EA VP Says Apple Paid EA a 'Truckload of Money' to Delay Android Version of Plants vs Zombies 2
Apple paid EA a "truckload of money" to delay the Android version of Plants vs Zombies 2 according to Frank Gibeau, head of EA Labels, reports gaming site Giant Bomb.
With the exception of China, Plants vs Zombies 2 has not launched on Android yet -- the fact that the game is iOS-only is a big win for Apple.
“Apple gave us a truckload of money to delay the Android version [of Plants vs Zombies 2],” said Frank Gibeau, head of EA Labels.
Giant Bomb confirmed the quote with several sources who watched the presentation today.
It is unclear what a “truckload of money” means, and we have no further details on the apparent agreement between Apple and EA.
Apple, for its part,
categorically denies the report, saying that no money was exchanged. It's also possible that there was some sort of marketing agreement between the companies where the app was launched on iOS first in exchange for prominent placement on the App Store.
If the report is accurate, it would be the first known instance of Apple paying developers outside of the standard App Store revenue and shows how important AAA-level games are to the App Store. It also shows how important Apple is to the developers of AAA titles, with the App Store on par with other consoles with regards to exclusive launches. Apple has a tendency to show favoritism with regards to App Store placement and promotions to developers that release exclusively on iOS.
Plants vs Zombies 2 is a free download for the iPhone and iPad. [Direct Link]
Update: EA has issued a statement to Metro acknowledging that no money changed hands and that the issue was an "unfortunate misunderstanding".
‘A comment from an internal meeting taken out of context has created an unfortunate misunderstanding. Reports of a paid relationship between Apple and EA are factually inaccurate, and we apologise for any confusion,’ said a later EA statement.
Popular Stories
In an all-caps post on Truth Social today, U.S. President Donald Trump said Apple should fully end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
Tim Cook meeting with President Trump in 2017
"APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM," he wrote.
Trump's post comes one day after Apple held its annual shareholders meeting, during which a majority of...
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April.
From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements.
While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way.
By the time the ...
Apple is making significant headway on its long-rumored foldable iPhone, with a new report suggesting the company has achieved a major breakthrough by effectively eliminating the screen crease that plagues current foldable devices.
According to Korean publication ETNews, Apple is finalizing its component suppliers for the foldable iPhone, with the selection process expected to be completed...
Multiple iPhone owners today noticed a pronunciation processing issue that causes the word "Trump" to momentarily show up when using dictation to send a message with the word "racist."
In some cases, when speaking the word racist through the iPhone's built-in dictation feature, the iPhone briefly interprets the spoken word as "Trump" and "Trump" text shows up in the Messages app before being ...
According to a post on X today from a leaker known as Kosutami, Apple plans to launch AirPods Pro 3 in May or June this year.
The leaker also claimed that an AirTag 2 will launch around the same time.
Kosutami is best known as a collector of prototype Apple hardware, but they have occasionally shared accurate information about Apple's future product plans. For example, they accurately...
Apple plans to launch a second-generation AirTag in May or June this year, according to a post today from a leaker known as Kosutami.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that a new AirTag would be released in mid-2025. May or June would align with that timeframe.
Below, we recap three new features rumored for the AirTag 2:
With a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, the...
The first beta of iOS 18.4 is now available, and it includes a small but useful change for CarPlay.
As we noted in our list of iOS 18.4 features, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra, which can be equipped...
