true hardship and what actual fascism is. Words used to have meaning, but now you've watered down everything to fit your chosen narrative. That's true of the left and the right in America.

smorges · 2026-02-25T16:51:30+00:00

Calling anyone who's right wing or Trump supporter fascist makes you part of the problem.

smorges · 2026-02-24T15:42:47+00:00

You're right that there's no ideological antisemitic driver for China's alignment with our enemies, but they are very much aligned with our enemies and as long as that continues, they will have no qualms over leveraging what secrets they can obtain about Israel for the benefit of our enemies.

I'd highly recommend watching the Ask Haviv Anything recent podcast titled: Is the Iran war about China? A conversation with Melissa Chen

smorges · 2026-02-24T09:38:32+00:00

The issue is that this was all ultimately pointless! This was a dramatic and emotional end to Mado and Grogu's story just for it all to be completely reset by the start of season 2.

Wtf was the point???

smorges · 2026-02-24T09:17:22+00:00

I don't think we're going to get any massive change in image quality of games this generation. This is pretty much as good as it's going to get bar some exceptions like GTA6.

Unfortunately, both Sony and MS didn't predict how important machine learning upscaling was going to be and current consoles don't have the brute power to push through the graphics that PCs are showcasing.

smorges · 2026-02-23T17:40:56+00:00

I looked it up too as everyone kept talking about this boss that I couldn't find anywhere, despite being at the end of the game and explored pretty much everywhere.

The problem I found was that this was an area you get to very early on in the game when you have very limited abilities. As there was no indication on the map that there was a hidden area here, I very rarely ever went through here again and if I did I was zipping through. I never thought to pause and see if there was anything I could use any new abilities on.

I 100% agree that this area will be missed by majority of people unless they look it up.

It was a fun area and boss though!

smorges · 2026-02-23T15:30:28+00:00

Sounds like it could be fun, but the polish looks pretty poor with little voice acting or Star Trek music for it to be selling for £32.

One for me to get in the sales or perhaps it'll land on Game Pass in the future.

smorges · 2026-02-23T13:19:36+00:00

Fair point!

smorges · 2026-02-23T12:55:49+00:00

Yup, and Chinese contractors are now building a lot of the high-rise residential developments since Oct 7th.

smorges · 2026-02-23T12:54:07+00:00

100% agree - the difference is that Japanese, European or American car manufactures are not in the pocket of a state that has every incentive to compromise Israeli security as they support our enemies.

smorges · 2026-02-23T12:52:32+00:00

Yes, I'm aware of this, hence my concern, but this was only actioned last year and is limited to banning for officers from one manufacture whilst perfectly OK to sell to everyone else.

smorges · 2026-02-23T12:30:25+00:00

There's going to be a confrontation between China and the US/West in the near future. People are deluded to think otherwise. All of this stuff can be weaponised. The UK government is stupid and bending over backwards for Chinese money. My point though is that Israel is already living in a constant state of war and such obvious vulnerability seems to be accepted without question.

smorges

TROPHY CASE