Tim Sweeney on Apple's 15% cut: "We're not fighting for a lower commission"

November 19th, 2020, 16:07 Posted By: wraggster

Tim Sweeney has responded to Apple's new tiered commission system, reiterating that the 30% fee itself is not at the heart of his company's ongoing legal battle with the iPhone maker.
Yesterday, Apple unveiled the App Store Small Business Program, which reduces the commission fee on sales and in-app purchases to 15% for developers who earned less than $1 million in the previous calendar year.
The initiative was positioned as an effort to assist smaller and new developers, but has inevitably been viewed as a subtle response to Epic Games' ongoing complaint about the 30% fee.
Back in August, Epic added direct payments to Fortnite to avoid giving Apple its 30%. This prompted Apple to remove the game from the App Store, to which Epic responded with an anti-trust lawsuit.
Following the news of the 15% cut, Fortnite fans reached out to Sweeney, asking whether such a deal would bring the battle royale back to iOS -- not that Epic would qualify, of course.
"We're not fighting for a lower commission," Sweeney tweeted. "Epic is fighting for fair competition among mobile platform companies, stores, and payment processors. If iOS were open to competing payments and stores, we'd happily return, even if Apple's own payment service still charged 30%.
"Apple's 30% commission is not wrongful, it's just a bad deal. What is wrongful is Apple blocking competing stores and payment processors, to ensure that good deals can't be offered to developers at all."

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...wer-commission

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GeForce Now arrives on iOS via Safari

November 19th, 2020, 15:41 Posted By: wraggster

Nvidia is rolling out its game streaming GeForce Now streaming service on iOS in beta today, the company announced.
The news confirms a BBC report from earlier this month stating that Nvidia's Safari GeForce Now service would allow iOS players to resume playing Fortnite.
While Nvidia did confirm that it is planning to add Fortnite support to GeForce Now, it said it was working with Epic Games to enable a touch-friendly version of the game through the service -- which currently requires a game pad on iOS -- but that version is not ready yet.
Apple has frustrated a number of game streaming platforms with its rules for App Store programs, scuttling attempts by Microsoft, Google, and Facebook to release their respective streaming offerings as iOS apps.
In a briefing with various press about the news, Nvidia's Phil Eisler said the company had discussions with Apple around iOS apps but the platform holder's requirements around a game streaming app wouldn't make for a good user experience.
While Eisler conceded that the service takes a performance hit in going through a browser instead of working as an app, he said it is about 95% the same, adding a few milliseconds of latency.
Beyond the iOS Safari support, Nvidia also announced that GeForce Now will add support for the GOG storefront before the December 10 launch of Cyberpunk 2077.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...ios-via-safari

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Google and My.Games launch mobile accelerator program

November 18th, 2020, 22:21 Posted By: wraggster

Google and My.Games Venture Capital are partnering on an accelerator program called Game Drive for mobile games studios and projects.
The two companies today announced that they are beginning the program with a first wave that will be open to studios in Western Europe, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States region, Turkey, Israel, the Middle East, and Africa.
The plan is for Game Drive to expand to further territories throughout 2021.
The program is asking applicants for product and user acquisition metrics, so interested developers need to have games that have already soft launched at least.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...erator-program

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Apple to cut down App Store share to 15% for small developers

November 18th, 2020, 22:15 Posted By: wraggster

Apple announced a new initiative called the App Store Small Business Program, reducing the fee developers have to pay to use the iOS store.
From January 1, 2021, companies who have earned less than $1 million during the previous calendar year will only need to pay a 15% commission on their App Store revenue from apps and in-app purchases, Apple said.
Apple's share will remain 30% for developers earning more than $1 million per year. More details about the initiative will be released in early December.
To be eligible for the App Store Small Business Program from 2021, you need to have earned less than $1 million in proceeds in 2020, across all of your apps on the App Store.
You can apply if you're new to the App Store too, but if you go above the $1 million limit at some point during the year, the standard rate will apply for the remainder of the year. On the other hand, if your revenue falls below the threshold during the year, you can't requalify for the reduced cut until the following year.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said that small businesses are the "backbone" of the economy worldwide, which is what has driven this change in policy.
"We're launching this program to help small business owners write the next chapter of creativity and prosperity on the App Store, and to build the kind of quality apps our customers love," he commented.
Apple's 30% cut has been under fire this year, and at the heart of its dispute with Fornite developer Epic Games. Back in August, Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store as Epic implemented direct payments in the game in an attempt to avoid Apple's commission. Epic's CEO Tim Sweeney had always been critical of the iOS store's model, saying in July that Apple had "gone crazy." Around the same time, the European Commission opened an antitrust investigation into Apple.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...all-developers

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simo releases PoC demonstrating iOS 14.1 kernel vulnerability

November 14th, 2020, 22:50 Posted By: wraggster

When it comes to app-based jailbreaks such as unc0ver and Odyssey, new kernel exploits are always essential in order to jailbreak newer iOS releases. This is because kernel exploits, unlike hardware exploits such as checkm8 (supports A11 & older), can be patched through an iOS update thus eliminating previously-used methods to obtain arbitrary code execution with kernel privileges which are key to jailbreak development.
Now, simo (@_simo36 on Twitter) has released a PoC for CVE-2020-27905 (fixed in iOS 14.2 released 2 days ago) which is a vulnerability in the IOAcceleratorFamily component found within iOS that allows for arbitrary code execution with system privileges according to Apple. It is important to mention that simo has released a PoC not a fully-fledged exploit meaning that the code in its current form does not grant tfp0 and/or kernel R/W. However, simo also mentioned that he might release an exploit later on although someone else in the community might decide to write an exploit themselves with the PoC to expedite the creation of a jailbreak for an app-based iOS 14.1 supporting all devices!

https://wololo.net/2020/11/07/ios-ja...on-save-blobs/

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Checkra1n 0.12.0 released with iOS 14.2 support & iOS 14.x jailbreaking on A10 & A11

November 14th, 2020, 22:49 Posted By: wraggster

For those who are out of the loop, checkra1n is a jailbreak that uses the unpatchable checkm8 exploit which leverages vulnerabilities in the BootROM of affected devices. These affected devices, which essentially have a jailbreak entry point forever, include all devices containing the A7-A11 SoC although there have been successful efforts to port the exploit to older devices with A5 & A6 SoCs which did not previously have a public BootROM exploit available.
With checkra1n 0.12.0, the team behind the jailbreak managed to introduce quite a few important features namely:

• Official support for both iOS 14.1 & iOS 14.2
  • Checkra1n 0.11.0 worked on iOS 14.1 unofficially but not on iOS 14.2
• Support for jailbreaking iOS 14.x on A10 & A10X devices which include the iPhone 7, iPod Touch 7th generation, iPad 6/7th generation and iPad Pro 2nd generation (10.5″ & 12.9″)
  • This was achieved through the utilisation of a SEPROM exploit as Apple decided to add some mitigations in SEPOS on A10 & A11 devices that interfered with jailbreaking
• Partial support for jailbreaking iOS 14.x on A11 devices, namely the iPhone 8 (Plus) & iPhone X, was introduced
  • The support is partial because it requires the device NOT to have a pass-code for it to work meaning that devices become less secure! However, we might see some jailbreak tweaks that allow for some form of pass-code in the lock screen although these would obviously not be as safe as the real deal especially since biometrics would still be unusable
  • To jailbreak A11 devices on iOS 14.x, one has to enable the ‘Skip A11 BPR check’ in the Options menu
• https://wololo.net/2020/11/09/ios-ja...l-a11-support/

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SSF PreviewVer R18(V7) - Seag Saturn Emulator for Android

November 14th, 2020, 09:36 Posted By: wraggster

SSF PreviewVer R18(V7) is released. SSF is a Sega Saturn emulator for Windows systems using DirectX 9.0b. The current version claims near-complete implementation of the Sega Saturn hardware (not counting emulation bugs), and can emulate the Saturn based Sega Titan Video arcade hardware too. As with most emulators, CDs or disc images are not included and have to be owned separately. The BIOS is also not included; as of 0.07 Beta R3, games run without the BIOS however. The usage of BIOS files is optional but recommended for better compatibility, and needed for tasks such as management of the contents of the internal memory of the Sega Saturn, or setting the system clock.

https://twitter.com/fessx

http://www.emucr.com/2020/11/ssf-previewver-r18v7.html

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Genshin Impact was the top-grossing mobile game worldwide in October

November 14th, 2020, 09:22 Posted By: wraggster

Genshin Impact was the highest-grossing mobile game across the App Store and Google Play for the month of October, according to Sensor Tower.
According to the analytics group, Genshin Impact brought in nearly $239 million in player spending for the month, approximately 31% of which was from China, followed by 24% from Japan and 19% from the US.
The game brought in $60 million in its first week on mobile alone, and $245 million in its first 30 days following its September launch. This does not include the game's revenue on PS4 or PC.
Notably, Genshin Impact reached No.1 on Google Play, but was at No.1 on the App Store beneath Honor of Kings and PUBG Mobile.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...ide-in-october

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PUBG Corp. creating new PUBG Mobile for India to get around ban

November 12th, 2020, 23:36 Posted By: wraggster

PUBG Corporation is going to some lengths to ensure PUBG Mobile is still available to Indian players.
The company today announced that it is readying PUBG Mobile India, a new game specific to the Indian market created after the Indian government banned the Tencent-developed PUBG Mobile in September.
PUBG Mobile was one of 118 apps with ties to China that the Indian government banned, citing user privacy violations.+
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...get-around-ban

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Reicast Git (2020/10/19) - Dreamcast Emulator for Android

November 12th, 2020, 17:32 Posted By: wraggster

Reicast Git (2020/10/19) is compiled. reicast is a multi-platform Dreamcast emulator. The project is currently in Alpha, usability, performance and stability issues are to be expected. Cortex-A9 dualcore, 1ghz+ is the minimum hardware for decent speeds.

Reicast Git Changelog:
* Merge pull request #1926 from geckor14/geckor14/compile-fix
* Fix typo.
* Fixed a compile-time error when using MSVC build tools.

http://enroll.reicast.com/


https://github.com/reicast/reicast-emulator

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ColEm v5.4 - Colecovision Emulator for Android

November 12th, 2020, 17:13 Posted By: wraggster

ColEm v5.4 is released. ColEm is a ColecoVision emulator. ColEm will run software written for the ColecoVision video game console. ColEm package itself does not contain any games. You should place your own game files onto the SD card before running ColEm. Please, do not run any software you do not own with ColEm. The author cannot and will not tell you where to find free ColecoVision games.

ColEm v5.4 Changelog:
- adds a simple CPU-based linear interpolation scaler, used when GPU-based interpolation is unfeasible. The new ColEm-Windows includes drag'n'drop support and a separate option for linear interpolation scaling.

http://fms.komkon.org/ColEm/

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...s.colem.deluxe


http://www.emucr.com/2020/10/colem-v54.html

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SSF PreviewVer R18(V6) - Sega Saturn Emulator for Android

November 12th, 2020, 14:32 Posted By: wraggster

SSF PreviewVer R18(V6) is released. SSF is a Sega Saturn emulator for Windows systems using DirectX 9.0b. The current version claims near-complete implementation of the Sega Saturn hardware (not counting emulation bugs), and can emulate the Saturn based Sega Titan Video arcade hardware too. As with most emulators, CDs or disc images are not included and have to be owned separately. The BIOS is also not included; as of 0.07 Beta R3, games run without the BIOS however. The usage of BIOS files is optional but recommended for better compatibility, and needed for tasks such as management of the contents of the internal memory of the Sega Saturn, or setting the system clock.

https://twitter.com/fessx

http://www.emucr.com/2020/11/ssf-previewver-r18v6.html

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ScummVM News - Android Love

November 11th, 2020, 20:20 Posted By: wraggster

Our new and shiny Android port for ScummVM v2.2.1 is now live on the Google Play Store. After quite a long period of dedicated work from our team developers, and a month of public beta testing by members of our community who helpfully reported quite a few issues for us to address, we are finally ready to give you the stable release for our ScummVM Android app.
This app has been significantly re-written and tested on modern Android devices, running up to Android 10+. It includes new features which bring it up to speed with the desktop ScummVM application, such as FluidSynth support, Cloud Saves and more localization choices for the UI. Also included is the Local File Server (LAN) feature, whereby your device can act as a temporary file server allowing you to download files (eg. save files and even the config file) or upload new ones (eg. game data) using a web browser from a PC or another client.
With this release we have resolved a few long standing issues such as:

• upgrading from previous versions without losing access to your previous configuration and save files
• folder navigation (based on storage access permission settings)
• Working special keys on the virtual keyboard (such as F-keys) as well as handling of repeated keys

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Epic refutes Apple's theft claims as "implausible and deficient as a matter of law"

November 11th, 2020, 20:08 Posted By: wraggster

Epic Games has strongly refuted Apple's claim that its use of direct payments in Fortnite constitutes "theft," on the grounds that it is "implausible and deficient as a matter of law."
In a new filing with the US District Court, Epic addressed various allegations in the countersuit Apple issued last month -- itself the response to a legal complaint filed by Epic after Fortnite was removed from the App Store for adding direct payments to avoid paying a 30% share of revenue.
The filing -- first spotted by The Verge -- asserted that "Apple has no right to the fruits of Epic's labor, other than the rights arising under a contract."
Epic's legal team continued: "Consumers who choose to make in-app purchases in Fortnite pay for Epic's creativity, innovation and effort -- to enjoy an experience that Epic has designed."
While Epic's contractual agreement with Apple includes a mandatory share of all payments made in Fortnite, Epic took action due to its belief that "those contractual restrictions are unlawful" -- a fundamental repudiation of Apple's claim that Epic's actions were "theft, period."
"Apple seeks to compare Epic's conduct to stealing cash from a vault in ApplePark, or raiding Apple's bank account," the document stated.
"The money in Apple's vault or bank account is the property of Apple, in which Apple unquestionably has a possessory interest; the money paid by Fortnite users is not. It is money that Fortnite users choose to pay in return for Epic's creative endeavors.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...-matter-of-law

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PUBG Mobile has ceased operations in India due to government ban

November 11th, 2020, 19:45 Posted By: wraggster

PUBG Mobile will cease operations in India effective today, due to an order from the country's government.
Tencent's global hit was one of 118 apps targeted for a ban by the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in September.
The government cited concerns related to privacy and national security, apparently connected to the apps' ties to Chinese companies.
In a statement released today, Tencent Games announced that it will "will terminate all service and access for users in India... on October 30, 2020."

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...government-ban

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Pokémon Go's 2020 revenues estimated at $1bn so far

November 11th, 2020, 19:31 Posted By: wraggster

Sensor Tower estimates show that Pokémon Go has already surpassed $1 billion in player spending so far this year.
Revenues for the first ten months of 2020 are 30% higher than the same time last year, and 11% higher than the entirety of 2019, according to the company's blog post.
Since its launch in 2016, Pokémon Go has taken more just shy of $4.2 billion in player spending globally. The US is the game's biggest market at $1.5 billion -- 36.3% of total spending.
Japan is second with $1.3 billion, 31.3% of the total, followed by Germany with $238.6 million or 5.7%.
Earlier this year, developer Niantic made several changes to the game in order to make it easier for players to participate at home, without having to travel to different locations as they have since launch in 2016.
The changes led to an immediate spike in player spending, and Niantic has since decided to make some of these changes permanent.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...usd1bn-already

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Judge rejects Google's attempt to push Epic case to October 2022

November 11th, 2020, 17:38 Posted By: wraggster

Google's suggestion of dealing with the lawsuit it faces from Epic Games in two years' time has been rejected.
Esports Observer reports that Judge James Donato, who is overseeing the case, told both Epic and Google that such a delay in starting the case would be unacceptable.
Donato is open to the two parties agreeing on a date together, but warned them they should "get moving."
Epic has suggested starting the case in February 2021.
The firm filed a lawsuit against Google back in August after the company removed Fortnite from the App Store.
As with the ongoing Apple case, this was due to Epic introducing direct payments and bypassing the 30% commission Google takes for every sale and in-game transaction from apps distributed via the Google Play marketplace.
Epic is arguing that while Google, unlike Apple, allows alternative ways to download apps, it still pushes users and app makers towards Google Play, meaning said alternatives are less viable or profitable and ultimately forcing people into a marketplace with a 30% cut.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...o-october-2022

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Fortnite reportedly returning to iOS via GeForce Now

November 11th, 2020, 17:31 Posted By: wraggster

Epic Games' Fortnite may be able to make a comeback on iOS via Nvidia's GeForce Now.
The BBC reported that Nvidia developed a version of its cloud gaming service for Apple's browser Safari, which would allow players to have access to Fortnite on iOS all while circumventing the App Store.
At the moment, iOS users can't download games using storefronts other than Apple's, but third-party services running in web browsers are not restricted in any way.
Nvidia hasn't revealed when a version of GeForce Now running on iOS could be launching, but the BBC claimed that an announcement is expected "before the winter holidays." But as far as Fortnite is concerned, the publication pointed out a possible caveat: Epic's battle royale hit might still be excluded from the portfolio of games available on Apple's devices from GeForce Now.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...ia-geforce-now

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FIFA leads renewed mobile strategy at EA

November 11th, 2020, 17:30 Posted By: wraggster

EA is preparing a major push for FIFA on mobile, with CEO Andrew Wilson confirming that six mobile games based on the license are currently in development.


Speaking to the company's investors yesterday, Wilson said that EA has "six new soccer mobile games in development for new genres and new markets."


Later in the call, Wilson reiterated that the "six new FIFA titles" were part of a renewed push into mobile since the return of Jeff Karp -- who left an executive position at EA in 2011 to work at a number of major mobile games companies, including Zynga and Big Fish Games.


Karp rejoined EA in June this year as its senior vice president of mobile games, and Wilson said he quickly identified untapped potential in the company's IP stable -- FIFA and Apex Legends chief among them.


"[Karp] has a tremendous network out there in the mobile sphere," Wilson said. "And there are a lot of great developers out there who have... a lot of experience and expertise, but they do not have the IP to build their games around or the marketing muscle to really drive acquisition and what is becoming an increasingly competitive market."

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...strategy-at-ea

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Judge dismisses Apple's claim of theft in Epic case

November 11th, 2020, 17:20 Posted By: wraggster

The judge overseeing the dispute between Apple and Epic has dismissed the former's claim of theft.
Apple filed a countersuit back in September following Epic's antitrust lawsuit the month before.
The iPhone maker claimed Epic's circumvention of its 30% fee violated the contract between them, but also accused Epic of theft and sought extra monetary damages beyond these two claims.
However, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers dismissed two of Apple's claims, including theft, at a hearing yesterday, Bloomberg reports.
"This is a high-stakes breach of contract and an antitrust case, and that's all in my view," she told lawyers during the hearing.
Specifically addressing Apple's lawyer, she later added: "You can't just say [Epic's conduct is] independently wrongful. You actually have to have facts."
Apple disagreed with Gonzalez Rogers, but maintained it is clear Epic breached its contract.
Epic previously refuted Apple's claim of theft as "implausible and deficient as a matter of law."

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...t-in-epic-case

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