As Apple Bans Fortnite, Tim Sweeney's Recent Words "Apple has outlawed the metaverse" Seem Prophetic -- And a Call to Action

Update, 8/16: Bumped up for weekend conversation!

Epic posted this Fortnite-made machinima inspired by Apple's 1984 ad very soon after Apple banned Fortnite from the App Store

This may be surprising news to some except it was definitely not a surprise to Epic Games' Tim Sweeney:

In an announcement this morning, Epic Games implemented permanent discounts on Fortnite's in-game V-Bucks currency across all platforms -- if users paid using direct payment...

"Apple has gone crazy," wrote Epic CEO Tim Sweeney in a tweet in late July. "If colleges hold virtual classes through an iPhone app, Apple could demand 30% of the tuition. Truly, Apple has no right to take any percent of any company's revenue just because they made the phone people use to access the stuff.

Speaking of Tweets From Tim, he made these just last week, in response to the news that Apple had also banned cloud streaming apps:

Apple has outlawed the metaverse. The principle they state, taken literally, would rule out all cross-platform ecosystems and games with user-created modes: not just XCloud, Stadia, and GeForce NOW, but also Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox.

In Apple’s view, only the Apple metaverse would be allowed. And that’s what I fear the most here: that Apple is looking ahead to AR and thinking of the absolute power it can wield over the world if they can get away with repeating the App Store payments fiasco in the real world.

And no doubt Sweeney saw this outright ban of Fornite coming. What's notable to me is that he sees Apple not just as a threat to Fortnite, but to launching the metaverse itself. Or as he put it to me recently, a plethora of competing metaverses. And now with Epic filing a suit against Apple in response to this ban, it almost seems like Sweeney is not only fighting for Fortnite, but for the metaverse itself.

Anyway read the full thread here:

Apple has outlawed the metaverse.

The principle they state, taken literally, would rule out all cross-platform ecosystems and games with user created modes: not just XCloud, Stadia, and GeForce NOW, but also Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox. https://t.co/OAGC7cXfSl

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) August 6, 2020

 

Comments

[Mike Lorrey]

Apple taking tips from Linden Lab

[Joey1058]

Tim Sweeney is my new hero!!!

[Trilo Byte]

Are you a Sweeney fanboy or just really easily fooled? It's prophetic only in the sense that he's been plotting to violate App Store policies for months.

It is important to point out that Sweeney's comment was made in reference to their recent announcement regarding Microsoft's XCloud service. Their reason for not allowing that to go forward was for *a completely different issue* (and also a long-standing policy of their app store). The issue as that the game streaming service bypassed the app store review process (you're hopefully able to figure out how to look up the full statement if you have not already done so).

Sweeney's move with Fortnite, which came days after his clickbait headline but was at least weeks and more likely months in the planning, was because he chose to violate long-standing App Store policies on bypassing the App Store for such transactions. I'm not sure if you're turning a blind eye to that, or genuinely don't grasp it, but there are plenty of articles in the blogosphere that explain the policy issue.

Fortnite being banned didn't happen because Apple decided it wants to outlaw the metaverse... and claiming or reporting that's the case is shoddy journalism. It's a tabloid-y, clickbait headline, which is what I called Sweeney out on last week. It's a shame that you either turned a blind eye or weren't able to grasp.

Fortnite got banned on App Store (as well as Google's store) because Tim Sweeney decided to violate the app store guidelines that he and his teams of lawyers and staffers were surely well aware of.

Saying Apple is outlawing the metaverse is like saying the government is outlawing red sportscars because you got busted for driving your red sportscar at 80mph in a school zone or otherwise chose to intentionally break posted rules of the road.

It's probably also worth adding that Sweeney is no 'man of the people' - remember that Fortnite's currency rates are entirely up to him on any and every given day. He could offer a 20% discount, or an 80% discount at any time, and do it through the normal in-game purchase process and follow all the rules of Apple's and Google's respective stores. It's a marketing and political ploy - his end-game goal is not to give to the people, so much as run his own app store where he keeps it all. That is of course a separate discussion that you don't want to get into, especially considering your relationship with a certain virtual world that charges more than either Google or Apple.

[seph]

"Saying Apple is outlawing the metaverse is like saying the government is outlawing red sportscars because you got busted for driving your red sportscar at 80mph in a school zone or otherwise chose to intentionally break posted rules of the road."

If Microsoft only allowed programs to be downloaded via Windows Store, took 30% cut of any program sales and another 30% cut of all in-app transactions as well, what would Second Life's viability be like? How healthy would Second Life's economy be if either Linden Lab absorbed a 30% hit every time L$ was purchased, or L$ was made 30% more expensive for the customer to cover Apple's cut?

The IAP cut aside, would Second Life even be allowed given it has a marketplace? Tons of user-created content that Apple doesn't get to review individually? At what level would Apple want to review; entire regions or individual products?

All 10 counts in Epic's legal documents are very relevant to products like Second Life and show how stifling Apple's ecosystem is vs. Windows.

Sweeney is very correct. That he stands to gain personally from the lawsuit doesn't make him any less correct. That this was obvious pre-planned baiting doesn't make him any less correct. Right now its impossible to have a fully functioning Second Life on iOS, and Second Life is still the best example of a metaverse.

[Fed Up]

"If Microsoft only allowed programs to be downloaded via Windows Store, took 30% cut of any program sales and another 30% cut of all in-app transactions as well, what would Second Life's viability be like?"
Could Second Life, or any other "meta-verse" with it's own marketplace, exist on the Xbox marketplace or Xbox games store? Microsoft exert exactly the same type of control on Xbox that Apple and Google do with the iOS and Play stores.
Linden lab also take a cut of "user-created content" revenue on the Second Life marketplace.
If running a store with exclusive rules and taking a percentage of everything sold on it is stifling the meta-verse, then Apple isn't the only company guilty of doing this.
I also find it ironic that Windows is held up as being open, given Microsofts shameful history with Linux. Also, there's a reason why Windows is pretty much the default desktop operating system on PCs and it isn't anything to do with technical proficiency.

[seph]

Unlike the iPhone, there aren't 1-1.5 billion Xbox users. The Xbox also isn't as general purpose and every industry spanning as iPhone. The Xbox also isn't in our pocket everywhere we go.

Even if the scope was limited to just the living room and just gaming, the Xbox isn't even winning let alone dominating at a level arguably monopoly-like.

Smartphones being a thing that billions of people use to primarily conduct business along with Apple and Google sharing near 100% control of it with varying degrees of anti-trust practices is the collective problem. The Xbox isn't a good comparison.

[Fed Up]

Apple and Microsoft have App stores for their desktop platforms (Windows and MacOs) but, of course, anyone can "side-load" software onto those platforms because the platforms pre-date App Stores and it would be pretty difficult to lock them down now (Apple is trying, though).

I used the Xbox marketplace example to illustrate that Microsoft are no different to Apple or Google. They've missed the mobile boat, but if they hadn't, it's 100% certain that WIndows Mobile would have it's own exclusive App Store and MS would be taking a 30% cut and keeping competition out. I feel that can be stated with certainty, given the way that MS has created and continues to leverage their Windows monopoly on PC desktops.

[Fionalein]

While I applaud them for fighting Apple the correct way would have been to announce the end of Apple support and then drop out in a voluntary way. Epic exactely knew what bullshit deal they signed up to. Just because a contract is not in your favour gives you no right to break it after agreeing to it. There are no morally supperior participants in this lawsuit, it is just a greedy beyond remorse company fighting another greedy company that tried to smartass their way out of a contract they formerly (most likely happily) agreed to.

[Luther Weymann]

Once upon a time, I owned Apple phones, laptops, and PCs. But never again. Now it’s Android phones, ordinary laptops, and I build my own desktop PCs, which is as easy as plugging in a stereo system. Not only is there a substantial financial saving, but all my tech does everything I need it to. Now I’m just an ordinary geek, not a privileged elite “cool kid,” which is fine by me.

[vbucks-free.net]

Fortnite game has been just great for me.