The effect of ads is usually not directly linked to a specific product.

If, for example, you need a new box of laundry detergent, you’ll go to the supermarket. There you might find brand A, which you’ve never heard of, or brand B, which had an ad you’ve seen or heard somewhere. Studies have shown you’ll be more likely to buy brand B, because you’ll find it more trustworthy, which is because you’ve heard about it somewhere.

So, a lot of ads aren’t solely about a specific product, but also about making their brand perform better in the long run. Therefore, even if an ad is just making noise on the background, it may still have an effect on you. And, since it’s a subliminal process, it’s extremely difficult to make a concious decision to not buy products you’ve seen or heard ads of.

I only go there for the free pencils and make my furniture out of the pencils. Checkmate

A lot of people haven’t played HL:Alyx because of the VR requirement… But my goodness it was amazing.

Valve will never release a HL-title before it’s absolutely groundbreaking.

They could call it a Steam Machine! Sales will be massive

No need to imagine, as they are on Steam:

i7-4790K / 5 1600X with GTX780 / RX 470 and 8GB RAM

Recommended: i7-9700K / 5 5600X with RTX 2080Ti / RX 6800 XT and 16GB RAM