Why no games in Irish App Store ?

[FBIButters]

No Featured Games



No Games In Categories



No Games When Searching



I Am Not Using The Beta 2.0 I Got The Full Version From ITunes 7.7



And Yes I Have Restored. So What Is The Problem Or Is It Just The Irish App Store

[ZeromanIR]

I've noticed the same. I'm a little concerned about the fact that it's the application developer who decides where they want their app to be available for sale. This suggests that we might not get Super Monkey Ball at all

More likely though (I hope) is that the games have to go through the censorship certification process here in Ireland like all other console and PC/Mac games do so we'll just have to wait for them to pull their finger out and certify them.

Anybody know any more on this?

[NextTuesday]

I don't have anything new, just posting my anger. I was really looking forward to playing SMB on my new iPhone 3G.

[wrboyce]

Yep, a lot of applications are missing from the UK Store that I really fancy grabbing.. Google Mobile and Jott to metion two.

It really does take the piss - we pay more for the applications, and we have less choice.

FU Apple.

[LinMac]

There may be a problem with the law in Ireland not allowing the sale of games without certain ratings or approvals. The EU can sometimes be tricky when selling certain types of content so there may be a very legitimate reason for them to be available in the UK and others while not being available in Ireland.

I doubt Apple would simply pass up the application sales in Ireland without a good reason for it.

[roboc99]

Three words... Movies & TV Shows! How long have they been available in the US iTunes Store? How long even in Europe and the UK? And still nada in Ireland. What? Apple don't employ any lawyers to negotiate sales rights in Ireland (and other countries that have been similarly stiffed)? Fact is, based on their failure to deliver movies and TV shows, even to this day, it would appear that they just can't be bothered! Which means, though I hate to say it, but it seems that we won't be getting games anytime soon. We're not alone either, from what I've seen around the web, Brazil, Canada and to a lesser extent, the UK have all noticed that their Appstores don't show all the apps they were expecting (UK has games, but not all of them, plus some apps missing).

Now, I get that there are different laws governing the release of copyrighted material in different countries, I get that, but I really don't see why Apple doesn't take the time to work out these legal issues before taking things live in a half assed way. Personally speaking, I would have had no issue with a delay, so long as it were made clear that they were working on the issue. I mean, there isn't even a message saying Games - coming soon! No official press release, nothing! It looks like Apple just isn't interested in offering us the same service as they do their US customers.

Ok, so Apple is a business and they need to make money, and yes, there are more customers in the US than in smaller markets like Ireland. But it really irks me, especially when I recall Steve Jobs at his last keynote address, with the big deal he made about the iPhone being sold to SO MANY countries around the world. They even had that funny map thing with all the countries flying in one by one. What he failed to state was that they werent bothered working out the legal details to offer the full service to customers in about 2/3 of those countries (my estimate).

So yeah, maybe we'll get games, and maybe they'll be here very soon. I personally hope so, as I was originally planning to swap to iPhone when my current contract runs out in a few months. But this, frankly, has made me think twice. Why should I pay the same money for a device as someone in the US when they get more features than I do, for no good reason?

RoBoC

[Apple Ink]

Really really eerie....
Its as if Apple simply doesnt want to grow

I checked this up from iPhone and iTunes... searched for some gaimes but none to be found...????

[Rm1online]

am in the same boat as all of ye.Am so annoyed that apple has continued to ignore the irish market! Am going to email them now and complain! does anyone know when the launch date for the tv shows and movies will be for the irish itunes or if were even getting one?
For now i will just have to purchase off US itunes via $gift card.

[roboc99]

Addition to my last post. Even MORE annoying, if you look at the apple main webpage, the IRISH version of it, guess what you see as one of the items? SUPER MONKEY BALL! A GAME that is NOT available in IRELAND!!!! Seriously, is this just Apple trying to p*ss people off?

Dont believe me? Check it out: http://www.apple.com/ie/iphone/appstore/

[antotones]

I went and bought the iphone 3g on release day and could not wait for SMB and this just sucks that apple have no games on the itunes ireland store. Not only is it advertised on itunes but its also advertised on apple.ie. Apple really needs to pull its socks up here. Im so irritated by this as are many others on this forum.
Also no movies, this is one thing that bugged me at first but but i got over it,i never would have watched a movie on it anyway. Its just the fact that once again ireland is left out or put to the back of the line. Why even release this new firmware in ireland if its just gonna suck.

P.S. I emailed apple in the customer service part of there website on friday, i now it was the begining of the weekend but its now monday and still no sign of a reply. Ill keep you posted about what i hear back from them.

[lukemcurley]

Very limited apps in Irish Apps Store. It does not have anything to do with certification, this is not required in Ireland and Ireland uses the Europe wide Pan European Game Information (PEGI) certification anyway.

From IFCO website (www.ifco.ie) FAQ:

Under the Video Recordings Act 1989 video games are exempt from classification unless they are deemed prohibitable under section 3 (1) of the Act.

Ireland, along with 15 other European countries, is a member of PEGI, an organisation which produces age ratings for video games. To learn more about this system the PEGI website is www.pegi.info

So is Super Monkey Ball available in any other European App Stores?

[lukemcurley]

Irish customers may want to lodge a complaint with the advertising authority in Ireland, as the Apple website in Ireland clearly shows that games and apps are a feature of the new iPhone and even shows Super Monkey Ball as a game that can be purchased (it is shown at least 5 times at apple.com/ie).

This would be misleading advertising under Irish law.

[roboc99]

I've been checking. So far, Super Monkey Ball (to use an example) is available in EVERY iTunes store except Ireland and Brazil. This is just bizzarre!

[lukemcurley]

what is wrong with brazil and ireland?

[roboc99]

Search me, this just doesn't make any sense at all... If it was an EU thing, regulations and such, then at least there would be some reason, but so far, aside from one website which listed this rather vaguely as a bug, there is nothing, no reason for this failure... And apple's silence is just making this more aggrivating.

[Niiro13]

Originally Posted by lukemcurley

what is wrong with brazil and ireland?

Maybe SEGA just doesn't like them? :/.

Or maybe Apple is slow in releasing them...which is sad on Apple's part.

[reverie]

It's ironic when Irish people (a majority of whom recently voted against the new EU contract) blame this on the EU even though it's obviously a home made problem as every other EU country is already getting the games. Something doesn't work in Ireland? Must be the EU's fault! Right...

This must be either something related to age restrictions or something in O2's contract forbidding games. Either way I really hope that this will be worked out soon.

There's one good thing though: You have the chance to skip Super Monkey Ball. Seriously, it's a bad game. Get the unique Trism and Dizzy Bee, get the free Tap Tap and Aurora Feint. Just don't touch that crappy Super Monkey Ball. At least read the reviews if you don't trust me.

[roboc99]

Its not EU related. That was precisely my point. The problem is limited (as far as I know) to Ireland and Brazil, which means that it cannot be related to the EU. Nor is it, realistically, anything to do with O2. UK uses O2 for iPhone too, same company, so no, not their fault. Also, iPod Touch users are being denied games, and they have nothing to do with O2.

What I actually meant in my last post was that if there was some explanation, some reason, beit EU regs or some other legal nonesense, then at least we would understand why there are no games in Ireland. But as it stands, we have nothing but adds for the new iPhone with its cool new apps and new games and lo and behold... NADA!

[ZeromanIR]

I emailed Apple Ireland yesterday asking about this issue. Just got a reply, thought I'd post it here for those of you that are interested even though it basically gives no information that we can't infer ourselves.

Dear XXXXX,

Thank you for taking the time to contact Apple about improving iTunes. I understand you recently purchased an iPhone 3G, and would like to be able to purchase games from our newly released iTunes App Store. Unfortunately, games currently are only available in certain countries, but hopefully that changes soon!

Apple recognizes that no one is better qualified to provide feedback about iTunes than the people who use it. I encourage you to use the iTunes Feedback page to submit your comments:
http://www.apple.com/feedback/itunesapp.html

Your efforts to share your feedback are very much appreciated. Please continue to enjoy the iTunes Store, and thank you for being a loyal customer.

Sincerely,

XXXXX
iTunes Store Customer Support

iWork: Sunday 9:00 a.m. 5:30 p.m and Monday - Thursday 7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. EST

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you. You may receive an AppleCare survey email; any feedback you provide would be greatly appreciated.

Customer First Name : XXXXX
Customer Last Name : XXXXX
email : XXXXX@XXXXX.com
Web Order # : N/A
Support Subject : Games
Sub Issue : Other
Comments : iTunes Account Name: XXXXX
iPod Type : iPhone 3G
Comments:
My query is in relation to the availability of games on the Irish iTunes store. There are no games at all available on the App store.
I would like to know when I can expect to be able to purchase and install games from the App store (already available in other countries. Super Monkey Ball. Bomberman. Etc.) to use with me iPhone 3G?
Thanks for taking the time to answer

[lukemcurley]

Originally Posted by reverie

It's ironic when Irish people (a majority of whom recently voted against the new EU contract) blame this on the EU even though it's obviously a home made problem as every other EU country is already getting the games. Something doesn't work in Ireland? Must be the EU's fault! Right...

Who's blaming the EU? From the posts most are blaming Apple for this, and iPod Touch users are also without games too so not an O2 issue either.

Very strange I would have assumed that games from major publishers like Sega and EA would be available around the world. This type of restrictions in the future could really become a problem for Apple. They are also missing propping up their dollar balance sheet back home with all those lovely Euro waiting to be spent.

[Senor360]

Not even iPint? I thought for sure THAT would be available.

[Jaykay]

Originally Posted by reverie

It's ironic when Irish people (a majority of whom recently voted against the new EU contract) blame this on the EU even though it's obviously a home made problem as every other EU country is already getting the games. Something doesn't work in Ireland? Must be the EU's fault! Right....

That's quite an insulting comment against the Irish people seeing that nobody is blaming the EU for this (and what 'in ainm dé' does this have to do with the Liosbon Treat????). It is obviously a problem with Apple but I'm sure it will be resolved soon. I downloaded the 2.0 firmware for my ipod touch and was pretty disappointed to see so much apps missing from the store.

Its even more strange seeing that Apple have quite a big presence including a large assembly plant here in Ireland.

[roboc99]

This isnt very interesting, but does shed some light on the situation... I think. I just emailed Pangea Software, makers of Enigmo (one game I was and still am interested in purchasing, and asked them about the issue. This is the reply I got:

"+Something has been wrong with the Ireland store since Thursday because only 1 game is showing up. There should be 200+ games. Apple knows about the problem, but it looks like it still isnt' fixed yet. Hopefully they'll have all the games up there soon.+"

[Jaykay]

Originally Posted by roboc99

This isnt very interesting, but does shed some light on the situation... I think. I just emailed Pangea Software, makers of Enigmo (one game I was and still am interested in purchasing, and asked them about the issue. This is the reply I got:

"+Something has been wrong with the Ireland store since Thursday because only 1 game is showing up. There should be 200+ games. Apple knows about the problem, but it looks like it still isnt' fixed yet. Hopefully they'll have all the games up there soon.+"

That sounds pretty encouraging, hopefully its just a technical issue and not anything more serious. Besides Enigmo is the game i'm looking forward to most

[themick171]

Originally Posted by reverie

It's ironic when Irish people (a majority of whom recently voted against the new EU contract) blame this on the EU even though it's obviously a home made problem as every other EU country is already getting the games. Something doesn't work in Ireland? Must be the EU's fault! Right...

This must be either something related to age restrictions or something in O2's contract forbidding games. Either way I really hope that this will be worked out soon.

There's one good thing though: You have the chance to skip Super Monkey Ball. Seriously, it's a bad game. Get the unique Trism and Dizzy Bee, get the free Tap Tap and Aurora Feint. Just don't touch that crappy Super Monkey Ball. At least read the reviews if you don't trust me.

Brillant certain German and French colonalism try to tell us about how we should have voted. The French already voted no. Certain French and German seem to be believe other EU states should do what htey want. History has shown us not to be coerced/ruled by foreign forces. Coincidentally there is a certain amount of nervousness when Germany or France feels the need to rule due paste experiences.