this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2025
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[–] eah@programming.dev 15 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

1980s: You have to walk to the arcade, you have to stand to play, and you are charged for every minute of play time.

1990s: Computer technology has improved to the point that anyone can have the arcade in their home, you sit to play, and you are charged once for the game and can play for as long as you want.

2010s and onward: Home internet connections are now ubiquitous, enabling instant digital money transactions from anywhere, so the games industry can now nickel and dime you for everything. Video games are casinos. The coin machines are back.

There's a golden age of gaming starting with the introduction of home consoles and ending when they started needing an internet connection.

you are charged for every minute of play time

I mean yeah, except that if you were good you could play a really long fucking time on one quarter so your per-minute rate was very low.

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Fortune in misfortune though, at least in this day and age it's much easier to play those games without paying for them. Although the DRM on some of the newer games have been a a bitch and a half.

Still, yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!!

edit, added pic putting my money where my mouth is