Epic Games Wins Court Case vs. Apple
Epic Games, developers behind Fortnite, declared war on Apple on August 13, 2020, following their frustrations with the latter’s payment system. Now, over a year later, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has issued a ruling in favor of Epic, indicating that Apple is no longer allowed to force developers to use its own payment system within their apps, as it engages in what the State of California refers to as “anticompetitive conduct.”
One of the most bizarre moments in the hearing, however, was when the proceedings got derailed by a quick exchange between the two entities involved. The exchange was about whether or not Peely the Banana—a recurring Fortnite character—should be wearing clothes.
When Apple cross-examined Epic’s VP of Marketing Matthew Weissinger, the provided the court with an exhaustive Fortnite tutorial, hence showing the game’s title screen with a suited version of Peely. “We thought it better to go with the suit than the naked banana since we are in federal court this morning,” said Apple’s lawyer.
Obviously, this was meant as a lighthearted joke during an antitrust-focused court case. However, the lawyer that Epic hired on their end just could not let Apple get away with their suggestion that the infamous naked banana character was not appropriate.
Epic Games, on the other hand, argued that putting the tuxedo on Peely was very much unnecessary. “There might have been an implication that to show Peely without a suit would have been inappropriate,” responded Epic’s attorney. “Is there anything inappropriate about Peely without a suit?”
“With respect to the appropriateness of Peely’s dress, the Court understood Apple merely to be dressing Peely in a tuxedo for federal court,” the judge’s ruling read. “As Mr. Weissinger later remarked, and with which the Court agrees, Peely is just a banana man, additional attire was not necessary but informative.”