Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS
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Re: Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS
#802This is the tweet that Apple cited as warranting removal from the App Store:
> Apple leadership faces some massive decisions in the coming weeks as the contradictions between their stated principles and the intended and actual consequences of their present policies are reckoned with: the app store monopoly, the digital goods payments monopoly, the tax, the suppression of true information about competing purchasing options, the blocking of competing web browser engines and outright destruction of web apps.
> It doesn’t have to be this way. Apple is a few bold and visionary decisions away from being the company they once were and that they still advertise themselves to be: beloved brand to consumers, partner to developers, and overlord to none. [1]
Damn, that's probably the least caustic tweet I've ever read on Twitter...
Ruthless.
[1] https://twitter.com/TimSweeneyEpic/status/176224372553353258...
Re: Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS
#803Earlier quoted context omitted.
The fact that they went to market with a $3.5k price tag tells me they just aren’t serious about wide adoption, period.
The original Mac cost about $7k in current dollars. I remember thinking the original iPhone was hugely overpriced, too.
Valid point, but this is the first new product from them where I haven’t seen a lot of sustained excitement.
Huge technical leap, but to where? I don’t think Apple has figured that part out.
We’ll see what Gen 2 brings, but if they don’t have a lot more content and apps at launch it’s going to be a hard sell at any price
Re: Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS
#804Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Don't like what MS is doing with their app store? Fine just release the binary yourself. Whip up a small windows binary and send it to your mom. See if she can run it without any help from you. MS is doing the same thing from a different angle.
Eh, you create a msi including all dependencies with tools provided to you by Microsoft free of charge and without restrictions. And mom gets a start menu icon. Can you do the same on iOS?
If I don't think of cost as a fundamental issue, what differences would I see between either approach? They're both barriers to my intent and I'm not on board with the reasoning behind erecting those barriers.
Re: Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS
#805Earlier quoted context omitted.
That’s why it’s a Pyrrhic victory. They have access to the EU market which is much less profitable than the US market.
"Thin edge of the wedge" might be the better way to see it? Epic have cracked open the walled garden in one part of the world (EU). They need to consolidate that win in the EU so it doesn't disappear, then leverage it to break open the walled garden in other places as well.
Epic is just Tencent which is an organ of the Chinese state. They might have been able to break open Apple like an egg in Europe but the final boss battle is going to be much harder for them.
Re: Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS
#806[dead]
Re: Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS
#807Gruber has a good take on this: [1]
> That Tim Sweeney tweet cited as an example doesn’t seem out of line to me. [...] Apple ought to stick to Epic’s deliberate breaking of the App Store rules with Fortnite back in 2020. It’s not even in dispute that they flagrantly broke the rules then. If Apple wants to make that a “lifetime” ban, they should just say so.
> Citing recent tweets, like Sweeney’s, that are simply critical — even scathingly critical (or to borrow Schiller’s term, “colorful”) — just makes it look like Apple’s policy is that if a developer criticizes the App Store’s rules, Apple will punish them for speaking out. I don’t think that’s Apple’s policy at all, but some people think it is, and this situation with Epic just reinforces that.
[1] https://daringfireball.net/2024/03/apple_epic_developer_acco...
Re: Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS
#808[deleted]
Re: Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS
#809Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, its really weird to appeal to the noble intentions of a corporation. They're both just engaged in business. I can believe that Apple is acting incredibly badly in this case without needing to fluff up Epic Games at all. Apple and Samsung could sue each other and do business with each other because the stakes were lower and they were more codependent.
> Yeah, its really weird to appeal to the noble intentions of a corporation. They're both just engaged in business. This is what's wrong with the current overly capitalist system. Companies are totally allowed to have no conscience, and externalise whatever they please to consumers and the environment. And you could even argue they are 'forced' to do so by due diligence legislation. If we let this continue there will…
"Capitalist" is a nonsense term that no longer carries any meaning.
There is a revolving door between government and corporate leadership.
There is no functional difference between corporate America and public service at this point in time.
One does not rule the other: they are one and the same.
Social media companies have entire teams run by Federal law enforcement.
Federal leadership draws its senior staff from companies like Google.
It is impossible to conduct business without thoroughly invasive involvement of multiple layers of government telling you what you can do, how you must do it, tracking your actions to ensure you comply, and levying obscene punishments if you don't.
For this "service" you are charged a level of tax that would make the Pharaohs green with envy.
Re: Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS
#810Hypothetically, what if a multinational like Apple just doesn't pay the fines, assuming they have no subsidiary presence? Will they go after their EU-resident payment processors and infra providers? Apple's market cap is important enough to the U.S. economy that I wouldn't be surprised if our intelligence community sabotages the DMA. We've done this for Boeing, why can't we do it here? https://www.economist.com/speci…
Apple has enough subsidies in EU, starting with 5G modem developers purchased from Intel.