30% is less than the 70% cut wholesalers and retailers take from physical game sales...
Ok - there’s a strong argument that there is no competition in the Apple and Google App stores. But don’t forget the cut they take is based on their distribution network and reach. Revenue for digital distribution is higher than physical store sales and at the same time the margin that developers receive is higher in this model.
Does that make it fair? Maybe, maybe not. But as Marx told us, seize both the means of production and distribution. The question should be ‘should Apple control distribution in their ecosystem’. Developers and consumers are already better off with Apple’s digital distribution than they were with physical stores or media. Consumers also have more choice as independent developers can thrive more easily. Do the benefits of Apple’s walled garden outweigh the costs of developers margin control?
Biting the hand that feeds IT
