PPB August 2019

TECH TALK Netflix Gets Gaming The world’s top streaming service enters the gaming industry with games inspired by its top series. It’s no doubt that Netflix has become the most popular service of its kind, owning 71 percent of the world’s streaming video on demand (SVOD) market. And in efforts to capitalize even more from some of its popular shows, Netflix will enter the video game market in 2020 with the release of a new mobile game based on Stranger Things , one of its original and most popular series, with season two attracting 8.8 million views per episode within three days of release. The Stranger Things games will use augmented reality to incorporate elements from the game into the user’s GPS location, namely elements from the show’s fictional world, The Upside Down. By looking through the app, the user will be able to see and interact, virtually, with show-related anomalies in their surroundings. Netflix first licensed a Stranger Things mobile game in 2017, along with related promotional products, like t-shirts, Coca-Cola bottles, ice cream and, as of late, Burger King’s Upside Down Whopper (see story below). But this new, free-to-play mobile game made its debut July 4, the day of the show’s season three premier. According to Bloomberg, promotions tying games with TV reflect marketing stunts intended to grow viewership, as most of Netflix’s revenue is subscription-based. Stepping outside of the Stranger Things realm, Netflix will also present a game inspired by its original series, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance —a prequel to Jim Henson’s 1982 film, The Dark Crystal —in 2019. The turn-based, tactics strategy game, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics , will be available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and MAC. And all the while, Netflix is increasing the reach of characters from its most popular shows by incorporating them in games released by partners Roblox, Ubisoft and Behaviour Interactive. The trend. Netflix’s decision to enter the video game space, a $116 billion-dollar industry, according to this month’s Market to Market, is reflective of a pattern in entertainment to link video games to movies and TV shows, or vice versa. According to IndieWire, every year brings a new major motion picture based on a video game, such as, Warcraft, Resident Evil, Angry Birds, Assassin’s Creed, Tomb Raider and the Pokémon series, a 22-year series that released a film this year, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, which grossed $421 worldwide from movie sales alone. But Netflix beware: Microsoft is currently designing Project xCloud, a Netflix-like service, but for video games. Project xCloud would permit users to play bestselling video games anywhere, anytime and on any device, without the need to purchase a gaming console. by Danielle Renda BRANDABLE Mastercard Unveils New ‘True Card’ The financial services company allows cardholders to use their preferred names on debit and credit cards, catering to the LGBTQIA+ community. Mastercard, Inc. is embracing individuality and encouraging its customers to do so, too. In honor of WorldPride, on June 17, the financial services corporation announced plans to offer a True Name card, permitting customers to hold debit and credit cards using the names they identify with, rather than the names on their ID cards. This effort is aimed at making transactions easier for members of the LGBTQIA+—lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and “+”, including nonbinary, pansexual and two spirit—specifically for transgender and non-binary individuals. Mastercard is currently working on a privacy process that is void of prying questions, to make the experience as stress-free for its clients as possible. Throughout, credit card scores will remain unchanged, as they are linked to social security numbers, not names. In development of this initiative, Mastercard conducted a study revealing more than 32 percent of people who have shown an ID with a name and/or gender that does not match their presentation have had negative experiences, including harassment, denial of service and even physical assault. And according to a 2015 study from the National Center for Transgender Equality, only 11 percent of transgender Americans have IDs that match the name and gender they prefer, and only 44 percent have updated their name on a driver license or state-issued ID. Many of these individuals have opted to avoid the costs, stress and difficulty associated with an official name and gender change, Mastercard reported, prompting the company to eliminate this bother for its customers. | AUGUST 2019 | 57 THINK