Epic Games Widens Fight Against Google With Australia Lawsuit (bloomberg.com) 39
Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Google in Australia, widening a fight against the tech giant over the commissions charged in its app store. From a report: The maker of Fortnite is alleging that Google has abused its control over the Android operating system by forcing developers to use its payment systems, according to a statement on Epic's website on Wednesday. The Alphabet unit also makes it "egregiously difficult" for consumers to download software directly to Android devices, forcing the vast majority to obtain the apps through the Google Play Store, the statement said. Epic has pursued multiple legal claims against both Google and Apple, which operates its own App Store for iPhones, after they removed its popular Fortnite video game from their platforms last year in a dispute over commissions. Both Google and Apple take a 30% cut from in-app payments and Epic had attempted to introduce its own direct payment option to circumvent the charges.
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That they were safe and effective.
mRNA vaccines were developed for the SARS and MERS epidemics. So as a class of vaccine, they are not new. The specific ones that fight COVID have a new mRNA payload.
Regarding the "egregiously difficult" bit (Score:4, Informative)
Does google really make it that difficult to install software from different sources? I found it quite easy to install 3rd "party stores" on an android device without doing anything weird at all. (for example the Amazon store) Also both store apps can be on the device and functioning at the same time.
To that end, I've also been able to install APKs directly from websites, as well as run and debug software I'm working on, having only to enable the option to do so, and without the need to pay for any special developer license.
I think it probably important for somebody to mention that as far as I can tell, the reason these options are set the way they are by default is to make it less likely a user accidentally install an unofficial and possibly tampered with distribution of software. Saying nothing to the routine news we hear about software on existing official app repositories that contain malware.
So I guess it's up for debate on whether or not this is the best approach, but it's probably also up for debate if this is a deliberate attempt to be anti competitive, or just a default setting that they happen to own. And perhaps having a default without a choice by default is in itself anti competitive.
Re:Regarding the "egregiously difficult" bit (Score:4, Funny)
If there is one judge who can't do it, it's egregiously difficult. Must be. There are no stupid judges.
Re:Regarding the "egregiously difficult" bit (Score:5, Insightful)
Maybe they have a legitimate complaint against Apple, but lawsuits against Google just suggest they're completely full of shit and it's all about wanting more money without wanting to put in any additional effort to earn it.
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Does google really make it that difficult to install software from different sources?
The few clicks that it takes to activate 3rd party sources is all that it takes to drive the overwhelming majority of the users to the Google Play Store. These minor conveniences are worth a lot when you are dealing with as many users as Android has. See Firefox, just having it set by default to Google Search is worth around a million dollar per day. In the EU Google got fined 2.42€ billion because they had their shopping search too prominently featured in their Google Search, a comparably minor viola
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Epic has/had (Im not an Android user so I dont know its current status) its own store on Android called "Epic Games" - https://www.xda-developers.com... [xda-developers.com]
The issue wasnt that they couldnt do it, it was that no one used their store . So they are back to square one - Googles Play Store, and the Play Stores terms and conditions, one of which is (now) "thou shalt use our payment mechanisms". Epic both wants its cake and to eat it - it couldnt make Epic Games successful, so it wants the freedom on the Play Stor
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Wait....are you saying that Epic's claims in their lawsuits might be slightly exaggerated?! Why, this has never happened before when one company sued another!
Oh The Hypocracy (Score:5, Informative)
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Clicking a link and click okay. (Score:2)
That's how complicated it is for users to download software from other sources. Click a link and then accept the unknown sources warning (which everyone does which is clearly evident by the spread of malware and the mere fact that people like clicking ok).
Tim Sweeney's brain damage is starting to affect him a bit. But hey, if you can't succeed, litigate right? The irony is on Android Epic could very much setup their own games store. ... Well actually given their complete ineptitude at setting up a functioni
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How do else you suppose Tim Sweeney justify his exclusivity deals that limit consumer choice unless he brandishes another company as "anticompetitive"? Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!
Dude the average gamer is too stupid to participate in the market, the modern gaming market has been 100% irrational since the rise of mmo's in 97, to even claim the game market is functional when the whole game was for the industry to steal and back end the big budget games (a battle which they've long since won) decries any understanding of the modern gaming environment as compared to 20 years ago.
We went from free maps, mods, skins and level editing in every AAA Game to not having that 20 years later. W
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I would say the average consumer/gamer was annoyed by Epic's exclusivity deals. Painting Google as anticompetitive when it is easy not to use the Android store is trying to deflect attention.
If consumer choice really existed, there'd be no steam, battle.net drm, rockstar social club, the reality is companies can force policies because the masses are stupid as fuck.
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Actually that is completely false. The concept of a games store would have developed as well. Your have plenty of choice in that regard and there are many games which are cross "platform". Now what happens in reality is that people voluntarily go and buy their games on *their platform of choice*. No one is upset that Epic exists. They are upset that Epic pours money into buying 3rd party exclusives meaning that they can't get their game on *their platform of choice*.
As for "masses being stupid" the services
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Actually enjoying the features offered doesn't make masses stupid.
Dude you don't seem to grasp the agenda, they took things that used to be included in the game executable and hold them hostage on a remote computer and we now have designed obsolescence.
20 year old games multiplayer just work fine while modern games are disappearing.
https://steamcommunity.com/app... [steamcommunity.com]
But continue to think all is well in the world of mouthrbeathing drm lovers like yourself, you don't grasp DRM was an attack on getting complete game software. They've now been destroying and disabling games re
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they took things that used to be included in the game executable and hold them hostage on a remote computer and we now have designed obsolescence.
No they didn't. They created an entirely different network games concept (that never was on your computer) and made it accessible in a way that it was never before. Even before Steam or battle.net existed there were companies working to externalise the management of network games. Gamespy developed this back before most people even knew what a modem was. That you played a 20 year old game that didn't have a feature doesn't mean that this wasn't a mainstay of multiplayer games from back when we actually stil
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Dude do you even hear yourself talk? How you jumped from consumers enjoying the convenience of the features offered by a platform, and one that does not in any way enforce or require DRM, to calling them "drm lovers" is beyond me. Anyway since you bought us down the insult phase, if you feel like having a normal conversation and not acting like some brain damaged moron, do come back with something more meaningful than "OMG they must love drm and the world is destroyed". Seriously childish.
Dude you clearly never gamed back then or if you did were one of the idiot casuals that gave birth to steam, you don't grasp STEAM/uplay/mmo's are fundamentally irrational for anyone who understands basic facts about PC's. The industry was always looking for an excuse to kill piracy and they found it with the fake genre "MMO" when ultima 9 was literally cancelled to work on UO, that mean RPG's with dedicated servers and level editors and modding were literally put on the back burner at EA and that's when D
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Dude you seem to ignore all the reasons why Steam is a good thing. Let’s take one example of a game in my Steam library, X-Com: Enemy Unknown/UFO Defense [wikipedia.org]. I purchased the game as new; however, after a few computer and OS upgrades, it did not run anymore. By then the game developers had ceased to exist. I cannot remember if I sold the game for a few bucks or just threw it away.
Today you can buy it on Steam for $4.99 not on sale. The advantages of a digital store:
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Dude you seem to ignore all the reasons why Steam is a good thing.
Dude you don't seem to get all the games that are now back ended WOULD HAVE BEEN OWNED BY US with full modding and ability to host our own games, go trawl steam for every "MMO" and server back ended free to play game, all those games would have been owned by us instead now these games can be shut down and disappear from gaming history to not be played or preserved by anyone because part of the game is held hostage on a remote server.
AKA games can literally disappear from videogame history now, you don't s
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You forget - that's how Fortnite was distributed initially!
Epic refused to pay Google's 30% for in-app payments, so Epic created an Epic Launcher that downloads and installs Fortni
EPIC agreed to the commission (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: EPIC agreed to the commission (Score:2)
Apple is not preventing Epic from building a competing phone. By your argument, if I sign a deal with Epic to put billboard ads in their game for a billion dollars, then I told them I will only pay them one million, they would be forced to continue to place my ads in their games by some competition laws? Just like Epic doesn't want to build phones, I don't want to build games, just have laws force game companies to put my ads in their games but allow me to not pay them for it.
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put items in your store and them signing a contract to give you 30% and then suing you for wanting them to actually pay the 30%.
Cute in theory, except that isn't what the lawsuits actually contain. It is too much to expect people RTFA or glance at the table of contents of a 13 page PDF, so here's a summary:
The US Apple lawsuit has 10 counts, all about monopoly and antitrust violations. (Specifically regarding unlawful monopoly maintenance, denial of essential facility, unreasonable restraint of trade, illegal tying, and unfair competition.) These are focused about the ability to compete at all. The 30% is mentioned as evidence of
If Google should pay (Score:3)
What Epic forgets.. (Score:2)
I mean not to say don't fight if you are being wronged, but this will only make their games more expensive
Gamers pay the bill.
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Well, the utter shitshow that is the Epic store on PC demonstrates developing good software isn't their core business, so you can't blame them for trying to find a new one.
Epic really needs to replace some leadership (Score:4, Interesting)
Epic really needs to replace some leadership.
They captured lightning in a bottle with Fortnite, but instead of cashing in completely they start an argument with Google and Apple, two the largest most litigious companies in the world.
What's their argument? That Epic should be able to build their business on top of the multi billion dollar investments, products + services made by other companies, without compensating those companies.
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What's their argument? That Epic should be able to build their business on top of the multi billion dollar investments, products + services made by other companies, without compensating those companies.
Yes.
And if it's a story about their lawsuit against Apple, most Slashdot posters will agree.
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And if it's a story about their lawsuit against Apple, most Slashdot posters will agree.
You can't install software on IOS outside the official store.
You can install software on Android outside the official store.
That's the difference.
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No, in both cases:
What's their argument? That Epic should be able to build their business on top of the multi billion dollar investments, products + services made by other companies, without compensating those companies.
In Apple's case, Slashdot's hatred makes them believe the folks with ~20% of the market are the dominant monopoly. It's not like you have to buy an iPhone to get a smartphone. Why, there's these Google folks you tout. They even have ~60% of the market.
This epic struggle needs theme music (Score:2)
Restaurant apps (Score:2)
No coincidence (Score:2)