Apple Disabling 'Sign in with Apple' for Epic Games on September 11

Post by mthoms » Wed, Sep 09, 2020, 9:16 PM UTC

DonaldPShimoda wrote: post #174

hienyimba wrote: post #55

A petty move like this clearly shows that Apple as a company has nothing valuable to offer developers. Shutting down "sign in" options shows that internally, Apple is looking for a way to hurt Epic in a manner that hurts the most but they are coming up short. Although iOS accounts for over one-thirds of Fortnite's 360million users, Epic has already made the brave decision to let that portion of revenue go and nothing…

I don't think this is a specific targeted thing. It just comes with the general deactivation of the Epic account. It's the same as the whole "Apple is banning all apps made with Unreal Engine!" which was a poor take on the issue. (What actually happened was Apple un-approved Epic's license, which had a cascading effect because Unreal Engine was signed under the same license, and so software dependent on Unreal Engine…

Post by kinkrtyavimoodh » Wed, Sep 09, 2020, 9:17 PM UTC

KMnO4 wrote: post #246

tln wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They broke a guideline on purpose. Apple responded by removing from the app store. That's normal. Apple's other actions are just retaliatory: threatening the unreal engine, terminating developer accounts from affiliates, and yanking Apple login. It's those actions that you shouldn't expect.

It seems like Apple's retaliation was prompted by Epic's lawsuit -- not by the (trivial) breach of ToS. The precedence Apple wants to set is: break ToS, get kicked off the store. Break ToS and then try to take Apple to court, get kicked off the platform . It's pretty obvious that Fortnite is just the pawn that Epic used to wage war. This is obvious to Apple too, hence their counterclaim for punitive damages.

Post by suby » Wed, Sep 09, 2020, 9:19 PM UTC

an_opabinia wrote: post #300

fxtentacle wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't help but think that the whole thing is playing out exactly like Epic had hoped. After Apple kicked Fortnite from the iOS store, there was an outcry of people who had previously spent money on it through Apple's in-app purchases and now wanted a refund. Some of those users switched to playing Fortnite on a laptop or Android phone instead, but of course they were still using Sign in with Apple if they had origi…

I would speculate that the disappearance of Fortnite from the App Store is a net positive for game developers there. Fortnite sucks the air out of the room, as much as any #1 media property does to its category. Besides, making an Unreal Engine game for iOS hardly ever makes sense. Those are always crummy ports. You could argue Fortnite on mobile devices is itself a crummy port. Do we need more virtual joystick games…

Post by dmitriid » Wed, Sep 09, 2020, 9:19 PM UTC

paulpan wrote: post #270

fxtentacle wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't help but think that the whole thing is playing out exactly like Epic had hoped. After Apple kicked Fortnite from the iOS store, there was an outcry of people who had previously spent money on it through Apple's in-app purchases and now wanted a refund. Some of those users switched to playing Fortnite on a laptop or Android phone instead, but of course they were still using Sign in with Apple if they had origi…

I think Epic absolutely needs other major game studios, and major software companies, to join in their protest to effect the desired change. Interesting point about the looming iOS14 update. Makes you wonder whether Apple will ultimately fall at their privacy sword, similar to how Google fell at its own "Don't do evil" motto. E.g. it's meaningless bravado when not applied to universally to all countries, aka China.

Post by kinkrtyavimoodh » Wed, Sep 09, 2020, 9:22 PM UTC

m3kw9 wrote: post #283

drenvuk wrote: post #260

I don't get why on Hackernews anyone would ever defend Apple here. Regardless of whether they're right to do this if Epic wins their court case against them we stand to gain the most benefit. Apple's incredibly high walled garden is honestly the scariest thing for me. If I develop for windows I can simply distribute my application on my site easily. With Android I can tell people to download from F-Droid if necessary…

Closed platforms have their disadvantages and advantages for user and devs. I want to see Apple win because they created this whole thing and always had the 30/70 till someone with a stink eye thinks they are making too much.