SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Fortnite maker sues Apple after removal of game from App Store:
Apple Inc on Thursday removed popular video game "Fortnite" from its App Store for violating the company's in-app payment guidelines, prompting developer Epic Games to file a federal lawsuit challenging the iPhone maker's rules.
Apple cited a direct payment feature rolled out on the Fortnite app earlier on Thursday as the violation.
Epic sued in U.S. court seeking no money from Apple but rather an injunction that would end many of the company's practices related to the App Store, which is the only way to distribute native software onto most iPhones.
[...] Apple takes a cut of between 15% and 30% for most app subscriptions and payments made inside apps, though there are some exceptions for companies that already have a credit card on file for iPhone customers if they also offer an in-app payment that would benefit Apple. Analysts believe games are the biggest contributor to spending inside the App Store, which is in turn the largest component of Apple's $46.3 billion-per-year services segment.
In a statement, Apple said Fortnite had been removed because Epic had launched the payment feature with the "express intent of violating the App Store guidelines" after having had apps in the store for a decade.
"The fact that their (Epic) business interests now lead them to push for a special arrangement does not change the fact that these guidelines create a level playing field for all developers and make the store safe for all users," Apple said in a statement.
[...] Epic's lawsuit, however, argues that app distribution and in-app payments for Apple devices constitute their own distinct market for anti-competition purposes because Apple users rarely leave its "sticky" ecosystem, according to Epic's filing.
[...] Google also removed "Fortnite" from its Play Store.
"However, we welcome the opportunity to continue our discussions with Epic and bring Fortnite back to Google Play," Google spokesman Dan Jackson said in a statement. Jackson said Epic had violated a rule requiring developers to use Google's in-app billing system for products within video games.
Recently:
(2020-07-22) Microsoft Tells Congress That iOS App Store is Anticompetitive
(2020-06-24) Apple Gives Thumbs Up to Hey Email App After Update Rejection
(2020-06-17) EU Launches Two Antitrust Investigations Into Apple Business Practices
(2020-03-07) Apple's New App Store Policies Fight Spam and Abuse but Also Allow Ads in Notifications
(Score: 4, Interesting) by EJ on Friday August 14 2020, @04:06PM (5 children)
Apple REALLY needs to lose this one because there is NO way to install an app on a consumer's phone without that app going through Apple's app store and giving them a cut of the profits. That is straight-up anti-competitive business practice.
As for Android, you can install any APK you want without it having to go through Google's Play Store. Amazon has their own Android store, so I'm not sure why Epic couldn't create their own too. I don't really know why they're suing Google when they appear to have the ability to do what they want already.
Apple's business model is like Walmart locking down any console you buy from them to only work with games you buy from Walmart. If you bought a PS5 from Walmart, you wouldn't be able to buy games from Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, etc. if they had Apple's business model. That's the big issue here.
(Score: 3, Informative) by EvilSS on Friday August 14 2020, @04:48PM (2 children)
(Score: 2) by EJ on Friday August 14 2020, @04:58PM (1 child)
In that case, I hope Google loses BIG-TIME and gets fined over $1 billion or whatever punitive damages cause some real pain rather than a simple wrist-slap.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by EvilSS on Friday August 14 2020, @05:08PM
If they win these, I really hope they go after Microsoft and Sony next over their stores on their consoles as well. If they win against Apple, it's a slam-dunk.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Friday August 14 2020, @06:58PM
Now that they've put the hammer down, we'll have to wait and see who shall prevail [youtube.com].
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Sunday August 16 2020, @03:53PM
This has been the case since fourth quarter 1985, over two decades before iPhone OS 2.0 introduced the App Store. The Nintendo Entertainment System would only run Game Paks manufactured by Nintendo, using a pair of synchronized random number generators in the Control Deck and Game Pak continually cross-checking each other's output. Every Nintendo console since then has implemented the same whitelist policy, as have PlayStation and Xbox consoles. Game consoles' software whitelisting policy was ostensibly a response to a flood of poorly balanced software for Atari 2600 sold in 1983 and 1984 that harmed the reputation not only of Atari in particular but of video games as a medium.