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Rejection of Reality: Apple Denies Endgame:Syria
arclightfire writes "Endgame:Syria billed itself as the first game to cover on ongoing war in a mashup of interactivity and journalism. However it seems like Apple is not happy with this idea, as PocketTactics reports; 'Apple's app guidelines have once again tripped up the release of a strategy game rooted in a real-world conflict. Auroch Digital's Endgame Syria has been rejected by Apple's approvals team for violating guidelines section 15.3, "solely target[ing] a specific race, culture, a real government or corporation, or any other real entity." If section 15.3 sounds familiar, it's because it was the clause invoked when Cupertino said no to Pacific Fleet back in September – the game ran afoul of the guidelines for including Japanese flags in a WWII naval sim.'"
Something I pointed out the last time this game was covered:
The problem with political games is that... they're still political.
Imagine that instead of making a game about the conflict, the same group had simply put out an editorial saying "Here is what we think about the war in Syria, and exactly what is happening there."
If they did that, and it was promoted as much as a game was, and it was typical media quality, everyone here would jump on it in a minute, pointing out that the editorial oversimplifies the war, and that most editorials are made by people with strong opinions on the subject who may be biased. Or the writer of the editorial may have based it on news reports but been a bit too trusting of them. Perhaps the editorial, while supposedly summarizing the war, leaves out important events. (And that's assuming all the facts in it are literally true.)
But package your editorial as a game, and everyone eats it up, as a "unique gamification approach" which "reports the news in the most entertaining fashion possible". As if a contentious subject suddenly turns into a completely objective analysis just because it was put in something that has cards and a score. Please.
Why are people still stupid enough to trust Apple enough to sink money and development time into their silly, arbitrary little prison-platform?
For the same reason a business does anything: it has historically had an attractive return on investment. Into what platform should companies sink development time instead?
Why are people still stupid enough to trust Apple enough to sink money and development time into their silly, arbitrary little prison-platform?
Why are people still stupid enough not to read the terms of the market their trying to enter? Beats me.
Watch those corners
Or does Apple have a lockdown on mods, too?
Given the blanket ban on applications that download and execute code, such as NPC AI scripts associated with a mod, I'd guess so.
There are lots of people killed in Syria every day. Turning this into a game with the hope of making money is cynical and tasteless. So I don't feel the slightest bit sorry about these guys.
And consider that if the game was sold and successful, some people could be very tempted to put a bullet through their heads. Either someone who lost dear friends or relatives in this struggle, or someone who is in danger of losing their power over the country.
just wait till the next earnings release in a week or two, Tim Cook will finally announce Chapter 11
just because they kicked some app back
Turning this into a game with the hope of making money is cynical and tasteless.
Maybe, but totally protected under the 1st amendment. People and companies churn out tasteless crap all day. Perhaps they should all be censored. Good thing I don't have to buy Apple's crap.
...the game ran afoul of the guidelines for including Japanese flags in a WWII naval sim.
So if Godzilla were to attack New York would Apple deny a sim after the fact because it was unfair to monsters? Its absurd to disallow a game for including historically accurate imagery. The Rising Sun ensign isn't even a current national symbol of any current nation/state.
Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
"Today, we celebrate the first glorious anniversary of the Information Purification Directives. We have created, for the first time in all history, a garden of pure ideology – where each worker may bloom, secure from the pests purveying contradictory truths. Our Unification of Thoughts is more powerful a weapon than any fleet or army on earth. We are one people, with one will, one resolve, one cause. Our enemies shall talk themselves to death, and we will bury them with their own confusion. We shall prevail!"
Remember when this was the straw-man that Apple was against?
I just would wager it makes more sense not to download and play the game if you find it offensive, not complain and ruin things for people who would enjoy it.
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
Turning this into a game with the hope of making money is cynical and tasteless.
Maybe, but totally protected under the 1st amendment.
True, but this isn't about Congress passing a law to restrict speech - it's about one company deciding not to sell a third party's product...
People and companies churn out tasteless crap all day. Perhaps they should all be censored. Good thing I don't have to buy Apple's crap.
Exactly - those (myself included) who are uncomfortable with either Apple's policies, or the general stranglehold they like to maintain on their ecosystem, are free to buy other stuff :-)
...the game ran afoul of the guidelines for including Japanese flags in a WWII naval sim.
So if Godzilla were to attack New York would Apple deny a sim after the fact because it was unfair to monsters?
The policy in question was about games depicting entities that are real. Despite what Stephen King and Dr Who may have you believe, most adults consider that monsters are not real :-)
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How much of that $7 billion is in the pockets of Rovio?
Battleground: Election 2012 - Obama vs Romney
This was political in nature and solely targeted a real government. Wasn't banned.
your thin skin doesn't make me a troll
App success is PRIMARILY based on NOT getting rejected by Apple first.
After that, it's totally quality and marketing.
App rejection is overplayed, mostly by (1) Those that have been rejected for obvious violations that Apple lets you know about in advance, and (2) Fandroids who celebrate every rejection as a repudiation of Apple. I currently have 5 apps selling, only one of which got an initial rejection, but was cleared with a little email exchange with Apple.
an XBox game, or a Wii game.
Microsoft and Nintendo have historically been even stricter than Apple.
They did put it out on Android. Meaning that people still have access to their game. Hell, on their site they have a link to Google Play AND a link directly to the APK.
That's completely beside the point, and has absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand. Congress has made no law restricting the publication of a work. However, the people at Apple are NOT Congress, and are therefore not bound by the same restrictions. Just like you're not required to buy an iOS device.
most adults consider that monsters are not real :-)
You never heard of John Wayne Gacey? Adam Lanza? James Holmes? Charlie Manson? All of them make Dracula and Frankenstein look like girl scouts.
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