I guess they're thinking that with how many kids play Fortnite on their phones, it'll be easy to strum up "public pressure".
That was my initial thought, and the entire concept of weaponizing children really makes it hard for me to side with Epic on this.
Yeah, I agree, that's probably the most distasteful part of this affair.
Couldn't this lawsuit have a ripple effect on Nintendo if Apple lost the case? Nintendo, and Sony and MS of course, have closed platforms like Apple does and set their own pricing and policies and such. What is the precedent that gets set? Closed platforms can't exist? In that case the console market is dead. I have no horse in this race if it just ends up with a settlement but it could have major consequences if Apple was found to be violating anti-trust laws.
I'm not a lawyer, but I think closed platforms aren't specifically under attack. In fact, I don't think closed platforms are technically protected, what we're seeing in the console world as closed platforms are really platforms that feel closed due to the platform maker's hold over licensing of developer tools (like compilers), access to documentation, and anti-piracy measures. Like, I think you're allowed to make unlicensed NES games, it's just you have to do it completely without Nintendo's help and through legal reverse engineering and not theft of technical info.
I don't think Epic's suit is specifically against closed platforms, but maybe a more general attack against Apple to try to leverage some concessions that'll earn Epic more money. Apparently Apple is the target of some Antitrust investigations right now so Epic is timing this to go along with that? Heck, I bet if Apple went to Epic and said "Ok, we give up, we'll give you these favorable terms but don't tell anyone else on the old system" then there's a 50/50 chance Epic will say "Okay, let's settle the lawsuit and say nothing more."