14 DAY TRIAL // The new iPod lineup introduced a number of improvements over the old models, the most important of which is the new OS X operating system that powers them. The new innards allow for a better interface, new options and more, but it also has disadvantages.
Previous iPhone users that had purchased games and now wanted to play them on the new gadgets had the dubious pleasure of finding out they would have to purchase the games yet again. With the changing of the innards, the previous versions of the games simply don't work on the new models. To get past this, Apple had to 'reformat' the games and because of this they are asking customers to buy the game all over again. Currently, only a very limited number of games have been reformatted for the new devices, namely EA's Tetris and Sudoku, as well as Namco Networks' Ms. Pac-Man. The rest of the games will be reformatted as well, but no time frame is given. The new games for the new iPods sell for $4.99 and the company makes no guarantees of compatibility with future devices.
While the games are quite cheap and a major change of the innards does require new version of the applications, much like both the Intel and the OS X transition, customers cannot help but feel that the company is simply nickel and diming them. The new versions are identical to the old ones, despite the change of capabilities of the devices they run on, making the price harder to swallow. Had Apple actually improved the games in any way, people would feel that they are getting what they pay for. Alternatively, Apple could just look up and see if the customer had previously bought the game and only ask for an update fee, instead of the entire cost.