The missed opportunity in Epic v Apple

NPCs shouldn't make the rules

Imagine a court case that may potentially determine the fee structure in the music business in which a judge asks: 

“What is a song?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Your Honor. I never sing.“

That’s roughly what happened in much of the Epic/Apple lawsuit: a bunch of people that couldn’t be further removed from the very activity they will inevitably impact.

For much of my professional career in games--first as an analyst, now as an investor--I’ve spent most of my time talking to people. You meet thousands of new faces every year and the people that make up this industry are what makes it interesting. But not all of them. There is one qualifying question I generally ask to determine how much of my time I invest in a new business relationship:

“What do you play?”

There are really only two possible answers here. You either get an elaborate exposé on someone’s all-time favorite franchise (“I love turn-based RPGs and re-playing XCOM for the third time.”), or the abyss stares right back at you.

“Oh, I’m not a …