Edit: also XBox (the console) is failing - they sell them at a loss
I was with you until here, which comes across as wrong or ignorant. That's the model with console games, the money is in selling everything ELSE. You have to have hardware to do that.
I just asked my iphone-hqving mom who knows nothing about tech and she named 5.
I mean, anyone who has a "non-iohone" would be able to at least name the non-iohone(s) they have had. Including phone brands from before iphones that they may guess are still around.
In general I agree, but this kind of corruption has become pretty normalized in Congress, I think.
Look at how many Senators and other congresspeople have become millionaires (or much, much wealthier) while in office. It's not all insider trading - there's so many special favors being done, "consulting fees" being paid to family members. Campaign "contributions" that find their way into pockets via thinly veiled (or deeply hidden) laundering, special payments/contracts for existing business interests, etc. I don't usually go for "both sides" arguments but the kind of corruption is widespread. Even if the GOP seems to be doing it more.
I'm just really happy to see someone actually investigated and charged for a change. No matter which party. This kind of corruption needs aggressively stamped out everywhere, it should be in the top 3 priorities for our government.
But I'll be amazed if it isn't shut down like the last charges against this piece of garbage.
It's just much more likely that they massively overestimated what they could get away with and were surprised they couldn't. They were almost definitely scrambling here when the bad press and reactions started.
The situation and plan is shitty either way, but your case implies a level of intent and competence that I'm really skeptical about. Much more likely they figured all the app cash cows would grumble but mostly accept it after some mild pushback. Really unlikely they expected it to become front-page tech news everywhere.
I really doubt it. This seems like a pretty typical corporate leadership fuckup and walk back. I've seen it enough from the inside to know the real source is management just being greedy and stupid, not some devious multilayered plan.
I still don’t understand how they would trust self-reported numbers but we’ll see.
Because this was primarily about mobile. And because they can sanity check by looking at home many "installs" are reported by Apple and Google. I'm convinced that's half the reason why they did the weird move of basing this on installs and not purchases (the other half or so being that they needed some way they can get more money from the bajillion free-to-play mobile games out there that Unity dominates)
And they can sanity check SOME numbers being reported by Steam/Sony/etc though console and PC matter less to them.
Also - how are they currently getting metrics for game revenue that they'd bill off of? Seems like a lot of self-reporting would be happening there too? And enforced with contracts, etc.
That's not edging out. That's a blowout.