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The Epic Games Store Launches on iOS and Android

epicgames.com

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Re: The Epic Games Store Launches on iOS and Android

#21

Post by nodja »

kiririn wrote: post #14
Vespasian wrote: post #6

That process they show in the youtube video is pretty involved and very complex for no other reason than to keep people locked in to the apple store. As a layman I doubt this is compliant with the appropriate EU laws (specifically the DMA) Unfortunately this behaviour does not come as a surprise but I certainly hope the regulatory "beatings" will continue until compliance improves.

It’s no worse than the process for installing an android apk downloaded using the browser for the first time See the video for Android for comparison

If you don't know what you're doing, on ios you need a separate video with instructions (or fumble around) to figure out how to install a third party app, while on android the prompts guide you.

On android when you download an apk and try to install it, you get a popup saying something like "Chrome needs permission to install unknown apps." with a button to cancel or go directly to the settings and give chrome the permissions, after you enable the permissions you also get the prompt to install the apk right away. This is the equivalent on windows to just clicking next half a dozen times to install some software, on ios you have to trigger the install, go manually to the settings and enable the permission, then trigger the install again.

Re: The Epic Games Store Launches on iOS and Android

#22

Post by ffgjgf1 »

aurareturn wrote: post #15

Just curious. On the other thread, people complain that Google didn't take down a scam app fast enough. People obviously complain about the 30% commission fee for digital goods. So if people don't want to pay the commission, and they want Google to police all the apps, isn't that just a giant cost for Google without a way of making it sustainable? Unless people are ok with drastically higher initial phone hardware co…

Why? Is MS expected to do this for Windows or Apple for macOS?

Obviously they can still charge the 30% for their own app stores and use that money for moderation. Why would anyone expect them to be responsible for 3rd party stores?

> also they no longer make Android open source

I don’t think that’s feasible at this point. Also $1000 per phone is not even remotely close to what they’d be losing (at least by a magnitude if not several..)

In any case Android is mainly there to funnel users into search and their other ad-funded services. Basically a cost saving measure to reduce the amount of money they need to pay Apple for keeping Google as the default search engine on iOS.

Re: The Epic Games Store Launches on iOS and Android

#23

Post by sebstefan »

aurareturn wrote: post #15

Just curious. On the other thread, people complain that Google didn't take down a scam app fast enough. People obviously complain about the 30% commission fee for digital goods. So if people don't want to pay the commission, and they want Google to police all the apps, isn't that just a giant cost for Google without a way of making it sustainable? Unless people are ok with drastically higher initial phone hardware co…

They can't have their cake and eat it too. When you entrench yourself in a monopoly, there are duties that come with it

There could've been other app stores. There could've been a choice at startup like there is for browsers. There could've been 4 or 5 app stores installed by default whether you're on a Pixel or on a Samsung device.

It is nobody's fault but Google's that they became a gatekeeper with their app store. Ie: How hard open OSes have to fight to de-googlify a phone. How they push to have it installed by default, which forces me to put my apps on the Play store as 99% of users would go there to look for my apps.

Then there are scare screens to fend off the installation of competing app stores. Then once you've actually managed to install a competing app-store like F-Droid, it has to beg you to go into the settings and check some boxes or it won't be able to perform installations properly.

Re: The Epic Games Store Launches on iOS and Android

#24

Post by meiraleal »

aurareturn wrote: post #15

Just curious. On the other thread, people complain that Google didn't take down a scam app fast enough. People obviously complain about the 30% commission fee for digital goods. So if people don't want to pay the commission, and they want Google to police all the apps, isn't that just a giant cost for Google without a way of making it sustainable? Unless people are ok with drastically higher initial phone hardware co…

> Google has to make money somehow

Stop. Just stop. Google "somehow" made $305.63B last year.

Re: The Epic Games Store Launches on iOS and Android

#25

Post by abduhl »

stavros wrote: post #18
dools wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I just want the market forces to decide the cut, instead of the monopolies" Ironically it is the fetish with free market economics that produces the monopolies. I wonder how many "techno optimist" libertarians are also cheering the fact that Apple has been forced by government regulation to allow competitors onto their platform.

> Ironically it is the fetish with free market economics that produces the monopolies. Not really, it's the fetish with taking free market economics to the extreme. You can't really have a free market without regulation, though now we're getting in a GPL-vs-MIT-like argument of whether "free" means "without restrictions" or "with restrictions that ensure the desired outcomes are produced".

>> You can't really have a free market without regulation

The definition of a free market is one without government regulation. There is no such GPL-vs-MIT debate here. Perhaps you are thinking of the term “capitalism”?

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free%20market

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/eng...

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/free-market

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/free-...

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/freemarket.asp

Re: The Epic Games Store Launches on iOS and Android

#27

Post by ffgjgf1 »

WhereIsTheTruth wrote: post #12

[flagged]

> I welcome all the downvotes, facts are long gone

To be fair I’m only downvoting because you couldn’t provide any coherent or rational arguments or claims (and to be fair it’s not even clear what are you trying to say) and not because of some “ideological” reasons

Re: The Epic Games Store Launches on iOS and Android

#28

Post by Vespasian »

aurareturn wrote: post #15

Just curious. On the other thread, people complain that Google didn't take down a scam app fast enough. People obviously complain about the 30% commission fee for digital goods. So if people don't want to pay the commission, and they want Google to police all the apps, isn't that just a giant cost for Google without a way of making it sustainable? Unless people are ok with drastically higher initial phone hardware co…

At least Apple (and Google as well) have pretty great margins on their mobile offerings.

I expect those to go down. It isn't a law of nature that tech platforms are insanely profitable. Plenty of products are "just" moderately profitable and survive just fine.

If the market (with fair and active competition on the software side) is able to bear "average" phone costs of 1000€ so be it.

Re: The Epic Games Store Launches on iOS and Android

#29

Post by ath3nd »

stavros wrote: post #18
dools wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I just want the market forces to decide the cut, instead of the monopolies" Ironically it is the fetish with free market economics that produces the monopolies. I wonder how many "techno optimist" libertarians are also cheering the fact that Apple has been forced by government regulation to allow competitors onto their platform.

> Ironically it is the fetish with free market economics that produces the monopolies. Not really, it's the fetish with taking free market economics to the extreme. You can't really have a free market without regulation, though now we're getting in a GPL-vs-MIT-like argument of whether "free" means "without restrictions" or "with restrictions that ensure the desired outcomes are produced".

[flagged]
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