70% of Japan smartphone games bypass in-app payments to avoid IT giants

Nearly 70 percent of popular Japanese smartphone games have introduced external payment systems for items and services to avoid hefty commission fees from U.S. tech giants Google LLC and Apple Inc., a Kyodo News tally showed.The move comes ahead of a new Japanese law tightening regulations on Google and Apple, which dominate smartphone platforms, set to take full effect in December. The legislation requires the two companies to open their payment systems.Almost all users currently download games through Apple and Google's app stores. When players buy in-game items, software providers pay th…READ FULL ARTICLE