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Epic direct payment on mobile

epicgames.com

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Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#281

Post by strbean »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #27
ary wrote: post #14

My guess is that this is a gambit to force Apple’s hand during a time when there is the most intense antitrust pressure over the App Store since it’s launch. If Apple cracks down then it’s just more fuel for the antitrust fire, and potentially evidence in court. If they allow it then it’s precedent that others can use to employ the same tactic. Either way it seems to me Epic is taking a calculated risk to induce chan…

Also, the legal standard in the US is laser-focused on whether consumer prices have gone up as a result of a company's practices. What better demonstration could Epic possibly create of how the App Store leads to price increases?

In the US we have such a lame standard of anti-trust.

For example, you could have two businesses with 100% market share in an industry, and have a contract between the two stating "we will not provide benefits, or salaries exceeding $X, to employees in this sector" and you have zero anti-trust issues because it doesn't increase consumer prices.

Abysmal.

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#283

Post by ipython »

onli wrote: post #272
dfee wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here’s a link to the Onavo app from Facebook https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onavo#Privacy_concerns

No mention of sideloading in that link, instead it mentions a Play Store and an App Store listing. It's almost as if there is a lot of dangerous crap in those stores as well...

Expand the “Facebook research” section.

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#284

Post by ocdtrekkie »

jaegerpicker wrote: post #271
ocdtrekkie wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple has, in fact, used that argument. However, it also defeated that argument in the hearing: It set the "standard" to begin with, everyone is following them . The entire point of competition is so that other players can choose to come in at a lower price, which is good for consumers. And if Apple prevents Epic from selling direct with a much lower processing fee (note the 20% price cut is similar to the 30%/12% di…

How in the world is Apple preventing Epic from doing anything besides not following the rules of the App Store? If Epic wants to sell at a lower price they are free to do so in their own app store. Apple does not have to allow anyone on their platform. They built it, they own it, and they have the right to set it's rules. If Apple was the only mobile phone OS available then sure there is a case but iOS isn't even the…

Actually, Apple doesn't have the right to set it's rules and decide who can and can't be on their platform. Monopolies lose that, and Tim Cook was grilled on this exact topic by the House Antitrust Committee just days ago.

Which is to say, even if the current laws allow Apple to act here, if it does, the next laws might prohibit it from doing so.

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#285

Post by jaegerpicker »

lacker wrote: post #56
cloudking wrote: post #47

Maybe the Apple cut is too high, but I don't think it's unreasonable for them to take some cut. They are providing the distribution platform to get your app to millions of users, it's not free for them to provide that service. They have their own server, bandwidth and employee costs too.

They forbid you from using any other distribution mechanism on their device, though. The only reason Apple has to pay for App Store overhead for every single app is because Apple mandated it that way.

It's THEIR platform, they built it, they own it, and there are more popular alternatives. Don't like Apples App Store buy an Android. Don't like Apple's App Store build an app for Android, Web, Console, or PC. No one is forced to make games for Apple. If I build a store and sell goods out of it, I set the terms, no one has the right to walk into that store and tell me I can't take a cut of the profits. Just because the platform is successful doesn't mean you HAVE to have access to it at all or especially on the terms you want. I don't like that I can't just submit a game to the switch store or that they get a cut, no one is claiming it's a monopoly. There is literally no difference other then Apple has been very successful at it.

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#289

Post by asdfasgasdgasdg »

askafriend wrote: post #216
asdfasgasdgasdg wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If that is true, how do you explain that they are not implementing this new payment option on those platforms?

https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/10/07/report-steams-30-cut... For games, 30% is not unusual for distribution.

That didn't really answer or even address my question. :)

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#290

Post by triangleman »

kingbirdy wrote: post #231
lifty wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bet that Epic execs also talked behind the scene with other execs in the industry to garner support in case Apple cracks down hard on Epic and removes Fortnite from the app store. If more studios/developers join the cause, they can definitely apply big pressure on Apple.

Fortnite is popular enough to count as "big pressure" all on its own. I couldn't find recent numbers, but as of 2018 they had over 100M installs and were doing over $1M/day in revenue[0] and by early 2019 they'd already done more than half a billion[1]. [0]: https://venturebeat.com/2018/07/30/fortnite-clears-100-milli... [1]: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-02-08-fortnite-i...

Weird, I thought Fortnite was free to play. What could people possibly be spending money on?

Edit: Also I thought Fortnite was a FPS. How can you play that on iOS?

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