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Epic direct payment on mobile

epicgames.com

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Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#351

Post by kbr »

triangleman wrote: post #302
kbr wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Yup, I think they definitely found the sweet spot for making revenue from games — offering players sweet returns if they keep playing (you buy the battle pass for 1000 vbucks, but you can earn back 1500 just from playing casually) while still keeping it relatively competitive and not "pay to win". They did host a $30 million world cup event after all :)

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#352

Post by coders »

colinmhayes wrote: post #346
skizm wrote: post #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.

Epic isn't forcing developers to put their game on the Epic store.

Apple isn't forcing game developers to put their games in Apple App store. Go build on android.

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#353

Post by lacker »

jaegerpicker wrote: post #285
lacker wrote: 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…

I'm just glad that Microsoft couldn't use this tactic back when the web first became popular. "Want to connect to other computers and don't like how Microsoft does it? Don't buy a Windows PC then!" Imagine if they had simply banned Netscape because it violated the rules of the Microsoft App Store.

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#355

Post by mattmaroon »

balfirevic wrote: post #334
mattmaroon wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, I was just pointing out that for the consumer, there's basically no difference in app business models. It just may be a different payment processor and maybe lower prices.

My original point wasn't that there will be a visible difference to the consumers but that all app purchases and in-app-purchases will be structured so that Apple's cut goes to zero. If Apple allows non-apple payment without major restrictions, it's revenue from app store will trend towards zero (save for inertia).

Right. I don't think anyone disputes that.

I think it's fine. It's a tiny part of their overall profits. Like sub 5%. If it gets antitrust regulators off their back it's well worth it.

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#356

Post by fomine3 »

dogma1138 wrote: post #207
celticninja wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that Google has the same requirements as apple, vis a vis, all payments need to go through apple app store, which includes subscriptions or coin purchases.

They do, the only difference is that unlike Apple Google just takes the money and gives the users nothing in return.

Actually Google provides reword program (Play Points) but Apple doesn't.

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#357

Post by fomine3 »

jsnell wrote: post #45
actuator wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Edit: It seems like Play Store has a category restriction on Games without exceptions. Google doesn't force payments to go through its channels based on some conditions. A lot of app developers including Apple makes use of this. So it might just survive on Play Store.

Games and most apps must use Play's in-app purchases as the payment method: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answ...

IIRC some games in Google Play supports to apply "item code" to get item, but same game in AppStore doesn't support.

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#358

Post by fomine3 »

MattRix wrote: post #113
nottorp wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

However, they're not offering ME a better deal. Let's see: - games aren't cheaper on the Epic store, in spite of the allegedly smaller cut the store is supposed to take - they're Windows only (and here comes the China reference, they only know about Windows in there) - their store still doesn't have a shopping cart (i may not be current on this)... reeks of incompetence? Can you trust them with your credit card info?…

Games aren't cheaper because Valve doesn't allow them to be cheaper on other storefronts, it's part of the agreement you sign with them to be on Steam. Windows only is fine. From a purely pragmatic point of view, other platforms are such a small fraction of the gaming market, it really doesn't make sense to support them. Companies have tried supporting OSX and Linux for years (decades?) now, but there just aren't eno…

> Games aren't cheaper because Valve doesn't allow them to be cheaper on other storefronts, it's part of the agreement you sign with them to be on Steam.

Oh, TIL.

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#359

Post by hugey010 »

Hamuko wrote: post #51
hugey010 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's entirely true. Apps can use SMS or open the OS browser to accept payments and not be in direct violation of the guidelines.

> Apps can use SMS or open the OS browser to accept payments and not be in direct violation of the guidelines. Which apps are allowed to open the browser for payments? I don't think even Netflix isn't allowed to do it. They just say "You can't make an account in the app" (paraphrasing) on the sign in page.

I'm under the impression anything done outside the app doesn't really fall under App Review territory. Embedding a UIWebView is considered in-app, and an embedded SFSafariViewController has slightly different rules.

Re: Epic direct payment on mobile

#360

Post by djsumdog »

dpcan wrote: post #171
theli0nheart wrote: post #9

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…

If Apple removes Fortnite from the app store, it'll become a class action lawsuit in my opinion. Kids have spent hundreds, maybe thousands, of dollars on vbucks on their phones. If you just take that away..... you owe some people some money.

I don't play Fornite. Can you access your same character/account on other platforms? (can you switch to PC or PS4)?
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