Jim Sterling / James "Stephanie" Sterling / James Stanton/Sexton & in memoriam TotalBiscuit (John Bain) - One Gaming Lolcow Thread

[F_Break]

This is fucking sad. It isn't remotely punk either. "Only because I found a mob I could join did I feel okay with acting like a mob piece of shit."

Well GG Allin didn't need anyone's approval. Punk didn't need anyone's approval.

If you need to find a mob of identical shitheads to imitate mindlessly like a worthless robot, you are not an individual. You are not being yourself, you are being a piece of shit attached to a horde, with no individuality whatsoever.

There is nothing remotely individual about trooning out in current year when it is completely fashionable.

That's completely on brand for Sterling. He was an edgy, offensive shitlord for most of his run at Destructoid until the SJW game journalist clique he had been publicly feuding with finally gained enough industry clout to start fucking with people's careers. Almost overnight he began begging for Leigh Alexander and others to unblock him on twitter and started trying to convince his Jimquisition audience that Sarkeesian wasn't really the feminist equivalent of Jack Thompson. By the time that GG exploded, he was fully embedded the the SJW grifter clique and using his clout as a consumer advocate to shield his new friends like Zoe Quinn from criticism. His entire career has been built on ingratiating himself with whatever clique is popular in his social scene at any given time. Now that "queer" is passé, he's decided to hop on the trans bandwagon. It's probably an easy transition to make when you've reached a level of obesity that your barely functioning genitals are indistinguishable from your skin tags.

 

[RodgerDodger]

He is like the very brave people who take the incredibly unpopular opinion that serial killers and child molesters and animal rapists are bad, and won't let you forget how good and moral they are for taking on the world by espousing this courageous position.

I'm pretty sure Jim would accuse you of suffering from any number of right wing 'ism's for claiming Serial Killers, Child Molestors and Dog Fuckers are bad. I mean some... nay most! of his friends are on those lists. Many on all three.

 

[WaltherPPGAY]

This man is on a straight, smooth, perfectly open road to suicide. I'm not even jesting at this point, I think that he's literally going insane before our very eyes. Josh underestimated the symptoms by thinking that Mr. Sterling has simply grown tired of working within the gaming industry. It seems he is breaking down on all levels of his life, and is entering a self-destructive spiral.

In other words, this will be both distressing to watch, and fun.

At a glance you can tell Jim Sterling's entire life has been a slow motion suicide.

 

[Vect]

Mother fucker wasn't even "openly queer" when he was living in Mississippi. He's trying to retroactively gain woke points for shit he did before trooning out.

I mean, would you be openly queer while living in Mississippi? People were trying to match a house in one of his videos to find his address, so I'd say it was tactical closeting. I have no idea if he even has a family anymore, since 'we' always seems to refer to himself and Justin. That said, maybe he's protecting their identity for their own safety, since nobody wants to be known as the son of the Star-Spangled Trunchbull.

To the lootbox thing, Jim does deserve some credit, as he was probably the most vocal opponent of them back at a time when most people and journalists considered them uncontroversial. You can tell him to move on, but the point he's making is that people moving on from and forgetting underhanded business practices (in this case, integrated gambling) allows game companies to get away with even more because they push the boundary of what is acceptable further and further away as they increasingly steer toward emulating the mobile market. This is what people like Jim are usually actually griping about when they criticise late-stage capitalism, companies and industries slowly acclimatising everyone and each other into accepting new degrees of exploitation as normal. Fifteen years ago, a multiplayer game charging for weapons skins was unthinkable. Now it's weird if it doesn't. Wolfenstein: Youngblood is a TWO player co-op in a single player based series that charges premium currency to buy skins. It was completely pointless, but MachineGames had to do it because that's the industry standard now.

I completely support repetition of this point since gamers are particularly resistant to thinking about the ethics of their products. Unfortunately, it's hard to be taken seriously when it's clear you're confused about your own identity.

 

[Oliver Onions]

I completely support repetition of this point since gamers are particularly resistant to thinking about the ethics of their products. Unfortunately, it's hard to be taken seriously when it's clear you're confused about your own identity.

All of this would only be an issue if games were a necessary product, like food or clothing. Absolutely no one is forced to buy EA's increasingly predatory FIFA games year after year, but if they do then they get exactly what they deserve.

This is why I don't take Jim seriously, not just because of his pantomime dame wardrobe: He whines incessantly about this stuff happening when everyone has already made their bed on the topic; people either already know or just don't care. I stopped buying EA, Ubisoft and Activisions trash years ago, with the odd exception of a GotY edition picked up in a sale. I don't need any of these games because there already exist enough great games in this world that I will never have the time to play them all in my life.

That's the great thing about Capitalism, and why neither Jim nor any of his dick-riders can give an answer when you press them for an alternative system: if you don't want one product there exist a million others, eager to replace it. Unlike Communism or Socialism where you get what the state provides and if you don't like what the state provides then too fucking bad.

 

[Vect]

All of this would only be an issue if games were a necessary product, like food or clothing. Absolutely no one is forced to buy EA's increasingly predatory FIFA games year after year, but if they do then they get exactly what they deserve.

This is why I don't take Jim seriously, not just because of his pantomime dame wardrobe: He whines incessantly about this stuff happening when everyone has already made their bed on the topic; people either already know or just don't care. I stopped buying EA, Ubisoft and Activisions trash years ago, with the odd exception of a GotY edition picked up in a sale. I don't need any of these games because there already exist enough great games in this world that I will never have the time to play them all in my life.

That's the great thing about Capitalism, and why neither Jim nor any of his dick-riders can give an answer when you press them for an alternative system: if you don't want one product there exist a million others, eager to replace it. Unlike Communism or Socialism where you get what the state provides and if you don't like what the state provides then too fucking bad.

The problem with this mentality is it assumes that everybody rationals things like you. Loads of people like the FIFA series. Fuck knows why, but they love it. If EA pulls some bullshit on the next annual release of the game, what are people going to do? They are either forced to stop playing, or put up with it, until they just learn to accept it as normal. And thats how you get people spending thousands of dollars on extras - some people are simply more susceptible to being exploited because they have an investment or because they have addictive personalities. What if playing FIFA is the only thing keeping you from offing yourself? Nobody else is making such a game. Most of these people don't know about the industry, they're just there to play the game, and it shouldn't be the burden of the consumer to research if a major industry studio is dicking them around or not. This, to Jim's credit, is the summery of his position of most issues - the consumer's right of purchase comes first. Personally, I don't defend Jim on what is now a lazy, obnoxious and soulless show, or his undignified, confused perversion that is no longer ironic, but I will defend him on the fact that he has always advocated on behalf of the consumer over cynical corporate interests, whether I agree with his analysis or not.

And this idea that there's a choice of products is exactly the point I'm criticising - that choice is intentionally being taken away by corporate consolidation. Going off what I said before, suppose I want a single-player video game where I shoot Nazis. I have the Wolfenstein series. Except I don't anymore, because the last one they made was an open-world co-op shooter with microtransactions, which is exactly what fans of the that franchise don't want. It was done to conform to an industry assumption that games only make money if they're open world and have microtransactions, which is the same thing that happened to Fallout: 76, which Jim loved to harp on about. These game types and franchises are losing their identity for the sake of conforming to a business model that they all assume is the only way to make money. You could then point to the indie market, but that is strictly divided into two categories - the handful of experienced developers who know how to make a game, and the vast mob of drooling yobbos who'll upload an empty Unity file for twenty dollars.

If I want to play a Star Wars game, for example, I have been given four choices over the last ten years, because one company had the license. Now if I wanted to play a Tom Clancy game, I'm spoilt for choice - except they're all made by Ubisoft and are exactly the fucking same. If capitalism was working as intended, every studio would be able to make their own Star Wars or Tom Clancy game and they would have to compete to make theirs the one of superior value, rather than rely on the fact that they're the only option.

Capitalism isn't wrong and Jim isn't saying a such - but my view is people have been mislead and somewhat brainwashed with this idea that capitalism, by its own virtue, can do no wrong, but the reality is, like with any system, it is easy to exploit when so many are ignorant about the way it works, which results in much frustration in dealing with people who will defend their own exploitation on idealogical grounds rather than for their self-benefit.

 

[Pickle Inspector]

That's true, companies can make a profit without being exploitative, to take football as an example (Soccer for any Americans reading) one extremely popular title is Football Manager (The series has apparently sold over 33 million copies) and the current version of that doesn't contain any DLC outside of a player editor.

EA is taking greed to a ludicrious level and I hope countries force games that have lootboxes that can be bought, paid battle passes, in game (paid) currency or anything like that put a straight 18+ rating with a related warning on the game regardless if it comes with it enabled initially or not so at least parents and people who don't follow video games will know what they are buying.

Really though I wish more people would embrace retro gaming since there's so many good games out there and emulation is easier than ever, I understand that can be an issue if you love playing mutiplayer games and want a huge userbase.

 

[TopTierHealer]

All of this would only be an issue if games were a necessary product, like food or clothing. Absolutely no one is forced to buy EA's increasingly predatory FIFA games year after year, but if they do then they get exactly what they deserve.

Thank you for bringing some common sense to this topic. Games are just a time sink that you later regret (a fun one, but you should know better what to do with your time). No one points a gun at your head to play the latest Call of Duty. No one forces you to grind to epic levels in WoW and complete all m+ at 20+. No one forces you to have 2100 pvp rating yet people bitch and moan about how Blizzard and Activision are turning WoW into a shitfest (it always was one, the hardcore raider being a tryhard is a cliche for a reason).

Don't like it? Don't fucking pay for it. All the games journos, games critics, reviewers, let's players, speedrunners and assorted parasites think that vidya is an important cultural milestone when in reality it's a buch of flickering lights to distract you. I have the same issue with people claiming vidya is art. If it is, it is still much lower in the totem of cultural zeitgeist than no benefit can come from participating in it if you compare it to any other cultural activity.

The benefits of playing vidya are marginal compared to the time costs.

What if playing FIFA is the only thing keeping you from offing yourself? Nobody else is making such a game.

I'm sorry but I have a lot of issues with this statement. If FIFA is the only thing that stopping you from killing yourself then you have a lot more issues than you think and vidya escapism will only make it worse.

And again, you are not refuting the main point: If previous games in the series were better - go play them. They are still there, stop shilling for corporations that don't give you what you want.

 

[BScCollateral]

My impression is that Jim is talking about games that aren't being sold when he talks about piracy being ethical.

And I don't really disagree. If I'm willing to pay Disney for a copy of Song of the South and buy it from some bootlegger instead because Disney doesn't want to sell it to me, it's certainly more of a gray area ethically, if not legally.

 

[Oliver Onions]

The problem with this mentality is it assumes that everybody rationals things like you.

I agree, the world would be a better place if more people actually thought things through instead of endlessly indulging their urge to consoom.

Loads of people like the FIFA series. Fuck knows why, but they love it. If EA pulls some bullshit on the next annual release of the game, what are people going to do?

Play literally any of the identical previous instalments? I chose FIFA for a reason, because it has been basically the exact same game for at least a decade; same with most other sports titles. Most people who buy these games recognise that, and they don't give a shit because it's the only game they buy each year.

They are either forced to stop playing, or put up with it, until they just learn to accept it as normal. And thats how you get people spending thousands of dollars on extras - some people are simply more susceptible to being exploited because they have an investment or because they have addictive personalities.

>forced

Of my goodness, however could anyone live without their annual kickball instalment.

What if playing FIFA is the only thing keeping you from offing yourself?

lmao fuck off

Nobody else is making such a game.

False. PES still exists, and it reviews WAY better than FIFA. You don't know what the fuck you're talking about.

Most of these people don't know about the industry, they're just there to play the game, and it shouldn't be the burden of the consumer to research if a major industry studio is dicking them around or not.

And like I said: those kind of people you're talking about don't give a fuck about this stuff because FIFA or CoD will be the only game they buy in a year, so they'll either keep playing if they aren't bothered by the lootbox stuff, or they'll stop buying and the series will die like it deserves to.

It's really not that complicated, because video games are really not that important in the grand scheme of things to the majority of people.

And this idea that there's a choice of products is exactly the point I'm criticising - that choice is intentionally being taken away by corporate consolidation. Going off what I said before, suppose I want a single-player video game where I shoot Nazis. I have the Wolfenstein series. Except I don't anymore, because the last one they made was an open-world co-op shooter with microtransactions

Your argument is paradoxical: You're complaining about a lack of choice while saying you wanted Wolfenstein games to just keep being the same thing, forever.

How would a new Wolfenstein game that has you doing the exact same thing as the old Wolfenstein games be any different to just replaying the old games?

If I want to play a Star Wars game, for example, I have been given four choices over the last ten years, because one company had the license. Now if I wanted to play a Tom Clancy game, I'm spoilt for choice - except they're all made by Ubisoft and are exactly the fucking same. If capitalism was working as intended, every studio would be able to make their own Star Wars or Tom Clancy game and they would have to compete to make theirs the one of superior value, rather than rely on the fact that they're the only option.

You know all the good old Star Wars games still exist, right? This is the same retarded argument where people say that the Disney trilogy 'ruined' Star Wars. No one is forcing you to accept them as canon, you are well within your rights to only watch and enjoy the original trilogy, likewise you can always go back and play the old, good Star Wars games; you are under no obligation to play the new ones.

but my view is people have been mislead and somewhat brainwashed with this idea that capitalism, by its own virtue, can do no wrong

No, that's the retarded strawman that Jim likes to use; the reality is the majority of people just don't give a shit. Virtually no one believes Capitalism is a perfect system, so long as they can buy their bing-bing-wahoos they're happy.

Anyone it does matter to, again, is under no obligation to participate. I don't need people like Jim to go to bat for me because I don't buy anything I don't want to, and those who don't possess that wherewithal would just spunk their disposable income on other trash instead of games; the phrase 'a fool and his money are soon parted' exists for a reason.

 

[Vect]

I'm sorry but I have a lot of issues with this statement. If FIFA is the only thing that stopping you from killing yourself then you have a lot more issues than you think and vidya escapism will only make it worse.

And again, you are not refuting the main point: If previous games in the series were better - go play them. They are still there, stop shilling for corporations that don't give you what you want.

I don't disagree, but telling people that they have a dependence on video games is not going to help. Imagine working a miserable, dead-end job in a dildo factory and the only escape you have is some ghastly football game. That's the only world where you have any investment or feel like you matter. It's your sole outlet. It's the only world where you can be somebody else. Paying a few bucks for extra enjoyment would seem almost trivial then.

And yeah I would play previous games of a series except, that only applies to the dwindling offering of single-player games. If they're multiplayer games, unless they're very popular, their player base dies after a year, or the servers are shut. I would like to play BF 2142 over BF 5,000,000, because it had a dedicated and close fanbase (I know because I helped run a server) but it wasn't profitable so it was shut down along with half of EA's library, and everyone who hosted their own game did so at the risk of a CAD letter.

 

[Night Terror]

All of this would only be an issue if games were a necessary product, like food or clothing. Absolutely no one is forced to buy EA's increasingly predatory FIFA games year after year, but if they do then they get exactly what they deserve.

This is why I don't take Jim seriously, not just because of his pantomime dame wardrobe: He whines incessantly about this stuff happening when everyone has already made their bed on the topic; people either already know or just don't care. I stopped buying EA, Ubisoft and Activisions trash years ago, with the odd exception of a GotY edition picked up in a sale. I don't need any of these games because there already exist enough great games in this world that I will never have the time to play them all in my life.

That's the great thing about Capitalism, and why neither Jim nor any of his dick-riders can give an answer when you press them for an alternative system: if you don't want one product there exist a million others, eager to replace it. Unlike Communism or Socialism where you get what the state provides and if you don't like what the state provides then too fucking bad.

a massive percentage of people who buy the fifa series are parents and boomers who dont have a fucking clue what theyre buying, they just know that their kids/grandkids/friends sons love football and love video games, so get them a football game thats named after the organisation they recognise. and why should they do research? its fifa! its a football game! they wont EXPECT the game to be full of predatory microtransactions that will prey on their children. the games are marked 3 and up and they expect the game to be nothing but football players kicking a pretend ball around. thats almost certainly the largest slice of the pie when it comes to raw game sales. you cant expect boomers and people who dont play games to be in the know about the shit that goes on in the industry. theyre the ones that need protecting. jim will never reach these people, but his agitation might reach people who can reach other people who can.

 

[Oliver Onions]

a massive percentage of people who buy the fifa series are parents and boomers who dont have a fucking clue what theyre buying, they just know that their kids/grandkids/friends sons love football and love video games, so get them a football game thats named after the organisation they recognise. and why should they do research? its fifa! its a football game! they wont EXPECT the game to be full of predatory microtransactions that will prey on their children. the games are marked 3 and up and they expect the game to be nothing but football players kicking a pretend ball around. thats almost certainly the largest slice of the pie when it comes to raw game sales. you cant expect boomers and people who dont play games to be in the know about the shit that goes on in the industry. theyre the ones that need protecting. jim will never reach these people, but his agitation might reach people who can reach other people who can.

If the games are being bought for kids, then the kids won't have a credit card or Paypal account to buy any lootboxes, so that's a moot point. Unless, of course, the parents saved their payment info to their kid's PS/Xbox account, in which case again it's their own fault for not paying attention when giving up their information.

Personal responsibility has to take over at some point, otherwise you end up with nanny states like Britbongistan and Australia where the government does everything short of wipe your arse for you.

 

[Vect]

I agree, the world would be a better place if more people actually thought things through instead of endlessly indulging their urge to consoom.

Play literally any of the identical previous instalments? I chose FIFA for a reason, because it has been basically the exact same game for at least a decade; same with most other sports titles. Most people who buy these games recognise that, and they don't give a shit because it's the only game they buy each year.

>forced

Of my goodness, however could anyone live without their annual kickball instalment.

lmao fuck off

False. PES still exists, and it reviews WAY better than FIFA. You don't know what the fuck you're talking about.

And like I said: those kind of people you're talking about don't give a fuck about this stuff because FIFA or CoD will be the only game they buy in a year, so they'll either keep playing if they aren't bothered by the lootbox stuff, or they'll stop buying and the series will die like it deserves to.

It's really not that complicated, because video games are really not that important in the grand scheme of things to the majority of people.

Your argument is paradoxical: You're complaining about a lack of choice while saying you wanted Wolfenstein games to just keep being the same thing, forever.

How would a new Wolfenstein game that has you doing the exact same thing as the old Wolfenstein games be any different to just replaying the old games?

You know all the good old Star Wars games still exist, right? This is the same retarded argument where people say that the Disney trilogy 'ruined' Star Wars. No one is forcing you to accept them as canon, you are well within your rights to only watch and enjoy the original trilogy, likewise you can always go back and play the old, good Star Wars games; you are under no obligation to play the new ones.

No, that's the retarded strawman that Jim likes to use; the reality is the majority of people just don't give a shit. Virtually no one believes Capitalism is a perfect system, so long as they can buy their bing-bing-wahoos they're happy.

Anyone it does matter to, again, is under no obligation to participate. I don't need people like Jim to go to bat for me because I don't buy anything I don't want to, and those who don't possess that wherewithal would just spunk their disposable income on other trash instead of games; the phrase 'a fool and his money are soon parted' exists for a reason.

I'll try and respond as coherently as I can, but I think we're getting off topic;

Yes, for most, FIFA is the only game that they will buy. That does not excuse them getting screwed with underhanded business practices. Yes, personal responsibility is important, but having to worry about every business transaction isn't.

Yes, forced. Some people have nothing else. You and I, obviously have other enjoyments, but that's not everybody.

Again, imagine a person that isn't you. Wheelchair bound, or unemployed. I admit it was hyperbolic, but you know what I mean. Somebody's sole means of escape from some shitty job or pair of jobs. Someone who works at a factory in China, for instance, where they need safety nets to stop people from ending themselves.

True, I admit I didn't consider PES a competitor because I thought nobody played it.

Video games are not important, to you. And yes, to many others. but there are many other people who do care. And not caring is not an excuse to be screwed.

I didn't say I wanted the Wolfenstein games to be the same, I'm am saying they are conforming to an arbitrary business model that does not help the game in any way. A Wolfenstien game that is a multiplayer shooter? Fine. A Wolfenstein stealth-game a la Hitman or Dishonored? Great. If it's done well and for a reason. But inserting ramshackle co-op and and an open world and a skin economy that compromises the quality and impact of the game because Far-Cry did it? No.

Yes, I know I can play the old Star Wars games, and I said nothing about the canon, that's not my issue. The problem is, nobody else plays them anyomore, they are primitive compared to their newer counterparts, and they are RETINA DESTROYING. My point is that I should not be dependent on one company to produce all the games for the same licence, since they have no need to compete, which is the only way you get better products. Battlefront 2015 and 2017, while impressive looking, were both half-arsed because they knew they owned the licence and had no competition. I don't blame Disney because on the back of the original games I also would have thought they would have had a fucking clue on what their fans expected.

Yes, there are people who see capitalism as an ideology. Some people are obsessed with it. An entire school of thought in American political discourse exists where capitalism is not only necessary but unassailable no matter how rapacious it gets. People who think this way tend to have some hold over the game industry. I could name names, but that would be getting off topic.

Again, not everybody has your perspective. Anyone who is part of the system, is obligated to participated because it's all they have. A fool is not a fool by his own design and is not deserving of deceit from innocent ignorance. "Because he could" is not an argument for exploitation. This is the reason regulation and safety nets exist, to prevent innocent people from having their lives ruined by bullshit.

Now...Jim is a zeppelin-shaped Shania Twain and I would not have sex with him/her/it.

 

[Radical Goodspeed]

jim will never reach these people, but his agitation might reach people who can reach other people who can

There is a catch-22 here - this is in a lot of ways about protecting kids. A fat hysterical tranny is about the last person I take advice from wrt keeping minors safe. And the gendercult tends towards and anti-family bent.

A person concerned about the wellbeing of kids isn't going to listen to him over any more credible person. A tranny listening to him isn't likely to have anyone in their lives that need this advocacy.

So he's just flailing for his patreon welfare.

 

[BScCollateral]

"Nobody is listening to him" isn't an argument that he shouldn't speak out.
In general, I agree that the customer is responsible for their purchases, but I agree that children shouldn't be allowed to gamble and in my opinion most loot box mechanics are gambling. That said, most kids won't be able to rack up a significant bill without their parents' consent.
Is there some sort of account or credit card where the total amount per month can be sharply curtailed, so a kid wouldn't spend more than allowance money, or an adult with poor impulse control can limit their own spending?

 

[Oliver Onions]

I'll try and respond as coherently as I can, but I think we're getting off topic;

Yes, we are, and since this isn't the venue for it I don't think we should continue our attempts to out-autism each other so I won't be typing up another TL;DR reply.

Suffice to say, regardless of what side of the issue you come down on we should all agree that Jim is the last person you'd want on your side. Imagine trying to make the logical argument for all the reasons lootboxes are shit, especially in paid games, to anyone with some industry or governmental clout and your main citation is a man using novelty-sized lobster claws to pinch his own nipples in between screeching about how much estrogen he takes.

If Jim wants these changes to happen the best thing he could do is shut his fucking mouth about it because, like the eternal fuck-up Sargon of Akkad, he is the best argument against his own cause.

 

[Random Autist]

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Damn Jim! Have the attention dollars already dried up?

This guy a great example of how phony MTF ‘transitions’ are these days. He drops a coming out video a few weeks back where he talks like a woman, wears a wig and shares a story about a Chad carrying his baguette. Now he’s back to looking like a dude and acting like a dude. Absolutely zero effort.

 

[Muppetstudios]

Damn Jim! Have the attention dollars already dried up?

This guy a great example of how phony MTF ‘transitions’ are these days. He drops a coming out video a few weeks back where he talks like a woman, wears a wig and shares a story about a Chad carrying his baguette. Now he’s back to looking like a dude and acting like a dude. Absolutely zero effort.

That's why he's Non-Binary so if he can't be bothered this week or realises he's fucked himself he can just go back and pretend this is what he's like

 

[Illuminati Order Official]

Absolutely zero effort.

We knew this is going to be a low effort "transition" when he announced he's keeping his dong.