re: GTA vice city is retro

quote:

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Broadband in 2005 was somewhere between 25%-30%. Total internet usage in the US in 2005 was 68%. Contrast to today, where broadband use is at 92% and total internet use is at 98%. Also, the first true smart phones (with customizable apps, etc.) came out in 2007 (first iPhone) - which one has to admit is a pretty massive game changer in the realm of technology. The first Android smartphone came out in 2008. I would say the advent of smartphones is pretty massive in changing culture in the US, if not other parts of the world.

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Again, refined? Certainly. Fundamental paradigm shifts? No.




Is an iPhone 15 a vastly better entertainment machine? Sure. Is that transformative in the way that the BlackBerry created the “always connected” internet work culture? In my opinion, no.

To be clear, I’m not saying technology has stagnated in the past 20 years. What I’m saying is that the last two decades have been focussed on refining, proliferating, and monetizing technology more than it has been about transforming it. The late 90s to early 2000s changed the world. Since then, it’s more of the same, just prettier, faster, and better.

And I say that as someone who is heavily into tech

Eta: We should also keep in mind that we’re dickering over two years. If it makes everyone happy, we can revisit this thread two years from now when, presumably, we can all agree that the two decades preceding that date were just iterations on more of the same