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On Sunday, Microsoft announced the launch of HoloLens 2, the second version of its innovative holographic headset, a $ 3,500 device to project digital images into the real world, a form of augmented reality.
As could be expected, this device was the centerpiece of Microsoft's main presentation at the Mobile World Congress.
Alex Kipman, chief inventor of HoloLens, made another related announcement that has far more important implications for the industry: Microsoft is committed to enabling everyone to operate their own HoloLens application store or all headsets Windows.
This is a commitment that is part of an extensive discussion on the economics of smartphone app stores. Apple, in particular, has been screened to require developers to spend more than 30% of most transactions in the App Store, while banning competitors from opening their own alternative windows for iOS applications .
Microsoft's commitment to transparency seems to have already seduced one of its fiercest critics, while Tim Sweeney, CEO of "Fortnite", creator of Epic Games, made an appearance at the main event to announce the company's commitment to offer HoloLens as a platform.
Read more:Microsoft unveils HoloLens 2, its new $ 3,500 holographic headset that seems to enhance the original in every way
This is particularly noteworthy: in 2016, Sweeney decried the Windows 10 application store as "the most aggressive gesture that Microsoft has ever undertaken" and wanted to make the Windows PC a "walled garden" iPhone style.
Sweeney announced on Sunday that HoloLens 2 will benefit from the support of Epic's popular Unreal Engine 4 game design software and, more broadly, that the company will consider HoloLens as part of its strategy, even though it said do not be ready to announce more details at this time.
Sweeney specifically pointed to Microsoft's commitment to this type of openness as a reason behind the alliance and linked it to its more general principles.
"We will resist efforts to build walled gardens around our lives," Sweeney said on stage at the Microsoft event.
Read more:The creator of & # 39; Fortnite & # 39; is fighting a battle that could cause confusion in the video game industry. It would be terrible for Google and Apple.
At this point, Epic spent most of last year campaigning against the major platforms. In late 2018, Epic launched Epic Games Store, a PC gaming showcase, challenging the Valve Steam store leader by offering game developers a more favorable share of the business. Before that, Epic courted controversy by skipping the Google Play store on Android, asking players to download the game directly from the web.
In doing so, Epic used the incredible popularity of "Fortnite" to start a conversation about the economics of digital stores such as those of Apple, Google and Steam. For its part, at least Steam has changed part of its revenue distribution model in recent months, although Apple and Google are sticking to their weapons so far. In a recent phone conversation with shareholders and analysts, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said he believes the Google Play store provides added value to developers.
Microsoft's HoloLens is a much newer platform than Apple's Android or iOS. When the second version is released later this year, it will cost $ 3,500 and will only be available to businesses.
At the same time, much of the industry, including Apple, Facebook and Microsoft, is convinced that augmented reality technology, like the HoloLens, is the next big success after the smartphone. By declaring this commitment early, Microsoft seems hoping that the next generation of devices will allow healthy competition between application stores.
And by integrating Epic, Microsoft is a powerful ally in the fight. The two companies were already associated to allow "Fortnite" players to play together on Xbox, PCs and smartphones – an alliance that allowed Sony to allow this kind of cross-platform game for the PlayStation 4 .
Together, both could have enough juice to keep putting pressure on Apple and Google on how they do business in their apps stores, perhaps convincing them to make any changes.
At its event, Microsoft also showed how a carrier of HoloLens 2 could interact with holograms placed by an iPad equipped with Apple, using the camera to project augmented reality images, this which demonstrates the commitment of the company to keep the platform open.
However, I would also like it if I did not mention the fact that Microsoft did not have much to lose here either. Despite the fears previously expressed by Sweeney, the company has not had much luck with one of its Windows application stores and no longer has any smartphone operating system. By choosing this fight, Microsoft can only look better for developers without having to worry about the economics of its own Windows application store businesses.
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