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 $400 million.
To ease some of the pressure, EA said that it will reducing the amount of resources it'll take to access key players in the upcoming game.
"They kind of changed the discoursed around the game," Hussain said, adding that this move will sway public opinion positively.
Ford's new "Built Ford Proud" campaign is the work of the Wieden+Kennedy agency, long known for its creative ads for Nike ($NKE) ー including its controversial ad featuring ex-quarterback and activist Kaepernick. The first "Built Ford" ad stars Bryan Cranston inhabiting a series of cinematic personas that all take subtle digs at the tech industry.
A lead TV analyst suspects Netflix may be battling a case of nerves as the streaming giant turns to the debt markets for the third time in a year. "I think it's a reaction to the fact that Warner is coming into the picture, and Disney," Alan Wolk, a co-founder and lead analyst at TV[R]EV, told Cheddar Monday. "Suddenly, that market ー especially in the U.S. ー is getting crowded."
Amazon, Alphabet, Twiter, and other big tech companies are set to report quarterly earnings this week. Elon Musk says The Boring Company's high-speed transit tunnel will be open to the public on December 10. And Zane Holtz, star of the upcoming film 'Hunter Killer,' joins Cheddar to discuss what it's like working with big-name talent such as Gary Oldman and Gerard Butler in this new movie.
Aurora Cannabis will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, though it already trades in Canada. Debra Borchardt, co-founder and CEO of the Green Market Report, predicts how the stock will fare in its NYSE debut.
In the wake of two massive data scandals this year, the tech company is reportedly looking to acquire a company that can help beef up its cybersecurity. The Information reporter Sarah Kuranda, who broke the story, told Cheddar why Facebook is willing to pay top dollar for a big name in the space.
Broad stock indexes sputtered Monday, but tech investors looked ahead to one of the busiest earnings weeks of the quarter, anchored by reports from many industry heavyweights that were able to avoid overall weakness in the market.
Elon Musk says the first part of his Boring Company's L.A. underground tunnel will open in December.
Peloton, the stationary bike maker with a cult-like following, has launched Tread ー an all-in-one treadmill and bootcamp experience. CEO John Foley said you can now get a full-body workout at home.
On Friday, SolarWinds came back to market at the NYSE Friday after a three-year period in which the IT software company was private. CEO Kevin Thompson explained why the time was right to tap capital markets for cash.
Alicia Tillman, CMO of the enterprise software company, spoke to Cheddar's Jon Steinberg about how SAP is adapting to become a more visible presence to its customers' end user.
