Over 1 billion smartphone users are on iOS, and in the United States, iOS accounts for
over 50% of the market.
However, despite this large market presence, iOS is a very closed platform and is strictly
controlled by Apple.
Apple, for instance, unlike Google, doesn't allow any other ways to download apps on iOS
devices.
This means that everything needs to be done via the App Store, and if developers run into
issues with the App Store, they are effectively barred from the platform.
This is something that has been seen many times throughout the years—and, in this
video, we'll be taking a bird's-eye view of how this affects gaming in relation to video
game censorship.
Video game censorship, however, is only one consequence of Apple's stricter rules.
For example, you may recall when Discord announced that all servers marked as NSFW would be blocked
on iOS devices.
The Discord trouble was a result of Apple's guidelines for apps available on the App Store.
Discord ultimately managed to negotiate a looser policy, which they announced not long
after the original announcement.
The new policy means that instead of blocking all servers marked as NSFW, only servers that
focus on explicit content would be barred on iOS.
However, this is something that only exists on Apple devices, with there being no changes
on platforms like Android.
Also, as mentioned, even if Google was to one day take issue with a particular app—Android
is a much more open platform, and they allow devs to offer apps outside of the Google Play
storefront.
Meanwhile, on Apple, devs are left with no choice but to comply.
This circumstance is one of the areas that Epic Games is seeking to change with their
ongoing lawsuits against Apple.
Due to Apple's dominance over the market, Epic argues that Apple should allow users
to have the choice to download apps from 3rd parties, as you can do on other platforms.
This would enable developers to release apps in their original state without Apple saying
what is and isn't allowed.
Apple's policies are also vague, inconsistently applied, and can change with only short notice.
But to now take a look at a collection of games that have been affected by Apple's store
policies.
And we'll be looking at nine different examples in a list-style format.
1.
Political themes causing games to be rejected as games
2016 saw one of the more bizarre cases of Apple rejecting games, and this affected the
title Liyla and the Shadows of War.
The game is based on the Gaza conflict, and it would be nominated for and win a wide range
of awards.
Amongst the running and jumping gameplay, it tells a story of the horrors of war based
on real events.
However, its political story rubbed Apple the wrong way, who refused to allow the game
to be released in the games category.
The developer was told by Apple to quote: "As we discussed, please revise the app category
for your app and remove it from Games, since we found that your app is not appropriate
in the Games category.
It would be more appropriate to categorize your app in News or Reference for example.
In addition, please revise the marketing text for your app to remove references to the app
being a game."
The developer, however, did not want to comply with this, so it remained unavailable on iOS
while it was released without issue on Android.
Luckily for the dev, though, Apple's stance would get picked by a lot of news outlets.
Then, potentially due to all of the attention it received, Apple would eventually reverse
their decision and allow the game to be listed as such.
2.
Apple's crackdown on guns The App Store Review Guidelines state you
must, to quote: "make sure your app and in-app purchase icons, screenshots, and previews
adhere to a 4+ age rating even if your app is rated higher.
For example, if your app is a game that includes violence, select images that don't depict
a gruesome death or a gun pointed at a specific character."
However, like many of the platform's rules, this is something that appears to be enforced
inconsistently.
In 2015, though, there was a large crackdown from Apple on games displaying guns in the
store—which led to some drastic alterations being made to game imagery.
For instance, the game Tempo, which was chosen as an Editor's Choice game by Apple, ended
up pixelating any depictions of guns in screenshots.
And this also affected the game's preview video.
The Rooster Teeth game Rooster Teeth vs. Zombiens even had to change its store icon due to the
character being depicted holding an NES Zapper, which isn't a real weapon and is a video game
light gun accessory.
And so, following being rejected, it was changed to a baseball bat.
And another example is the game Tap Army.
On the left is the rejected store icon and a screenshot, while the modified versions
are displayed on the right, which cut out any sight of guns.
3.
The Binding Of Isaac & child violence The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth has been released
on many different platforms over the years and is a highly celebrated title.
However, for an entire year between 2016 and 2017, the game would be banned from appearing
on iOS.
The game's producer revealed this decision on Twitter, where he displayed Apple's reason
for rejecting the popular game.
Despite the game's stylized art style, Apple said, "your app contains content or features
that depict violence towards, or abuse of, children, which is not allowed on the App."
The producer would also point to the apparent hypocrisy behind this and the fact that games
like The Walking Dead have been released on iOS with no issues.
Thankfully for the developers, though, they eventually managed to convince Apple to release
the game a year later.
Although, this remains an example of how Apple can pull the plug on game releases, even for
a game as popular as The Binding Of Isaac.
And an example of their stricter attitudes regarding game content.
4.
Sweatshop HD & uncomfortable themes Sweatshop HD is a game that was designed to
make use of the possibilities that the video game medium can bring and how it can be used
to portray serious topics like sweatshops and child labor.
An article from The Guardian describing the game's premise says: "players must hire and
fire the workers who stitch together baseball caps, trainers and sweatshirts.
To maximize profits (and gain the highest score) the players have the option to hire
cheaper child workers, speed up the belts to increase the work rate, neglect to hire
fire officers and to generally cut corners."
With the article noting: "Video game players have been trained for efficiency and know
how to work systems in order to maximize score – just like a sweatshop factory manager."
It then adds: "as play progresses, the game begins to reveal the effects of this way of
working, of viewing workers as mere "units".
There is a human consequence to the player's bowing to those economic pressures bearing
down upon the factory manager.
Whereas a film documentary might piece together the sweatshop story through footage and anecdote,
the game allows players to experience the system from the inside with all its cat's
cradle of pressures and temptations.
Where there is a danger with a documentary or article that it can be didactic, a game
can present the system in a more objective manner thereby building a different sort of
empathy and understanding."
The game was originally released for free on the internet in 2011, and it prompted wide
discussions on the game's topics and even led to a university research paper on it and
other "serious games."
Due to its success, the developers set to work on porting the game to iOS.
However, Apple would then suddenly pull the game two months after its release in December
2012.
Speaking to Polygon, the developers explained that Apple was, to quote, "uncomfortable selling
a game based around the theme of running a sweatshop."
With the developers saying: "they specifically cited references in the game to clothing factory
managers blocking fire escapes, increasing work hours for labor and issues around the
child labor as being reasons why the game was unsuitable for sale."
The developers also say that they tried amending the app "to clarify that the game is a work
of fiction and was created with fact-checking input of charity Labor Behind the Label and
to emphasize that the game doesn't force players to play the game in one way or another, but
these clarifications and changes did not change Apple's decision."
Following this, the game would remain banned.
And then, a few months later and the studio behind the game would shut down—citing that
the closure was at least partially due to their game being taken off the store.
5.
Papers, Please & "If you want to criticize a religion, write a book.
If you want to describe sex, write a book or a song, or create a medical App."
Papers, Please is another game that uses the video game medium to make an impactful message.
It's been released on PC, PlayStation Vita, and iOS.
And in 2022, it was ported to Android.
The title has also won countless awards, including a BAFTA Game Award from the British Academy
of Film and Television Arts.
The game revolves around the job of an immigration officer, who must review immigrants and check
passports and other documents against an ever-growing list of rules, and then allow in those with
the proper paperwork, rejecting people without the proper documents, detaining those with
falsified information, and balancing personal finances.
However, to convey what can be seen as a rather dehumanizing part of border security—the
immigration officers are able to make use of advanced body scans, which render the scanned
participant nude.
This, like other elements of the game, is supposed to question the ethical and moral
concerns of these practices.
It is possible, however, to turn the nudity off in the menus if so desired.
Apple, however, takes a very tough stance on nudity.
Until only fairly recently, Apple's App Store Review Guidelines for many years included
this section, which states: "We view Apps different than books or songs,
which we do not curate.
If you want to criticize a religion, write a book.
If you want to describe sex, write a book or a song, or create a medical App."
Due to Apple's stance, Papers, Please was rejected by Apple, and thus the developers
were forced to censor the nudity, with no option to remove the censorship for the iOS
version.
Apple's decision caused a huge outcry, however, and was picked up by mainstream media all
over the world.
Again, perhaps due to all of the bad press, Apple would eventually reconsider their decision
and would ultimately allow the devs to release the uncensored version.
6.
Snuggle Truck, aka Smuggle Truck The game Snuggle Truck was originally titled
Smuggle Truck, and it involved you smuggling immigrants across the United States border.
This version of the game, however, was rejected by Apple due to its potentially offensive
subject matter.
The game wasn't created to try and cause offense, however.
The developer has explained that it "was inspired by the frustration our friends have experienced
in trying to immigrate to the United States."
Further going on to say, "as we lived through a painful 12 months of our friend struggling
through the absurd legal minefield that surrounds U.S. immigration, we felt that we should create
a game that touches on the issue."
Thus, to get around Apple's restrictions, the developers had the rather creative idea
to retitle the game to Snuggle Truck.
And, rather than it revolving around smuggling immigrants, it instead sees you transporting
stuffed animals and transporting them into a zoo.
Needless to say, this modified version of the game passed Apple's approval process with
no issues.
7.
The Confederate flag crackdown 2015 saw dozens of different games suddenly
taken down from the App Store, with this later being identified to be due to them making
use of the controversial Confederate flag.
The takedowns occurred around the same time as companies such as Amazon, Walmart, and
Sears all stopping selling any Confederate flags.
However, with the nature of the video game medium, many of the games targeted were titles
such as historical war games, which only used the depiction for historical accuracy.
Speaking to the BBC, Hunted Cow, a game developer based in Scotland, confirmed that Civil War
1862, Civil War 1863, Civil War 1864, and Civil War Gettysburg were removed from the
App Store.
The developers then said that "They [the games] will be resubmitted with an earlier confederate
flag."
Another developer, Game-Labs, spoke about the removal of their games, saying, "Apple
has removed our game from App Store because of usage of the Confederate Flag."
"We accept Apple's decision and understand that this is a sensitive issue for the American
nation."
"We believe that all historical art forms: books, movies, or games such as ours, help
to learn and understand history, depicting events as they were."
"True stories are more important to us than money.
Therefore we are not going to amend the game's content and Ultimate General: Gettysburg will
no longer be available on App Store."
Fortunately for Game-Labs, however, in an update posted on their website, they revealed
that they were finally allowed to publish the game once again on the App Store, after
what they described as "several late night phone calls with Apple."
Other developers, however, haven't been so lucky.
8.
Kill The Plumber & overzealous copyright concerns When it comes to copyright, certain protections
are in place that allows for likenesses to be used for purposes such as parody and satire.
This is the reason why popular TV shows like South Park are able to do what they do with
such a carefree attitude.
However, when a popular parody of Nintendo's Mario franchise was released called Kill The
Plumber, Apple saw the title struck down and banned it from its platform.
The devs argued against the decision, explaining that not only was the game a parody but that
everything in the game - including graphics, sound, and gameplay mechanics - had been made
by themselves.
This undoubtedly amounted to much time and cost for the developers.
Apple was not at all sympathetic to this, though, and refused to compromise—demanding
that the game would require a complete overhaul "from the appearance to the functionality."
Android and Steam, on the other hand, had no issues with the game's premise, and releases
on those platforms went as planned, unmodified.
However, to be allowed on iOS, the developers made drastic changes to the game's design
and appearance, also altering the name to Kill the Plumber World.
9.
Action Taimanin & suggestive designs A very big concern for Apple is games that
depict provocative designs or suggestive situations.
One rather notable case of this is 2019's free-to-play Japanese RPG Action Taimanin.
Compared to the Android version, many characters' are very noticeably toned down on iOS, with
outfits drastically altered so that much less skin is shown.
And this, once again, highlights the differing attitudes between the different platform holders
and how much influence Apple has on creators releasing the games that they want to make.
But as mentioned at the start of the video, there is a countless number of games that
have been affected by Apple's stances—with the amount continuing to grow.
And so, this video aimed to take a look at just some of the different ways video games
have been affected.
What are your thoughts on the points discussed in today's video?
As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and until next time, thank
you for watching.
I want to give a big thanks to Debug Dax, who has sent a much-appreciated tip via the
channel's Ko-fi page, as well as to new patrons Ian Longiaru, Peter Tushar, Zerron21, and
DrAto.
I've now added you guys to the credits for at least the next month, and if anyone else
wants to be added next time, as well, please see the links in the description for how to
support.