Apple ordered to not block Epic’s Unreal Engine, Fortnite to stay off App Store

Post by Thorentis » Tue, Aug 25, 2020, 11:04 PM UTC

unknown2374 wrote: post #505

mrich wrote: post #497

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At some point the platform has to be considered common infrastructure, similar to power transmission lines, the railroad or the Windows OS. Just because you happened to build a successful platform should not imply that you can hold everyone hostage - that is why antitrust is a thing.

There are open platforms, and due to convenience of distribution developers have reluctantly chosen these platforms over open ones. Now while I am not defending Apple's position here, developers who have chosen to distribute only on such platforms for the past few decades are partly to blame too. The success of Apple (etc.) are due to choices that developers have made, closing themselves in and then citing anti-trust…

Post by anoncake » Tue, Aug 25, 2020, 11:07 PM UTC

LoSboccacc wrote: post #499

shados wrote: post #475

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the Court doubts that an expert would suggest a zero percent alternative It's unfortunate that the percentage cut ends up overshadowing the real antitrust issue, which is that Apple (and Google) essentially has the power to make or break any arbitrary business that relies on their platform. They base it on vague and loosely enforced rules, which means companies never know if tomorrow is the end. Having a locked pla…

why people keep dragging Google into this, when Android has plenty solutions for distributing APK outside their play store?

Post by Andrew_nenakhov » Tue, Aug 25, 2020, 11:18 PM UTC

dkonofalski wrote: post #512

Andrew_nenakhov wrote: post #432

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, will you be happy if the government asks Apple to remove every messenger that allows encryption? That's what users in China get. Also, it's nice that you mention Macs. On Macs, you can install any app bypassing the AppStore. As it should be on a proper computer, and iPhone IS a computer.

I don't understand how that's any different than Google? China has a country-wide firewall too so, even if you have an Android phone, there's no way to get around that without breaking the law. Also, what happens on a Mac has no bearing on what happens on the iPhone even if I made an analogy using the Mac. I need that type of access on my Mac. If they ever remove that, I'll need to find another option. That's not the…

Post by shados » Tue, Aug 25, 2020, 11:35 PM UTC

spott wrote: post #500

shados wrote: post #475

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the Court doubts that an expert would suggest a zero percent alternative It's unfortunate that the percentage cut ends up overshadowing the real antitrust issue, which is that Apple (and Google) essentially has the power to make or break any arbitrary business that relies on their platform. They base it on vague and loosely enforced rules, which means companies never know if tomorrow is the end. Having a locked pla…

I mean the Microsoft Store charges 30% for games, Google play is 30%, Steam is 30%, I'm sure there are app stores I'm not thinking of that charge 30%. It seems to be the industry standard App Store cut.

Post by sfifs » Tue, Aug 25, 2020, 11:43 PM UTC

dwaite wrote: post #439

causality0 wrote: post #5

A victory for sanity. Apple threatening developmental licenses and anyone who used the Unreal Engine was nothing short of mafia-esque, and just as obviously Fortnite being restored to the app store is a matter for Epic's lawsuit against apple.

Apple never threatened the developmental licenses of anyone using the Unreal Engine. They said they would remove all Epic access to developer program tools (e.g. beta access to operating systems and Xcode) and to partner programs (presumably for advance hardware testing). This would have a second-hand effect on Epic's ability to provide timely updates to their engine and remain competitive to alternatives like Unreal…