Aside from staying alive and healthy, the biggest concern most people have during the pandemic is the future of their jobs. Unemployment in the U.S. has skyrocketed, from 5.8 million in February 2020 to 16.3 million in July 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But it’s not only the lost jobs that are reshaping work in the wake of COVID-19; the of many of the remaining jobs has…
When the news broke yesterday that Apple and Google banned Epic’s super-popular game Fortnite from their app stores, most people focused on the bans — how could this happen? — and Epic’s nearly instant, comprehensive lawsuits against both tech giants. Given how…
EA rebrands its subscription game services as EA Play
August 15, 2020
Electronic Arts rebranded its subscription game services — EA Access and Origin Access — under the EA Play brand name.
The big video game publisher said that the EA Access and Origin Access subscription game services would get this new name and look starting August 18.
Rebranding streaming services is very in these days across a number of entertainment industries, and EA is jumping on the trend by rebranding its EA Access and Origin Access services simply as EA Play.
There are no financial changes for customers, nor does the rebranding require any additional effort for people to play games under their current subscription. The company describes the rebrand as…
Apple has finally met its Fortnite match
August 14, 2020
Epic Games executed its most ambitious Fortnite live event yesterday, leading both Apple and Google to remove one of the world’s most popular games from their app stores. It was a well choreographed sequence of events designed to highlight the power Apple and Google hold…
Ubisoft fires former Assassin’s Creed Valhalla creative director following an investigation
August 14, 2020
Ashraf Ismail, the former creative director for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, has been fired by Ubisoft, Bloomberg reports. Ismail stepped down from his role and took a leave of absence in June after a fan accused Ismail of lying about his marital status in order to pursue a…
The DeanBeat: Epic Games vs. Apple/Google is a shot heard around the world — but it’s risky
August 14, 2020
Epic Games’ simmering antitrust dispute with Apple and Google turned into a hot war Thursday, as Epic Games announced a discount policy and direct payment mechanism for Fortnite that Apple and Google said violated their terms of service.
Apple tossed Fortnite out of the iOS App Store, and Epic Games filed an antitrust suit. Later in the day, Google also dropped Fortnite from Google Play, and…
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 review: time for a change
August 14, 2020
Five years since the first Apple Watch and a full seven years on from Samsung’s Galaxy Gear, we know what a smartwatch is. We know that it’s not going to replace your smartphone anytime soon, that it will need to be charged every day or two, and that its best functions…
Consumers are still turning to video games for their entertainment in the United States. While hardware sales have come back to Earth after a peaking sharply during the early parts of the pandemic, game content helped push total spending to $3.6 billion during July…
Nintendo Switch was the top-selling console in July
August 14, 2020
While all gaming hardware saw a significant jump in sales during the pandemic, that has come to an end for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. These aging consoles were already on the way out, and U.S. consumers are once again bypassing them in favor of the Switch. Nintendo’s hybrid home/handheld device launched in 2017, and it’s in its prime. It’s also catching on more with wider audiences that are…
