Monday Apple Rumors: Apple Battling Google for Top Gaming Apps

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Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:

daily apple rumors AAPLCompetition: Sources tell the Wall Street Journal that Apple (AAPL) has been making deals with game developers to ensure the appearance of best-selling titles on iOS before they reach Google’s (GOOG) Android. Apple reportedly gave Electronic Arts (EA) top billing in the App Store during the launch of EA’s Plants vs. Zombies 2 last summer. The deal resulted in EA delaying the launch of the game on Android until October, giving Apple a crucial window of exclusivity for the much-anticipated game title. Apple negotiated a similar agreement with ZeptoLab for the launch of its Cut the Rope game in December, putting the game on iOS three months before it reached Android. One gaming industry insider called the battle between Apple and Google an “arms race” to get the most-wanted gaming titles first, noting that some consumers could be tempted to switch mobile platforms to play their favorite game. According to an industry analysis, video gaming apps comprised more than 70% of the $16 billion that consumers paid for mobile apps in 2013. In a bid to head off Android’s growth, Apple has become more intent on snagging new gaming titles for iOS. That has led to Apple agreeing to more marketing and placement deals with game developers. Apple does not pay developers to launch their titles on iOS first. Rival Amazon (AMZN), which recently launched its own video streaming box and gaming console, is also said to be seeking exclusive deals with gaming developers. Amazon has been long rumored to be working on its own smartphone.

Trouble: A glitch has affected first-generation Apple TV units, MacRumors notes. Owners of the video-streaming devices began reporting a loss of iTunes-connectivity on Apple online support forums on Apr. 17. Users report that the problem persists even after they reboot or restore their devices. The Apple TV glitch comes on the heels of reports that Apple mobile devices running iOS 6 have recently experienced problems running FaceTime, raising the possibility that some technical tweak from Apple has caused both issues. There has been no comment on the problem — or suggested solution — from Apple as of yet.

Second Chance: Some software developers who didn’t win an opportunity to buy tickets to Apple’s upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference will get another shot at attending, PC Magazine notes. Earlier this month, Apple held a lottery for developers looking to attend this year’s WWDC. Those who won had a chance to purchase the tickets — for $1,599 each — within a one-week deadline. Now, Apple is contacting developers who came up short in the lottery for WWDC tickets and asking if they would like to purchase unclaimed tickets. Presumably, the unclaimed tickets now being offered to other developers were not purchased by the lottery’s original winners. Apple will hold the 2014 WWDC between June 2 and June 4 at San Francisco’s Moscone West center.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2014/04/monday-apple-rumors-apple-battling-google-top-gaming-apps/.

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