Apple's Phil Schiller Explains Why Valve's Steam Link App Was Rejected

[Abazigal]

When you've finished playing your £20 game you got on steam.
Which family member do you pass it onto? A close friends child perhaps?
Or sell it on to someone else, to help towards the purchase of another game?

None of those? ahhhhhhhh

Perhaps that had already been factored into the price of the game?

If the license of a game could be transferred, that would have to be included in the initial price of the game. As such, the starting price would need to be higher to factor in the likelihood of lost sales (eg: people buying 2nd hand games from you instead of from the developer).

Right now, the prices of games are what the are based on the assumption that anyone who wants that game needs to buy from the developer directly. And I don’t have to go through the hassle of finding a buyer for my game after I am done with it.

Seems fair enough.

 

[riverfreak]

Is Steam a HomeKit thing? That sounds pretty useful.

 

[ike1707]

..do you even hear yourself?

Eh, I drift in and out

 

[Michael Goff]

Eh, I drift in and out

You too?!

 

[DNichter]

They did the same thing with a Spotify update. Apple has monopoly power over their operating system, clearly violating, in my mind, precedent setup by Microsoft Corp. vs US Government.

I tend to agree here, but until anyone challenges Apple, it’s business as usual. Although I’m not sure it’s a monopoly considering how small of a market share Apple has. Many on here don’t consider them a major player in the smartphone industry.

 

[Michael Goff]

They did the same thing with a Spotify update. Apple has monopoly power over their operating system, clearly violating, in my mind, precedent setup by Microsoft Corp. vs US Government.

Any time somebody says monopoly power over a single OS that is the minority OS, I die a little inside.

 

[usarioclave]

Historically, the government has gone after monopolies not because they're monopolies but because they use their monopoly power for anti-competitive reasons.

Example of abuse: you can't write an Android game if you want to sell on the iOS app store.
Example of normal business: we're going to charge you 30%.

The difference is pretty clear cut.

 

[Treq]

I tend to agree here, but until anyone challenges Apple, it’s business as usual. Although I’m not sure it’s a monopoly considering how small of a market share Apple has. Many on here don’t consider them a major player in the smartphone industry.

They sell the single most popular smart phone there is... I don't see how anyone can consider them not a major player.

 

[macbeta]

Wow - he really can innovate out his ass.

 

[Abazigal]

The sell the single most popular smart phone there is... I don't see how anyone can consider them not a major player.

Well, people like to cite Apple’s minority market share as evidence that they are losing the smartphone wars compared to android, yet now they magically have majority market share when a case is to be made against them?

Which is which now? One can still argue that even if they are not allowed to sell their apps on iOS, there is still the android market, which makes up for over 80% of users worldwide (even though we know that market share =/= usage share, and Apple has a monopoly on the most lucrative user base).

 

[Treq]

Well, people like to cite Apple’s minority market share as evidence that they are losing the smartphone wars compared to android, yet now they magically have majority market share when a case is to be made against them?

Which is which now? One can still argue that even if they are not allowed to sell their apps on iOS, there is still the android market, which makes up for over 80% of users worldwide (even though we know that market share =/= usage share, and Apple has a monopoly on the most lucrative user base).

Well, many companies sell android phones. Samsung, HTC, Sony, etc... The iPhone is the largest piece of the pie with 19-20%. So, yeah, a major player indeed. They are even the only american company in the top 10 in china, which is saying something.
Edit: sorry, top 5 in china.

 

[Abazigal]

Well, many companies sell android phones. Samsung, HTC, Sony, etc... The iPhone is the largest piece of the pie with 19-20%. So, yeah, a major player indeed. They are even the only american company in the top 10 in china, which is saying something.

And there’s still my second point - even if they can’t sell their app on iOS, there’s still the android App Store which accounts for over 80% of users around the world.

So what’s the basis for claiming Apple is a monopoly? Sure, they have a very profitable user base, but it’s hardly the end of the world if you don’t have access to it, unlike Microsoft back in its heyday where they were pretty much the PC market.

 

[EvilEvil]

EvilEvil,

Honestly, as much as I agree with this statement do we really believe it would have been any different with Jobs around? He’d have been even more adamant that no one but Apple should be in or on Apple hardware.

Remember adobe Flash? LOL

Taking gaming seriously no, but innovating their current products, maybe.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I wouldn't be surprised if Steam announces they are abandoning the iOS market. Which is not a complete loss given that there are huge numbers of higher-end Android phones out there that can run the Steam Link app.

 

[Treq]

And there’s still my second point - even if they can’t sell their app on iOS, there’s still the android App Store which accounts for over 80% of users around the world.

So what’s the basis for claiming Apple is a monopoly? Sure, they have a very profitable user base, but it’s hardly the end of the world if you don’t have access to it, unlike Microsoft back in its heyday where they were pretty much the PC market.

Fragmentation. Not all android phones and tablets can run all android software. Each manufacture decides which updates get pushed and which don't. It's one of the things that makes iOS a more desirable platform to develop for. When there is a story about how apple has 70% of iPhones running its latest os, thats a big deal. That means compatibility.

 

[Bearxor]

If this app gets approved I'd consider buying an Apple TV just for this. I think they'd have a lot to gain from an app like this.

I mean... if you don’t have an AppleTV already... and you’re not really looking to buy one... but a Steam app will push you over the next edge... why don’t you just buy a Steam Link when they go on sale for twenty bucks like they do all the time?

The “I’ll buy an AppleTV if I can get Steam Link on it!” Seems like an awfully weird place to draw the line.

 

[citysnaps]

That's not true. Apple music is baked into HomePod where you dont need another iOS device to "stream" to it. If you want to play spotify, you have to use your phone or another iOS device and use airplay.

That claim wasn't made. He said should you want to stream content (as opposed to songs from Apple Music directly over an internet connection) from a computer/phone/etc, that only works for Apple devices.

 

[Abazigal]

Fragmentation. Not all android phones and tablets can run all android software. Each manufacture decides which updates get pushed and which don't. It's one of the things that makes iOS a more desirable platform to develop for. When there is a story about how apple has 70% of iPhones running its latest os, thats a big deal. That means compatibility.

You just made a very compelling argument for why developers have a very strong incentive to release their apps for ios, not why their apps have to be on the platform.
[doublepost=1527476005][/doublepost]

I mean... if you don’t have an AppleTV already... and you’re not really looking to buy one... but a Steam app will push you over the next edge... why don’t you just buy a Steam Link when they go on sale for twenty bucks like they do all the time?

The “I’ll buy an AppleTV if I can get Steam Link on it!” Seems like an awfully weird place to draw the line.

Yeah, I will probably just wait for Nvidia to release their game streaming platform for ios. The more I think about this app, the more I feel it isn't as huge a deal as I initially thought. Of course, this has little in relation to the argument as to whether Apple should ultimately allow the app on ios, but I do concur with the rest that there doesn't seem to be any harm to be had from approving said app.

 

[Ladybug]

Apple loves to remove your paid for games after the fact so you can't download them anymore. If I was Valve I wouldn't bother with Apple. Macs and gaming are a poor experience so I can't imagine this being any better.

 

[Treq]

You just made a very compelling argument for why developers have a very strong incentive to release their apps for ios, not why their apps have to be on the platform.
[doublepost=1527476005][/doublepost]
Yeah, I will probably just wait for Nvidia to release their game streaming platform for ios. The more I think about this app, the more I feel it isn't as huge a deal as I initially thought. Of course, this has little in relation to the argument as to whether Apple should ultimately allow the app on ios, but I do concur with the rest that there doesn't seem to be any harm to be had from approving said app.

Well, their apps don't HAVE to be on that platform, but being on that platform gets them the most users for the least effort. And that user base is a huge chunk of the total. Also, iOS users tend to be the type that have disposable income, ie a very desirable demographic. As a side note, I have a steam link box and its great. Had it for a year or two now. They are cheap when on sale, and allow me to play my games in the bedroom while my gaming machine is in the living room operating as a plex server and dvr. My system is a couple years old now, only has a gtx 1060 and i5 quad, but it hasn't missed a beat with a single game I've thrown at it at ultra settings. Oh, and its also my Occulus machine. Tucks nicely into my entertainment center. Just wish I didn't need to deal with windows to make it work. If they had updated the Mac Mini 2 years ago I never would have built it. Still use my 2012 Mini as my main computer even though the win machine is 4-5 years newer.

 

[ersan191]

Yeah, I will probably just wait for Nvidia to release their game streaming platform for ios. The more I think about this app, the more I feel it isn't as huge a deal as I initially thought. Of course, this has little in relation to the argument as to whether Apple should ultimately allow the app on ios, but I do concur with the rest that there doesn't seem to be any harm to be had from approving said app.

Good luck with that lol - NVIDIA is not gonna cannibalize Shield sales.

Moonlight already exists anyway, there's no need to wait... what moonlight does need is a working port for Apple TV on the App Store

 

[dampfnudel]

Apple does not in any way need Steam.

No, nor do they need any other competing service like Netflix, Spotify, etc. I also have to assume that you and every member of your family wouldn’t need any of those services either if Apple decided to block them/remove them from the App Store. Maybe I’m assuming too much?

 

[Radon87000]

That’s the only problem with making a PC today, miners have done some damage to the ecosystem.

You can preorder to beat the miners. Also iirc founders edition cards are unaffected. Just don't wait too long after release.

 

[alvindarkness]

No, you can use MFI controllers. Why are Macrumours posters so uninformed about everything, this whole thread is full of misinformation.

He was obviously referring to "useful" controllers ... Sorry couldnt resist.

Do people really think Apple was going to allow them to sell games through their own app and not pay a cent. Like what... lmfao

They already do via the Steam iOS app.

 

[Regime2008]

Fragmentation. Not all android phones and tablets can run all android software. Each manufacture decides which updates get pushed and which don't. It's one of the things that makes iOS a more desirable platform to develop for. When there is a story about how apple has 70% of iPhones running its latest os, thats a big deal. That means compatibility.

What apps can't be run on the last 3 or so Android updates? Everyone who uses this argument can never answer this question. That's why Android and Ios are so different, because ios NEEDS updates to get somewhat ok stability, while Android doesn't need updates, because of how it's designed. It's apps can be updated without needing a whole os update.