Nintendo’s mighty crossover game, “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,” capped off three years of ambitious expansion with the announcement that “Kingdom Hearts” hero Sora will be added to the Switch fighting game’s roster on Oct. 18.
Why it matters: This wasn’t just the addition of a character that had secretly topped Nintendo’s official fan request poll six years ago. It was a stream watched by more than 500,000 people that demonstrated the convergence of some of the industry’s major trends.
The scale of deals in gaming in 2021 is already double the full dollar amount from 2020, according to a new industry report.
Why it matters: 2021 has seen a dizzying amount of mergers, acquisitions and investments as everyone wants in on the sector, and as the big players already inside it are spending a lot to get bigger.
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen told lawmakers Tuesday she believes the social media giant won't change its ways unless Congress makes it.
Why it matters: Haugen is finding a receptive audience among senators who have pledged to pass laws on online privacy, altering online liability shields and increasing algorithmic transparency.
Facebook's latest string of controversies is beginning to seriously weigh on its stock performance — a clear indication of the tech giant's vulnerability to long-term business headwinds, even if its ads business continues to grow for now.
The big picture: In the past, investors have mostly shrugged at blows to Facebook's reputation, including Capitol Hill hearings and leaks, and instead have focused on ad and user growth as metrics for success.
Like an aging rock star seeking to reach a new audience, Microsoft is betting Windows 11 will help it connect with a new generation.
Why it matters: Microsoft could once count on a huge portion of the computing market automatically choosing Windows because their business demanded it or they needed a specific app that wasn't available elsewhere. Today, many businesses are putting the choice between Mac or Windows in the hands of individual workers.
Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are coming back online after experiencing a major outage on Monday, the social media giant confirmed roughly six hours later.
The latest: "To the huge community of people and businesses around the world who depend on us: we're sorry," Facebook tweeted on Monday evening. "We’ve been working hard to restore access to our apps and services and are happy to report they are coming back online now. Thank you for bearing with us."
Facebook asked a federal court Monday to dismiss the latest antitrust complaint against it from the Federal Trade Commission, arguing FTC chair Lina Khan shouldn't have been able to cast the deciding vote to bring the case.
The big picture: A previous version of this suit was thrown out by a federal judge in June, and the FTC returned with a revised version in August that Facebook is now responding to.
Why it matters: Microsoft's operating system launches aren't what they were back in the days when people lined up outside of retail stores at midnight. But this is still the most significant update in years and comes as the PC industry is getting a pandemic-fueled resurgence.
Whistleblower Frances Haugen's "60 Minutes" interview Sunday put a name and a face on charges that Facebook has known about and failed to counter harms caused by its platform.
Why it matters: The complaints were largely familiar, but they gained specificity and depth from Haugen's standing as someone who formerly worked for Facebook on its civic integrity team — and who still says she "loves" the company.
The whistleblower who leaked thousands of internal Facebook documents to the Wall Street Journal revealed herself Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes" as Frances Haugen, a former lead product manager on the company's civic misinformation team.
Why it matters: On the show, Haugen said she realized this year that she needed to take tens of thousands of pages of documents so that "no one can question that this is real."
