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 $400 million.
To ease some of the pressure, EA said that it will reducing the amount of resources it'll take to access key players in the upcoming game.
"They kind of changed the discoursed around the game," Hussain said, adding that this move will sway public opinion positively.
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Apple showed some love to the MacBook Air and Mac Mini Tuesday. Reports ahead of the event anticipated the announcements, but that didn’t leave the crowd — made up of Apple employees, guests, partners, and media — any less enthused when C.E.O. Tim Cook and team finally got on stage. Cheddar's Hope King was in Brooklyn for the unveiling.
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T-Mobile President Mike Sievert spoke with Cheddar on Tuesday after the tech company announced quarterly earnings that topped expectations. The company's quarter included its highest ever service revenues and EBITDA in company history.
Facebook shares whipsawed in after-hours trading Tuesday after the company just narrowly missed third-quarter revenue and user estimates and forecast a continued ramp-up in spending.
Apple on Tuesday unveiled updated versions of its MacBook Air, Mac Mini, and iPad Pro lines from an event at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The biggest update came in the form of a redesigned iPad Pro, the high-end model of the tablet the company debuted eight years ago and which Cook described on stage as "a magical piece of glass that transforms instantly into anything you want it to be."
You may have a Resideo product in your home and not even know it. The company, until this week a unit of Honeywell ($HON), makes products that are in over 150 million homes, but because it sells largely to contractors and distributors, it is not a brand many end users recognize. Now, as its own company, Resideo ($REZI) can compete on its own terms, and at the speed required in a fast-moving and ultra-competitive industry. "Being an independent company is going to help us go faster," said CEO Mike Nefkens.
Brex, the start-up that provides credit cards for start-ups, has created a rewards program for its customers that awards points for spending on ride-sharing, software, travel, and dining, as well as offers from partners like AWS, Salesforce, and WeWork.
Jamie Iannone, CEO of SamsClub.com, told Cheddar that the retailer's new "Sam's Club Now" store will use a variety of innovative technologies to make shopping easier and, as a benefit, attract new members. The new store opening in Dallas will eliminate check-out lines with "Scan & Go" technology powered by its app, as well as feature digital shopping lists, store navigation, and even augmented reality.
General Electric, the once mighty conglomerate that traces its roots back to the invention of the light bulb, delivered a hugely disappointing earnings report Tuesday morning, in which the company that was once known for its steady and generous payouts to investors slashed its quarterly dividend to just a penny.
