*By Zane Bhansali*
Esports fans tuning into Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's new show on NBC, "The Titan Games," may be surprised to see a familiar face: Alex "Goldenboy" Mendez, who is more likely as a commentator for "Overwatch" or "Halo" than for an athletic obstacle gauntlet.
Goldenboy's appearance on "Titan Games" marks one of the first times that an esports commentator has crossed over to mainstream entertainment. “It was very humbling to see that they had appreciated what I did," Goldenboy told Cheddar Sports.
"Titan Games," which premiered Jan. 3, caps off a stellar year for Goldenboy that includes 57 different events casted across 18 different games. He attributes that growth to an increased acceptance of esports as a fully-fledged industry in its own right.
“I think as a whole the industry has just really trended upwards as far as acceptance with mainstream media," Goldenboy said. "We’ve started to push away the stereotypes ... Now, more and more people are starting to accept that this is an industry, a growing industry, a business that has tons and tons of eyeballs and ears that are just glued to every little bit of content."
One of the things that Goldenboy said was most enjoyable about working on "Titan Games" was the production's understanding of the ways in which esports sets itself apart, right down to the gamer tags. When he asked if it would be "ridiculous" to go by his tag on the show, he said the showrunners responded, "No! That’s who you are. That’s your brand, we want that."
"If [Johnson] can go as 'The Rock,' then I can go as Goldenboy."
That homegrown sense of fun and levity is what Goldenboy says makes esports unique ー and what will draw in new audiences.
“What’s so great about this is, you don’t need any formal training, you don’t need a degree. I’m not very smart,” he laughed.
He's critical of attempts to grow esports by forcing it to fit a traditional sports model, and of cynical corporate attempts to capitalize on the industry boom.
"If you’re not having fun, people are going to sniff that out right away," Goldenboy said. "That is the raw character that makes video games and esports so amazing. When you try to corporatize it, you lose all of that. As long as we're entertaining and everyone's having fun, I think that resonates with the audience."
Millions of people around the world are getting ready for the Super Bowl on Sunday. And while the day is all fun and games, there's still a serious discussion happening about player safety. Now, two leading sports brands have teamed up to design new, state-of-the-art equipment using 3D printing. Joe DeSimone, co-founder and CEO of Carbon, stopped by Cheddar with more on how technology is making football more safe, head to toe.
Luke Wilson is taking a short break from Hollywood. A commercial break. The "Rushmore" and "Old School" actor is starring in his first Super Bowl commercial, and he says the 30-second Colgate spot will probably get more views than any of his movies. "I think more people will see this than any movie I've ever been in for sure," Wilson told Cheddar on Friday.
Draftkings CEO Jason Robins told Cheddar that New Jersey residents alone could wager as much as $100 million on the Super Bowl, the first time sports betting will be legal there for the big game.
Although it has 3 million customers, home security company SimpliSafe isn’t a household name yet. It’s hoping that will change on Sunday after its first Super Bowl ad airs.“In a market where people are trying to lock you in a contract or harvest your data, we’re trying to keep you safe,” brand creative director Wade Devers told Cheddar. “There aren’t really a lot of places you can reach the number of people you can reach like the Super Bowl.”
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Feb. 1, 2019.
On Super Bowl Sunday, the Hallmark Channel will be home to the sixth annual Kitten Bowl, the annual matchup of cat-letes held to benefit the North Shore Animal League. Beth Stern, host of the Kitten Bowl and spokesperson for North Shore (and wife to Howard), brought a pair of 12-week Siamese kittens to Cheddar Thursday to help promote a new event this year: the first-ever Cat Bowl.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019.
Super Bowl Sunday is the ー well ー Super Bowl of building brand awareness, particularly for food and beverage companies. This year, Pepsi and Frito-Lay, both units of PepsiCO ($PEP), are once again among the snack giants planning to use the 100 million-plus members of the expected television audience to launch new products and elevate brands in their respective portfolios. Frito-Lay CMO Jen Saenz spoke to Cheddar Tuesday alongside Greg Lyons, the CMO for Pepsi, which is known for its Super Bowl ads and social media engagement tied to the Big Game.
Apple is planning a subscription service that would function like Netflix for games, according to people familiar with the matter. The iPhone maker has also discussed partnering with developers as a publisher, which could signal ambitions to assume distribution and marketing costs for games.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019.
