Epic Games parodies classic '1984' ad amid Apple dispute
Things are heating up between between Epic Games and Apple after Fortnite was spectacularly pulled from the Apple Store. Now, Epic is firing shots at the tech giant and has mocked its famous "1984" ad that was shown at the Super Bowl.
As one of the most parodied commercials out there, Ridley Scott's iconic advert first introduced the world to the Apple Macintosh computer and has been poked fun at in everything from The Simpsons to Half-Life 2.
A turf war has inadvertently been triggered by Epic when it permanently reduced the price of V-Bucks in Fortnite. Although this wouldn't work on iOS and Android thanks to Apple and Google's strict storefront policies, Epic encouraged players to bypass the system and pay the publisher directly. Unsurprisingly, this didn't go down well with Apple - which quickly pulled the battle royale title from its App Store.
In the short clip - titled "Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite" - a colourful female Fortnite character runs into a drab room and hurls a unicorn club at a screen where an ominous apple-shaped figure is barking orders. More than just a coincidence, the Apple character has glasses similar to CEO Tim Cook and has a worm sticking out of it (to resemble to company's famous logo). Even if it's all a bit of fun on Epic's part, there could be some serious ramifications when we step back to look at the bigger picture.
Epic's own "1984" commercial has been playing on a constant loop on Fortnite's Twitch and Twitter channels, while there was even a special in-game event to celebrate its release. The bizarre move is a clear middle finger to Apple's dominance of the market. The problem is, that both Epic and Apple are refusing to back down.
Where the two companies previously had a symbiotic relationship that helped make Fortnite the behemoth it is, neither side is willing to budge on the issue of money (who'd have guessed). Even if Epic is having a laugh at Apple's expense for now, it's unlikely it will win. Epic previously tried this with Google when it told players to download Fortnite's .APK file instead of going through the Google Play Store. It didn't take long until Epic admitted defeat and bowed to Google's slice of the pie.
Epic is known for its political statements and even created its own Epic Games Store to try and stop Valve from taking over the entire PC gaming market. Now, Epic Games is filing a lawsuit against Apple to end in-app practices of taking a 30% cut. "Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite" could be Epic's most petty/brilliant move yet, so expect it to be the first step in a bitter war between the two sides. With #FreeFortnite currently trending on Twitter, it looks like the first round has gone to Epic.