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> Why is it a death sentence not to have the play store? Because of network effects, consumers just don't want a phone without their banking apps. Epic tried

> Why is it a death sentence not to have the play store? Because of network effects, consumers just don't want a phone without their banking apps. Epic tried to make a deal like you suggest with OnePlus and LG but it was cancelled due to Google pressure.

zepto 6y ago
Epic could market the device at first to their own customers, many of whom are kids who don’t need banking apps. Network effects are strong, but not impossible to overcome. All they need to do is sell the device to users who don’t care about banking apps for long enough for banking apps to be uploaded to their store. As for the the deal with OnePlus and LG. I don’t believe it was anything like what I am suggesting - that was just a co-marketing effort. They weren’t going to create a new and open platform based on Android. The argument that nobody can ever compete against Android no matter what they do is a weak one. The iPod was an incredibly niche device when it was launched. There is a proven market for handheld gaming platforms that don’t run banking apps. Epic could start there and build out, just like Apple did.
- realusername 6y ago
  They could create a device targeting kids with games, nice controls and everything but it would just be another kind of PSVita at the end with Sony and Nintendo as competitors... It would never be a device competing in the mobile app market. So yeah, they could do that but it would be pointless.
  - zepto 6y ago
    “it would never be a device competing in the mobile app market” This is false at face value. If they put cellular functionality and an open app store on the device, it would be de-facto competing in the mobile app market.
    - realusername 6y ago
      That's not what defines the mobile app market, what makes the mobile app market is that the device can replace a computer. Even if you could put a SIM card into a Nintendo Switch, that would still just be a Nintendo Switch.

zepto 6y ago

Epic could market the device at first to their own customers, many of whom are kids who don’t need banking apps. Network effects are strong, but not impossible to overcome. All they need to do is sell the device to users who don’t care about banking apps for long enough for banking apps to be uploaded to their store. As for the the deal with OnePlus and LG. I don’t believe it was anything like what I am suggesting - that was just a co-marketing effort. They weren’t going to create a new and open platform based on Android. The argument that nobody can ever compete against Android no matter what they do is a weak one. The iPod was an incredibly niche device when it was launched. There is a proven market for handheld gaming platforms that don’t run banking apps. Epic could start there and build out, just like Apple did.

realusername 6y ago
They could create a device targeting kids with games, nice controls and everything but it would just be another kind of PSVita at the end with Sony and Nintendo as competitors... It would never be a device competing in the mobile app market. So yeah, they could do that but it would be pointless.
- zepto 6y ago
  “it would never be a device competing in the mobile app market” This is false at face value. If they put cellular functionality and an open app store on the device, it would be de-facto competing in the mobile app market.
  - realusername 6y ago
    That's not what defines the mobile app market, what makes the mobile app market is that the device can replace a computer. Even if you could put a SIM card into a Nintendo Switch, that would still just be a Nintendo Switch.