I have noticed a trend... its not particularly hard to see.
Apple app store: 30% cut
Amazon Books: 30% cut
Steam (steamworks): ??? cut
Impulse store: 30% cut, or 15% if you sell through your own website
Android store: 30% cut
Everyone else: probably 30% cut too...
New Impulse microtransactions: 30%.
PayPal: 5% cut + 5 cents for microtransactions, 2.9% + 30 cents for standard transaction
As an indie game developer... I currently am making a game that will be free to play with microtransactions. I wanted to get on steam but was rejected... dunno why. I was excited that i had a good chance of getting on Impulse, but then I heard that they wanted 30%. I wanted to use a platform that had lots of features but honestly I don't think it makes financial sense. Most of these services are little more than a portal. The bandwidth costs they pay for are minimal. Some of the services game platforms have like community/social networking, matchmaking, achievements etc are pretty cool, but they alone aren't worth more than 5%. Obviously if I just use PayPal and do all the little extras myself, it would save me a huge amount of money.
What do you guys think... do these services offer a value thats worth 30%? Keep in mind that you have to pay salaries, taxes, marketing, etc. Do these services boost sales for the average game, or do games sell themselves these days?