14 DAY TRIAL // There’s a reason why iOS apps are said to have the tightest security - Apple enforces strict rules for developers looking to sell their software through the iTunes Store. But all this curation comes at a great cost for game developers.
The situation is complicated, because in some instances Apple is right, whereas in other situations the newly enforced rules seem a bit ridiculous. Such as with Rooster Teeth vs. Zombiens, whose protagonist used to hold a toy-like zapper gun in the App Store screenshots, whereas now he’s holding a baseball bat / club.
It’s about the App Store, not the apps themselves
According to the developers who shared their grievances with Pocketgamer, the rule applies to the marketing materials of the app, not the binary itself. The games themselves remain the same, but the screenshots depicting the action in them now have to be censored if they show guns and / or gore.
Team Chaos actually had to change the icon to his Teeth vs. Zombiens game, and even Splash Damage with its exciting Tempo game now has pixelated guns in the images promoting the game on iTunes. In an ironic twist, Apple actually named Tempo Editor’s Choice recently.
Developer OrangePixel is equally disappointed because the new rules conflicted with tiny pixelated images of people getting killed in its game. The developer said Apple told them it didn’t want screens that “show violence against a human being.”
Fair enough
Most adults will rebuff at the rule, while kids too small to understand the real reasons behind this decision frankly don’t even have a say in this. Developers are also impacted because the marketing materials are less exciting, which can diminish the incentive to download an action game.
Basically, it appears that everyone stands to lose from this change, even Apple, with some users likely considering to go with the Android platform where censorship is far less frequent.
That being said, it’s decisions like these that reduce the chances of children flipping out on their peers, bringing guns to school and whatnot. Ultimately, it’s a thing of principle. Subjectivity has no place in matters like these.
