280°

Google countersues Epic using Apple's core arguments

Google Says Epic's mainly after "tremendous monetary gain and wealth".

lodossrage1342d ago

Google will probably win all of their suit.

The only part of the suit Apple lost so far against Epic was the alternate payment issue.

Google already allows other payment options as Android is open. So I expect them to have better results in court than Apple did. And rightfully so since this is all about Epic trying to look like the good guy while purposely breaching agreements in an effort to maximize Fornite profits without sharing it.

I dislike all these companies, they're all greedy as hell. But Epic is the one in the wrong here

VenomUK1341d ago (Edited 1341d ago )

So the two biggest and most profitable businesses in the world are using legal measures to stop another company from disrupting their monopoly.

lodossrage1341d ago

Epic has tencent backing them. So it's not like they're some weaklings.

And if you see the court emails, Epic literally went on an attack campaign before either company ever responded to their demands. Also, you don't sign an agreement and then get mad because the terms don't favor you.

They aren't some every day customer like the rest of us. Epic has lawyers that read over these things that the rest of us could care less about. So they were aware of what they're doing.

To be fair, it's exactly like you said VenomUK. But let's not make it like Epic is this tiny mom and pop company that two giants are trying to just crush.

TheDoomedGuy1341d ago

No. Epic is breaching their contract which they agreed to follow. It's that simple. Epic couldn't gone and created another storefront but they didn't.

Lore1341d ago

With all due respect, you sound ridiculous. A 30% cut on a device that is owned by nearly a billion people. They take no part in the hard work and development of these games/apps. There needs to be room for discussion and if Epic did not do what they did then nothing would ever change. They should be praised for stepping up and challenging them.

lodossrage1341d ago

no one ever said there isn't a need for discussion. But you don't do that AFTER you go into business with a company knowing what that entails..

as for the amount of people that own iphones, so what? Apple never told other tech companies to NOT make phones and compete. Why can't their masters at Tencent invest in phone R & D to develop their own and not deal with anyone else?

And why isn't Epic challenging Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo on the 30% cut? Since Epic puts games on consoles too.

Epic is no white knight savior here. We're talking about the same Tim Sweeney that tried to fearmonger PC gaming by saying Microsoft would firmware steam to the point of being unplayable in favor of Windows gaming. Only for a year later Epic game store to release and hence the REAL reason he "defended" steam comes to light.

You'll never see me complain about Google and Apple getting competition because lord knows it's needed. But not the way Epic is going about it.

And on a personal note, I hate the fact that I find myself agreeing with google/apple in this case. And my disdain for them both is pretty extensive so.... lol

Lore1341d ago

@Lodossrage

I could be mistaken on this front as I do not have time to locate the source, but I believe an iphone has now been deemed an “economic necessity.” So with that, those that support the platform with content should not be subject to such high fees. Obviously Epic lost on the topic of that logic but it still has some merit

Hofstaderman1341d ago (Edited 1341d ago )

But it's their platform. Just so happens tens of millions of people have I phones and other Apple devices. Did Epic cover Apples R and D, marketing and upkeep of their systems? If they don't like Apples terms they don't have to publish apps on their ecosystem. It boils down to Epic wanting to maximize profits.

TheDoomedGuy1341d ago

Epic and apple are perfectly capable of discussing the agreement on their own terms. So are any other developers out there.

I guarantee you that if devs all pulled their games apple would adjust their profit share.

FPS_D3TH1341d ago

Then discuss. Lmao you don’t preemptively drop your own terms and conditions as way of bullying a company into your own demands, have an edited cgi video ready to weaponizing your fans and and make flippant remarks about said companies policies. Emails show epic was hostile from the start. What a farce to think epic is challenging any of these companies to make it better for anyone else. They only want special treatment for themselves because of the product they created. They don’t care about who made what infrastructure. Nobody’s is forced to buy an iPhone lmfao

1341d ago
lodossrage1340d ago

@Lore

The Iphone is deemed a necessity by who?

The Iphone is NOT a necessity. Android is out there and actually have more phones sold than Iphones. Samsung Galaxy, Sony Xperia, Huawei, and a plethora of other phones exist

You can't be a necessity when there is a competitor available. Now a phone in general can be seen as a necessity

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 1340d ago
Knightofelemia1341d ago

I'll laugh if Microsoft jumps in this lawsuit against Epic all we need now is Samsung and Sony to jump on board. This is even better then the old Samsung vs Apple fight.

VenomUK1341d ago

Microsoft has indirectly sided with Epic. It is allowing Epic and Amazon's stores directly through Windows app store. It has said that the reason the Xbox store charges commission to publishers is specifically because Xbox is a loss making business model, and it implied that a platform that is profitable, such as the Apple app store, shouldn't be charging 30% commission.

spwittbold1341d ago

what if it is only profitable because it charges that rate though >.> hypothetically speaking (i know this is not the case).

lodossrage1341d ago

that's not a good argument venom.

We can't count anyone's money and say "company B operates at a loss so it's ok to charge 30%"

And the 30% commission fee drop is only for xbox on pc, not xbox consoles. And they only JUST did that when Epic and Apple went to court. Before that, Xbox had no problem having the same 30% commission on pc that they do on consoles now.

VenomUK1340d ago

@lodossrage You're right, it isn't a good argument! But that was the case made by Microsoft in the Epic vs Apple case. It's not going to charge any commission to app developers who sell through the Windows store, although game publishers will have to pay 12%.

So why has Microsoft shifted its stance? I believe it's because where it is the market leader in desktop OS it has almost zero market share in the mobile OS space* and that is very dangerous for it so it wants to weaken that monopoly.

*some die-hard fans still love their Windows 8 Phones!

chadwarden1341d ago

Sony won't sue a company they're invested in and working with

Knightofelemia1341d ago (Edited 1341d ago )

Sarcasm and joking must be something you missed out on

chadwarden1341d ago

@Knightofelemia
Considering no one else picked up this supposed sarcasm/joke, might want to work on your sarcasm/joke delivery.

Bladesfist1340d ago (Edited 1340d ago )

Not sure I follow this logic, I'd imagine that being an investor in a company means you are much more likely to bring litigation against them in general. Especially a company who willingly breaches contracts with your competitors and brings PR campaigns against them. Especially when the thing that caused the breach of contract and litigation is something you are also doing, 30% cut, no alternative stores.

LordoftheCritics1341d ago

''Google Says Epic's mainly after "tremendous monetary gain and wealth".

Lol one thief to another.

NeoGamer2321341d ago

Totally.

None of these companies would like nothing more then fleece money from consumers. And they do it all the time.

NovusTerminus1341d ago

Make no mistake, Epic is completely out to make a profit, however I do side with them because it could help out smaller developers.

I don't care about Apple, Epic, and Google getting richer. But ultimately it can help the app developers make more money and I side with Epic on this... Even if they are just trying to get richer under the guise of helping the little guy, they are the only company who could make a move like this at all.

DreadHealer1341d ago (Edited 1341d ago )

Smaller developers are going to spend more money setting up and maintaining a secure marketplace than they spend letting apple and google maintain it for them, as well as covering the legal liabilities.

People act like Apple ect. are just taking money and not giving anything in return, but they are taking the legal responsibility and burden from these developers. I don't think these devs realize how easily they could be sued if they get hacked and reveal something like a person's CC or other things.

It's one thing for Epic who can afford lawyers and host secure transactions, it's a whole other thing for these fly by night devs.

And as a consumer are you going to give some shady dev your CC info to buy a MTX? I sure as hell am not. But at least when you give it to Apple you can feel safe that Apple isn't going to turn around and steal your CC to commit fraud.

NovusTerminus1341d ago

I didn't mean for the dev to set up a market place, this lawsuit is attempting 3 main things

Off app purchases (which I agree small devs won't have the ability to use)
Larger split for the dev (88/12 rather then 70/30)
Or 3rd party store launchers (which would be an Epic launcher which would then compete with the main launcher)

I understand the store front split is normal for most digital store fronts. But im more interested in giving more of my money to the developer then I am lining Apples $2,000,000,000,000 or even Googles $1,800,000,000,000 worth.

Sephiroushin1340d ago

Not only that, then theres charge back from someone using a stolen credit card because they are not fully protected, I remember a small dev that had to close because a hacker bought many keys using stolen CC; and he had to pay a lot 0f 20$ for those charge backs and that was just because that dev didnt want to sell only directly on steam or others stores and wanted to maximize profit which is understandable but there are risks ...

ufo8mycat1341d ago (Edited 1341d ago )

Google Says Epic's mainly after "tremendous monetary gain and wealth"

Hilarious coming from Google, the company that is suing

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290°

The Real Enemy of Gaming Isn’t DEI. It’s the CEO

From Horse Armor to Mass Layoffs: The Price of Greed in Gaming. Inside the decades-long war on game workers and the players who defend them.

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jambola5d ago

maybe a real enemy is people who use terms like "the real enemy"
there can be more than 1 bad thing, t's not like a kids show with 1 big bad

senorfartcushion4d ago

This is very much a “dummy who volunteers themselves to the middle” comment.

The real enemy is a common phrase, people use it all the time.

Calm down.

jambola4d ago

i'm very calm
you seem very upset however

Notellin3d ago

You don't seem calm at all. Don't take this so seriously, you seem desperate responding to others defending your opinion that lacks any value or critical thought.

jambola3d ago

stop projecting
i'm not desperately dong anything, i'm tapping at keys on my keyboard bud

PapaBop3d ago

It's not like kids show with one bad guy? I present to you.. Bobby Kotick

ABizzel13d ago (Edited 3d ago )

DEI was never the problem and it was an ignorant take to begin with.

DEI is why games like Kena Bridge of Spirits, South of Midnight, and Ghost of Tsushima exist.

DEI is why we have a huge resurgence in Japanese, Chineses, and Korean developers producing games like Stellar Blade, Black Myth, and why Nintendo & Sony exist.

DEI is why more and more games have HUGE accessibility options with both Sony and MS fully behind this.

DEI was never a bad thing, the entire purpose of DEI is representation of all people, genders, disabilities, etc…

The problem was people used DEI as a default derogatory term to describe what they believed was forced representation, which allowed colorist, racist, sexist, misogynist, homophobic, and xenophobic fools to run away with the negative DEI narrative.

jambola2d ago

you don't get to decide other people's motivations
sorry to break it to you

ABizzel12d ago (Edited 2d ago )

To each their own, however, nothing you said invalidates why some people take offense to DEI incorrectly.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 2d ago
Sciurus_vulgaris5d ago

Executives seem to often have an obsession with perpetual revenue growth. There is always a finite amount of consumers for a product regardless of growth. Additionally, over investment is another serious issue in gaming.

Killer2020UK4d ago

The fact that they also rarely have any real expertise in game development compounds things. They'll look at what's been successful elsewhere, lack the knowledge to properly understand why they have been successful and then force a team to 'reproduce' their badly interpreted idea of that success.

We see it so often with sequels to games that were successful too. The team are left well alone, they have a break through hit and all of sudden the money men descend on the IP and completely railroad the dev team's ideas. Usually winds up being 'make the same game but MORE'

LoveSpuds3d ago

This is true throughout all of the corporate and public sector organisations to be honest. CEO's generally move amongst the corporate world without any need to have experience of a particular industry, they simply need to rely on their senior leadership credentials. A CEO of a retail giant will just as easily transition to a CEO role in the energy sector for example.

Not defending CEOs here to be clear, I think it's a huge part of the reason the western world is so fucked up. CEOs don't need to care about the sector they work in, in fact it's better if they don't care if they want to screw everyone to make profits.

GhostScholar4d ago

Companies don’t hire executives to break even. If the goal is breaking even then why start the company in the first place.

Soy4d ago

That's understood; it's getting record profits and expecting to always beat those record profits, and seeing anything less as a total failure. Then they lay people off and raise prices to reach those record profit levels again, just to sate shareholders. It's setting expectations way too high just to spike share prices, then inevitably falling short. It's feeling entitled to being more successful than everyone else. It's the CEOs doing all this to boost their own bonuses.

ABizzel13d ago

Growth benefits the company’s profits and therefore the company’s stock if publicly traded, which pleases the shareholders making them more and more rich, which is why Growth is always at the forefront of the vast majority of any publicly traded company.

More growth = More Money and the people at the top want all the money they can get. I can’t really blame them anyone would love to see their profits go from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, to multi-millions it’s almost like a gambling addiction.

But it also goes to show someone how morals can go out the window for a lot of these people, and how amazing some CEOs are when they catch this early and provide a balance solution that takes complete care of their employees across the board while keeping the business sustainable IE: Insomniac Games ALWAYS on the best places to work list. The rest of the industry could learn.

jambola5d ago

honestly, the "real" enemy of gaming, is ourselves
if nobody bought horse armor, shitty dlc would have died almost overnight
if we stood firm and nobody bought games from companies that were bad with layoffs, it would be solved
we're the idiots supporting awful business practices, we are the ones enouraging it

TiredGamer4d ago

I think the reality that we don't want to convince ourselves of is that without the rise of "horse armor" and DLC, game budgets would have essentially stagnated (smaller teams/smaller games), or game prices would have risen much more dramatically than they have. There was an incessant drive for bigger worlds, infinite detail, and hundreds of hours of "gameplay" over the last two decades, that while perhaps a natural evolution of things, needed a suitable funding stream to accomplish.

HyperMoused3d ago

What...CEOs make tens of millions and that doesnt include SLT etc etc...we now have multiple editions of games, in game currency, MT's, battle passes.....and what do we get..worse game than what was coming out 20 years ago....dont drink the cool aid, its this nickel and dime crap that is absolutely leading us to gaming destruction.

senorfartcushion4d ago

This is the worst possible answer to this conundrum. Blaming the masses is blaming the only people who are constantly “told” to buy.

Consumers are the only ones not to blame here. People make their own choices all the time. Disney movies are bombing and DEInis being blamed. Has that been enough to put Disney out of business? No and it never will.

Christopher4d ago

Disagree. Businesses are able to do what they do because people are bad consumers and don't think critically about purchases. Disney got away with doing shit stuff for years and it's just the last year where people got tired of it. It's not like it didn't work for 5 years or so for Disney to do the things they've done. They'll just move onto another way to get people to see movies and it will be just as bad but more profitable until people wake up and realize it.

TiredGamer4d ago

Consumerism drives business behavior. It's not so much "blaming" as it is observing behavior. The point I'm making is that the direction that games have gone are driven by the spending. Consumers are spending on DLC and they are driving the expectation of more glitz and padded out (lengthier) games. If they continue to pay, they will continue to drive that direction until a threshold is reached that forces a change in behavior.

senorfartcushion4d ago

Corporate advertising is the most powerful force on the planet.

This is N4G for god sake, every day there are arguments between people who are Team Xbox and Team PlayStation because they’ve been convinced that having an identity built on paying money to Sony and Microsoft matters more than having one as individual gamers who can play whatever they want.

And THEN we get to the corporate advertising part: to play whatever you want is to sink MORE into the advertising pits, making it so that you can more than one specific product.

jambola4d ago

ah you're right
they were told to buy it, it's clearly impossible to avoid that
if enough people stopped supporting, it would stop
disney not stopping would only be because enough people didn't stop

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4d ago
victorMaje4d ago

Agreed. I’ve been saying for years, announce you won’t be buying the upcoming game because of the practices of the previous game, then you only have to stick to your guns once, see how quickly things change for the better.

We have to unite in what we shouldn’t purchase.

jambola4d ago

just imagine a world, fifa came out worse, nobody buys the next one until they see proof it's better and stick to it
or games being forced online for single player and nobody buys it
things would change so fast

HyperMoused3d ago

Just like scooby doo, you have shown us the real monsters are us

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3d ago
Inverno4d ago

Greed and greedy people have and always will be the main issue for everything wrong in the world. Everything is a product to be exploited for monetary gain. Even when there are things that could help progress us along for the sake of making our lives easier that thing must be exploited for monetary gains. Anything that tells you otherwise is propaganda to make you complicit.

coolfool4d ago

I've never thought "DEI" (although the way most people use it doesn't match it's real definition) is the problem with games. Good games have continued to be good when they have a diverse cast, and likewise, bad games have continued to be bad. There isn't a credible example I've seen where a diverse cast has been the direct cause of a game being bad.

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