To be fair the ubiquitous _pachinko_ parlours of Japan are pretty much exactly that. You gamble with worthless tokens, that an unrelated business next door just so happens to be willing to trade for items of value.
Smartphone game stores aren't the only option for game developers. They could go with Nintendo eShop (30% platform fee), or Sony PSN store (30% platform fee), or Xbox store (30% platform fee). Hmm, maybe there's a trend here?
More seriously, Android does allow sideloading and alternative game stores. There are also subscription services like Xbox game pass, Amazon Luna, and Apple Arcade, though I don't know their exact payment models. And PC gaming still exists - there are popular game stores like Steam that take a smaller cut.
I think it's hard to make money on games on any platform, but Steam does seem to have a vibrant indie game scene.
To be fair the ubiquitous _pachinko_ parlours of Japan are pretty much exactly that. You gamble with worthless tokens, that an unrelated business next door just so happens to be willing to trade for items of value.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachinko
The 30% cut hurts every developer, not just the minority building bad games that make the world worse.
Smartphone game stores aren't the only option for game developers. They could go with Nintendo eShop (30% platform fee), or Sony PSN store (30% platform fee), or Xbox store (30% platform fee). Hmm, maybe there's a trend here?
More seriously, Android does allow sideloading and alternative game stores. There are also subscription services like Xbox game pass, Amazon Luna, and Apple Arcade, though I don't know their exact payment models. And PC gaming still exists - there are popular game stores like Steam that take a smaller cut.
I think it's hard to make money on games on any platform, but Steam does seem to have a vibrant indie game scene.
yeah they're fighting over who gets more of our blood
Well good news, the fight has been won by Only Fans, Fan Duel, Robinhood, Coinbase, etc. But keep your pearls handy to clutch over loot boxes.