|OT| Epic vs Apple/Google - Battle of the Tims

prudis

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Epic Games Began Planning Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple Two Years Ago With 'Project Liberty'
pic internal documents related to "Project Liberty" suggest that Epic has been plotting against Apple and Google since 2018. Epic began Project Liberty when it saw a decline in its average monthly active users and revenue, devising a strategy to pay less commission while still taking advantage of the benefits of the ‌App Store‌ and the money that Apple has invested into the ecosystem. ‌

Epic Games‌ hired lawyers and a PR firm as part of its plan to launch a lawsuit against Apple, ultimately shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars. Epic outlined its plan to get Fortnite approved with hidden alternate payment options, which was then activated by a hotfix, leading to the current dispute. Epic internal documents described the legal battle against Apple and Google as "fun!" and contemplated how to get Apple and Google to reconsider their fees without ‌Epic Games‌ looking like "the baddies."
 

Panda Pedinte

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Because If I understand correctly you can call to listen, the problem is it wasn't muted.
What a mess

Assuming it's not a plant, it's shameful that Epic has weaponized kids this way because of Fortnite. Court needs to get its shit together, but that's a side issue
The way they weaponized kids was disgusting.
 

Arc

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This is interesting to me.

People often claim that "all the big publishers get custom deals anyway", without proof. Either Epic isn't big, or that's not true.
When Epic lowered the price of V bucks by 20% across the board, I thought they got sweetheart deals from the console manufacturers to help offset the lower revenue. But nope, Tim is just a madman.
 

Panda Pedinte

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The audio quality is so bad, they are talking about something consoles being or not a general computing device and Tim(?) is saying they are not.

 
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beep boop

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This is interesting to me.

People often claim that "all the big publishers get custom deals anyway", without proof. Either Epic isn't big, or that's not true.
Wait a second. When they lowered the price of Vbucks they framed it like they were "passing on the savings" as if they got a better deal with the console makers, whereas Apple stood fast on its "30%" cut. All theater then?:dmcblob:

 

madjoki

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Wait a second. When they lowered the price of Vbucks they framed it like they were "passing on the savings" as if they got a better deal with the console makers, whereas Apple stood fast on its "30%" cut. All theater then?:dmcblob:

Sony & MS price parity clause on Fortnite. Epic couldn't have done better prices on Epic Direct.
It's all show so they can get 100% from Fortnite AR-metaverse on mobile devices.
 

FunnyJay

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Personally, I've never understood the "Fortnite"-metaverse bit.....

So, when there's this huge concert happening in Fortnite, what stopping everyone from messing with the attendees by shooting, since it's all a Battle Royale game, right? Is the "death cloud" homing in on the concert venue?

When did it go from a horde-shooter-turned-Battle-Royale to a "hey lets hang out and do nothing"?

EDIT: And yes, I know this is "old man yells at clouds"
 

Arc

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I've never played Fortnite, but I think they have a special game mode for concerts and events that are separate from the battle royale mode. From what I can gather, Epic's concept of a "metaverse" is just a highly souped up Playstation Home.
 

Alexandros

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Sweeney essentially wants to create a 3D internet that he controls in its totality. A virtual society in which all kinds of companies and individuals will set up shop and all of them will be paying commission to him. I'm not kidding when I say that it is incredibly, distrurbingly creepy. The guy is one volcano lair, one giant laser and one cat away from being a full-blown Bond villain.
 

Phoenix RISING

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Personally, I've never understood the "Fortnite"-metaverse bit.....

So, when there's this huge concert happening in Fortnite, what stopping everyone from messing with the attendees by shooting, since it's all a Battle Royale game, right? Is the "death cloud" homing in on the concert venue?

When did it go from a horde-shooter-turned-Battle-Royale to a "hey lets hang out and do nothing"?

EDIT: And yes, I know this is "old man yells at clouds"
It's like online chatrooms but in the 21st century.

My kids have been playing games like Fortnite and Splatoon multiplayer where ppl on opposite teams just "dance" and spam harmless things. Nobody is actually interested in winning.

Think about that the next time someone says our youth are soft, lol.
 

Mivey

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Sweeney essentially wants to create a 3D internet that he controls in its totality. A virtual society in which all kinds of companies and individuals will set up shop and all of them will be paying commission to him. I'm not kidding when I say that it is incredibly, distrurbingly creepy. The guy is one volcano lair, one giant laser and one cat away from being a full-blown Bond villain.
Hard to take him seriously, honestly. This entire lawsuit is so full of logical holes. How up your ass can you be to think you can win a case against Apple, the most profitable company on Earth, with such shoddy, barely existent strategy? I'd like someone lead a good case against Apple for their walled garden, but I can't see Epic's lawsuit doing much of anything. The best argument would be that customers should have the right to install what they want on their phones, consoles or whatever devices they own. Epic isn't making that case, they limit it to phones, as if there's a legal difference, nor do they have the standing to argue what customers should be allowed to do.
This entire case is poorly thought out, full of silly antics by Epic and hard to take seriously, as I said.
Just shows how silly the video game industry ultimately is.
 

Alexandros

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Does anyone have a live link? I can't find anything on Youtube today.
 

ExistentialThought

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Judge is not buying what Epic is selling.
Is Susan Athey the last witness for Epic?

At any rate, it really does not seem like there are many compelling arguments from the side of Epic. The best arguments have been from other companies which only highlights Epic was not the ideal company to bring this case forward and for a multitude of reasons (e.g. their behavior leading up to the case, less than clear ask of the courts, being a video game company which complicates since video games have walled gardens, etc.).

I can see Apple having to revise their anti-steering rules (i.e. app devs can link websites with other payment options, just not other direct payment options within the application). Even then I could see Apple having warnings or an opt-in/out to any outside links since I could bet dollars to doughnuts as soon as someone clicks a link, uses another payment method, and is scammed/compromised/etc., Apple would be sued for failing to preventing fraudulent purchases (granted, I do not think such a lawsuit would be successful in most courts).
 

TioChuck

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Epic's Lawyer sounds like Aisha Tyler, whenever she's talking I imagine this trial happening at a Ubisoft stage on E3.
 
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