Re:Antitrust, the App Store, and Apple
by scarface74 on Tuesday November 27, 2018 @03:26PM
(#18546341)
https://www.ign.com/articles/2006/05/06/the-economics-of-gam...
The final cost of publishing a game that we'll delve into is the distribution of the game, and that's the process of getting the game sold to wholesalers and then to retailers where you'll then have a chance to buy it. Wholesalers typically pay around $30 per game and with the costs of getting the goods to the wholesalers, any co-op advertising or marketing, and return of good contingencies being roughly $14 per game, the publisher is going to typically get $16 for every unit sold.
This doesn’t include the $3 - $10 per unit that the game maker pays the console manufacturer.
So the typical game maker gets less than 25% of the purchase price of a game. Compared to 70% on the App Store.
Apple doesn't set the prices for apps.
> (2) console makers can't charge any amount of markup on the games
Apple charges a flat percentage; console makers charge a unit cost. I don't know what it is but it's likely in the order of $5-10 per unit. This is likely much higher for digital game sales, and probably includes a percentage component.
> (3) gamers have more mobility among platforms (can switch to PC gaming, for example).
Apple device users have comparable mobility among platforms.