neoncat

I love my Macs. They are essential tools for me and my business. Likewise, my iPhone and iPad would be hard to live without.

I'm also a gamer. I have a gaming PC, a Series X, and a Switch. I spend serious money on games (although none of it on any Apple platform). It's one hobby among many that I have, but one that brings me a lot of joy. I even have a few games I play competitively, having won money as part of a game team.

The difference in communities—players, developers, modders, streamers, etc.—between literally any other platform and Apple's is stark to a degree few realize, including Apple. Sure, encouraging developers to bring games to the Mac is great. Not going to criticize a bold first move. But this fawning press coverage about how Apple is taking gaming "seriously" is laugh-out-loud funny. Apple is finally paying the most basic attention to gaming. But that's just one step along a continuum that is miles long. Maybe that will make people who don't know any better think that the Mac is a "gaming platform." For the broader gaming community, it's not even worth a minute's consideration. 

Lots of old white men here, Respite, yelling at clouds, clinging to visions of their own manifest destiny that were never true to begin with. We all have an agenda, of course, just some people's is more transparent than others'.

Were you a Mac user in the mid-90s when developers jumped ship left and right? I was. It was a difficult time, looking wistfully at all the software available on Windows, and having to make due with the pitiful selection on the Mac. Luckily, things are better now. I wouldn't call them great, but they're better. I'm grateful to the talent, moxie, and tenacity of developers (yourself included, Sflocal, if you're an Apple-device developer!) who commit to bringing their ideas to market despite Apple's capricious, obnoxious behavior. 

The Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and certainly VisionOS, would be, and/or will go, nowhere without developers. Apple creates impressive, unique platforms on which to build. Developers make those platforms dynamic and useful. 

(I am conspicuously ignoring at this point the growing "movement" of people who have committed, often in weirdly emotional public posts on Reddit, MacRumors, etc. to not use third party software on iOS in particular, limiting themselves only to first-name, Apple-only options, as a protest against the sort of developer actions outlined in this article. More power to anyone who's needs are basic enough to make that work, but, throwing out the milquetoast default options is a day-one activity for me on any platform.)

coolfactor said:

Is it time for Apple to re-evaluate the 30% fee? Yes. But they deserve something when they are advertising, distributing and providing some levels of support.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you completely—I think Apple deserves to charge whatever it feels it needs to to cover those costs and support its profit objectives. Those numbers can be as high as it wants them to be—as long as the App Store is subject to competition. I don't care if the share of use by end users is 99% AppStore to 1% AlternativeStore. People who feel more comfortable using an Apple-run AppStore with all its inherent advantages should have every right to do so. As long as it's competing for that business with other App Stores that have an equal footing for developer and end user attention. 

Otherwise, gloves off. As long as it's a closed system, I don't particularly care if the efforts developers use to try and break the rules amount to dirty pool. Means to an end.

Good. More and more developers need to do this—even just as performance art. Post a link, get it slapped down, lather rinse repeat. As many as possible, as often as possible, and not just marquee apps and developers. Make the policing become such a huge time sink for Apple that they're forced to come up with more equitable solutions. 

Burn the App Store to the ground.