| Title | Google says Fortnite has to pay them like everyone else |
| Author | Nick Diamon |
| Posted in | News |
| When | December 10, 2019 |
Google has refused to waive their standard fee for Fortnite's in-game purchases. According to The Verge, Epic asked Google for an exemption or reduction in their cut to have Fortnite listed on Google's Play store for the Android platform..
Epic says it’s high time for the industry to change.
And by “change” they mean “start kowtowing to Epic.”
Mobile Fortnite probably isn’t making as much as Candy Crush, is it? I don’t see what would make them so special. Maybe Epic will start their own mobile gamestore, where they can charge themselves only a 12% cut.
Maybe this mobile EGS will get first-year exclusives on all the F2P mobile Hidden Anime Titty-finder games.
It’s like Goodfellas.
“Now the guy’s got Paulie Google as a partner. Any problems, he goes to Paulie Google. Trouble with the bill? He can go to Paulie Google. Trouble with the cops, deliveries, Tommy, he can call Paulie Google. But now the guy’s gotta come up with Paulie Google’s money every week no matter what. Business bad? Fuck you, pay me. Oh, you had a fire? Fuck you, pay me. Place got hit by lightning huh? Fuck you, pay me.”
“Hey, will you carry our product in your store for free?”
“Fuck you, pay me!”
Normal stores - “Sure, if it sells, we’ll make a retail cut.”
What? Google isn’t asking Epic to pay them to carry Fortnite. Google just wants the standard retail cut on any sales, like other stores.
It’s hard to take sides in an Epic vs Google debate.
I hope Epic forks Android and starts their own OS, App store and distribution platform.
Yup. Normal stores in a non-monopoly-esque/pseudo-fixed sub-economic model will pay for product based upon sales or projected sales.
This is like choosing between the Gambinos and the Bonnanos.
There are plenty of normal stores that work exactly like Google Play.
It’s basically a consignment shop. You give them your merchandise and set a price. If it sells, you pay the shop a fixed percentage.
You could walk into a consignment shop with something you are sure will sell and demand that they lower their rates just for you. But they will probably say no.
Also, Fortnite for Android has 15 million downloads, all without Google’s help. So Google is self-evidently not a monopoly. It simply takes extra effort if you don’t want to work with them.
Very interesting to see the Google and Epic comparisons. I understand the similarities, but Google is publicly traded and has over 100k employees while Epic is private and has less than 2k…
If you think it’s illegal, then sue them. Don’t ask for a “waiver”.
As much as I’ve got no love for Google, I increasingly find Epic irritating in a very different way.
I don’t think they will be for long.
I just don’t understand why anyone would expect a store, digital or physical, to carry a product without making any profit off it.
Edit: Yes, I know about loss-leaders. This ain’t it.
I agree. And I disagree with some of the comments made around this topic, but I’m not at liberty to say more.
Right? Google are a long, long way from “don’t be evil” at this point but I just don’t see how anyone can call their stance here unreasonable, especially in light of Epic already having the exact deal Google is asking for with Apple.
Just pull the game off Android and let Apple tout mobile exclusivity.
Presumably. No one outside of those two companies knows what their terms are. It’s possible (unlikely, but hey) that they negotiated a better deal from Apple.
