From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action


I just received an email from green man gaming inviting me to
pre-order the next installment of Death Stranding.

I looked at the standard edition and saw that it was �70

That's SEVENTY POUNDS for the standard edition.

That is madness. I'm not even sure that I would pay that for a game
that I dearly want to see the light of day, like Half Life 3.
--
Rob
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Fri, 13 Feb 2026 19:34:21 +0000, Mr Rob
<noemailformethx@jsjsaiiowppw.com> wrote:

I just received an email from green man gaming inviting me to
pre-order the next installment of Death Stranding.

I looked at the standard edition and saw that it was �70

That's SEVENTY POUNDS for the standard edition.

That is madness. I'm not even sure that I would pay that for a game
that I dearly want to see the light of day, like Half Life 3.

Don't worry, it will be at $20 soon enough.
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Fri, 13 Feb 2026 14:36:28 -0500, Rin Stowleigh <nospam@nowhere.com>
wrote:

On Fri, 13 Feb 2026 19:34:21 +0000, Mr Rob
<noemailformethx@jsjsaiiowppw.com> wrote:

I just received an email from green man gaming inviting me to
pre-order the next installment of Death Stranding.

I looked at the standard edition and saw that it was �70

That's SEVENTY POUNDS for the standard edition.

That is madness. I'm not even sure that I would pay that for a game
that I dearly want to see the light of day, like Half Life 3.

Don't worry, it will be at $20 soon enough.

I didn't overly like DS1. It was OK but I didn't get what the fuss was
about in the end.

Curiously, if you follow the email link to GMG the standard edition is
�70 as a pre-order.

If you navigate to GMG via browser it's �60 for a pre-order.

I wonder how many people will pre-order on the strength of the email
link?
--
Rob
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Fri, 13 Feb 2026 19:42:04 +0000, Mr Rob
<noemailformethx@jsjsaiiowppw.com> wrote:

On Fri, 13 Feb 2026 14:36:28 -0500, Rin Stowleigh <nospam@nowhere.com>
wrote:

On Fri, 13 Feb 2026 19:34:21 +0000, Mr Rob >><noemailformethx@jsjsaiiowppw.com> wrote:

I just received an email from green man gaming inviting me to
pre-order the next installment of Death Stranding.

I looked at the standard edition and saw that it was �70

That's SEVENTY POUNDS for the standard edition.

That is madness. I'm not even sure that I would pay that for a game
that I dearly want to see the light of day, like Half Life 3.

Don't worry, it will be at $20 soon enough.

I didn't overly like DS1. It was OK but I didn't get what the fuss was
about in the end.

Curiously, if you follow the email link to GMG the standard edition is
�70 as a pre-order.

If you navigate to GMG via browser it's �60 for a pre-order.

I wonder how many people will pre-order on the strength of the email
link?

I don't know, I guess it has it's fans. I watched videos of the
gameplay and nothing grabbed me about it. Even right now for $10 on
Steam, even though that's close enough to free I see nothing that
makes me want to invest the time to try it.
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Fri, 13 Feb 2026 19:34:21 +0000, Mr Rob
<noemailformethx@jsjsaiiowppw.com> said this thing:

I just received an email from green man gaming inviting me to
pre-order the next installment of Death Stranding.

I looked at the standard edition and saw that it was �70

That's SEVENTY POUNDS for the standard edition.

That is madness. I'm not even sure that I would pay that for a game
that I dearly want to see the light of day, like Half Life 3.

I've yet to play the original. Parts of the concept intrigrue me, but
other parts seem designed to turn me off. The fetus-in-a-bottle in particular... just ugh, no. I'm generally not the biggest fan of Kojima-designed games. He is definitely an artist, but he epitomizes
what I call "Japanese-weird"* and some of his game-mechanic choices
just aren't appealing to me. I can admire his style even if I never
want to play his games.

Take all that, and then make it a sequel? The likelihood of my playing
the game drops even further.

I'm not so fashed about the price. It's certainly high, even for
modern games, but Kojima games have (or had?) a certain prestige to
them that probably makes them think they can charge that sort of
price. It's the advertised MSRP and I doubt it will stick up there for
very long; just enough to milk the hardcore fans before they have to
drop it to, you know, get the average joe to buy it so the developers
can actually make a profit. ;-)

I mean, I certainly wasn't going to pay that much for it. Even at half
off, I'm not buying it. But bring it down to the cost of a burger,**
and maybe I'll consider.



* which is really a terrible and somewhat racist term, but I haven't
found a better description yet ;-/

** then again, I heard some joints at the American Superbowl were
selling burgers for an eye-watering $180 USD, so maybe that isn't a
good comparison ;-) https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7031832/2026/02/08/burger-180-dollars-super-bowl-food/


--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Fri, 13 Feb 2026 16:01:18 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

I've yet to play the original. Parts of the concept intrigrue me, but
other parts seem designed to turn me off. The fetus-in-a-bottle in >particular... just ugh, no.

Huh? You mean a game mechanic that creates chores for the player to
address screaming babies (well not really babies but a fetus in a jar)
doesn't appeal to your sense of fun escapism? I thought it was just
me that had a missing family guy gene or something... glad at least
we agree on that.

* which is really a terrible and somewhat racist term, but I haven't
found a better description yet ;-/

Hang tight, antifa will organize a protest to address this later after
the weed festival is over.
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On 2/13/2026 4:55 PM, Rin Stowleigh wrote:

On Fri, 13 Feb 2026 16:01:18 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

I've yet to play the original. Parts of the concept intrigrue me, but
other parts seem designed to turn me off. The fetus-in-a-bottle in
particular... just ugh, no.

Huh? You mean a game mechanic that creates chores for the player to
address screaming babies (well not really babies but a fetus in a jar) doesn't appeal to your sense of fun escapism? I thought it was just
me that had a missing family guy gene or something... glad at least
we agree on that.

I didn't get that far on my play. I want to finish the game some day,
but that's one more nail in the coffin. Already not liking the idea of
a fetch quest game and you have to build stuff to even get to the other
side of the road.

* which is really a terrible and somewhat racist term, but I haven't
found a better description yet ;-/

I like weird, Japanese-weird too, that's really the only thing the game
had going for me. I don't see weird as a bad thing, nor Japanese
(unless you talk about what they did in WW2.)

I don't see it as racist, you aren't using a slur, and Japanese seem
quite proud of being called Japanese. But I'm an old white man set in
my ways, so my opinions don't count.

I did a few searches, Nihon is how they call their country, so you could
call it Nihon-weird.

---

The ChatGPT answer:

is the term Japanese-weird racist
The short answer: it can be, depending on how it’s used.

Here’s the nuance.

When “Japanese‑weird” is racist
Using a nationality or ethnic group as an adjective for something
“weird” can reinforce stereotypes. It implies that “Japanese” itself is
synonymous with “strange,” which reduces a whole culture to a
caricature. In that sense, yes—many people would consider it racially insensitive or outright racist.

When it’s not necessarily racist
Sometimes people use phrases like this casually without malicious
intent, often trying to describe:

A specific artistic style (e.g., surreal anime)

A cultural trope they don’t have better vocabulary for

Something they personally find unfamiliar

The intent may not be hostile, but the phrasing still lands poorly
because it generalizes an entire group.

A better approach
If someone wants to describe a style, it’s usually clearer—and more respectful—to name the actual thing:

“surreal Japanese art”

“absurdist Japanese comedy”

“avant‑garde Japanese fashion”

These describe the content, not the people.

If you want, I can help you rephrase something specific you’re trying to describe.

----

Yeah none of those are as catchy as Japanese-weird, and they don't
describe what it describes, and further inquires just get worse.

Another idea is describing it based on the originator, I don't know if Hojima-style would work. Going further down the rabbit hole it's
apparently a long time part of their culture, though described by
western culture as surreal or bizarre.

Nihon-bizarre might be better. Or you could use what seems to be their
word for it 'denpa' though no one would know what you're talking about
who doesn't speak Japanese.

Ultimately I don't think Japanese-weird is problematic.
--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2