The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) has taken exception with Amazon’s Android application store pricing practices. In a letter to its members, the group voiced concerns of stringent rules that revolve around the temporary discounting of games. “Amazon has little incentive not to use a developer’s content as a weapon with which to capture marketshare [sic] from competing app stores,” reads the correspondence. The IGDA specifically called out Amazon for requiring developers to permanently lower the price of an application on its store should the price of that same app be cut on a different distribution outlet — even if the pricing change is meant to be temporary. The group is concerned that Amazon’s Android Appstore will become too popular – forcing developers to accept the company’s lower price-ultimatum as the norm and further cutting into app profitability. Amazon has yet to publicly respond to the IGDA’s comments.
