Apple Retains Gibson Dunn Lawyers From Samsung Case to Combat Epic Games

[magicMac]

So yes, Apple needs third party developers quite badly.

You're talking about a company that pulls apps when they don't comply with the rules...

I don't think apple care that badly. The first iPhone didn't even have an app store.

 

[magicMac]

Apple can spend millions on fighting Epic in court. Or, they could just drop about $20B of their cash horde and buy Epic. They can fold the Epic store into the App Store, and transition the platform to Apple Arcade (giving it some much needed subscription-driving content). Under terms of the sale, the Epic team gets saddled with 3 year non-compete and perpetual non-litigation clauses and the receive a ****** title under the Apple corporate umbrella. Apple obtains rights to the Unreal Engine and finally has a decent backbone for gaming development on their platforms. Apple would never notice the expense, but the rewards...

They wouldn't need to buy them for that. If the business relationship didn't go sour (I blame both sides on this really), they could have worked together so that apple continues to take 30% on all games but if the game uses unreal engine some of that 30% went goes to Epic under an Epic and Apple partnership, further refining the Unreal engine performance and features on iOS and working on the next release of Metal together. I think options like this are all out the window now though!

 

[pasamio]

Epic went to Apple and asked Apple if Apple would like to make less money and instead let Epic make more money. Beyond a warm and fuzzy feeling I didn't see any stated advantage in that situation for Apple but a clear potential loss of revenue for the company whilst Epic gains a new revenue source for nothing. Now many companies are happy to work for warm and fuzzy feelings which is great for them however to characterise the relationship as going sour on both sides when the Apple response is "we have standard terms that you agreed to" which Epic then went on to break isn't really a business relationship going sour due to "both sides". Epic Games have been hostile to many companies bullying, or attempting to bully them, into what Epic wants. Sony, Microsoft and Steam have been the target of Epic's wrath in the past as they attempt to use their dominance in the gaming industry to get companies to bend to Epic's will.

Steam didn't budge to Epic because there was no value to Steam. Apple and Google aren't budging to Epic and Epic is trying to get the courts to intervene.

 

[deevey]

Who said ANYTHING about the Unreal Engine on an Ipad/Iphone or anyother mobile device. The "UNREAL ENGINE" is the backbone for every computerized attraction at Disney's Galaxy's Edge ..... and Apple threatened to revoke Epics developement TOOL licenese, And without those tools future work on the UNREAL ENGINE is at risk, and therefore Disneys ability to keep those product licenses from Epic up to date is at risk... Has NOTHING to do with mobile devices, has nothing to do with the App Store....

Unreal Engine is cross platform - How does this stifle any future UE development ?

 

[cmaier]

Unreal Engine is cross platform - How does this stifle any future UE development ?

if i heard correctly at the hearing today, epic’s lawyer was essentially arguing that “unless we can promise developers that UE will continue to work cross-platform, nobody will want it.” Or something.

 

[deevey]

if i heard correctly at the hearing today, epic’s lawyer was essentially arguing that “unless we can promise developers that UE will continue to work cross-platform, nobody will want it.” Or something.

He Appeared to backtrack on the issue, something like UE and Epic are separate companies, the judge ruling that Fortnight's Dev account remain locked, But UE be allowed on that basis .. at which stage they seemed none too sure if they really were separate in terms of the App store.

I didn't read though the entire transcript but watched whatever snippets I could.

Having two separate developer accounts for those entities would appear to make sense unless they are penny pinching on the $99 per year fees