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Epic direct payment on mobile

epicgames.com

301–310 of 371 posts

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you're already paying ISPs effectively a monthly subscription for the bandwidth, employees, and Apple is no doubt also paying ISPs for their outbound traffic. so absolutely not.

iPhone users already pay for hardware.

Which has absolutely nothing to do with paying for the App Store or games on it. What's your point? Apple should be forced to give up control of their work?

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#302
post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

They pioneered the "battle pass" model for cosmetic items, and their constant release of skins, dances, etc can create a lot of recurring revenue I imagine.

Weird, on the one hand I'm thankful to hear it's not "pay to win" stuff, but on the other, wow that's a lot of skins and dances!

Edit: Insert joke about Quantitative Easing here

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s possible Epic are baiting the app stores, betting that the current anti-trust questions around Apple and Google support a change. Either Apple and Google capitulate to this move by Epic, and Epic wins. Or Google and/or Apple come after Epic, creating a public scene that emphasizes their monopoly-like behavior, and failed lawsuits or government action mean a win for Epic. The third option—the big guys come after…

Google at least can argue that if you don't like their rules, you're free to distribute the app yourself. Whether that will convince lawmakers who knows.

Which Epic has already done. They have their own Epic Store that instructs you on how to sideload the apps, etc. They got shit on for this by Google for doing a run around and by users for security implications.

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#304
post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I have conflicted feelings about "Facebook Research", but where I always end up is this: if citizens of a free society want to give away their data in exchange for a couple extra dollars a month, they should have that ability in a free society. People can and should be educated of the risks so they can make informed decisions, but trying to stop it is ultimately a fruitless errand (Even as Facebook is a pile a scum, don't misunderstand me.)

And it's all somewhat beside the point, isn't it? Facebook Research was usable on iOS. By the time Apple put an end to it, the backlash had become so significant that Facebook pulled the program from Android anyway.

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#305
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 t…

You seem young and naive....

For many, their iOS device (iPad or iPhone) is their primary computing device.... it is not like a PS4, which is mainly for games.

Back in the 90's If Microsoft didn't get 'checked' with a threat to be broken up, we would have ended up with Pay MSFT 30% tax on every software you installed and purchased.

It it time to 'check' both Apple and Google on their practices... In this case, Google at least allows some sideloading, while apple doesn't at all...

So, I expect Apple is going to be the losing end of the history... but as long as they can keep doing it, and make profits out of it, they will be doing.

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#306
post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry but I'm not sure you understand how sideloading works on Android. You have to enable it explicitly for any app you want to sideload from (eg. your browser for a downloaded app, or an alternative app store like F-Droid). Afterwards, every app installation still needs to be manually approved and thus cannot be done hidden in the background. Seems pretty safe to me while still allowing more freedom to power users.

...and then a ton of apps decide "screw the app store, I'm going solo!" and people start enabling sideloading so they can try those apps, then sideloading becomes normalized and malware starts to spread without Apple having the ability to prevent it. Users who have issues with apps start hitting up Apple's support lines, and they start getting pissed off when Apple says "Sorry we can't help you, go talk to the develo…

[deleted]

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is? For digital purchases?

Amazon has a special exception for Prime video[0]. [0]: https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/1/21203294/amazon-prime-vide...

Right, and Epic doesn't. I think this hurts Apple's case if anything, because it means App Store rules do not apply equally!

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#308
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 t…

It's a monopoly because, for iPhone users, it's the only store in town.

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#309
post #298

This puts Apple in a very tough spot. Last week, Tim Cook was questioned in an antitrust hearing re: Apple's anticompetitive practices (along with Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sundar Pichai). The spotlight is already pointing right at them, so any move they make here is going to be noticed by lawmakers. If they remove Fortnite from the App Store, Apple will probably be seen as the bad guy. After all, Epic is not…

It is already gone from the store.

Woah - so it is!

I'm glad Epic are giving this issue so much publicity - I think consumers seeing the pricing effects of the 30% App Store/Play Store cut is the only way to get people to care about this stuff.

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#310
Epic: Apple employs anti-competitive, anti-consumer practices, and we're fighting against that!

Also Epic: We'll be locking as many games as we can afford behind Epic Store exclusive contracts since our store isn't good enough to compete with Steam on functionality or price.

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