I didn't even realize that you can tag users. How is it done?

"I don't know enough to have an informed opinion about this" is an admirable stance to take.

When it's a cop-out for not wanting to be politically informed, it's a crappy place to be. It can sound a lot like "I don't know and I don't care".

20ish years ago...

ELI5 How come paid cable TV channels are now running commercials? Is that not bad for business because most if not all people got it to avoid commercials?

Mmmm is something that people (English-speakers?) say when something tastes good, seems appetizing, or is interesting or arousing or something. It's not exactly a word, but it's not an onomatopoeia.

"Aaaarfgfhfhrhhhh" would be an example of someone typing frustratedly into the keyboard (or mashing their keyboard) because something didn't go their way. It's an arrangement of letters to express frustration. It isn't even necessarily a sound that anyone would vocalize. So it's an arrangement of letters that conveys a thought but isn't a word.

The first two do not fit the description, as neither is conveying a thought. Those aren't words. They're onomatopoeias.

They do convey thoughts, which is why you know what they mean.

They're not onomatopoeia, because they aren't made to reflect sounds (though the first one reflects a sound a person would produce with their vocal tract, those aren't usually called onomatopoeia).

Spoken words are still made up of letters, even if they're not written down.

Spoken language came before written language. Words existed long before letters were invented. So then letters making up words can't be the definition of words because words existed before letters existed to "form" them.

Just because they aren't roman letters, does not mean they aren't letters. Cuniform and hieroglyphs are just a different kind of letter.

They don't need to be Roman letters, but many written languages don't use letters. I'm not sure about cuneiform, but I know that not all hieroglyphs are letters. Chinese is another written language that doesn't use letters, for example.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Fits your definition, isn't a word.

Aaaarfgfhfhrhhhh

Fits your definition, isn't a word

Micro$oft

Doesn't fit your definition, could be considered a word

@$$

Doesn't fit your definition, could be considered a word.

Also, your definition doesn't include spoken languages, or words in languages that don't use letters to build words.

Star Control is there!

Of course, that one still has an incredible amount of support. Mostly fan support, but the original devs are finally making an official sequel to SC2!

There's a difference between a claim and conjecture

adequately explained.

The ignorance doesn't explain where all the money comes from. So malice it is! Lol

That's a good point. They probably gave Eggman the spotlight because he's the leader of the Dark side. But Shadow's stages were just more fun, lol

I like both games, but they've got very different feels. I did miss the Adventure Stages from SA1, but SA2 has some great stages. I think the early Knuckles/Rouge stages are alright, but the later ones just get too big if you don't know where to look.

If you liked E102's stages in SA1, there's no reason to dislike Tails/Eggman in SA2 imo! And like you said, Sonic/Shadow stages are still great.

Keep in mind that SA1 has the Big stages as a requirement for completion...haha

I also prefer physical games. I have very few digital games on my Switch -- only for massive digital-only sales, or for games that had limited physical runs that I missed. Or when I didn't know a game had a physical release, lol

Some people prefer digital games, and I get it. Especially with kids who might break, lose, or "trade" physical games.

That makes sense! I was picturing a scenario where each kid was begging for a Switch.

If there are two kids who each want to play their own games independently (or niche cases like they really want to trade Pokemon together or play games online together that can't be played with couch co-op), then having multiple devices would be important. Of course, it depends on where the budget is, lol

Buying two SNES consoles would be crazy. Buying two Game Boys probably happened in some households.

Great addition! I was trying to keep budget in mind, but truthfully, I don't know the price difference.

It'd be good for OP to know the different capabilities of what the Lite vs. the other consoles can/can't do. But I think my comment was long enough as it is! Haha

Yes, they can be a personal device like a game boy, but they can also be a shared device.

The regular Nintendo Switch (and I think the OLED one) can be played handheld or docked (aka. plugged into the TV). I'd recommend this version.

The Nintendo Switch Lite cannot be plugged into the TV, and is also harder to play multiplayer with other people in the same room. So avoid the "Lite".

The controllers on the regular Nintendo Switch are removable. This means that you can buy a console and have two controllers for some games. Some games require more buttons, so each player would need a pair, but some simpler games like Mario Kart or Mario Party can be played with just one half (aka. Joy-Con).

The games are generally sharable between consoles and within consoles.

Between consoles: The cartridges will work no matter how many consoles you swap it between. Only the console with the game inserted will be able to play the game. However, the saved games (progression in a game) are usually saved to a console, not the cartridge.

(The same holds true for digital games only if the account that bought the game is connected to a console. Accounts can be connected to multiple consoles. An account can only be logged in to one console at a time, so ALL digitally-owned games on that account are locked to one console at a time...but if they aren't logged in, then the another console can log in and play the digital games. So no multiplayer, but taking turns playing the digital game on different consoles. Saves might be shared here, though)

Within consoles: Almost every game allows each profile on the console to have their own saved game. So you could buy one Pokemon game, and up to 8 people can have save files for that game. Depending on the game, they may not be able to play simultaneously (e.g. trading), but they can all have their own save files with their own progression.

So, what you suggested is overkill. Here's my advice:

If you want family game time, you just need...

• One OLED Switch (connects to TV)
• Buy games physically if you foresee anyone wanting their own console in the future, or digitally if not
• Check if the games you're buying can be played with a single Joy-Con. If so, the console comes with 2. If a player needs 2 Joy-Cons each, you have 1 controller with the console. Buy enough Joy-Cons or Pro Controllers (which are equivalent to a pair of Joy-Cons, but can't be "split") so that you have enough for all your players.
• This console can still be played handheld whenever someone wants solo game time or when someone else wants the TV.

This will allow everyone to play single-screen multiplayer games on your TV together. Note that most games allow up to 4 players at once. More is rare.

Or, if you've got older kids who want their own individual games that they'll play independently at the same time, it gets more complicated. But here's what I'd suggest.

• Get at least one dockable (non-Lite) Switch in the family. This Switch "gets" access to the TV, but may also have to "share" for family multiplayer time.
• Get Switch Lites for anyone who REALLY needs to be playing something else independently when the TV/"main" Switch is in use
• Get physical games: Any kid can play it in any console, and as long as they're on the console that has their profile, they can continue their saved game. You DON'T need multiple copies of any game except in very rare scenarios.

Having extra consoles is rarely necessary to play games together. The only time they'd need It is if they're playing games online together and the game doesn't offer split-screen. Maybe Fortnite? But then they can take turns, unless you really want to buy separate consoles, lol

Please ask any follow up questions you have. I'd be glad to help clarify anything! Typing this up was surprisingly fun, lol

Less cable management than a real 32x!

Interesting! I don't think you're making it up, but do you have a source for that? I'd like to learn more.

Yeah, I think it's the really the Gambler's Fallacy, even if OP doesn't describe gambling. It's the idea of "It's my turn for success to come soon -- I'm due for my turn!"

No, I was a child.

But should poor people not have video games? Lol

If you think pigs, chickens and cows have the same level of awareness and perception as broccoli, tomatoes or potatoes than you're the potato.

Eat people because they're potatoes, got it!

Or wait, it's "than"? Hmm...no, I can't think of how to turn it into a joke with a punchline of "than" being there instead of "then", lol