Well, I thought I'd go the route of the South Park series and make an app that ridiculed those in government (both major parties.) After some time in review my app was rejected due to the following: I made the changes they requested and resubmitted (after talking to them on the phone.) Fast forward a few weeks of review time and I received another phone call saying it was rejected for the same reasons again. This time they asked me to remove 50% of the content (I had already removed a big piece to try and get it approved before.) This time around I'm just not going to bother since I would have to remove 4 of the 5 mini-games that were included for it to pass. Even if I removed 4 of the mini-games, the guy on the phone told me it would have to go to a management committee for review (and possible approval.) I guess such is life on the app store and my dreams of doing satirical games have been destroyed by Apple's draconian approval process. I'm going back to strategy and casual games given this was a major waste of time. Developer beware, do not submit anything remotely controversial. I probably should have known better but oh well. At the very least maybe I can save some of you some trouble. It's interesting to note that I read about a Pulitzer Prize winning news-writer who recently had a similar experience.
Sorry to hear about that. I'd love to play your game, shame it never made it to the App Store. Can you explain in more detail what it involved and what exactly did Apple not like about it?
While I am not a big fan of controversial subject matter because it is so cheap and easy (I'll explain below), I think it is a shame that it got rejected. Is it possible for you to just hand out betas in large numbers? I'm always interested in what does not pass in the app store. I am a fine artist, and it seems that every artist has something 'deep' or personal to say about controversial topics, or they use their work to stir controversy. No, the 'Piss Christ' is not a work of art worthy of discussion, you ****ing hack. Yes, I do get tired of this type of work that is pretentious and thoughtless. However, I think that controversial topics can be satirized and exaggerated, and at that point they do become amusing.
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time this has happened -- and for the very same reasons. I seem to recall at least one app from before the US election that was rejected for ridiculing public figures, though I can't recall any specifics, so this isn't without precedent. It sucks, and it's a bit of a silly restriction, but Apple plays things ridiculously safe when it comes to anything that could lead to the remotest possibility of litigation. (Well, unless we're talking about patents...)
Maybe there is hope for you afterall... http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/04/16/apple_asks_fiore_to_resubmit/
That was controversial for different reasons. It was also a stupid app from a disturbed developer. And anyway, rejected apps predate that thing; Iron Square whipped up a silly little fart bomb/sound board called Mr. Poot back around August of 2008. It was one of the first apps to be rejected on controversial grounds before Apple implemented parental controls. (The actual rejection message they got was, "Bodily functions arent worldly acceptable behaviour".)
Tough luck for you. Apple's rules don't apply to everyone. While every single swimwsuit and bikini apps were taken down some time ago, Playboy and Sports Illustrated are untouched. Why? Because these are big brands, big boys. It's not a matter of playing safe for Apple, its a matter of who they can afford to bully around. YOU, they can squish like a fly. Because YOU are a nobody. Big brands? Nope, can't squish big brands.
I may do a release on Android given that Unity plans to support both platforms from a single project. My plan was to do South Park / Robot Chicken type quick little mini games that satirized all things (equal opportunity basher here.) I created the initial set and was going to add a couple of mini games a month based on the latest in the news. Anyways, it may see the light of day on the Android platform. For now I'm working on a *gasp* card game for the iPad. That shouldn't get me in trouble with the thought police.
Watch Apple reject it just because there's a chance some underage kids will use it to play strip poker.
