Epic Games to Bring Fortnite to iPad in EU After iPadOS 'Gatekeeper' Decision

[avkills]

Regardless of how anyone feels about Epic; their underlying technology Unreal is very important in the 3D world and would be a crushing blow for Apple and Apple users if Epic decided to just say **** off to the Mac community.

Personally I side more with Apple because I think it is important for Apps to be vetted for something like a phone, that once hacked could cause serious havoc. On the other hand, one should be free to do whatever they wish with whatever electronic devices they buy.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I can imagine that if a ton of EU citizens end up getting hacked and compromised and that there is enough noise and complaints; that the EU will have no where to go except to reverse the decision.

* starts making popcorn to watch 😅

 

[Naraxus]

I really despise Tim Sweeny & Epic. They want all the benefits of iOS/iPadOS without paying for it. Apple should tell the EU & Epic to go pound sand and that Fortnite will never be allowed back on Apple's platforms.

 

[Art Mark]

Like it or not, it’s a win for consumers against gatekeepers like Apple. Epic Games may have pursued this for self serving reasons, but that doesn’t diminish the practical value of the DMA nor the upcoming DOJ antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. against Apple.

Not a Mono[poly. Not that anyone can clearly even define a 'gatekeeper' (PS5, X-box?. Just government intrusion into the market. if you support needless regulation it's a win. But if the government ever went after shelf fees at grocery stores or the monolpy on gas refining they'd be doing a lot more for consumer. This is really a rather worthless set of restrictions.

 

[gsurf123]

Congratulations EU friends. You now get the CHOICE to put what software you want on favorite tech devices you own... this being but one of them... while the rest of us have "Daddy" deciding for us what can and can't be installed on the very same tech we've purchased. Apparently to many of us, Father knows best... and whatever Father dictates is the only way it should be.

Enjoy your greater freedom... much like the rest of us have and have had with our Macs for many years now... leading to no apocalypse, no disaster, no account draining by evil crime syndicates, we're not swimming in viruses, no locusts/frogs/famine, etc... just as you are experiencing after almost 2 months of these laws taking effect... and as it will likely be months and then years from now too.

One must ask why you would own an iPhone knowing going in there were restrictions on what you could do. It flat out makes zero sense to buy a product and bitch about it. I do not buy things that have functionality I want or have to have, but instead buy products that have them.

Other than Epic, Spotify and some zealots the vast majority of people could care less about this access you want. As for your comparison to the Mac it was created a different time by Apple. When Apple created the iPhone they set the rules because it is theirs to do so.

 

[gsurf123]

Not a Mono[poly. Not that anyone can clearly even define a 'gatekeeper' (PS5, X-box?. Just government intrusion into the market. if you support needless regulation it's a win. But if the government ever went after shelf fees at grocery stores or the monolpy on gas refining they'd be doing a lot more for consumer. This is really a rather worthless set of restrictions.

For that matter robo and spam calls would be a better use of time. Throw in the pharmacy managers that screw over anyone on medication. Finally make opt-in the standard versus our you have to opt-out, but you cannot completely opt-out for everything.

 

[insoft.uk]

Sony, Microsoft & Nintendo also need to comply as they too are gatekeepers

 

[london_apple]

This feels suspiciously "quick with it," but good for them and us, I guess. 😜

 

[Sevendaymelee]

On the surface, the EU looks like they're protecting people. Underneath, they are all just corrupt politicians, bought and paid for, similar to the way big oil is in the pockets of US politicians. This isn't about protecting anyone. This is about taking money from competitors behind closed doors, then using their power to hurt Apple and thus, help certain interests who are paying big, big dollars to get this done. So far, it's worked, because Tim Cook has no spine. But if he ever decides to call their bluff, that will change. In a hurry.

 

[vipergts2207]

One must ask why you would own an iPhone knowing going in there were restrictions on what you could do. It flat out makes zero sense to buy a product and bitch about it. I do not buy things that have functionality I want or have to have, but instead buy products that have them.

Other than Epic, Spotify and some zealots the vast majority of people could care less about this access you want. As for your comparison to the Mac it was created a different time by Apple. When Apple created the iPhone they set the rules because it is theirs to do so.

You don’t understand because you don’t want to. Do you not recognize that there is typically more than a singular consideration involved when buying something, including a phone? Maybe you want to buy a brand new blue car. Do you buy any blue car? Probably not. You probably have other metrics you’re basing your purchase on. You also want it to have at least 400 hp? Ok there are blue cars with 400+ horsepower. You want it to be less than $30k. Well now you’re going to have to start making compromises. Not many, if any at all, new 400 hp cars for under $30k. Now apply this logic to phones. There is a compromise with almost any purchasing decision.

 

[sw1tcher]

Why am I not surprised to see so many triggered responses when there's an article about Epic or Tim Sweeney. It's like a Pavlovian response. 🤣 Amazing to see so many people against alternative app stores.

 

[mac38728]

Idk what you’re even talking about. This is capitalism 101. Companies have a duty to their shareholders. Any attitudes toward consumers are only to serve that purpose. A company that says it’s “pro-consumer” only does so because saying they are pro-consumer is good for business.

It’s true for Apple, Epic, and everyone else. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

Apple will milk the fees as long as possible, just like Epic, Spotify, and any other company that can afford strong legal teams will seek to pay as little as possible. Each will blame the other.

There are no good guys here.

Yup, both companies seeking their own interests and trying to please shareholders. I get the point of epics argument that these fees are harmful to indie developers but if epic paid a smaller % than small app developers they wouldn’t care. It’s all about 💸💸💸

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

One must ask why you would own an iPhone knowing going in there were restrictions on what you could do. It flat out makes zero sense to buy a product and bitch about it. I do not buy things that have functionality I want or have to have, but instead buy products that have them.

Other than Epic, Spotify and some zealots the vast majority of people could care less about this access you want. As for your comparison to the Mac it was created a different time by Apple. When Apple created the iPhone they set the rules because it is theirs to do so.

First off, I do NOT own an iPhone. I'm quite happy with a cellular iPad mini, VOIP app and buds for my telephony needs.

Secondly, I'm not in the EU, so I can't benefit from these laws because I live in the- somewhat ironically I must say- "land of the free."

Thirdly, unless YOU live in the EU, I don't grasp why this would matter to you... as all of us who do not live "there" are completely unaffected by their laws and whatever they can or cannot do with technology they own. Good for them!

However, if I did live there, I would greatly appreciate having the exact same freedoms to install what I would like to install on my iDevices EXACTLY like all of us have on our Macs... to shop around for best deals for apps I want to buy instead of having only a single "company store" from which to get them... and to decide for myself if I want to install an app on my iDevices instead of corporate spats driving, limiting, or eliminating such decisions for me.

As to why would someone choose to buy an iDevice knowing there are restrictions on what they can do, I chose mine because I want THE REST of many very positive benefits even at the expense of not enjoying a few more benefits a segment of our Apple-loving friends across the sea can now enjoy.

There's absolutely NOTHING wrong at all with coveting "MORE" from technology we own. Like our Macs, we do own it after all. It's not borrowed tech.

Even though I personally cannot benefit from these laws at all, I can appreciate how hundreds of millions of Apple-loving people "over there" CAN enjoy them. From America- the land of the free- I can envy their freedom to do the very same things we Americans and all global Apple people can do with the Macs that we also own.

"Think different"

 

[haemolysis]

One must ask why you would own an iPhone knowing going in there were restrictions on what you could do. It flat out makes zero sense to buy a product and bitch about it. I do not buy things that have functionality I want or have to have, but instead buy products that have them.

I sometimes see this argument, but honestly I think it's quite disingenuous to say people buy these devices "knowing" they are handicapped with restrictions. iOS devices are very much sold as general computing devices which the reasonable consumer expects they can run whatever software they want, which has been the de facto rule for years on basically every other general computing platform, Apple's included.

There is no warning that you will be restricted. Such limitations are an unwelcome, hidden surprise. Yes, you can find this information if you do some deep dive research into the EULA, which you will get once you arrive at home with your device - it's not presented in store, and not found in the marketing and advertising material. In fact Apple regularly tout powerful capabilities and thousands of apps...

Never has their advertising material said anything like "Caveat: no emulators, bitcoin miners, streaming games, P2P, etc allowed!" That is always secretively hidden from buyers.

A free market wild-west american might claim that this is the customers responsibility to research and understand, but reasonable consumers would expect that if you're going to sell something with a handicapped feature, you should be told up front - and prominently. And any country with reasonable consumer protections would require just that.

Or... they catch up to the issue later on and require to open up later down the track. Hrrrm, guess what's happening.

 

[HMI]

I’m not a gamer, and I don’t play Fortnight. But, if I did, I would quit Fortnight.

 

[npmacuser5]

With Rights comes Responsibility!
If someone has their system hacked because of their choices, why are they not held fully responsible for their actions that can cause others harm? The fallacy of this whole EU rights efforts, no accountability. If one modifies their vehicle to unsafe condition, causes harm doing so, held accountable. Need the same in technology. Do what you want, cause harm, held accountable.

 

[sigurros]

Is anyone else sick of the EU and their ridiculous losses to try and shake down Apple? It’s incredible how much time they spend tax and large companies to line their pockets. They are not for the consumer, they are for themselves to make a lot of money.

How is this good for consumers? It’s apples ecosystem and they can put whatever they want on it. If you don’t like it, go by an android, you have that choice.

 

[TechnoMonk]

Is anyone else sick of the EU and their ridiculous losses to try and shake down Apple? It’s incredible how much time they spend tax and large companies to line their pockets. They are not for the consumer, they are for themselves to make a lot of money.

How is this good for consumers? It’s apples ecosystem and they can put whatever they want on it. If you don’t like it, go by an android, you have that choice.

Race to the bottom, devices will get expensive or cheaper low tier phones will flood EU. There is whole bunch of history and trend to analyze on what socialism and government control does to economies. EU is walking the path of iron curtain.

 

[gregmancuso]

You don’t understand because you don’t want to. Do you not recognize that there is typically more than a singular consideration involved when buying something, including a phone? Maybe you want to buy a brand new blue car. Do you buy any blue car? Probably not. You probably have other metrics you’re basing your purchase on. You also want it to have at least 400 hp? Ok there are blue cars with 400+ horsepower. You want it to be less than $30k. Well now you’re going to have to start making compromises. Not many, if any at all, new 400 hp cars for under $30k. Now apply this logic to phones. There is a compromise with almost any purchasing decision.

True. But to butcher your analogy, the compromise between closed and open ecosystem is more akin to getting a car with doors and a roof vs four wheels bolted to a sheet of plywood.

You start with the decision of ecosystem and make compromises from there - do I get the top end flagship or settle for something more in my price range.

 

[bousozoku]

I'm hoping that the EU will make sure that loot boxes and micro-transactions are fully investigated, as well.

Apple should be ready. It wouldn't have taken a genius to see this coming.

 

[Shirasaki]

Exactly. And others will follow.

So what? Apple can’t provide competing service fee to those companies, why those companies must give more money to Apple when they can keep those money themselves?
And before you start moaning about “$99 for millions of customers, handling purchase, handling app hosting etc etc”, company has their own way of tallying numbers and priorities, which may differ from what customer typically would think.

 

[Delivered]

In other news the EU finds that Apples are gatekeepers of Apple seeds, Apples have 6 months to make their seeds available to other fruits.

Apple is getting absolutely dog walked by the EU. It’s really embarrassing. They shouldn’t have put themselves in this position to be humiliated like this.

I’m all for sideloading frankly but I really wanted Apple to do it willingly. Not be dragged kicking and screaming in this undignified way where they look like the bad guys.

 

[wbeasley]

The whole Gatekeeper definition was written to avoid shaking down Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.

They are just as much gate keepers on gaming platforms.

But EU knew they would be in for a major legal battle if it took on too many players.

Now with Apple allowing game emulators, watch the game companies fight to protect their IP on ROMs. They should be worried. The EU could at any time change the definition, broaden it (like suddenly realizing iPadOS is much the same thing as iOS. LOL) and they are then in the cross hairs.

 

[CarAnalogy]

Why couldn't it be someone besides Epic as the figurehead of this?

I honestly think they're mostly not wrong. Yes the public embarrassment of Apple with the original switch was known in Bird-Person culture as a "dick move." But most of the rest of it is actually fairly sound.

Similar to this TikTok ban. I hate TikTok. But I hate government overreach more.

There are no more good guys and bad guys. Have to judge these competing interests on their actions and effects on we, the People.

Apple, EU, Epic, TikTok, US, etc etc. Doesn't matter anymore who says it, let's just try to sort out the actual principles that really matter.

Interesting times.

 

[neilpmas]

View attachment 2373145

Any and all Epic 'wins' only illicit this from me these days. They are all for themselves – not the consumer.

But you know that’s the point?? Can I suggest you read https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_hand . Apple are in it for themselves and Epic are in it for themselves - and the EU are in it for the citizens and therefore regulated the gatekeeper (Apple) so that the citizens win.

 

[neilpmas]

I really despise Tim Sweeny & Epic. They want all the benefits of iOS/iPadOS without paying for it. Apple should tell the EU & Epic to go pound sand and that Fortnite will never be allowed back on Apple's platforms.

The streets of Brussels would be paved with gold from Apple fines if they do that.