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Apple Terminates Epic Games' Developer Account

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Re: Apple Terminates Epic Games' Developer Account

#911

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every game console.

Gaming consoles are not general-purpose computers they are specialized for gaming but good point. I was looking for example of general-purpose computer being locked down by OS creator.

Chromebook in the early days? I’m not sure if it’s open even now (without dual booting Linux).

Re: Apple Terminates Epic Games' Developer Account

#912
post #861

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The word "tax", when referring to Apple's fees, is a loaded and partial term. The fact that it's clear and understood and factored into the price makes it easy to complain about, but no casual customer to my knowledge has ever seriously asked what proportion of their peppermint tea and scones pays for a café's rent - overheads are overheads and margins are margins. Both companies are invoking consumers and value in t…

This is a bad analogy because there are many cafes and you can even buy tea in a supermarket and make it at home, whereas for apps the market is cornered. Apple regulates this market, and we have to pay them a tax.

But you can buy Fornite on the Switch, or Windows, or the Mac, or PlayStation, or Xbox.

Re: Apple Terminates Epic Games' Developer Account

#913

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Informing users about the Apple tax would cause an outrage since users already paid for their phones, and own them.

From some. I simply don’t care. To me, Apple are keeping my highly sensitive data (my phone is my bank card, address book, post box, todo list...) secure. I’m really grateful the tools and experience is consistently so good for so long. Whether I’m paying that 30% or the software devs are, I’m not really bothered. I want the high quality to continue. I accept that multiple app stores may improve things... but from wh…

Android is a bad comparison, because they are basically an adware based product, and rightfully many people reject it as a serious tool for managing their personal information and communication. This actually makes Apple a monopolist.

Re: Apple Terminates Epic Games' Developer Account

#914
post #814

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think this fight is 100% rational here. There is a good chance they will only lose money. It seems like Tim Sweeney is taking it personally, he is rich enough and has enough power at Epic to take the risk. As an indie game developer I can tell you that the AppStore is a pain and everyone would thank Epic if they manage to break or even change it, at this would lead to a large domino effect.

> I can tell you that the AppStore is a pain In what sense is the App Store pain?

This well written article is a good starting point: https://medium.com/@mail_85203/being-an-ios-developer-must-b...

Re: Apple Terminates Epic Games' Developer Account

#915
post #664

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can’t Epic build their own phone? Are their barriers to entry that Apple has put in place to prevent them from building and selling a phone?

surely you jest. Has samsung been able to get a flagship phone sold without android?

Plenty, Symbian, Bada OS before Android was born, and Tizen is a thing in Asian.

Re: Apple Terminates Epic Games' Developer Account

#916
post #861

I don't think Epic is doing anything but trying to pocket more for themselves, yet I also think that the comments here overstate how "aware" average people are about Apple's restrictions, tax etc. I don't think most people would consider direct payment to reputable companies like Epic to be a particular security risk. I don't think most realize why they can't subscribe to Spotify from their iPhones, they think it's s…

The word "tax", when referring to Apple's fees, is a loaded and partial term. The fact that it's clear and understood and factored into the price makes it easy to complain about, but no casual customer to my knowledge has ever seriously asked what proportion of their peppermint tea and scones pays for a café's rent - overheads are overheads and margins are margins. Both companies are invoking consumers and value in t…

Conversely when I tip someone I like to know that they will actually get the tip (see amazon and doordash) rather than it being directed somewhere else because the point is support that entity. Consistently if I purchase an app I like to know if that money is going to the developer, or when I purchase a service from someone in-app I like to know it is going to the person providing the service and not getting misdirected.

I agree that for large companies like spotify it is just a transactional thing they could potentially bake into the price but when interacting with smaller entities it just feels wrong that they have no alternative.

Re: Apple Terminates Epic Games' Developer Account

#917
post #387

My feeling is that this whole situation is mostly going as Tim Sweeney intended. He was itching for a fight, wanted to sue Apple. The harsher that Apple retaliates, the better Epic's court case. Apple is playing right into his hands. Did Sweeney anticipate Apple's threat to Unreal Engine? Maybe, maybe not. But the temporary restraining order did block that threat, at least for now. I don't think Epic ever intended to…

I can't see how Epic wins this. If Stripe can claim Wells Fargo doesn't want to process porn payments, and that's legal, how can an American court rule for Epic? Epic are obviously going to lose, and lose hard, or set a precedent that's going to screw every payment provider in America and open a flood gate for fraudulent payments. You can't force someone to sell something they don't want to, especially because Apple…

Apple has a monopoly on distributing and selling mobile apps to customers that chose to carry an iPhone.

You can't distribute or sell mobile apps to a large percentage of the US public without going through Apple, and they should definitely not be allowed to prevent anyone from doing that (for reasonable terms, which means no 30% tax).

The fact that this is even a discussion is pretty ridiculous: if Apple were a person, their behavior would lead them to be ostracized from all communities and have no friends.

If it's not illegal, the law needs to be changed.

Re: Apple Terminates Epic Games' Developer Account

#918
post #907

I don't think Epic is doing anything but trying to pocket more for themselves, yet I also think that the comments here overstate how "aware" average people are about Apple's restrictions, tax etc. I don't think most people would consider direct payment to reputable companies like Epic to be a particular security risk. I don't think most realize why they can't subscribe to Spotify from their iPhones, they think it's s…

I sort of agree and disagree. I will admit upfront I still cant articulate my thoughts very well on the subject matter. I dont see why collecting 30% from Games is anything off limit. I consider Gaming as Non-Essential. If you dont like the Gaming Platform. Go Elsewhere. Literally every Gaming Platform collects 30% ( if not more ) on Games being sold. That is everything from early days of Nintendo, Sega, and now Play…

> I would much rather paid this 30% extortion than having a platform where user can, no matter how difficult it may be, able to side load Apps. I dont want any of my family member doing it.

I’m confused, why are you opposed to the option of sideloading? Are you unaware that you can sideload on iOS? (see /r/sideloaded for a thriving sub on sideloadable apps)

It takes a little setup but it is totally doable and doesn’t require jailbreak or anything.

Re: Apple Terminates Epic Games' Developer Account

#919
I'm guessing Epic wants the court to break down Apple's monopoly on app sales on iPhones, potentially by requiring them to allow third party app sales via alternative marketplaces, then swoop in with their Epic Games iOS marketplace and capture a big chunk of Apple's in-app purchase lunch. Considering the sheer size of Apple's revenue from gaming despite not being a game development company[1], I'm guessing that Epic has weighed up the expectency of proceeding with this legal battle and decided its worth the risk.

I mean if this is their plan and they pull it off then hats off to them. As a consumer I welcome healthy competition.

[1]: https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/06/19/apple-is-fourth-l...

Re: Apple Terminates Epic Games' Developer Account

#920

I don't think Epic is doing anything but trying to pocket more for themselves, yet I also think that the comments here overstate how "aware" average people are about Apple's restrictions, tax etc. I don't think most people would consider direct payment to reputable companies like Epic to be a particular security risk. I don't think most realize why they can't subscribe to Spotify from their iPhones, they think it's s…

"if Apple was OK with displaying a 30% Apple tax on checkout" Do you know any store that adds a line showing their margin on the customer receipt ?

every regulated, monopoly or olgigopoly private company does pretty much: utilities, gas stations or anything that has one or more fees, charges or mandated expenses, for example an event ticket that adds the processing fee on top of the price. This sounds exactly like Apple and what they do to everyone in the app store.
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