Apple Bans Game After Dev Disses App Store

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Last week a developer talked trash on Apple’s app store but the company took the criticism in stride and implemented changes to its store to better serve developers. Just kidding, Apple banned his game from the app store.

Last week, game developer Tommy Refenes publicly called Apple's app store "awful" and "horrible." This week, Apple yanked his game from their store. There are a couple of reasons that may have compelled Apple to remove Zits & Giggles, a pimple-popping game for the iPhone and iPod Touch, from the App store.
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heatlesssun said:
Eventually Apple is going to get sued over the AppStore.
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I'm thinking this might be the case although I have no idea what their TOS for developers/app sellers is. There's probably something that amounts to 'Apple can do whatever the fuck it wants' though.
 
Madman0 said:
I'm thinking this might be the case although I have no idea what their TOS for developers/app sellers is. There's probably something that amounts to 'Apple can do whatever the fuck it wants' though.
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True no doubt but that still can't stop someone from trying.
 
nothing like having a monopoly on the iphone and software.
 
Madman0 said:
There's probably something that amounts to 'Apple can do whatever the fuck it wants' though.
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That's basically the case according to a number of MacRumors stories in the past months. It's not an open marketplace and Apple's hand is the heaviest, so developing for the platform is a bit like playing Russian Roulette -- maybe things'll work out for you and maybe you'll get nailed.

Still, there's a shitload of money to be had in it if you're able to work it right.
 
Nokia said:
nothing like having a monopoly on the iphone and software.
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A monopoly on the Iphone? That is like saying Toyota has a monopoly on the Prius. As a smart phone, Apple has a significant chunk of the market, but smart phones are still a small part of the phone market.
 
I have zero sympathy. There are consequences to your actions, and this guy found out the hard way what they were.

Ya ya I know ... apple hate apple hate blah blah blah.
 
When a developer, or anyone for that matter, lodges a complaint about a company's services most try to improve said services. Apple seem to be behaving unprofessionally and somewhat juvenile in this case by banning someone that disagrees with them.
Apple: "Agree with me or your not invited to my birthday party" :rolleyes:
 
Marlfox said:
Apple seem to be behaving unprofessionally and somewhat juvenile in this case by banning someone that disagrees with them.
Apple: "Agree with me or your not invited to my birthday party" :rolleyes:
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This is describing the whole company not just the app store.
 
Marlfox said:
When a developer, or anyone for that matter, lodges a complaint about a company's services most try to improve said services. Apple seem to be behaving unprofessionally and somewhat juvenile in this case by banning someone that disagrees with them.
Apple: "Agree with me or your not invited to my birthday party" :rolleyes:
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The Apple customer base never ceases to amaze me. They are about as customer retention sensitive as ice on a sidewalk yet people just keep on buying.

No product is that cool…

Next we will see Apple suing Apple, worse they will make money from the process.:rolleyes:
 
Nudity apps I can understand, but this? This is just downright weak. I had toys as a kid that emphasized bodily functions, hell, Garbage Pail Kids made a mint off zits & secretions of the body. It's called toilet humor.
 
Marlfox said:
When a developer, or anyone for that matter, lodges a complaint about a company's services most try to improve said services. Apple seem to be behaving unprofessionally and somewhat juvenile in this case by banning someone that disagrees with them.
Apple: "Agree with me or your not invited to my birthday party" :rolleyes:
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Lodges a complaint? Click through and read the article. This guy spoke out at a very large event saying that iphone gaming is shit (i happen to agree) and he explained how he had this game up as an experiment to prove how shitty it was. He raised the price every time somebody bought the game and the higher he set it, the more people bought it. Basically he was just using it to screw people and shit on apple.

Apple is completely justified in yanking his game and is under no obligation to explain why they did so.
 
Iphone gaming is shit? Hmm interesting I have been having a blast with GTA: Chinatown wars, Final Fantasy 1, Final Fantasy 2, Dungeon Hunter, etc, etc, etc.
 
Ion Silverbolt said:
I hate apple and their ways but I don't blame them for removing an app called zits and giggles.
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I thought one of the highest selling apps was one that makes a fart sound. Given that I don't think taste has much to do with apps.
 
hoffstetter said:
Lodges a complaint? Click through and read the article. This guy spoke out at a very large event saying that iphone gaming is shit (i happen to agree) and he explained how he had this game up as an experiment to prove how shitty it was. He raised the price every time somebody bought the game and the higher he set it, the more people bought it. Basically he was just using it to screw people and shit on apple.

Apple is completely justified in yanking his game and is under no obligation to explain why they did so.
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That being the case, I agree with Apple removing the app.

...but Apple are still a bunch of Nazi's. :p
 
I would love to see the sparks fly if Valve ever came out with a SteamApp for the iPhone. (I don't mean Gears, but a competing online marketplace).
 
srangara said:
I would love to see the sparks fly if Valve ever came out with a SteamApp for the iPhone. (I don't mean Gears, but a competing online marketplace).
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They couldn't make any kind of store app for the iPhone because that's redundant functionality (app store), just like you can't download any other browser besides safari. Not to mention Apple wouldn't make money off of that app.
 
I'm no fan of Apple but it seems more likely it was pulled because of his constant price changes rather than his comments. You remember that post on the front page about Monoprice's credit cards getting stolen? Most of the people on Monoprice's facebook page who had fraudulent charges on their card were first 'tested' at the apple app store. Who could you see honestly, not accidentally, not with a stolen card, paying $400 for his 'pimple popping game'?
 
So Apples basically saying, "How dare you trash on the AppStore! Now you will pay. We'll ban you're game so that neither of us can make money off of it! HAHAHAHAHA!!". I thought Apple's main concern was money. Why would they want to ban something that could potentially make them money? I just don't think Apple can stand the heat. It's like they're all in elementary school and they want to tell the teacher about a person making fun of them. Good job Apple. *sarcasm*
 
SixtyWattMan said:
They couldn't make any kind of store app for the iPhone because that's redundant functionality (app store), just like you can't download any other browser besides safari. Not to mention Apple wouldn't make money off of that app.
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Yep, the very definition of a free market. Oh wait, what's the opposite?
 
I think this asshole deserved to have his app pulled. When you trash-talk (with the language he used) your publisher or the owner of the store that's selling your product, don't expect them to continue to want to do business with you.

In addition to that, his raising of prices that he seems to try and play off as a harmless experiment is pretty unethical in my opinion. Those few people that bought the app at $299-$400 probably thought they were paying $2.99 or $4.00. Sure, you can be an armchair lawyer and argue that it was their responsibility to read carefully, but I'm sure if this guy's intentions were purely experimental he would not have raised his dogshit app any higher than the first ripoff of $15 or so. He was not experimenting. He was MILKING people.

I'm glad he got his precious app pulled.
 
Aaron11 said:
So Apples basically saying, "How dare you trash on the AppStore! Now you will pay. We'll ban you're game so that neither of us can make money off of it! HAHAHAHAHA!!". I thought Apple's main concern was money. Why would they want to ban something that could potentially make them money? I just don't think Apple can stand the heat. It's like they're all in elementary school and they want to tell the teacher about a person making fun of them. Good job Apple. *sarcasm*
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So you're defending someone making a pimple popping game that was constantly raising the price to see how many people he can screw over and then bashing the store selling it. Good job. *sarcasm* And I'm sure that Apple, who has billions of dollars and has had billions of iTunes downloads is really worried about a pimple popping game :rolleyes:
 
It was probably the priing shenanigans - anyone with a clue knows that many debs both high and low profile sped a lot of time speaking out on te shortcomigs ofthe AppStore and it's approval process and folks aren't getting their apps removed. It's fun to mock Apple :), but we should probably save it for when they deserve it. I find it interesting tht Apple seems hellbent on removing the super expensive apps where they could make a killing for doing pretty much nothing - imagine the lost revenue from removing this "game" and I use the term lightly and in quotes and apps like "I Am Rich".
 
Also if there were a Steam app inside of which you could buy Steam Games then Apple makes money off of it because the games would be considered in-app purchases. And, yes long live Android - hopefully long enough to get Google to get an approval process beyond self-signed apps that steal people's banking info (no, I'm not jokig, it happened) and to polish some of the Gnome looking parts of the OS.
 
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