ConstableJelly

he is an artist, a visionary, and a hack Haha, fair enough.

I agree with every point you make except the conclusion that he’s an overrated hack. I was rolling my eyes through every cutscene of Death Stranding 2 (except the electric guitar fights which were incredible for the naked spectacle), but his inability to rein in his silliest indulgences is a relatively minor facet of his overall artistic merit in this medium.

The guy’s a certified auteur, and like most of them, he has some serious gaps in his repertoire. But when you play a Kojima game, you’re almost always going to play something completely unlike anything else on the market, and there’s a solid chance you’re going to have a blast doing it.

The linked article is from California’s office of the attorney general related to an existing lawsuit. As a non-Californian, I am supremely disappointed that this is happening just at the state level, but credit should still go where its due. And if their legal action sets a precedent that makes it easier for other states (or dare I hope, at the federal level if and when we get strong antitrust regulators like we had under Biden), then all the better.

Search results on Amazon are fully pay-to-play anyway. You don’t get anywhere near the top of the list without paying for the privilege. No big deal for slop producers who sell in volume, but basically useless for small businesses or private sellers.