It's certainly the option Google would prefer, which essentially always means it's unethical.

Sony and Nintendo are both terrible, hypocritical companies in their own right. That by no means absolves Microsoft of being who they are, and the pro-consumer tactic Xbox has employed for the past 5 or 6 years is definitely a calculated move and the result of them falling hard after the Don Mattrick era, but to say that Microsoft (and by that I assume you mean Xbox) is terrible for gaming is a bad take. The gaming landscape is better because Xbox exists. Competition and choice empower the consumer. If you think Sony wouldn't be an even shittier company without the competition Xbox provides, you really don't understand how these avaricious corporate conglomerates operate.

I never pirate games from indies or smaller publishers, but from the likes of EA, Activision, Take Two, etc? Since they're always going to use, abuse and discard their workforce so they can keep giving the C suite their multi-million dollar annual bonuses, I will pirate their shit without an ounce of remorse.

With music, I never pirate simply because it's more convenient to stream the music at a reasonable price. If there's an artist or album I really love, I will buy it and/or some merch to support the artist directly.

What needs to happen is regulation. Pro-consumer governing bodies (which don't exist in the US, but the EU has been on a roll) mandating the right to transfer a digital license.

As for the stores, Xbox offers GameStop a small percentage of the revenue from every digital game purchased on a console sold by GameStop. That feels like a healthy compromise for an all-digital business model.

If only that was what he was saying. He doesn't care whether they're dependent on servers. The vast majority of physical games sold today are already nothing more than an entitlement and some of the game files, with the rest being downloaded after you insert the disc. He's only concerned with Gamestop getting their cut, both in new game sales and especially in their bread-and-butter trade-in market.

Gotta assume those BG3 Steam Deck numbers are gonna tank as people get into acts 2 and 3. Act 1 runs quite well on deck, but no amount of low settings or disabled features provides an acceptable level of performance.

Imagine cracking a game that's already on gog lmao

Yeah, this person is so deluded in their steam deck zealotry that they've lost touch with reality. In one comment they argue the steam deck's value is in its Linux OS and ability to emulate Switch games, then in the next they argue that the thing is "much more convenient and no fuss". The only convenience is in the portability. If you aren't interested in sacrificing power for portability, that offers zero value. As for emulation, arguing that is no fuss would be laughable. Even native steam games can be iffy, requiring troubleshooting like swapping proton versions and entering launch commands. There's a reason ProtonDB exists, and the Xbox doesn't need something comparable.

The Steam Deck is great for what it is, but the only console it compares (and is vastly superior) to is the Switch.

And if a person doesn't care about the steam library, linux operating system or emulation? If they just want to play BG3 and other modern games on their couch, running natively on their machine in a convenient, no-fuss manner? Will you admit that, for that person, the Steam Deck is a terrible option and they'd be far better served, both financially and visually, by buying an Xbox Series S, even at MSRP?

Dell Refurbished often sells refurbished business laptops for absurdly cheap with discount codes. The CPU is a bit older (8th/9th gen), but still very serviceable.

Here's an 8th gen i5/16GB/256GB laptop with a touch screen for $320.

https://www.dellrefurbished.com/item/dell-latitude-5300-touch-63228e4a/dell-latitude-5300-touch/1.html?child=dell-latitude-5300-touch-000005&p=1

The Series S is very frequently on sale for $50 off, sometimes more, and often comes with a bundled controller or game.

The Deck is only playable in Act 1. The frame rate in other acts struggles to reach 20 FPS, even on low settings. Also, the $400 deck you're referencing cannot even install the game unless you buy an accompanying microSD (which I can't imagine provides a good BG3 experience) or an SSD which you then crack open the steam deck to install (which will be too intimidating to most casual, non-tech people).

$450+ is a more accurate price point for playing BG3 on Steam Deck; 50% more than the Xbox MSRP, which is significantly discounted every few weeks. The Xbox will also offer a much more convenient experience to those who want to play the game on their TVs, and the game will look nicer on that hardware.

The Deck is an awesome little device, but you're overselling it here, and ignoring a lot of nuance.

Lucky, or in Elmo's case, born with a platinum spoon in his mouth thanks to daddy's apartheid emerald mines.