Ancient-Red-Dragon: Sweeney's idea as quoted in the OP isn't so bad, except he forgot to add DRM-free into the equation.

If there was one single store to get all apps and games from in a DRM-free form, then that would indeed be ideal, and it would be way better than the current DRM-infested fragmented market that currently exists.

Oddeus: Lol, what a jerk. Should have stayed with his barber job.

PixelBoy: Unless something is missing here, he is talking about different technological platforms having their own distribution platforms, instead of having a platform that is accessible regardless of what hardware you have.

Wouldn't that be a good thing?

One store where you could get stuff for Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android, perhaps even Playstation and Xbox?

I guess this is a bit strange thing to say: "What the world really needs now is a single store--".
And that can of course be interpreted as seeing a monopoly as a good thing, but since we currently have no stores at all which would fit the description, you can also read the comment as "we need at least one alternative".

Maybe the dude was vague on purpose, who knows.

But basically he is correct, but perhaps the business that he is working for isn't the answer to the question he is raising.

mqstout: Not really. I sell Product XYZ on every platform possible, every storefront. (Including my own site too.) Purchasing it at any of these includes a personal license file that can be used with every version and every format. (Activating with said license file does not require a 'net check.)

When publishing on every platform, I make sure the version I put there can be gotten freely, and that version can be activated by importing the license file to the full version.

Look at that, no double and triple dipping!

For non-software:
* Video/movies/music would just be a DRM-free download that you can port with you and use anywhere.
* For books, it would similarly be a DRM-free download in a format that can be converted to other formats.

And so on.

The ttRPG industry is a gigantic mess right now with every virtual tabletop (VTT) application/website having their own virtual marketplace. People are buying the same content 2, 3+ times to get the mileage out of it. And it's disgusting. The content creators (you know, the publishers actually making it) need to make sure that the VTTs allow exporting of things purchased on them, so you can get the image files, etc, out. Same people need to start selling that stuff directly, outside of the disparate VTT marketplaces, too. And they need to start selling their rules materials either not just as PDFs but as well-formated XML/JSON that can easily be imported to a given VTT, or including redemption coupons like I mentioned at the top of this post. It's an extra PITA there because each VTT reinvents the wheel with every product and insists on getting another cut each time. There's so much not-invented-here syndrome that it's hurting them and players.

EDIT: Physical books should come with a scratch-off redemption card or something to get the digital copy. Or at least for things like $50 RPG books... Amazon's AutoRip (free MP3s with purchase of a CD) was/is a great program... Though my most recent purchase, the idiot musicians opted out of it for some reason.

Mr.Mumbles: Yarp. I don't think I've ever finished a full game of Monopoly. Everyone just tends to get bored after a while. So many better games to play.

Dark_art_: Can anyone guess who would be the godfather provider of such a humble and altruistic service?


1: Microsoft store
2: Gamestop or similar
3: G2A/Eneba/Kinguin
4: Consortium managed by individuals from big companies, eventually some GOVs
5: Some hypotetical existing private store, wich may or may no start with "E" and have a big share on the hands of the bad guys, that after 3 years still missing a freaking shopping cart making the purchase of DLC a nightmare and incite children to bomb a competitive service on their behalf. Let's go even further and say the hypotetical store had a very heavy on resources client (taking 10+min to open on a slow internet/HDD computer) and scrape the installed computer hard drive searching for who knows what files "by accident". The list can go on but such a hypotetical company would never do such things if they are so friendly and good... Right???