Re:Why aren't the most useful Mac apps on the App Store?
by musicale on Sunday January 09, 2022 @04:23AM
(#29861755)
It's the same "licensing" business model as video game consoles, with similar commissions to Nintendo's eShop, etc..
Unsurprisingly, the bulk of App Store revenue is from games.
I don't see Nintendo (or Apple) authorizing alternative game stores on their handhelds any time soon.
Re:Why aren't the most useful Mac apps on the App Store?
by salamandersauce on Sunday January 09, 2022 @08:55AM
(#29863219)
Even Nintendo allows you to buy Nintendo games at a store not owned by Nintendo. I'm not sure how the commissions break down but you can still buy digital Nintendo games at other stores like Amazon, Humble Bundle, Wal-mart etc. And of course physical options are still a thing and Nintendo doesn't see a dime if I buy game off some dude on Craigslist. I can't get anything off the Apple App Store without going through Apple.
Apple doesn't make most of their revenue from selling games. It's selling microtransactions in games. They are basically skimming off a few thousand digital casinos at this point.
The money is going towards profits. Apple's App Store profit margin is ~80% and it increases every year[1]:
> Barnes calculated that the App Store had hefty profit margins, which increased to 78% in 2019, up from 75% in 2018, and generated $22 billion in commissions for Apple last year.
[1] https://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-profitable-is-apples-a...