Apple Games App

Separating the App Store from the Game Store would be a good move for a lot of reasons, but I don't think Apple sees any positives in it.

So many of their legal problems around the store really are about either games or media content applications (music, video, books.)

The actual "software that runs on a phone and makes that phone do something useful by itself" section of the App Store is tiny.

If Apple took the exact ruleset as it was a couple years ago and applied it only to games, that would change the conversation substantially.

The core issue is that Apple is bound and determined to extract a fee from software that runs on its platform. This is a philosophy and policy issue, not a technical one.

Craig Hockenberry's comment about a Core Debugging Fee is funny because it's so plausible. But at least this way Apple would get to focus on games properly, make their money on games, and take some pressure off all the other developers.

The 30% argument always seems to use the game console example, but the iDevices and especially the Mac are not just game consoles. Apple doesn't seem interested in a nuanced approach.

There has to be some way Apple can make some money while not also destroying the entire concept of the general purpose computer.

Just because the Game store component hasn't arrived in release 1.0 doesn't mean it may not arrive in a subsequent iteration. Though I'm guessing Apple will review traction of the Games app before ever trying such a radical change.

What is less commented about generally is how Apple, with the existing App Store rules, has almost single handedly created, supported and encouraged the advertising surveillance and data selling industry model.

In essence, all paid apps subsidise all the free apps on the App Store.

Paid apps give 15-30% of their revenue to Apple which covers the cost of running the store, while at the same time ad and data-mining supported apps get a free ride – using the same services, App Store review processes and APIs as paid apps – at practically no cost.

How much has Meta/Facebook paid Apple in the last 15+ years on the App Store vs the amount of resources they have used? Now compare this to an indie app developer who pays Apple 15% for every sale and you can see how the playing field is not level.

This simply encourages any new startup who wants to be on the App Store to have an ad supported or data mining business model -- pretty much undercutting Apple's much promoted privacy stance.

@Matthew Less commented on, but some of us have been making that point for a long time (and probably earlier posts, but I had trouble searching for it).

@Michael, yes agree that it has been raised in the past.

It's very relevant at this point in time with all the noise occurring around the EU changes.

The conversation is focused on the % that should be paid for various App Store 'services' when the fact that you can use these services for FREE* (*as long as you have an ad-supported or privacy invasive business model) is being extremely under-reported.

This point underscores that the only service that Apple should be able to charge for – if there was a modicum of rationale consistency – is payment processing and refund handling. The other services, such as distribution, update mechanisms etc are all given away for free by Apple, for certain privacy invasive business models, so why should paid business models be charged for the exact same services?

Let's have a consistent menu of potential App Store services, with clear consistent prices, that an app can decide to use or not to use; irrespective of whether a business charges for an app or not.

@Matthew Yeah, and Apple’s also highlighting all the other free apps (with non-free content and services) that don’t pay, either.

If we're talking about the store model in general, they need to get rid of the "Top Paid" and "Top Free" lists because it makes absolutely zero sense at this point. Apple has actively encouraged the destruction of the upfront payment model.

But apparently they can't without admitting what they've done to the software economy. Apple can't use a nuanced approach anymore because they have built up this entire framework for themselves.

"Free with IAP" is a purposely ambiguous statement. Is that a demo, or is it something that is completely useless without a $999 in app purchase?

Apple actively refuses to do either demos or upgrade pricing. They have even in the past had the gall to claim that nobody even wants it.

In fact very many people want it both developers and users, but it undermines their IAP scheme.