I can’t answer if Pussians^inten^ can buy a pixel or not. But I guess even Tim Cook needs НКВД money.

This sucks.

However, I think it is important for Steam to continue operating in Russia: by seeing the living standards of other people across the world, younger Russians will develop those same expectations. Everyday things like furnishings, food, how people treat each other, and so forth. When the Russia we know dies, it will be important for the Russians of the future to have ideas and desires to drive them forward. Also, Russian authorities won’t be able to fully inspect ALL media for LGBTQ+, which means that people will see something that they “shouldn’t”.

In the long run, the media that people consume will determine how they feel their nation should become. It is my hope that Putin’s Russia will die in the coming years, and a better nation born from the ashes.

Okay, we’ll impose Canadian morals, ethics and laws across the world. /s

Good luck I guess? I was talking about the topic at hand. But the idea that you fucking Canucks are imperialist bastards is not a surprise.

K buddy.

You couldn’t buy a Pixel in Russia even before the sanctions.

Google did pause most of their Russian business. They don’t pay YouTube creators, don’t allow Google Play purchases, and while Google Workspace is available, it’s only with a non-Russian payment method. All the free online stuff is available same as before. They don’t comply with Roskomnadzor’s requests for content takedowns as far as I know (I might be wrong since I moved out of Russia and stopped paying close attention to it).

But in the end, it all comes down to business. Apple sells their devices through “unofficial retailers” that were pretty official before sanctions. They have a much stronger business presence there. Google doesn’t, and they don’t have as much to lose so they can afford this PR stunt. I’m certain that if Google’s Russian business was stronger, they wouldn’t be so uncompromising.

It was illegal in the UK till the mid 60s, Russia is still holding out

What’s the alternative? They have to obey the law, right? What should they have done? How is this “bowing to Kremlin” as if they’re kneeling, waiting to suck their dick or something.

Genuinely curious about these questions.

It is, but the alternative is that everything would get pirated instead. And like Trump, Russia is fishing for a “woke” escape goat to continue to come up with excuses to shut down exposure outside of the state controlled media, which Steam provides.

If Steam goes out of Russia, there will be a state sanctioned pirate streaming service for games, and it will include spyware. Steam isn’t just one entity, it is an entity for every country it decides to operate in.

Still, I’m not going to complete defend Valve on this, but at least they aren’t pulling a “many gamers complained about this and we listened” card. They also didn’t remove the game from the store in its entirely just because Russia was complaining, but limited access to it locally.

Maybe Valve should get out of Russia, but I don’t see this negatively affecting Russians as much as it will make the bubble they live in even more closed off. VPNs would be an alternative if Russia wasn’t criminalizing them.

? Curious, any good places to look into this?

Your choice as Valve here is to either delist or not be in Russia. It is easy for me, as someone not in Russia, to cheer Valve to fight the good fight. But, it would suck if I were in Russia and suddenly lost access to my games.

CSGO trolls from Russia probably make up like 20% of their total revenue.

But, it would suck if I were in Russia and suddenly lost access to my games.

Another reason not to rely on steam as a central point of failure.

The alternative is to stop doing business with Russia.

They can be part of the problem, or part of the solution.

They chose the problem.

I don’t really get what anyone expects Valve to do here other than comply with the law.

Lol.

Would that really be a bad thing?

Steam is one service Russians can’t easily replace. If their backwards policies prevent it from operating there, maybe they would take steps to change them.

Everyday things like furnishings, food, how people treat each other, and so forth.

Russia is not a post-apocalyptic hellscape (yet). They have pretty much the same food and furnishing as anyone else in the west. And learning about how people across the world treat each other from video games sounds like a horrible idea.

Russians have been consuming US culture slop for a long while. Turns out, it doesn’t help.

there’s also a troubling trend in the gaming industry for the very most right wing propaganda to be promoted and pushed alongside gaming content. steam is not the true exposure to liberating ideology that will wake the chauvinists up. far more likely to make them go, “see, this is how the world works.”

A: Videogames are not just made by the US. As it turns out, Europe, Asia, Africa, and many other places create stuff. It is a way for people to explore other cultures, without needing a plane ticket nor permission from governments.

B: Russia isn’t known for its general prosperity for the ordinary person. Also, it is in a state of war, which means less of everything that people like. Constant reminders of what isn’t there, may speed an end to Russia’s aggression. Hopefully, things will go Nepalese.

Be it books, games, or movies, the fundamental crux in many of them revolves around the interactions of people. A major element of videogames is helping out people and being helped in turn, trading things, meeting folks with different ideas and appearances, ect. These are good things for people to learn.

Nah, they actively got worse as authoritarian governments are wont to do.