Apple have now updated the developers Terms to state:

” Applications must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine, and only code written in C, C++, and Objective-C may compile and directly link against the Documented APIs (e.g., Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited).”
This effectivly blocks the new development from Adobe and forbids users to create games in flash and export them to the iPhone platform.

Many developers, especially flash devs who want to get into the iPhone market without learning new skills are up in arms about this and “Apple’s evil closed system”

I think it’s a smart move by Apple…

1. They won’t have to deal with a dozen crappy tween animation apps for every good/great one.
2. They won’t have to deal with script kids hassling them about “you are teh gay for rejecting my App! It’s awesome lol”
3. Keeping the bar raised for entry means that developers must be at least fairly competent and so (sh)/(c)ould understand Apples UX guidelines.
4. It stops people developing for 2+ platforms at once – i.e. Android or win mobile. Single development, targeting multiple devices often water down the experience as it caters to the lowest common denominator.
5. It’s a win for Apple and a win for it’s users. The only people who get screwed around are developers and we all know we’re whores who’ll work for whichever technology is exciting and has a paying audience.

Screws Adobe and CS5 badly though.

It was a highly publicized move with a lot of press coverage and many many developers complaining about the unfair treatment.

Unsurprisingly our app/game Bongo Babes was one of those affected and pulled from the store. Thankfully this wasn’t one of our main income generators so we didn’t feel the effects as strongly as some developers.

In fact, I’d almost say we’re not too bothered, it’s possibly even a good thing for MBXGames for many reasons:

• * We developed the app to get experience of Objective-C
• * We had a showcase piece on the iPhone allowing us to confidently offer it as a service to clients.
• * We specifically chose a topic we knew would be hard to get into the app store – this meant we experienced the full pain and hoops of a difficult submission process to Apple.
• * We ran the app for most of it’s life at various price points and could measure the effect on sales.
• * The final few weeks before it was pulled we made the app free and downloads increased a hundred fold. For advergame type software, “free” is clearly the way forward to get your brand in front of as many users as possible.
• * Bongo Babes was hacked and appeared on torrent sites within a few days – we now know how to raise the bar slightly higher to avoid this for a longer period after launch.
• * Following it’s removal, we’re looking at the jailbreak scene and maybe releasing on there – just to see what else we can learn from this one piece of software…
• * We had fun making it.

We always knew it may not have ever been accepted, and once it had, it may be pulled – that’s part of the very restrictive set of rules Apple makes you agree to when you sign up.

I may not agree on a personal level with the way Apple is cleaning out the store and removing anything adult related, but I can see from a business case why they are. I’ll post more thoughts on that and what Apple should really do, in the next few days.

Most of the initial coverage has been from pundits in the tech world who’ve collectively responded with “Meh, it’s OK but not what I wanted”.

Being totally honest, that was my initial reaction too.

Since then however, the idea of the iPad has grown on me and when it’s released in 56 days time I’ll probably be buying one, it will be fantastic to have lying around in the living room for quick browsing and email checks – currently a role taken by an aging EeePC netbook…

The really exciting thing for us at MBX though, are the new possibilities that this multi-touch, large screen device open up for novel games. We now have a device that can support some truly innovative game play and user input that currently could not be replicated on ANY other platform.

With that, I’m pleased and quite excited to announce:

This weekend we have begun development of a game that will ONLY be available on the iPad and could currently only work on the iPad.

More details coming soon!

It’s taken nearly 6 months of backwards and forwards communications and submissions to get the content deemed “acceptable” but that’s a subject for another, very lengthy, post…

Get it from iTunes on the app store here

View the about page for the game.

If you work for a review site and would like a voucher code for a free version – email us with #bongobabes in the subject.

P.s. Thanks to Richard the reviewer at Apple who finally game some useful feedback and approved this!

There was however a glaring omission of tax breaks for the UK games industry as proposed and recommended in the government’s own digital Britain report of July this year.

Failing to include this is, for me, a disappointment, a mistake and ultimately short sighted.

During the formative years of the global game industry, figures such as Rare and the Darling brothers of Codemasters led the world in innovative game design and production values. In the years since then, the focus (and money) has shifted to America and unsurprisingly Japan. All this while at the same time more and more courses are being offered by Universities in the UK for game design and development than ever before.

I get sent CV’s of aspiring candidates every few days looking for work, many of them recent graduates. Unfortunately, having just come out of a recession we’re not in a position to be able to take a risk and expand our workforce too quickly, even though many of the applicants are very talented and would be a huge boost to out production capabilities and output.

During the past few months, we at MBXGames have been compiling and keeping lists of freelancers and potential hires with a view to expanding in the coming 12 months. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that financially it does not make sense to hire most of the staff internally. We would be far better off employing a small core of creative staff in the UK and outsourcing most of the development to overseas contractors in Thailand, China and Russia.

When I say there is a financial difference I don’t mean savings of 5 or 10%, but development costs at the moment would be nearer 50% when outsourced.

I understand the Government isn’t in a position to help every sector and I realise that we as an industry must look to invest in upcoming talent but this currently feels like a very one sided relationship. If the chancellor could meet the games industry halfway, it could lead to British studios once again leading the field and retaining the talent we are currently hemorrhaging so painfully abroad and to other disciplines.

The fact the Alistair Darling doesn’t see fit to offer a break to an industry that does more currently for the UK economy than the film industry is a sad state of affairs and I fear a reflection on the still prevailing view that video games are not “real, grown up entertainment”.

Developed with the simple brief of “a word game in flash” we thought about what the judging panel were looking for and weighed this up against making a fun game  that word enthusiasts would enjoy.

Initial play testing found that many users were finding the game a bit challenging, but after talking to them about their usual gaming preferences, we chose to keep the difficultly level high knowing most word lovers wanted to be tested!

Thanks to those who tested the game for us and thanks to the judges of course!

MBXGames currently has a 100% record of podium finishes in competitions entered!

Play the game at: http://www.mbxgames.com/games/meaningfall

(* iPhone apps are custom written applications and software made available for free or a fee on Apples iPhone)

OK so what?

Well, to date, there have been over a million iPhones sold in UK and 10 million sold worldwide in 2008 alone. These have been predominantly sold to Highly Engaged, Upper-Income Media Consumers and in the UK 75 percent of iPhone users are males, mostly between the ages of 18-44.

For any brand looking to get in front of this demographic the iPhone represents a known path direct to information hungry users who are actively looking for content to consume.

Even an application that is considered a commercial failure can achieve 220,000 downloads in the first two weeks. It is worth noting these are customers that are open and ready to receive your message having already invested time and effort into downloading your branded app!

Brands have the advantage!

Free downloads have a huge advantage over paid applications, 7 and a half times the advantage actually. (see slide 22)

This means that a developer trying to make money from their games will find it hard to compete with a download sponsored by a company that’s able to push it’s software out for free without having to try and recoup it’s costs (either through up-front charges or in game advertising).

Exposure and coverage can all be tracked in detail to measure and report on the success of a campaign which has a long life cycle at no additional ongoing cost!

End thoughts.

As with any new “hip” technology expect Marketing agencies to begin taking notice over the next few months and a year from now the iPhone App store will become saturated with simple yet mostly uninspiring copycat games with a logo slapped on here and there.

So yes the bandwagon is rolling, but there is still time to jump aboard and make your brand stand out to a large audience on the iPhone.

In a follow up post I’ll discuss the types of game best suited to iPhone marketing and how to insert your brand message effectively but unobtrusively.