Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has publicly posted comments on Apple’s new request for damages for breach of contract. Sweeney says Apple has “lost sight of the tech industry’s founding principles.
In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Sweeney remarked that Apple’s claim that the dispute is “nothing more than a basic disagreement over money” is an indication that it has “lost sight of the tech industry’s founding principles.” He claims Apple is “just p[osturing for the court.
Presumably they're just posturing for the court, but if Apple truly believes the fight over the App Store's distribution and payment monopoly is a "basic disagreement over money," then they've lost all sight of the tech industry's founding principles.https://t.co/349RHLqKYa
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) September 9, 2020
Sweeney says Epic’s “Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite” commercial was intended to illustrate how Apple was now the “all-powerful corporation dictating the terms of users’ access to their devices,” replacing IBM (the target of Apple’s famed “1984” commercial for the original Macintosh), and that it is “using that position to exert control and extract money.”
And it's exactly what Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite is about. A new all-powerful corporation dictating the terms of users' access to their devices, forcing their way in as an intermediary between creators and users, and using that position to exert control and extract money.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) September 9, 2020
Sweeney then went on to again state the rationale behind Epic Games’ campaign against Apple’s App Store policies, saying “creators have rights.” He then disputed Apple’s claim that the dispute was over money, saying it is actually a more fundamental fight for change.
And finally, creators have rights. The right to build apps, share them with users directly, and do business directly, without being herded through a single centrally planned, anti-competitive store.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) September 9, 2020
Apple in August terminated Epic Games’ developer account, and the Fortnite developer has filed for a preliminary injunction that would allow the game back into the App Store and restore the company’s developer account access. However, Epic Games would like all of this to happen without removing the game’s direct payment option that violates Apple’s App Store policies. The hearing is scheduled to take place on September 28.
(Via MacRumors)
