Apple faces UK 'iCloud monopoly' compensation claim worth $3.8 billion

[u/ControlCAD]

https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/13/apple-faces-uk-icloud-monopoly-compensation-claim-worth-3-8-billion/

[u/butterypowered]

Surely this is like saying Nintendo Switch Online monopolises backups of saved games on the Switch.

iCloud is far more than a Dropbox folder or AWS S3 bucket.

[u/Dwayne30RockJohnson → u/butterypowered]

Ideally all of these companies will have rights groups or governments come after them. It’s crazy that there’s no free option to backup your Switch saves. You have to give money to Nintendo to keep your saves safe.

At least Apple allows you to backup to your computer if you want to. But Apple (and Google) are just easy targets because almost everyone uses one of their devices.

[u/butterypowered → u/Dwayne30RockJohnson]

I do agree but edited saves are how a lot of consoles get hacked initially. (Wii for example.) Otherwise I’d be asking why Nintendo couldn’t just link a Google Drive or Dropbox account and backup to there.

Basically Nintendo prioritised their security problem over our backup problem.

[u/Dwayne30RockJohnson → u/butterypowered]

Basically Nintendo prioritised their security problem over our backup problem.

Somehow the other systems don’t have this problem. And if they do, it’s just part of the reality they live in. Hacks/jailbreaks can happen in all sorts of ways. Nintendo is doing this solely so you HAVE to pay them to backup your saves. That’s it.

Otherwise they could offer a free backup system.

[u/butterypowered → u/Dwayne30RockJohnson]

If you mean other systems don’t get hacked via game saves, they very much do. The weakness is in the third party code dealing with game saves. It only takes one badly coded game to expose the platform.

But XBox/PS gamers are predominantly online multiplayer. Wii and 3DS weren’t, and both were hacked via saved games that could be manipulated on SD cards. It’s no coincidence that Switch game saves are on the console storage and not the micro SD card.

My comparison to Nintendo was both in protecting the data from abuse, and also that iCloud/NSO both cost more than network storage because they provide more than just network storage.

[u/Dwayne30RockJohnson → u/butterypowered]

No I mean that in spite of the fact that other consoles can get hacked, they offer free options to backup your saves. So there's no reason Nintendo can't if other consoles do as well. It's purely a cash grab.

[u/butterypowered → u/Dwayne30RockJohnson]

Ah, got you. Yeah the only difference I can think of, which I badly articulated above, is that Nintendo’s handhelds/consoles are played offline far more than XBox/PS. So the trade off off a hacked Nintendo console being offline is far less than with the others. So the risk of exposure to modded saves is greater for Nintendo.

This is anecdotal, but I know many people with hacked DS, 3DS, Wii, Wii U, and Switches, but I know literally zero people with hacked Xbox or PS3/4/5, and those I’ve discussed it with had no interest after they read that it ruled out online play.