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Apple Removes Fortnite From App Store [Update: Epic Files Lawsuit Against Apple]
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Epic Games tried it, their customers hated the experience, they’re now on the Google Play store. So, you CAN sideload apps, but Epic Games apparently feels forced to have their app on the Google Play store... suffering the same 30% cut. And, back to the same question, why does that not get their public attention in the same way?
Easy, the Android dollars are likely dwarfed by the iOS money they make. They’d happily continue paying 30% with Google as long as they can get a better deal out of Apple.
Google Play store just dropped Fortnite as well.
This is not true. Deadpool has not been available on PC via Steam for a long time, but my friend still has it in their library. I can no longer get Farscape The Peacekeeper Wars movie on iTunes (or anything for that matter), but its still in my library.
Fortnite for Android has also been kicked off the Google Play Store
www.theverge.com
Fortnite for Android has also been kicked off the Google Play Store
First Apple banned Fortnite, now Google has, too. It’s been quite a day.
www.theverge.com
Oh REALLY? Well, NOW it’s become interesting.
Their little 1984 stunt fails to mention Google Play. I wonder, will they take the time to update their little video?
Its not only Epic who wants a change on Apple policies... A huge amount of developers have been asking for this for a long time, Epic is just making a statement.
I know that’s the real reason, hence the complaints of Apple having a monopoly on iOS. I’m sure the App Store will always be the primary way to distribute apps, but there’s no reason not to allow a secondary way. All these die hard Apple defenders think developers are being greedy and unreasonable expecting Apple to host their apps when that isn’t the case.
Apple is actually biased on what apps allow developers to put their own direct purchases. Technically Epic Games has an advantage here. And most like Apple will not win this lawsuit because Apple themselves show a preference to specific developers. Epic knows exactly what they are doing. And honestly, it is unfair for developers to give Apple money while others don't.
I think there's a reason they're targeting the AppStore-- because they've probalby decided they don't need it. If this really were a case of self-serve grave digging, then they'd actually have a case about Apple controlling the market. But Apple only controls something less than 15% of the smartphone market, and smartphones are only some percentage of Epic's customer base.
Epic will be just fine here. So will Apple. Small potatoes all around.
No, it’s not. They want the same rules apply to everyone.
Apple allowed Amazon to sell their services outside of the respective Amazon iOS apps without requiring that the same subscription for the same price be available within the apps. At least two Amazon apps I know of sell subscription to the respective Amazon services outside the apps: Kindle Books and Amazon Video.
When Epic attempted to avoid the Apple 30% fee (just like what Amazon has been doing for years now), Apple pulled their app.
Apple is in deep trouble here. This will cost it billions. Epic is not a Mom and Pop coding shop. Epic will lead the revolution and smaller companies will join in.
But MS had a monopoly on computers. Apple doesn't have a monopoly on smartphones.
It doesn't matter how many people want something. That's not how this should work.
How can this be seen as anti-competitive? Does Apple have a Fortnite clone the just released today and removed Fortnite because of it? No. This comes down to a very simple thing. Epic broke the terms and what they agreed to. That is all. Just like if I start uploading adult material to my Squarespace site, its against their rules.
I said they can be the worst. That’s certainly not true in every circumstance. EA is a great (bad?) example of this. Pop in a sports game from a few years ago, and you can’t get to any of the downloadable content anymore, even if you wanted to pay for it. MP games that host their own servers can also be rough. Once those servers are turned off, the game is effectively useless. Consoles are bigger offenders here versus Steam.
This thing is full of flaws. They broke the agreement, so the app was removed. That is all.
They can pay epic directly if epic offered a way to purchase from their website and it was applied to your gaming account. They could charge whatever they wished and even offer items not available on the App Store. You can't tell me that people are so clueless nowadays that they can't navigate to a website without being specifically told to?
Not quite. For legal purposes, Fortnite's marketplace isn't a true "marketplace".
1) Marketplaces require more than one seller. In this case, the only true seller is Epic. All other trades/offers within game occur in what's called a secondary market, using Epic's currency that remains within Epic's system. The primary market, however, only consists one buyer (the player) and the seller (epic), and it is here where the monetary transaction occurs.
2) Marketplaces require goods and services to be sold or traded. While the in-game content is nice, it is technically not a good or service as defined by the US Patent and Trademark Office. From the law's perspective, it's all part of one marketable good: Fortnite.
Apple's App Store, however, meets all legal requirements for a marketplace. There are multiple sellers, all of whom sell marketable goods (i.e. software as defined by the USPTO), across state lines, subjecting the marketplace to federal laws and regulations.
In short, in-game stores, unless they meet the two criteria above, do not meet the threshold of a marketplace and are not subject to antitrust regulation.
On a positive note, this means you do not need to report your in-game transactions/sales on your Form 1040
Hooray for no taxes!
To be fair, what developers REALLY want is access to user data. Data they can’t get to because of Apple’s requirements. However, 30% is a nice number to rally folks around. Until, of course, you realize pretty much every store has similar or higher rates.
It’s not even defending Apple, it’s defending the idea that you should do your homework and ONLY sign contracts/enter into agreements that you are willing to accept. If you don’t like some of the terms and you can’t negotiate anything better, well, then you’ve got a decision to make.
Amazon didn’t do anything without obtaining agreement from Apple first. Epic can claim whatever they want, but right up front, Apple can claim Epic is not adhering to the rules. Kicking them off the App Store is what I expected, just like other non-compliant apps.
I think this is just like all the other “loud” apps recently. They know they’ll back down quickly and eventually because they know Apple’s terms with them is binding. They just want to make a little noise that they’re hoping eventually gets Apple to change their tune.
First of all, I don't think the consumer knows what limitations the product they are buying truly has because they don't care. This doesn't affect the consumer as much as it affects developers, although there would probably be WAY more interesting and varied apps if you could load any app onto your iOS device as compared to what apple allows on the App store.
If you were buying a new computer back in the 90s, you had many options for operating systems. But Microsoft threatened to revoke the license from manufactuers to sell windows if they dared to bundle their computers with another OS such as WarpOS by IBM for example. Most consumers didn't know there were other options, they just bought a computer with windows because thats what all companies were selling. In essense, there were no other options. What apple is doing is even worse. You literally have NO options for sideloading apps onto your phone. Its their way or the highway. Its true, most users don't care. But developers care, they just have no other option.