Apple has ‘ROID’ Rage

If you’ve browsed through the App Store, you may have noticed that there are plenty of apps geared towards mature patrons, such as apps that about sex positions, or apps involving zit-popping.

If you’ve browsed through the App Store, you may have noticed that there are plenty of apps geared towards mature patrons, such as apps that about sex positions, or apps involving zit-popping. The crazy thing? They sell really, really well. They even reach the Top Ten every now and again. So you’d think that a game about destroying hemorrhoids would be perfectly fine. Apple disagrees.

The story starts with a small studio called Chunky Apps . Two people came up with the funny idea of making a game similar to Asteroids, but with, well, hemorrhoids. It was a silly concept that they thought would be an amazing idea. And so, like most Indie game developers, they set out to turn their dream into a reality.
It took them a great deal of time and energy, but eventually this game became a reality. They called it ROIDS , and it was released on the iPhone . You’d think this would be a happy ending, right? Well, you’d be wrong. When ROIDS first hit the App Store, it didn’t sell well. Even when it was at $0.99, the game hardly sold at all. Giving up wasn’t an option for Chunky Apps . They weren’t about to just give up on the project they worked so hard to make. How could they generate interest in this game that nobody’s bought? Firstly, they decided to make it free. People who had already paid for ROIDS would get a bonus in-game worth more than the $0.99 they paid for it. They also added some additional convenient features, such as being able to freely skip the opening cutscene.

Was that enough to salvage ROIDS ? Sadly, no. Not only did Apple take a very long time to reply to Chunky Apps ‘ request for a review, but when Apple got back to them, they were told that not only was their update denied- ROIDS was going to be removed from the App Store!

Put yourself in Chunky ‘s shoes. You just made a game, crafted it with love and devotion. You made it free so that people couldexperience it. Apple had no problems with putting it on the App Store before the update. There are other apps out there on the same level of appropriateness as ROIDS and they have no problem with them. To make matters worse, Apple’s policy of accepting games and handling appeals is non-existent, so a successful appeal isn’t likely to happen in the near future.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I totally agree that Apple should have every right to pull content that it feels will hurt its brand. That’s Apple’s right, since it is their store afterall. With that said, shouldn’t there be more concrete guidelines about what is and what is not acceptable for their store? It would prevent blunders like this from happening in the future and it would make it easier for game developers to make content that would fit those guidelines. Further, shouldn’t the sex apps and zit popping apps also be reviewed for removal, if this one was? Ultimately, it seems to me that there’s  double-standard going on here.

I’ll admit, I would likely never play this game, since it doesn’t seem to be my type of tea and I’d rather not battle hemorrhoids, but shouldn’t there be some standard by which the App Store judges all games? Further, ROIDS was played and reviewed by several other developers who felt it was well-polished and fun. Isn’t that what Apple should be promoting in their App Store?

Readers, I’m interested in hearing your opinions on this matter, so be sure to leave a comment in the section below! Also, please visit Chunky App ‘s website, which has the full blog post regarding their issue with Apple, and be sure to Like them on Facebook!