Epic explains why they aren't suing Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft over 30% fee while still going after Google/Apple
Quite an Epic defense
Epic started a legal battle with both Google and Apple over the 30% fee they take from all sales and in-app transactions, meaning those companies get 30% of whatever Epic makes from games like Fortnite. Epic feels this is unfair, yet they pay the same amount to Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft for in-game transactions on their respective platforms. Today, Epic has explained their reasoning.
During the Epic Vs. Google trial, Epic’s chief financial officer Randy Gelber offered a very straightforward answer as to why they believe Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft’s 30% cut is justified while Google and Apple are overreaching.
“We believe those [consoles] to be competitive markets and we believe that the fee, their cost structure, is entirely different than a mobile app store. …they subsidize hardware, so they sell their hardware, as far as I can tell from widely published reports, at a loss, and so the fee needs to cover that. Mobile apps are typically low in size and so their costs are higher, and I think their customer service costs are higher because people don’t call Google about apps, they call the developer generally.”
Whether that argument holds any water is up to the judge, and there’s still a lot of time left ahead in this legal battle. We’ll keep an eye on the matter and let you know of the ruling once it’s made.
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enthropy
5M agoNintendo actually earns money on Switch sales. From what I read some time ago even more than on games sales.
mereel
5M agoThat’s definitely an argument, although a flimsy one at best. Might as well give it a shot though, I don’t blame them for trying.
tendonin
5M agoNot an expert on these legal matters, but I have to imagine there’s a PR angle. The public is more inclined to like game platforms than general tech platforms, while gamers are a defensive bunch who are more likely to get behind a game company when they’re taking on an “outside” target. Doesn’t invalidate or bolster the points they’re making either way.
hyawatta
5M agoCustomers contacting Nintendo's support instead of the developer is a good point. I can't really contact Arc System Works when my Double Dragon IV game cannot connect for co-op online. This still has not been fixed, by the way.
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