7 ms·

Epic says Google paid $360M to keep Activision from launching an app store

68 points by astlouis44 4y ago

vivaldidev 4y ago
This is interesting stuff to ponder. If Activision-Blizzard ends up being owned by Microsoft, then Microsoft will have significant leverage when it comes to launching their own mobile app store. They'll just pull all their content on Android and lock it behind their own platform. And users will migrate if it means that's the only way to access IP like COD mobile, Diablo mobile, Candy Crush, etc. https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/19/23411972/microsoft-xbox-mobile-store-games https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/19/23411972/microsoft-xbox-...
- izacus 4y ago
  This is what Disney did to streaming media - bought out Marvel, locked all their content behind their own streaming service and locked in the choice of the service and content together into a single consolidated entity. People now scream at Netflix for not having this content anymore and happily pay Disney for it. Isn't market competition great?
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - autotune 4y ago
    You can probably watch any interesting content you find on Disney+ on a Saturday before having to wait a while for anything new. The catalog is not that much, but it is high quality, and I don't have a tv show about a soda company promotion on my front page like I do with the supposedly ad free version of the Netflix plan.
  - Spivak 4y ago
    Without compulsory licensing for copyrighted works there will never be competition. And that’s by design.
devops3 4y ago
The walled gardens from Google and Apple are clearly a duopoly, and these revealings from Epic show just how far these companies will go to prevent competition. We need a third option for an app store that works on both iOS and Android, featuring lower rates, desperately. As another comment suggested, maybe Microsoft can be the new entrant here.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- qualudeheart 4y ago
  China has a large ecosystem of app stores. Does anyone know why? Government intervention? Can we replicate that in America?
  - snoot 4y ago
    You’d like your app stores controlled by the government?
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - MallocVoidstar 4y ago
    The Google Play store is banned there, so there's no obvious "default" choice. Other than whatever your phone manufacturer preloads, which will probably be its own store, not necessarily a good store.
  - izacus 4y ago
    What are the alternative app stores available to Chinese iOS users?
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - musicale 4y ago
      It would be nice to have an App Store in China that didn't ban VPN apps.
Crash0v3rid3 4y ago
Activision claims this is false and has submitted documents disproving these claims: https://twitter.com/lulumeservey/status/1593344663385153537?t=eSfi23rItv5C2LHw7WobZw&s=19 https://twitter.com/lulumeservey/status/1593344663385153537?... "Epic is accusing Activision Blizzard’s partner Google of paying us not to compete with them. To be clear: that's false. Google never asked us, pressured us, or made us agree not to compete with them - and we’ve already submitted documents and testimony disproving this nonsense."
- spywaregorilla 4y ago
  At a glance to the doc from the google exec, there was at least some dialogue suggesting that activision would pursue a competing platform if Google didn't give them some sort of agreement. It's not a direct bribe. The money is going to purchase something else. But the topic seems to have been discussed.
- killingtime74 4y ago
  It's very interesting to me how a company is able to prove a negative. We are just taking their word for it. What kind of document proves that they never discussed a thing
musicale 4y ago
If only someone like Amazon would create an alternative App Store for Android, people would undoubtedly flock to it... right?
- tehlike 4y ago
  The friction that amazon app store for installs and updates make it impractical to use.

68 points by astlouis44 4y ago

This is interesting stuff to ponder. If Activision-Blizzard ends up being owned by Microsoft, then Microsoft will have significant leverage when it comes to launching their own mobile app store. They'll just pull all their content on Android and lock it behind their own platform. And users will migrate if it means that's the only way to access IP like COD mobile, Diablo mobile, Candy Crush, etc. https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/19/23411972/microsoft-xbox-mobile-store-games https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/19/23411972/microsoft-xbox-...

izacus 4y ago
This is what Disney did to streaming media - bought out Marvel, locked all their content behind their own streaming service and locked in the choice of the service and content together into a single consolidated entity. People now scream at Netflix for not having this content anymore and happily pay Disney for it. Isn't market competition great?
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- autotune 4y ago
  You can probably watch any interesting content you find on Disney+ on a Saturday before having to wait a while for anything new. The catalog is not that much, but it is high quality, and I don't have a tv show about a soda company promotion on my front page like I do with the supposedly ad free version of the Netflix plan.
- Spivak 4y ago
  Without compulsory licensing for copyrighted works there will never be competition. And that’s by design.

devops3 4y ago

The walled gardens from Google and Apple are clearly a duopoly, and these revealings from Epic show just how far these companies will go to prevent competition. We need a third option for an app store that works on both iOS and Android, featuring lower rates, desperately. As another comment suggested, maybe Microsoft can be the new entrant here.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
qualudeheart 4y ago
China has a large ecosystem of app stores. Does anyone know why? Government intervention? Can we replicate that in America?
- snoot 4y ago
  You’d like your app stores controlled by the government?
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- MallocVoidstar 4y ago
  The Google Play store is banned there, so there's no obvious "default" choice. Other than whatever your phone manufacturer preloads, which will probably be its own store, not necessarily a good store.
- izacus 4y ago
  What are the alternative app stores available to Chinese iOS users?
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - musicale 4y ago
    It would be nice to have an App Store in China that didn't ban VPN apps.

Crash0v3rid3 4y ago

Activision claims this is false and has submitted documents disproving these claims: https://twitter.com/lulumeservey/status/1593344663385153537?t=eSfi23rItv5C2LHw7WobZw&s=19 https://twitter.com/lulumeservey/status/1593344663385153537?... "Epic is accusing Activision Blizzard’s partner Google of paying us not to compete with them. To be clear: that's false. Google never asked us, pressured us, or made us agree not to compete with them - and we’ve already submitted documents and testimony disproving this nonsense."

spywaregorilla 4y ago
At a glance to the doc from the google exec, there was at least some dialogue suggesting that activision would pursue a competing platform if Google didn't give them some sort of agreement. It's not a direct bribe. The money is going to purchase something else. But the topic seems to have been discussed.
killingtime74 4y ago
It's very interesting to me how a company is able to prove a negative. We are just taking their word for it. What kind of document proves that they never discussed a thing

musicale 4y ago

If only someone like Amazon would create an alternative App Store for Android, people would undoubtedly flock to it... right?

tehlike 4y ago
The friction that amazon app store for installs and updates make it impractical to use.