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Google’s ‘Project Hug’ paid out huge sums to keep game devs in the Play Store

theverge.com

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Re: Google’s ‘Project Hug’ paid out huge sums to keep game devs in the Play Store

#181

Post by noptd »

dalbasal wrote: post #137
scotty79 wrote: post #110

90% of things mentioned here should be super illegal and the punishment should be 150% estimated income they achieved through such deals.

100 years in the electric chair! This isn't an "infraction" you can police with a fine, jail, etc. It's an industrial structure. The competition is competition for monopoly, a superior & highly profitable market position of some sort. Those are what make Google, FB & so profitable. Google competed with Yahoo & Microsoft for years in search marketing. I don't believe either ever made significant profits. Their "market…

>This isn't an "infraction" you can police with a fine, jail, etc.

I disagree - governments legislate their markets so it is absolutely punishable if defined as such.

Re: Google’s ‘Project Hug’ paid out huge sums to keep game devs in the Play Store

#182

Post by noptd »

scrollaway wrote: post #17
bronzeage wrote: post #10

Google and apple shills / workers are working hard on this thread downvoting everything. Literally every comment downvoted. Are Google and apple workers that much common in hacker news? Are they that loyal to their disgusting monopolistic company they feel obliged to defend it with downvotes on some internet forum?

I'm downvoting your comment because it's irrelevant, probably wrong, and downright boring to complain about downvotes in the first place, even more so about shilling. I am not affiliated with either company.

I don't know, the possibility of companies steering the public discourse for their own gain seems relevant to me.

Re: Google’s ‘Project Hug’ paid out huge sums to keep game devs in the Play Store

#183

Post by willcipriano »

fingerlocks wrote: post #171
fooey wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As the parent post says, Firefox on iOS isn't really Firefox. It doesn't run Gecko, it's barely more than a skin on top of Safari. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_for_iOS https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#2.5... > 2.5.6 Apps that browse the web must use the appropriate WebKit framework and WebKit Javascript.

How much does this really matter to the typical user? I’m not using Firefox because it’s JS and rendering engine are significantly better than webkit. Can’t really tell the difference honestly. I’m still getting all the other features of Firefox that actually distinguish it from it’s competitors. The so-called skin is more like the guts from a user value perspective.

The reason I use Firefox for Android is the ability to use addons. According to this, they don't work on Apple phones: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-ons-firefox-ios

Re: Google’s ‘Project Hug’ paid out huge sums to keep game devs in the Play Store

#184

Post by bushbaba »

edouard-harris wrote: post #164
dalbasal wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> 25% of Google's app sales to keep them from developing rival app stores Google also pays Apple 7 billion annually^ to be its default SE. Despite Adwords' incredible profitability, Yahoo & MSFT's experience as 2nd place in that market was working very hard and earning $0 profits... Their Revenues @ were far lower than proportional to their market share, and costs are the opposite. Better to just take your share of…

> Google also pays Apple 7 billion annually^ to be its default SE. It's actually between $8-12 billion now. [1] > Yahoo & MSFT's experience as 2nd place in that market was working very hard and earning $0 profits. This is an exaggeration though. MSFT made nearly $8 billion in revenue last year from search (mostly Bing), and the business has naturally high margins so it would be extremely surprising if it was unprofit…

It’s likely the payoff is also to prevent apple from building its own search engine to compete. As googles payoff is so lucrative

Re: Google’s ‘Project Hug’ paid out huge sums to keep game devs in the Play Store

#185

Post by 1vuio0pswjnm7 »

1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #5

Thu Aug 19 17:54:55 +0000 2021 1428415009860714500 https://twitter.com/jowens510/status/1428415192480698371/pho... https://t.co/gq0m2tIVry Google has a secret initiative originally called "Project Hug" that offers app makers like Activision Blizzard special treatment in exchange for paying the 30% fee and being quiet about it. Read Twitter without a Javascript or browser: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28071491

Maybe I should have put the line beginning with "Google" in quotes. I did not author that statement, it comes directly from the Twitter page.

HN then changed the thread not to point to Twitter but to the Verge.

Re: Google’s ‘Project Hug’ paid out huge sums to keep game devs in the Play Store

#186

Post by eloff »

defaulty wrote: post #180
beckman466 wrote: post #3

> Larry Page told Steve Jobs in 2010 that "There will always be places we compete, and places where we cooperate." > After another meeting between Apple and Google senior executives, notes showed that the execs agreed: "Our vision is that we work as if we are one company." > That is a damning little piece of evidence. Looks like it’s exactly the meritocracies Google and Apple claim to be, nothing monopoly-like to be…

In business school lingo, this is called 'coopetition' which is just a portmanteau of the two positions: cooperation & competition.

I can't tell if this is sarcasm or serious, so I looked it up. It's for real.

Re: Google’s ‘Project Hug’ paid out huge sums to keep game devs in the Play Store

#187

Post by Mikeb85 »

mard wrote: post #18

In 2001, Microsoft "constituted unlawful monopolization" under Antitrust Act for bundling a web browser with their operating system. 20 years later, Apple and Google bundle not only their browsers, but whole irreplaceable app stores with no legal consequences. I don't know how the law sees it, but it's simply illogical from the common sense standpoint.

You can definitely replace Google's app store, see Chinese phone providers, Samsung App store, sideloading, etc... You can also make any browser the default.

Apple I agree with.

Re: Google’s ‘Project Hug’ paid out huge sums to keep game devs in the Play Store

#188

Post by techrat »

Forge36 wrote: post #67
NorwegianDude wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

His point still stands, especially on iOS where other browsers isn't even allowed and every browser has to be basically a reskin of safari. That way others can't add features or stability, forcing developers to use the app store and give Apple a large cut. This is much more serious that the Microsoft case.

Based on this previous case Apple isn't violating the law because they also sold the hardware.

I would argue that makes it worse.

Re: Google’s ‘Project Hug’ paid out huge sums to keep game devs in the Play Store

#189

Post by techrat »

0x0nyandesu wrote: post #179
roenxi wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with that line of accusation is that Apple having a monopoly on the production and maintenance of Apple products isn't a very compelling threat. In a more reasonable market, like smartphones or phones in total, Apple just does not have a monopoly. There are alternatives.

In the entertainment industry not having an iPhone literally hurts your career. If you can't use iMessage people look at you weird and you are literally excluded from social circles. I know someone that was in tech and went into music and even though she prefers Android she ended up caving and getting an iPhone.

I work in the entertainment industry. You're full of shit.
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