spazzcat
macrumors 601
Oh but they own the platform and the software.
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Microsoft Says Apple's 30% Fee Makes Xbox Cloud Gaming iOS App 'Impossible'
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CapitalIdea
macrumors 6502a
Microsoft could try to do their own phone. Oh wait.
madrigal77
macrumors 6502a
How else do you expect them to be able to afford to rehash almost the exact same iPhone design for 5 years in a row!?!? The same basic iPad Pro design for 7 years?
spazzcat
macrumors 601
Why do you require a complete redesign every few years? I see no reason to change the iPhone design at this point. It took them a few years to get form factor down, now we are good.
A better analogy would be if you worked from home and made your living in the apartment. Would it be OK for the apartment to take 30% of your income because they built and maintain the apartment?
Good for Apple and their magical, fabulous App Store, but I go there ONLY because I have to. If I could buy apps cheaper (competition) from other app stores, I most certainly would.
macmyworld
macrumors 6502
This is rich. Two zillionaires fighting.
Apple takes their 30% which is high. Microsoft takes worn out Office Suite and changes it to a subscription. Then they sprinkle in additional cloud services.
Neither company should be pointing fingers at anyone.
Apple takes their 30% which is high. Microsoft takes worn out Office Suite and changes it to a subscription. Then they sprinkle in additional cloud services.
Neither company should be pointing fingers at anyone.
chrono1081
macrumors G3
You're not just selling an app, you're also getting distribution, you're getting hosting, you're getting payment processing, security, tax information, sales analytics, store visibility, etc. All the stuff you had to pay for in the past on your own (which is stupid expensive) or sell your soul to a publisher to get (who would take roughly 95% of your profits, no that's not an exaggeration).
I feel like too many people forget what life before app stores was like for developers.
xaqt93
macrumors 6502a
I totally understand why Apple wants a cut. But it’s a catch-22 type situation. Apple Wants higher end apps on the App Store. But why would any developer launch an app on the App Store when they can just launch it on the Mac, have a direct download from their own website, and then get all the profit? The iPad is really capable of so much, but with Apples App Store rules, They won’t ever have the apps that they are wanting. Personally, I think companies should be able to offer direct downloads from the their websites just like the Mac.
ProbablyDylan
macrumors 68040
Because you don't need to use Google Play or Steam to get your Android or Windows software. The fact that they're dominant on Android and Windows show that Apple has nothing to worry about when it comes to competing against other software stores.
Uh, you do realize you have other ways to get apps than the Google Play store, right? Not so with Apple.
TonyC28
macrumors 68040
They should just stick to Xbox on windows phones. Oh wait
On one hand I agree with them. On the other hand.. Xbox charges 30% for apps and games on their console, and Xbox does not allow other app/game stores on their console. So they have no room to talk.
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surfzen21
macrumors 65816
Microsoft cheers when the free market benefits them and then cries when that same free market isn't to their benefit.
Microsoft loves corporate socialism in the later case.
Microsoft loves corporate socialism in the later case.
It’s not the same thing.
They aren’t asking to sell anything on the App Store, they want a free app on the App Store that allows users to connect to their service that they already pay for. They aren’t trying to sell further subscriptions, Apple are forcing them to, saying if you want a streaming App on our platform you have to make it so new customers can subscribe to it via your app, AND we have to take a 30% cut of that.
It’s Apple forcing companies to give them a share of their revenue because “App store” nothing more; nothing less. Now the 30% figure is way too high, but if MS wanted to sell subscriptions via the App Store then fair enough, Apple take their cuts but they don’t want to do that.
Your analogy with the games on Xbox isn’t the same thing. Free to play games are free to download on Xbox and there is no mandate from MS that makes sure the developers have to put money making purchases in the game.
It’s also not a digital sale, it’s a subscription service, if they lose 30% of the revenue from those subscription fees the service will become unprofitable if not loss making. Alternatively they’d have to up the subscription costs, which will put consumers off.
Just to clarify I’m really not a fan of Microsoft, Xbox, Game Pass or xCloud so I have no want to just support MS on this.
As I’ve said to someone else this isn’t the same thing. They aren’t trying to sell subscriptions on the App Store but avoid the 30% cut. They don’t want to sell the subscriptions on the App Store full stop, they just want a free app on the App Store to act as a client for their pre-existing streaming service, but Apple are saying the only way we allow that App is for you to sell subscriptions to it too and we must take a 30% cut.
spazzcat
macrumors 601
You will see ever quickly in the EU if alt stores take off apps will not be cheaper.
spazzcat
macrumors 601
You realize most get their apps from the Play store right ...
Sai Zelion
macrumors member
JordanCautious
macrumors 6502
When you buy an iPhone, you know what you're getting upfront. If you don't like how Apple does things, just leave lol. If you're a developer and you don't like Apple's policies, just leave lol. The reality is that Apple does not care, and neither do I. Apple is not even dominant in the EU. They will only care if they lose money from acting in such a way. If you want freedom, you have android. It has never been an Apple requirement to give you full freedom 🤷♂️
The average profit margin on national-brand products in supermarkets ranges from 15% to 25%. The average profit margin on store-brand (i.e. private label) products in supermarkets ranges from 20% to 30%. The private label products are made by the national brands and are virtually the same product, but the supermarket makes 5% more profit from them even though they are sold at a cheaper price.
The supermarket analogy doesn’t support your case, but it does show why Microsoft is complaining. Microsoft won’t lower their prices 30%. They just don’t want to have to pay the commission they charge game developers on the XBox.
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rafark
macrumors 68020
A better analogy would be... you sold a house to someone and you are charging them a fee every time they buy new furniture or appliances.
Er, "selling" a free app on the Apple App Stores is also free (minus the $99 Developer Program enrollment) with no mandate to put monetization measures in. If you were thinking about the new and much-bemoaned Core Technology Fee, that's part of an alternative business agreement that developers in the EU can—but are not obligated to—opt into.