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0 pointsbsimpson1y ago0 comments

As I recall, the original App Store argument was "It would cost a lot more than 30% to mint CDs and sell them in Waldenbooks, so we're doing developers a favor by _only_ charging 30% to distribute."

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callc1y ago

There are a myriad of points which make this metaphor a insufficient argument at best (at worst intentionally obfuscating the nature of digital publishing and digital marketplaces as having similar physical analogues) in favor of the current app store landscape:

1. AFAIK anyone can manufacture and distribute CDs

2. The argument that anything below the cost to manu CDs is acceptable only holds water if you have an inefficient market that doesn’t reflect the actual cost of digital distribution.

rahkiin1y ago

It was 30% vs whatever parties like Symbian asked at the time. Or other existing platforms like consoles where developers were left with less than 70%.

Safely distributing software was a pain in 2007 and did involve a lot of expensive publishing

ethbr11y ago

The problem is that cut hasn't come down in the last 20 years, because there's no competitive pressure within ecosystems to force it to.

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hu31y ago

How generous!

That's the kind of argument that only gets a pass if you have no other option as a user. Wink wink.

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