By Jacob Wolinsky. Originally published at ValueWalk.
As Fortnite’s next season arrives today, data reflects public opinion of Apple / Epic Games battle with payment & legal as top themes
Q2 2020 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
Apple vs Epic Games
NEW YORK – Fortnite’s next season arrives today, but those on iOS or macOS won’t be able to play it. Apple removed Epic Games’ Unreal Engine and Fortnite on the App Store, and Epic Games retaliated with a trolling ad and a lawsuit. The top themes emerging around this issue are “payment,” which is included in 11.5 percent of all mentions, while “legal” is mentioned 9.2 percent of the time.
Social media exploded, with many people quick to take sides, according to international social media analytics firm Talkwalker. Apple fans defended their company, and gamers, streamers and developers jumped behind Epic Games.
Since the announcement, Epic has 282,000 mentions, while Apple has 273,000, Talkwalker reports, as most of the mentions include both companies. In addition, engagement for both companies on these mentions was 3.3 million.
Here are some top tweets demonstrating what the gaming community wanted to know:
Who wins Epic or Apple?
— The Fortnite Guy (@The_FortniteGuy) August 13, 2020
Fortnite/Epic Games vs Apple
2020 is crazy
— Jack “CouRage” Dunlop (@CouRageJD) August 13, 2020
We should remember everything Epic is currently saying about Apple, just in case Epic ever gets that defacto monopoly it’s angling for. We’ll see how their stance on anti-corporate freedom fighting holds up.
— Citizen Sterling (@JimSterling) August 14, 2020
However as the first judgements were returned in the lawsuits more recently, room for more nuance was taking shape:
Correct me if I’m wrong here.. But Epic is having a fight with Apple over having a monopoly.. But is largely owned by Tencent. Ok.
— Ross O’Donovan (@RubberNinja) August 14, 2020
apple vs epic is like watching the two shitheads at a bar go at it.
honestly you want both to lose and spend the night in the drunk tank.
— Mutahar (@OrdinaryGamers) August 14, 2020
Talkwalker’s social listening data backs this up. Two tweets that demonstrate this sentiment.
It’s so cool to see Apple work together with a company like Epic Games! I’m looking forward to more in the future. 🙂 https://t.co/6Es0tUaMSD
— Poorly Aged Things (@PoorlyAgedStuff) August 24, 2020
gamers risking going to jail to restream Epic vs Apple hearings from Zoom to YouTube, you’re the real heroes
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) August 24, 2020
“While people seemed to really love the Epic Games ad and how it used Apple’s message against them, the brand boost from that ad has already worn off amongst those still following the story,” says Todd Grossman, CEO Americas Talkwalker. “Those still watching the story, the gaming community especially, more than anything want things like access to the Unreal Engine for small game developers. For those that don’t have a rooting favorite, that outcome seems to be what they most desire.”
About Talkwalker
Talkwalker is a social listening and analytics company that empowers over 2,000 brands and agencies to optimize the impact of their communication efforts. We provide companies with an easy-to-use platform to protect, measure, and promote their brands worldwide, across all communication channels.
Talkwalker’s state-of-the-art social media analytics platform uses AI-powered technology to monitor and analyze online conversations in real-time across social networks, news websites, blogs and forums in 187 languages. Talkwalker has offices in New York, Luxembourg, San Francisco, Frankfurt, and Singapore. It is also the home of Talkwalker Alerts, a free alerting service used by over 500,000 communications and marketing professionals worldwide.
The post Apple vs Epic Games: Payment Issues And Lawsuits appeared first on ValueWalk.
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