Tim is taking a moral stand … and I know he gets a lot of crap, but he’s not wrong to fight Apple and Google about mobile app stores.
Apple and Google created entire operating systems where the flow of almost all transactions flows through them.
Some people don’t even have computers anymore, the just use these mobile platforms.
It’s hugely anticompetitive (especially in the Apple case where you can’t even install – without heroics – non-Apple approved apps).
I disagree with Tim on Linux.
I also disagree with his approach to taking on Steam dominance … mostly because of the Linux bit but also because I don’t like exclusivity deals. That said, people may eventually appreciate what Tim has done here should Steam turn sour. It is kind of scary that so much depends on the good will of the aging Gabe.
I don’t disagree with Tim RE Apple and Google’s app stores.
I don’t disagree with Tim regarding Google or Apple; but I am not throwing those three names randomly.
Xbox, Switch and Playstation are console that allowed crossplay for Fortnite (PUBG had to wait behind Fornite for Sony and Microsoft allow crossplay later: Sweeney surely don’t forget friends that helped beat the competition) before anybody else. While Apple argued that their business model is similar to console, he choose to defend Sony,Microsoft and Nintendo: try ask him to lower the 30% for those three… and you’ll see what he’ll say to you.
As for Stram… well, I am a big supporter for Itch and (partially, due to their murky position towards Linux: “all DRM free but your Windows license” it seems); I think Steam need competition (such as PC hardware like SteamDeck where the OEM can customize freely without having to obey Microsoft); in fact, Epic Game Store is rowing in the opposite direction!
Many indie are wondering why they should support Itch and GoG “for free” while Epic pay them for exclusivity!
Well, I think that, for developers, Itch and GoG are their “contract leverage” to push Valve around; and the role Epic is taking is:
indie developers are less motivated to support Itch.io
exacerbated tone Tim is against Linux… it’s pushing Linux developers towards Steam
I get Tim’s reasoning though with Xbox, Switch, and PlayStation. As it stands, these are not general purposes operating systems. You don’t “install apps” on them, you play games, maybe stream a show, and maybe use a web browser (but realistically few people are doing the latter two with these devices). They’re also typically much more subsidized because Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft can recoup a lot of the hardware cost in game sales (where as Apple and Google increasingly make the most money off of the hardware sales).
Compare that to the Apple and Google case; like imagine if Microsoft and Apple had done this with PCs in the 90s. The world would look significantly different because you couldn’t install various things on Macs. Like as an example, Firefox and Chrome arguably wouldn’t exist (or would be a pain to install), because your system would ship with Safari and Internet Explorer (and the other browsers would just “not be allowed”).
This is hugely anti-competitive in a way that’s far more offensive than Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft’s behavior on their gaming consoles. These are not general purposes devices (maybe they should be, but they’re not). Basically nobody is doing their taxes on a Switch or PlayStation … but plenty of people use iOS/Android devices as their only computers (they do their taxes there, pay their bills online via these devices, etc).
Tim is taking a moral stand … and I know he gets a lot of crap, but he’s not wrong to fight Apple and Google about mobile app stores.
Apple and Google created entire operating systems where the flow of almost all transactions flows through them.
Some people don’t even have computers anymore, the just use these mobile platforms.
It’s hugely anticompetitive (especially in the Apple case where you can’t even install – without heroics – non-Apple approved apps).
I disagree with Tim on Linux.
I also disagree with his approach to taking on Steam dominance … mostly because of the Linux bit but also because I don’t like exclusivity deals. That said, people may eventually appreciate what Tim has done here should Steam turn sour. It is kind of scary that so much depends on the good will of the aging Gabe.
I don’t disagree with Tim RE Apple and Google’s app stores.
And then there’s Google’s moves tightening things for people who sideload or use custom ROMs.
I don’t disagree with Tim regarding Google or Apple; but I am not throwing those three names randomly. Xbox, Switch and Playstation are console that allowed crossplay for Fortnite (PUBG had to wait behind Fornite for Sony and Microsoft allow crossplay later: Sweeney surely don’t forget friends that helped beat the competition) before anybody else. While Apple argued that their business model is similar to console, he choose to defend Sony,Microsoft and Nintendo: try ask him to lower the 30% for those three… and you’ll see what he’ll say to you.
As for Stram… well, I am a big supporter for Itch and (partially, due to their murky position towards Linux: “all DRM free but your Windows license” it seems); I think Steam need competition (such as PC hardware like SteamDeck where the OEM can customize freely without having to obey Microsoft); in fact, Epic Game Store is rowing in the opposite direction! Many indie are wondering why they should support Itch and GoG “for free” while Epic pay them for exclusivity!
Well, I think that, for developers, Itch and GoG are their “contract leverage” to push Valve around; and the role Epic is taking is:
I get Tim’s reasoning though with Xbox, Switch, and PlayStation. As it stands, these are not general purposes operating systems. You don’t “install apps” on them, you play games, maybe stream a show, and maybe use a web browser (but realistically few people are doing the latter two with these devices). They’re also typically much more subsidized because Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft can recoup a lot of the hardware cost in game sales (where as Apple and Google increasingly make the most money off of the hardware sales).
Compare that to the Apple and Google case; like imagine if Microsoft and Apple had done this with PCs in the 90s. The world would look significantly different because you couldn’t install various things on Macs. Like as an example, Firefox and Chrome arguably wouldn’t exist (or would be a pain to install), because your system would ship with Safari and Internet Explorer (and the other browsers would just “not be allowed”).
This is hugely anti-competitive in a way that’s far more offensive than Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft’s behavior on their gaming consoles. These are not general purposes devices (maybe they should be, but they’re not). Basically nobody is doing their taxes on a Switch or PlayStation … but plenty of people use iOS/Android devices as their only computers (they do their taxes there, pay their bills online via these devices, etc).