Apple Denies Paying EA to Delay Plants vs. Zombies 2 on Android | Hacker News Reader

Apple Denies Paying EA to Delay Plants vs. Zombies 2 on Android

giantbomb.com

12 pointswilg13 comments

Whether or not this is true, it would be a lot of fun to write a sit-com of a startup which deliberately didn't release anything, and got funded by different pressure groups to simply do nothing...

(Kind of 'Yes Minister' of the startup world)

Kind of like all the generic drug makers who get paid by big pharma not to release...

Is there anything really wrong with this? I mean 2 businesses deciding they have a mutual understanding of when to release a product...

It's a bummer for consumers, but you're absolutely right. It's no different than exclusivity windows for music releases, movie releases, or console video games.

for consumers that want to play the new game, absolutely. This delays that for them.

If I recall correctly, PvZ was originally an iPhone title, then became popular, other platforms, etc. Maybe Apple just wanted to also ensure that PvZ 2 was an iPhone only title for a while as well.

You recall wrong: PvZ was originally a PC title, though it was on ios for a year before being ported to Android. While ios was popcap's real moneymaker, the PC version was itself a breakout hit.

Wow, thanks for the clarification!

For anyone else interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plants_vs._Zombies

Plants vs. Zombies 2 on iOS had quite a successful launch: https://sensortower.com/ios/us/popcap/app/plants-vs-zombies-...

Anyone else really enjoy PvZ and found themselves disappointed by this release? Powerups you used to get by playing the game cost real money now. It really feels like they sucked the fun out of it, and it's a shame. PvZ was one of my favorite games of probably the last 5 years. This seems to be the direction mobile games are moving, and I understand why but it still sucks.

I was devastated to find out that Snow Pea was a payment-only option and not a random drop...I mean no offense is complete without SP to slow down them zombies.

I really dont like the ongoing "tutorial" style BS between levels. It wastes a lot of time and to me adds zero value to the game. So much so I might stop playing it.

Sounds familiar to a famous anti-trust case from a few years back.

" Plants vs. Zombies 2 has launched on Android in China, and it’s outselling the iPhone version of the game six-to-one in that market, according to comments from Gibeau. "

Well, that goes against the narrative.

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