I received this message while I was archiving my order:

Starting May 15, 2025, you will no longer be able to archive orders.

Archive orders lets users "hide" their order from the default order history view. Once archived, the past order is moved inside a "folder" called Archived Orders. While searching other sources, I found out that some Amazon customers will no longer be able to archive orders tomorrow (April 30, 2025).

It serves some purpose for those who want to de-clutter the order history which is my case. I keep an individual Prime account. My order history tends to get convoluted with subscription charges and free apps along with my Amazon purchases. However, customers who share the same account can use archive order to hide purchases such as gifts or suprises.

The issue is Amazon Prime subscription (and other such as Prime Music) have increased in the past years. And now they're removing a feature. This is my biggest gripe: paying more for less. You can hide orders in eBay.

This may also cause an issue about customer privacy. With Archived orders, past orders are not deleted. And removing it would only lead to a cluttered order history where everything is stored in order history -- so why remove Archived Orders when all purchases are present? It appears that this seemingly small move would push users to purchase individual Prime accounts. Alternatively, this may also have to do with targeted ads; generating ads based on your cluttered order history.

I'm curious why. If Amazon will develop a new way to organize purchases, then I'm all for it.

inZOI listened to a highly requested feature and added a gameplay option which turns off aging to player ZOIs and other ZOIs in the game world. This option will let players choose whether to pursue aging or not: which is playing a ZOI legacy playthrough, to age ZOIs and create a dynastic family tree. Or have a playthrough without the time crunch and create ageless (and endearing) ZOIs.

inZOI was released in March 27 on Steam. Players were discussing on the inZOI Steam page about their characters aging too fast. One thread piled up response about having an option to turn off aging as it makes the game progress too fast and less enjoyable. Some players want to keep playing the same character for a longer time. However with aging, players can lose their current ZOIs permanently.

With inZOI being new and all, having the option to turn off aging gives more time to learn, and explore the game without feeling rushed. The idea of an impending permadeath to your ZOI would make the game less enjoyable. I also had to stop playing inZOI temporarily because I wanted to wait and see; perhaps the modding community would answer; but I'm glad an official option was implemented.

The Sims 2, 3 and 4 had this aging feature from the start and it does create two modes of play for players. Well you turn off aging on Sims 2 via the game console. One playstyle is to enable it to create a long-running family tree. And the other is simply sticking with your original Sim because you love the character. inZOI's update has covered this gap removing worry about losing a Zoi and allowing for more freeplay.

Wow. Nothing big. But I just want to shout out that my Fruits Basket fansite is about to be 20 years old on October. I hosted my blog, alongside Fruits Basket roleplay blogs, galleries, chapter summaries, and character biographies. Due to changes on how direct linking work in the mid 2010s, some parts of the website have stopped working. But the site can be visited using Wayback Machine.

Doordash partners with Klarna to offer customers flex options to pay for food delivery orders and more. According to this partnership, Doordash will provide more options of payment:

Pay in Full: pay your order immediately.
Pay in 4: split payments in 4 interest free payments.
Pay Later: pay in scheduled time.

Note that this new arrangement will pilot in Doordash's United States market.

Doordash has service fees, aside from a customer subscription. The primary takeaway here is the ability to pay later or pay in installments. If it's not obvious, there's something wrong if you're looking to pay your fast food in installments. If you can't afford your fast food right away, maybe consider cooking or trying again another day? One couldn't help thinking that this would encourage to go into debt.

It's no doubt that financing payments is a unique arrangement for Doordash, primarily a food courier delivery app.

On the other hand, Doordash does deliver non-perishable items as well. Think about same-day Amazon delivery. For example, if someone needed a same day delivery for electronics or a home reno item, and a payment installment is available, then that would make sense. But again Doordash is primarily a food delivery app. Ultimately, this flex option will be available for food items. Hence, eat now, pay later.

How about creating a sister app and naming it Doordash Homes though?

Update: It's fixed now as of 5:58 PM Central.

So I just got back from work and ready to play Heroes of the Storm. However, I'm stuck at authentication. I tried playing on a different region, Europe, and I was able to log in. I tried using another desktop to log in but it still does not authenticate. I deleted the local cache folder, and still stuck at authentication. Tried different accounts and couldn't log into the Americas.

Checked in with Down Detector and it seems that many users are reporting the same issue today of not being able to log in (March 12, around 5:00 PM Central). It's weird because I'm seeing a couple of friends logged into HoTS and WoW. But they're probably logged into a different region. Let's see what happens.

Sony released a 200mb update for the PlayStation 3 labeled version 4.92. The system software update should improve the PS3's system performance. This is quite a pleasant surprise for the beloved console which is almost 20 years old. Better check this out when I get home.

Some of PlayStation 3's best games were the Uncharted titles, Gran Turismo 5/6, Resident Evil 5, and Killzone 2. I remember playing the multiplayer on Uncharted coop for FREE. In fact, you would sign up for a PSN (PlayStation Network) for free back then and play multiplayer sessions for free. Thus GTA V was PS3's best selling game and the Call of Duty franchise made a signifcant sales too. Free multiplayer, it was a highly underrated part of PlayStation 3 gaming. In addition, PlayStation 3 showcased a truly next-generation experience on graphics and hardware.

I've got to be honest, the leaked Sims: Town Stories doesn't look good. And the Google Play URL is no longer available (at least in Canada). Is there demand for another free Sims mobile? But I know a paid full Sims game for the mobile platform will work.

It's ironic how a free to play game doesn't sound fun over a paid one. That's because you expect a paid game to be fully supported and QoL managed from the start.

The Sims: Town Stories was leaked as both a town and home builder. You will meet familiar Sims NPCs like Bella Goth and Bob Pancakes. However, the game feels like an outdated and a redundant concept for its other Sim siblings on mobile. But it's similar to the MySims IP where you're tasked to "build a town and decorate the interiors". And then insert the possible microtransactions.

The graphics look underwhelming. The characters don't have the Sims charm on them. You'll be time gated on energy. And then, viola on two currencies. Perhaps they want to resurrect The Sims Social but even The Sims Social was fun at the start.

The Sims: Town Stories is another spin-off to the Sims franchise on the mobile platform being developed by The Sims Labs. The Sims Freeplay and The Sims Mobile are other spin-off mobile titles. They are all free but monetized through microtransactions. There's this growing feeling that Sims: Town Stories is not ripe yet. Perhaps the collective feeling that it doesn't look fun is the reason why it got pulled back to the drawing board.

After many months of leaks, (and even deferring the announcement to a supposed Switch 2 announcement) Nintendo finally reveals its next console, the Nintendo Switch 2.

The Switch 2 has a larger body and screen than the original Switch as if staring off against the competition brought by the hulking handheld PC gaming. Honestly, I am relieved that Nintendo finally revealed the Switch 2. Nintendo had to officially reveal the Switch 2 so that the leaks can go away. However, Nintendo hasn't revealed the specs and prices yet on their trailer. But hey maybe those will be leaked too. Yet perhaps Nintendo wants to keep some sort of suspense -- however that feels at this point since Nintendo has also been reportedly upset about the leaks.

What has been confirmed is that the Switch 2 will be backwards compatible with the previous Switch physical cartridges, not to mention the digital games. It's amazing how it will stick to the current physical cartridge. But I don't know if that backwards compatibility will translate to more fps on the Switch 2. I'm keeping a healthy skepticism as to how powerful the Switch 2 will actually be. But the Switch 2 simply HAS to be running at least at PS4 level at this point.

The Nintendo Switch 2 will release this year most likely during the 2025 holidays. Pricing and specs will be officially disclosed on April 2 at the Nintendo Direct event. My eyes are open for a Switch 2 lite.

Justin Trudeau announced that he intends to resign as the Liberal Party Leader, and the Prime Minister of Canada today after the party selects its next leader. Trudeau's resignation has been streamed by various platforms such as: CBC, CTV News, Global News, CPAC, Radio-Canada.

His decision comes after months of criticisms including within the Liberal Party and the resignation of Chrystia Freeland, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Canada since 2019. Justin Trudeau will remain as the Prime Minister for now until the Liberal Party finds a new leader.

Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative Leader Opposition, posts his reaction saying that Trudeau's resignation came only due to his unpopularity for the upcoming Federal election. And that the Liberal Party is looking for a new candidate to resume the same agenda emphasizing his call for a Carbon Tax Election and dump the NDP-Liberal Party coalition. Jagmeet Singh, NDP Leader, stated that Justin Trudeau has let Canadians down with the increased cost of living saying that the Liberal Party are more interested in themselves. Jagmeet adds that Pierre Poilievre is a threat to the middle class of Canada.

The new Prime Minister will be dealing with woes of increased cost of living; furthermore, providing affordable housing in a midst of a housing crisis; cracking down on crimes and drugs; tackling on the illegal immigration issue with remark from Donald Trump's imposed tariffs; and bolstering the defense budget to meet NATO target. In summary, restoring Canada's image at home and on the world stage.

And just like that, the 2024 Steam Winter sale is live. The sale will last until January 2, 2025. Personally, I don't have anything specific in mind; maybe a couple of cozy games or an RPG; but GOG is also having a similar sale. Oh, better buy those winter themed Steam profile icons from the points shop.

Maybe get Palworld in time for their major update.

GOG is hosting its 2024 Winter Sale until January 2. GOG is slowly getting popular due to reassuring and explaining to customers what it means to buy games from them. GOG provides you with the installer for your purchased games.

While Steam has made it clear that players purchase a license to play the game, some are concerned about the "license" keyword. That is, some players interpret it as not "really" owning the game. In addition Steam has to be normally tethered to the Internet to play games. Not to mention connecting to Steam first and then being able to download the game.

Whereas GOG states that if you bought your game, you own it. And reassuring you with an offline installer to your game. GOG is formerly known as Good Old Games.

Palworld will release its next major update on December 23 dubbed as Palworld: Feybreak. The major update will add another island that is 6x bigger than Sakurajima Island. Feybreak will also host a new faction leader (boss?), new set of weapons to craft, and new Pals to capture. Other new things to expect are new items, and new themed building sets. The new Pals have not been named yet but I don't mind as the update will drop in 10 days. It's also fun to have players discover the new things themselves.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp will cease its online server today to make way for the (paid) complete version of the game today. The game will no longer be playable on Nov. 28, 2024 3:00 PM (UTC) which is 9:00 AM, central time.

Two things:

I haven't delved into the Pocket Camp much because I was much more invested on the mainline entries. Which would have been Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Plus I wasn't too keen on the microtransactions. But farewells are bittersweet with players posting their first day and last day in their camp. With about 7 years of content, I'm getting this game on my devices for sure. The discounted price is really a no-brainer. The only thing that would be missed is the online play, where you visit your friend's camp.