Amazon called out over its Android app pricing policy

Amazon's terms and conditions for developers wishing to sell Android apps via its recently launched 'Appstore' have come under fire by the International Game Developers Association.

In an advisory sent to its members and posted in full on its website, the IGDA has expressed "significant concerns about Amazon’s current Appstore distribution terms and the negative impact they may have on the game development community."

Chief among these concerns is Amazon's pricing model. The IGDA warns that Amazon not only reserves the right to control the price of the Android games it sells, but also to pay developers “the greater of 70% of the purchase price or 20% of the List Price.”

Amazon's T&Cs also state that if a developer lowers the price of its game on an 'similar service' - such as another appstore - it must permanently reduce its price on the Amazon store. This effectively means that a 'time-limited' offer on a competitor's store becomes a permanent price reduction on the Amazon store.

The full advisory, including examples of scenarios in which developers may lose significant revenue, can be found on the IGDA website.

Elesewhere, Apple recently began legal action against Amazon for use of the term 'App Store' the details and implications of which are discussed on the Gamer Law blog.