The Wall Street Journal has published a report that throws light on the increasing competition between Apple and Google as they battle to entice publishers into exclusivity deals.
9to5Mac notes that rumors of these type of arrangements surfaced last year, with reports of such a partnership between Apple and EA for Plants vs Zombies 2.
WSJ points out that no money changes hands in Apple’s exclusivity deals, however the company does offer “premium placement” for launching first on the iOS platform.
The Plants vs Zombies 2 deal involved Apple prominently featuring the game in its App Store in exchange for EA giving Apple a two-month exclusivity window for the title. The game wasn’t released on the Android platform until October.
The Journal reports that Apple’s App Store editorial team will give more weight to iOS exclusives, and will also favor apps recommended by its “developer-relations staff”.
Amazon is also reportedly attempting to negotiate similar agreements with publishers. Similar types of deals are also made in the video game industry, with console makers pushing for exclusive titles. However, those deals do usually involve large sums of cash.
