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Comment by supernovae | Hacker News Reader

In the case of Microsoft, they denied the Xbox gaming app on the store after it had already been going through wide beta use on ios. They denied it on the grounds that they need to review every xbox game. Which is nonsense. They don't review every netflix movie, they don't review every spotify song, they don't review other content. The app that was denied doesn't actually download the games either, its a remote/online streaming player so it is exactly like "netflix for games".

Rumor is, Amazon was cut a deal and others have had a deal so the rules don't seem applied in a fair way. Amazon isn't forced to use Apple Pay for example. (which i think is the part specific with this specific case)

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But that doesn't make a lot of sense. Say this case was actually about Nintendo and the Switch. Nintendo doesn't allow any X rated games anywhere ever on their platform. And then this game comes along that, to the user, just plays other games. Why shouldn't they be reviewed like everything else on the platform? To the user the implementation doesn't matter.

Xbox doesn't allow "X rated" games and the all games have an ESRB rating that could be enforced as native app controls just like music streaming, tv & video streaming.

in fact, it's safer than Youtube if safety is a concern...

I'm not saying Xbox does allow that kind of content. Just that "we're an app that runs arbitrary other apps and the discretion for what is available and the rules they follow is ours instead of Apple's despite the fact that to the user they might as well be running locally on the phone."

I don't think you understand what this is. The games run on azure servers or a physical console you already own and they only display on your screen. Nothing is installed on your phone but an app that lets you connect over network to play. The xbox games are not actually installed on your phone.

Games can have stores, marketplaces, platforms, and other arbitrary interactive stuff running inside of them, whereas movies and songs are more or less functionally identical in technical capability (although it would be funny if Netflix put a subscribe button inside a free movie to bypass Apple!)

Amazon didn't cut a deal, you can't subscribe to prime video in the app without using Apple's IAP payment system. You can only subscribe outside the app.

>Amazon didn't cut a deal

Most developers who use Apple IAPs gave to give Apple a 30% cut. Amazon only gives apple a 15% cut. How is that not a deal?

Games are executables, movies are not, nor are songs. Why are people (intentionally?) ignoring this point. Apple reviews all executables.

Stadia is non-executable but Apple bans. They just banning what they don't want.

So if I develop StreamApp today that runs apps in the cloud and just streams the view over the net, and somehow polish the integration with iOS so it is good enough (sharing etc.), would this argument change?

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