Epic Games vs Apple

angrysoba · 11th February 2021, 09:40 PM

The games company, Epic, which makes Fortnite, is suing Apple because of what the CEO, Tim Sweeney, consideres its anti-trust activities:

Quote:

Epic is suing Apple and Google in a legal challenge that could remake the future of the digital economy.

"Epic's frustration with Apple especially, and Google to some extent, had been building up for at least three years. Ever since Fortnite grew to have a large audience, we felt stifled by several things," Sweeney told CNN Business during a December interview.

Launched in 2017, Fortnite quickly became a phenomenon. When it first debuted, Epic charged $40 to download the game — a typical price. But the company quickly pivoted to a riskier business model, betting that offering Fortnite as a free-to-play game with in-app purchases of digital items like outfits would generate more overall revenue.

The bet paid off. Though Epic has raked in billions off Fortnite's in-game purchases — about $1.3 billion in 2020 and $1.8 billion in 2019, according to Nielsen's gaming division SuperData — the company balked at paying a chunk of that revenue to app store owners like Apple and Google. If a player downloaded Fortnite from Apple's App Store, for example, Apple would receive a 30% cut of all in-app purchases.

Sweeney believed that requirement violated antitrust laws because it forced developers to use Apple and Google's payment systems.
So Epic spent months developing its battle plan to fight Apple, which it codenamed "Project Liberty," he said.

Link

Who is right, and who is wrong? What should happen? Should the walls come down from Apple's garden? Is Apple being a bad apple? Or is Epic making an epic mistake?

Vote now and vehemently fight to the death!

Wudang · 12th February 2021, 08:41 AM

It reminds me of the 1956 IBM Consent decree where IBM was required to open its business up to the market. IANAL

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histor...Consent_Decree

angrysoba · 12th February 2021, 04:12 PM

Originally Posted by Wudang

It reminds me of the 1956 IBM Consent decree where IBM was required to open its business up to the market. IANAL

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histor...Consent_Decree

Possibly. I don't really know.

I suppose the argument being made is that whereas Android phones allow users and developers to bypass the Google Play Store, Apple doesn't allow anything outside of the App Store.

Would the existence of non-Apple smartphones and applications mean there is no monopoly?

I honestly don't know what the answer is to this. I do know someone who is an app developer and they absolutely despise Apple for its policies. I don't know whether this is because Apple genuinely have evil business procedures in place, or whether my friend is merely a utopian who has ideas about developer freedom that are unreasonable.

Epic should win as they are clearly morally and legally right!	0	0%
Apple should win as they are clearly morally and legally right!	4	30.77%
Epic should win legally, but morally they are not right!	0	0%
Apple should win legally, but morally they are not right!	0	0%
They are both ****** companies and I hope they all lose!	3	23.08%
I don't give an iPhoneX about any of this.	6	46.15%
Voters: 13. You may not vote on this poll

11th February 2021, 09:40 PM	#1
angrysoba Philosophile Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Osaka, Japan Posts: 29,649	Epic Games vs Apple The games company, Epic, which makes Fortnite, is suing Apple because of what the CEO, Tim Sweeney, consideres its anti-trust activities: Quote: Epic is suing Apple and Google in a legal challenge that could remake the future of the digital economy. "Epic's frustration with Apple especially, and Google to some extent, had been building up for at least three years. Ever since Fortnite grew to have a large audience, we felt stifled by several things," Sweeney told CNN Business during a December interview. Launched in 2017, Fortnite quickly became a phenomenon. When it first debuted, Epic charged $40 to download the game — a typical price. But the company quickly pivoted to a riskier business model, betting that offering Fortnite as a free-to-play game with in-app purchases of digital items like outfits would generate more overall revenue. The bet paid off. Though Epic has raked in billions off Fortnite's in-game purchases — about $1.3 billion in 2020 and $1.8 billion in 2019, according to Nielsen's gaming division SuperData — the company balked at paying a chunk of that revenue to app store owners like Apple and Google. If a player downloaded Fortnite from Apple's App Store, for example, Apple would receive a 30% cut of all in-app purchases. Sweeney believed that requirement violated antitrust laws because it forced developers to use Apple and Google's payment systems. So Epic spent months developing its battle plan to fight Apple, which it codenamed "Project Liberty," he said. Link Who is right, and who is wrong? What should happen? Should the walls come down from Apple's garden? Is Apple being a bad apple? Or is Epic making an epic mistake? Vote now and vehemently fight to the death!
	__________________ "The thief and the murderer follow nature just as much as the philanthropist. Cosmic evolution may teach us how the good and the evil tendencies of man may have come about; but, in itself, it is incompetent to furnish any better reason why what we call good is preferable to what we call evil than we had before." "Evolution and Ethics" T.H. Huxley (1893)

12th February 2021, 08:41 AM	#2
Wudang BOFH Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: People's Republic of South Yorkshire Posts: 13,595	It reminds me of the 1956 IBM Consent decree where IBM was required to open its business up to the market. IANAL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histor...Consent_Decree
	__________________ "Your deepest pools, like your deepest politicians and philosophers, often turn out more shallow than expected." Walter Scott.

12th February 2021, 04:12 PM	#3
angrysoba Philosophile Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Osaka, Japan Posts: 29,649	Originally Posted by Wudang It reminds me of the 1956 IBM Consent decree where IBM was required to open its business up to the market. IANAL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histor...Consent_Decree Possibly. I don't really know. I suppose the argument being made is that whereas Android phones allow users and developers to bypass the Google Play Store, Apple doesn't allow anything outside of the App Store. Would the existence of non-Apple smartphones and applications mean there is no monopoly? I honestly don't know what the answer is to this. I do know someone who is an app developer and they absolutely despise Apple for its policies. I don't know whether this is because Apple genuinely have evil business procedures in place, or whether my friend is merely a utopian who has ideas about developer freedom that are unreasonable.
	__________________ "The thief and the murderer follow nature just as much as the philanthropist. Cosmic evolution may teach us how the good and the evil tendencies of man may have come about; but, in itself, it is incompetent to furnish any better reason why what we call good is preferable to what we call evil than we had before." "Evolution and Ethics" T.H. Huxley (1893)