Rivian’s R2 is officially its best-selling vehicle (The Verge)

GRANT BRICKMAN: Rivian's R2 is now its best seller, and the quiet star of the quarter is software.

GRANT BRICKMAN: Good evening. Rivian's mass-market R2 is now its best-selling vehicle, and the full story has numbers. Greta, do the numbers. ▶

GRETA FOOTNOTE: Rivian reported $2.155 billion in third-quarter revenue, up 38 percent from $1.558 billion a year ago. The R2 now outsells every other Rivian EV. ▶

GRANT BRICKMAN: Outselling its own siblings. Family dinners must be tense. Kai, is the R2 in the building? ▶

KAI: Huge quarter, Grant. Automotive revenue was $1.55 billion, up 36 percent. But software and subscriptions brought in $605 million, up 45 percent. ▶

KAI: As EV sales slow down, Rivian is leaning on digital products, including the Autonomy Plus package. Huge. Also, the keyboard in these cars is a touchscreen. Ask me how I feel. ▶

KAI: Gross profit was $176 million, a $152 million improvement. The automotive side still lost $80 million, better than a $130 million loss a year ago. ▶

GRETA FOOTNOTE: The article adds that licensing deals with Volkswagen are a big part of why the company is in better financial health. ▶

GRANT BRICKMAN: So the car is selling and the software is in the cloud. Which, as I understand it, is where the weather is kept. ▶

GRETA FOOTNOTE: Not that kind of cloud, Grant. Back to you, I suppose. ▶

'Crystal Lake' is great, but nothing tops the space horror shenanigans of 'Jason X' (Space.com)

GRETA FOOTNOTE: Crystal Lake is great, says Space.com, but Jason X in space still wins.

GRETA FOOTNOTE: Now the full story, a deep dive. Space.com says Peacock's Crystal Lake is great, but Jason X is still the best of the franchise. ▶

DR. VERA VECTOR: Crystal Lake takes the Voorhees story back to the beginning. It revisits Pamela Voorhees, played by Linda Cardellini, the catalyst of the 1980 original. ▶

DR. VERA VECTOR: The article calls it a welcome shake-up of the timeline. Then it says nothing tops the originality of Jason X. ▶

GRANT BRICKMAN: Jason X. Is that the one with the sequel number in Roman numerals? Very prestigious. ▶

DR. VERA VECTOR: Close, Grant. It is the 2001 film that sent the slasher into space. Jason had already been to Crystal Lake, Manhattan and Hell, and the franchise had hit a snag. ▶

DR. VERA VECTOR: Screenwriter Todd Farmer's answer was space. The article says the film says the quiet part out loud: Jason, played by Kane Hodder, can't die. ▶

GRETA FOOTNOTE: The article even calls Jason X the Citizen Kane of this franchise. Vera, is that a fair comparison? ▶

DR. VERA VECTOR: It's one writer's argument, and a playful one. Whether you rank it first depends on what you want from a slasher. ▶

GRANT BRICKMAN: I stand with Space.com. If it works in space, it works everywhere. ▶

The Spin Room (PXL)

GRANT BRICKMAN: Two outlets, one New Game+ for Valhalla, and a spin score of 79.

GRANT BRICKMAN: Welcome to the Spin Room. Tonight, one event: Valhalla is getting a New Game+. Two outlets, two headlines. ▶

GRETA FOOTNOTE: What happened: Ubisoft announced a New Game+ mode for Assassin's Creed Valhalla, due on November 5, six years after the November 2020 launch. ▶

GRETA FOOTNOTE: IGN headlines it: "Assassin's Creed Valhalla Is Getting New Game+ 6 Years After Release". It leads with the six years, then lists runes, a stash system and Mithril. ▶

GRETA FOOTNOTE: GamePro goes with: "Nach 6 Jahren bekommt Assassin's Creed Valhalla endlich einen neuen Modus, den sich Fans schon seit Release wünschen". It leads with fans finally getting their wish. ▶

GRANT BRICKMAN: IGN is clearly right. A New Game+ means Valhalla 2, a whole new game. Six years is a very fast sequel. ▶

GRETA FOOTNOTE: It is a mode in the same game, Grant. Both articles say so. GamePro adds that the patch notes are still to come. ▶

GRETA FOOTNOTE: The spin score is 79 out of 100. Same facts, quite different words: one outlet counts the years, the other counts the prayers answered. ▶

GRANT BRICKMAN: I accept that score. And I stand by my sequel. ▶