I'm hopeful about this too, but it seems Apple is consciously avoiding cannibalizing their developer program by giving too much API access. For example, despite Web Push being a standard for years now and supported by desktop Safari, not only is it not implemented on iOS Safari, other browsers are seemingly prevented from implementing it. Whole classes of PWA are eliminated by not having notification access (e.g. turn-based games).

With Google owning the web with Chromium, dictating web standards and monopolizing web site discovery trough Google search, that isn't exactly a bright future.

We need open standards, other browser vendors and more rendering engines. MS killed their web engine and Firefox doesn't have a great market share.

As far as things didn’t work like this is in the 90s, Atari had its own digital store in the 80s where you could buy games and have them downloaded over cable to a cartridge.

People should be able to run their own distribution. It's the Internet and it's a simple problem. Companies need to stop dipping their fingers in the pie and offering little in recompense.

> Should the console makers not be allowed to have their own store?

There are three major gaming consoles, PC, mobile, self-distribution... lots of platforms with which to gain distribution. There are libraries and frameworks that let you write the game once and publish it to all platforms.

Gaming is a small sector compared to everything we run on our phones. Movies, finance, communication, dating. Apple and Google tax all of the commerce happening there. I'd much rather give that money to the government instead of helping these two build a deeper moat.

> Should physical retail not be allowed to sell their own in house brands?

They do this at a loss to aid negotiations for pricing and ensuring they get enough stock. It's complicated.

So has Amazon stopped people from selling their stuff on their own website?

There are three major gaming consoles, PC, mobile, self-distribution... lots of platforms with which to gain distribution. There are libraries and frameworks that let you write the game once and publish it to all platforms.

There are also frameworks that help you publish to both mobile platforms. But just like cross platform games, you still need to own the development machines for the console or computer.

Movies, finance, communication, dating. Apple and Google tax all of the commerce happening there.

Most commerce happening there is done on the providers website. The client is on the mobile site. Apple nor Google get a cut.

They do this at a loss to aid negotiations for pricing and ensuring they get enough stock. It's complicated.

You really think store brands are sold at a loss and not a higher profit?

> So has Amazon stopped people from selling their stuff on their own website?

Yes, along with google. By monopolizing search. You won't ever be able to find Bob's home store online when they push their own stores and paid ads on top of everything else.

Coming back to Apple, it definitely stopped people from selling their stuff. There is no way to load third-party apps on their platform besides the App Store. There is no way to provide payments (or even mention you sell stuff) without giving up 30% of your revenue.

This shows a severe lack of imagination. Everyone by definition can’t stand out via organic search. Should you really start a business if your only customer acquisition strategy is SEO and organic search? In MBA speak “What's your unfair advantage”?

And once again, there is an existence proof from dozens of companies that force you to pay for the service outside of the store to use the app. They aren’t just big companies. I mentioned before that the smallish B2B company I use to work at had an app on the store that required health systems to sign a six figure a year contract to use and Apple didn’t see a penny of it.

Speaking of which, I’ve worked for four small B2B companies that had sense enough to not put their customer acquisition destiny in Google’s hands. They actually had a sales force, a contact list, went to industry events, published in industry specific journals, made sure they appeared in the upper right of “Gartner’s Magic Quadrant”, etc.

It still amazes me how many excuses people make for not having a realistic customer acquisition strategy.

Even on the consumer side how many B2C companies have become successful by advertising on relevant podcasts?

No point being successful in marketing if Apple decides to summarily remove your app from the store for no good reason at all.

He didn't claim everyone should stand out, his complaint is that organic search itself is being demoted and replaced.

>You won't ever be able to find Bob's home store online when they push their own stores and paid ads on top of everything else.

The whole point is that they should. Why can't I buy iOS apps through Amazon? Or on a USB stick from Walmart or Gamestop like boxed software for Windows? Why can't I get it directly from the developer's website?

The problem isn't that Apple or Google has a store, it's that everybody should be able to have a store, without having to be the size of Apple or Google or Amazon.

So who is stopping you from buying all your apps from the App Store after they've gone through the review process? Why do you need to stop everybody else from choosing to do something different than you and having their iPhone apps reviewed by somebody else?

> But you do realize even physical games you buy for consoles have to be reviewed and approved by the console makers and they still get a cut?

That is indeed the same situation, and consoles should not be restricting competing app distribution methods either.