Month: August 2024
‘Monument Valley 3’ Will Be a Netflix Game — Perhaps a Dead Canary in the Apple Arcade Coal Mine
Jason Snell:
Netflix has been slowly rolling out a big catalog of
games, tied to a Netflix login. There are loads out now,
including the excellent Lucky Luna and Laya’s
Horizon (both from Snowman, developer of the excellent
Alto’s series of iOS games).
Maybe, a year (or years) from now, there will be a GamesIndustry story like this one about Apple Arcade, about Netflix: “Mobile Developers Describe Working With Apple Arcade as a ‘Very Difficult and Long Process’”.
But in the meantime, I think Netflix is doing what Apple claimed they were doing with Apple Arcade — except Netflix didn’t lose focus five minutes into the initiative. I know for a fact, knowing them personally, that there are game developers who are repulsed by casino-style pay-to-win monetization, who are basically desperate for a monetization path that is up-front and completely healthy to all players. And they realize that such paths go through mainstream subscription services.
Apple Arcade, on the surface, sounds like exactly what they’re asking for. And it would give Apple device exclusivity. But Apple has botched this. It’s hard to believe, but they have. The general gist among game developers is that Apple is a hard-driving partner with whom, mostly likely, you’ll break even at best. The hard-driving part is to be expected. That’s Apple. It would be really weird and alarming if they weren’t demanding. But the “break even at best” part is not.
★
Jason Snell:
Netflix has been slowly rolling out a big catalog of
games, tied to a Netflix login. There are loads out now,
including the excellent Lucky Luna and Laya’s
Horizon (both from Snowman, developer of the excellent
Alto’s series of iOS games).
Maybe, a year (or years) from now, there will be a GamesIndustry story like this one about Apple Arcade, about Netflix: “Mobile Developers Describe Working With Apple Arcade as a ‘Very Difficult and Long Process’”.
But in the meantime, I think Netflix is doing what Apple claimed they were doing with Apple Arcade — except Netflix didn’t lose focus five minutes into the initiative. I know for a fact, knowing them personally, that there are game developers who are repulsed by casino-style pay-to-win monetization, who are basically desperate for a monetization path that is up-front and completely healthy to all players. And they realize that such paths go through mainstream subscription services.
Apple Arcade, on the surface, sounds like exactly what they’re asking for. And it would give Apple device exclusivity. But Apple has botched this. It’s hard to believe, but they have. The general gist among game developers is that Apple is a hard-driving partner with whom, mostly likely, you’ll break even at best. The hard-driving part is to be expected. That’s Apple. It would be really weird and alarming if they weren’t demanding. But the “break even at best” part is not.
Apple Card Turns 5, Still U.S. Only
Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of the Apple Card, which saw an official release on August 20, 2019. The Apple Card is Apple’s first and only Apple-branded credit card, made available in partnership with Goldman Sachs.
At launch, the Apple Card was only available in the United States, and today, five years later, it is still limited to the United States and has not expanded to additional countries. Just a month after the Apple Card’s debut, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Apple was interested in expanding the Apple Card to multiple countries, but that it would take time due to various regulations around the world.
There have been rumors of Apple Card talks in Europe, and Apple trademarked Apple Card in Europe, Hong Kong, and Canada, but no deals have emerged. Apple Card expanding to additional countries is even more up in the air with Apple’s upcoming decoupling from Goldman Sachs.
Apple is planning to end its partnership with Goldman Sachs in 2025, and it will need to find a new Apple Card provider in the United States. Apple and Goldman Sachs ran into trouble with customer service issues for disputed Apple Card transactions, as well as complaints with wait times for Apple Savings account withdrawals.
Goldman Sachs even ended up being investigated by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau because of customer complaints, which led to a souring of the bank’s relationship with Apple. Goldman Sachs now plans to get out of consumer banking entirely.
The Apple Card is a no-fee credit card with no annual fees, no international fees, no fees for making a late payment, and no fees for exceeding a credit limit. There aren’t consumer protections like one might get with an American Express card, but there is deep integration with the Wallet app for tracking spending.
Apple provides 1 percent Daily Cash back on all purchases, 2 percent for Apple Pay purchases, and 3 percent for Apple Pay purchases from the Apple Store. Daily Cash is sent to customers each day, hence the name.
Apple has not commented on the possibility of expanding Apple Card to additional countries in some time, and there is no word on whether that’s still the plan.Tag: Apple CardThis article, “Apple Card Turns 5, Still U.S. Only” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of the Apple Card, which saw an official release on August 20, 2019. The Apple Card is Apple’s first and only Apple-branded credit card, made available in partnership with Goldman Sachs.
At launch, the Apple Card was only available in the United States, and today, five years later, it is still limited to the United States and has not expanded to additional countries. Just a month after the Apple Card’s debut, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Apple was interested in expanding the Apple Card to multiple countries, but that it would take time due to various regulations around the world.
There have been rumors of Apple Card talks in Europe, and Apple trademarked Apple Card in Europe, Hong Kong, and Canada, but no deals have emerged. Apple Card expanding to additional countries is even more up in the air with Apple’s upcoming decoupling from Goldman Sachs.
Apple is planning to end its partnership with Goldman Sachs in 2025, and it will need to find a new Apple Card provider in the United States. Apple and Goldman Sachs ran into trouble with customer service issues for disputed Apple Card transactions, as well as complaints with wait times for Apple Savings account withdrawals.
Goldman Sachs even ended up being investigated by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau because of customer complaints, which led to a souring of the bank’s relationship with Apple. Goldman Sachs now plans to get out of consumer banking entirely.
The Apple Card is a no-fee credit card with no annual fees, no international fees, no fees for making a late payment, and no fees for exceeding a credit limit. There aren’t consumer protections like one might get with an American Express card, but there is deep integration with the Wallet app for tracking spending.
Apple provides 1 percent Daily Cash back on all purchases, 2 percent for Apple Pay purchases, and 3 percent for Apple Pay purchases from the Apple Store. Daily Cash is sent to customers each day, hence the name.
Apple has not commented on the possibility of expanding Apple Card to additional countries in some time, and there is no word on whether that’s still the plan.
This article, “Apple Card Turns 5, Still U.S. Only” first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
App Store VP Departs As Apple Prepares Organizational Changes
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (paywalled), App Store vice president Matt Fischer is departing the company in October as Apple prepares for organizational changes in response to regulatory pressure. MacRumors reports: Apple plans to split its App Store group into two teams, one that handles the App Store and a second team that oversees alternative app distribution. As of earlier this year, Apple has supported iOS app downloads from alternative app stores and from websites in the European Union, a change that the company had to make to comply with the Digital Markets Act. To handle ongoing compliance with EU regulations for app distribution and alternative payment methods, App Store chief Phil Schiller is changing the App Store’s hierarchy.
Fischer joined Apple in 2003 to oversee iTunes marketing, but he has served as the vice president of the App Store since 2010. In an email to Apple employees today, Fischer said that he had been thinking about leaving Apple for some time, and the reorganization provided the right opportunity. With Fischer leaving, App Store senior director Carson Oliver will oversee the App Store, and Ann Thai, a director who oversees App Store features, will head up the team that handles alternative app distribution.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (paywalled), App Store vice president Matt Fischer is departing the company in October as Apple prepares for organizational changes in response to regulatory pressure. MacRumors reports: Apple plans to split its App Store group into two teams, one that handles the App Store and a second team that oversees alternative app distribution. As of earlier this year, Apple has supported iOS app downloads from alternative app stores and from websites in the European Union, a change that the company had to make to comply with the Digital Markets Act. To handle ongoing compliance with EU regulations for app distribution and alternative payment methods, App Store chief Phil Schiller is changing the App Store’s hierarchy.
Fischer joined Apple in 2003 to oversee iTunes marketing, but he has served as the vice president of the App Store since 2010. In an email to Apple employees today, Fischer said that he had been thinking about leaving Apple for some time, and the reorganization provided the right opportunity. With Fischer leaving, App Store senior director Carson Oliver will oversee the App Store, and Ann Thai, a director who oversees App Store features, will head up the team that handles alternative app distribution.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
VC leading Bolt’s hoped-for $450M deal confirms he’s offering ‘marketing credits’
Ashesh Shah, the founder and CEO of The London Fund is, as you might imagine, bullish on Bolt. The London Fund is a U.K. venture firm with “over $1 billion in cash and assets” in AUM that is leading a proposed $450 million raise for Bolt, a one-click checkout startup that has been embroiled in
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Ashesh Shah, the founder and CEO of The London Fund is, as you might imagine, bullish on Bolt. The London Fund is a U.K. venture firm with “over $1 billion in cash and assets” in AUM that is leading a proposed $450 million raise for Bolt, a one-click checkout startup that has been embroiled in […]
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.