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Comment by falcolas | Hacker News Reader

Well, Google charges 30%. Microsoft (for the XBox, not sure about their store) 30%. Sony (PS4) 30%. Steam was 30%, but this is dropping. Nintendo's is well protected by NDAs, but reportedly 15-30%.

30% is pretty close to a standard when you're providing the storefront and control the hardware.

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In Canada, Bell charges 80$ for a smartphone plan with 30GiB of data; and TELUS charges 80$ for a smartphone plan with 30GiB of data; and Rogers charges 80$ for a smartphone plan with 30GiB of data.

If you don't want to spend as much, you can go with their discount brands. Virgin Mobile Canada (Bell subsidiary) charges 45$ for 3GiB of data; and Koodo (TELUS subsidiary) charges 45$ for 3GiB of data; and Fido (Rogers subsidiary) charges 45$ for 3GiB of data.

One one to look at it is that the market rate for the smartphone plan with 30GiB of data is 80$ and the market rate for 3GiB of data is 45$. Another way is that it is an oligopoly situation. Having lived in Canada for a long time, I know it's the latter. Apple/Google/etc store markup situation seems similar enough that I am inclined to believe it is a case of oligopoly too.

The front runners here aren't Apple and Google, but Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. They set the standard that Steam, Apple, Google, and others have followed.

Bell existed long before Rogers and TELUS, but nowadays, they are equal partners and beneficiaries of an oligopoly. Bell does not have more power because it was there first, nor TELUS less in the wrong because it entered it last. Whatever differences their time of entry to the market made has long since dissipated. I don't see how the situation is different for app stores.

They really didn't. Physical video game software royalties were not 30% take. Closer to 10%, although it varied depending on manufacturer and publisher agreements.

By the time Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo got established selling digital video games Apple had already been doing a 30% take of iTunes songs for years.

Google allows other payment providers in apps without mandating their own provider. Same with Steam. I don't know about Microsoft or Sony.

They forbid this (bypass Google Pay Billing) for games that’s why Epics are suing Google with Apple at the same time since both companies kicked out Fortnite after malicious hotpatch.

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