Credit: PlayStation UniverseTesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has become an almost cartoonish parody of an eccentric billionaire businessman. At one point, he was called the “real-life Tony Stark.” So much so that he even made a cameo in Iron Man 2. He became one of the most recognizable faces in his industry, winning people over with his outlandish demeanor and his love of social media. However, since his $44 billion purchase of Twitter (now ‘X’), he has become a pariah to many who think these are the three ways he will bring an end to the way people get their movie and theme park news.
Elon Musk Caused Panic with Misinformation
Musk’s comments have had an influence on the information transmission on the ‘X’ site. This has become a problem since many use Twitter as a many source of news, especially in regards to entertainment involving powerhouses like Disney, Netflix, Universal, Paramount, Prime Video, and Apple TV. His desire for unfiltered free speech on the platform has led to a massive lack of oversight with “fake news.”
Due to the lack of factual accountability, many tweets have becoming a breeding ground to encourage the purposeful act of creating informational chaos. This has swayed the public’s trust on Musk’s platform as he has condoned an aid in the dissemination of false information, undermining the authority of Twitter and the entertainment news organizations who depend on it for breaking news.
Distorted Priorities Turn Off Major Companies
Sony Entertainment has stated that its support of Twitter/X for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 systems will no longer be integrated with the social networking platform starting next week. This is a major blow to Musk’s company as the video game industry is a colossal market for social media and entertainment news engagement for users.
A Sony spokesperson elaborated that, “As of November 13, 2023, integration with X (formerly known as Twitter) will no longer function on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 consoles.” They continued, “This includes the ability to view any content published on X on PS5/PS4, and the ability to post and view content, trophies, and other gameplay-related activities on X directly from PS5/PS4 (or link an X account to do so).”
This is a devastating ripple effect considering that just a few months prior, Microsoft decided to stop allowing uploads to the platform for Xbox consoles and the Windows Game Bar. Sony has now decided to follow suit as they have discontinued its connection with X. Even earlier, in February, Blizzard Entertainment also took Twitter connectivity out of the World of Warcraft MMO.
Although a reason for ending the service was not given by Blizzard, the elimination of X was most likely due to modifications made to the Twitter API earlier this year. The previously free API access has been replaced with a significantly more limited choice. Basic access, which is now “for hobbyists or prototypes,” costs $100 per month. The Enterprise tier, created a convoluted system that offered different monthly subscription prices “based on usage and needs” that started at $42,000 per month. Then, the Pro tier, the next level up, is “for startups scaling their business,” and costs $5,000 per month.
Dwindling Reputation Leads to Subscriber Losses
A few days ago, X said that customers needed to switch to the more recent v2 version since it was “deprecating some of our v1.1 endpoints.” Sony could have just concluded that it wasn’t worth the cost and hassle of maintaining support given X’s problems in the year after Elon Musk took over, which have included dwindling user numbers and a large loss in value. This is type of trending is the exact opposite of what Twitter is know for, but it seems to be the fate of this company for the foreseeable future.
Elon Musk undoubtedly brings a high level of clout with his activity on Twitter since he is the owner. While his commentary has been known to excite and entertain many users, his support of unwarranted speculation and unregulated misinforming tweets will continue to ruin the reputation of this once juggernaut platform and cause more users to stop using it.
Do you still use Twitter/X for your entertainment news? Do you think Elon Musk is a hero or the villain of his story?