Electronic Arts is in some trouble with its Star Wars fan base.
"Star Wars Battlefront 2," officially comes out on Friday, but many players are already upset over the expensive in-game transactions necessary to unlock certain characters. Tamoor Hussain, editor at GameSpot and Russell Holly, managing editor of VRHeads.com joined Cheddar to discuss the concept of paying extra within a game.
Hussain says that it used to take a significant number of hours to gain points in order to unlock certain characters, which upset players. So, companies began to add the option to buy the power to unlock them. But people are still upset. He says it could impact sales this week, but many people won't be looking into the issue too deeply.
Holly says in-game transactions are a tremendous business for Electronic Arts, which just bought Respawn Entertainment for over $400 million.
To ease some of the pressure, EA said that it will reducing the amount of resources it'll take to access key players in the upcoming game.
"They kind of changed the discoursed around the game," Hussain said, adding that this move will sway public opinion positively.
E-cigarette maker Juul announced new concessions to limit rampant teen vaping on Tuesday ー including pulling certain products from stores and abandoning social media feeds ー in the face of increasing pressure from the FDA and anti-smoking groups.
Trendy beverage maker Dirty Lemon may have halted production of its CBD-infused drink due to legal concerns, but CEO Zak Normandin insisted the company isn't otherwise slowing down or playing it safe. Rather, it is working to expand the brand's physical presence and develop new products.
In a big year for mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare industry, consumers are right to fear rising insurance premiums and prescription drug prices. But eHealth ($EHTH) CEO Scott Flanders told Cheddar on Tuesday that vertical integration, like Aetna's merger with CVS, might actually help combat rising costs by creating more choices for consumers.
Petco will phase out dog and cat food containing artificial ingredients and preservatives entirely by May 2019. Petco CEO Ron Coughlin told Cheddar Tuesday that the decision to move to a wholly natural-ingredient line was part of a corporate strategy to become a full-service "partner to pet parents." It also reflects broader consumer trends toward healthier, organic foods ー that now includes the diets of their pets.
Hybrid cloud computing is now the name of the game at IBM, thanks to the company's recent acquisition of Red Hat. "We are going to be the company that is providing enterprise-ready hybrid cloud solutions and actually create the foundation of the infrastructure of the future," IBM's chief digital officer Bob Lord told Cheddar on Tuesday.
The backlash was swift after Amazon announced on Tuesday morning that it will split its second unbuilt headquarters and up to 50,000 full-time jobs between two locations: Long Island City, in Queens, N.Y., and the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington, Va, just outside the nation's capital.
The Food and Drug Administration plans to restrict the sale of flavored e-cigarettes that might appeal to teens, according to a Washington Post report. But some worry a ban will only further entice young users. "Some people say it will just make it more attractive. That's one of the problems ー the more you restrict it, the more enticing it can be," USA Today health care policy reporter Jayne O'Donnell told Cheddar on Monday.
From the makers of the dating app, Bumble, the newest dating app exclusively for gay men is here. Chappy caters gay men and Adam Cohen-Aslatei, managing director of Chappy, said the app not only wants to help make meaningful relationships, but combat the discrimination seen in other dating apps.
The subject of gambling and esports has become a point of serious tension for gamers. For companies like Unikrn, which built its platform on the practice of esports betting, battling that stigma is a central, implicit part of the operation. According to CEO and co-founder Rahul Sood, the company is determined to make betting on esports a “safe, legal, and relegated” space.
Mike Masserman, head of global policy and social impact at Lyft, spoke with Cheddar about several initiatives the ridesharing company is taking to put its values front and center. Lyft's "Round Up & Donate" feature lets riders make a small charitable donation with each ride. Its first partner in the initiative, the USO, just topped $1 million in donations from the program. The ridesharing company has also activated its "Relief Rides" program to help victims of the California wildfires get to shelters and hospitals.
