No, as long as you have a game on a computer authorized with iTunes it will work for as long as it takes for an operating system update to break it. Since very few games were actually broken by the 3.0 update, Rolando should be playable for the foreseeable future. Just like iTunes movie and music downloads, you should also be backing up your application downloads.
It's more likely that it would be someone buying it on their device when they aren't near their computer. Then for whatever reason, be it act of god, they needed the space, or just didn't like it that much, have removed it from their device. Well in 3 days they will be completely out of luck with no way to get the game back. A lot of people will be caught off guard.
Haha, I was responding to Vegant's fake letter. Just like DLC everyone was worried about abuse and the end of iPhone gaming as we know it. Turns out there has been very little use of DLC and no abuse that has been exposed. Here we have a similar case of something happening for the first time. We don't know how this is going to shake out, yet it MUST be a bad thing. It is a ridiculous notion and just like with DLC we just have to wait and see.
To my fake letter I should have added that she had not synced it with my computer, that I have no copy. Either way, paid money and can no longer get the product. "Dear Apple, My daughter bought Rolando on 29 June. She did not sync it with my computer and you can check the purchase record. Ngcomo say I should spend more money on Rolando 2 because Rolando does not exist any more for download. I don't want to buy that game, my daughter wants what she bought. Please can I have a full refund. Thanks." In fact, what would stop someone who had bought Rolando and still has it getting a refund because of non-availability? Or will Rolando become the first "You can only download this if you have previously purchased it" - this sounds a possibility ....
How is this different from buying music or movies from iTunes? Just because you could re-download something doesn't mean you shouldn't keep backups locally. Apple has been pretty clear in the past that you're responsible for backing up your iTunes purchases...
I do backup nightly. But this IS different because apps CAN be re-downloaded but in this case the app has been withdrawn and it's an expensive app. This is not some copy, a rip-off. And how many kids do backup? How many kids backup after every purchase? Adults even given these things can be downloaded anywhere?
I really don't see why everyone is making such a big deal about this. Ngmoco is simply doing what they think is in their best interest at this time. Putting all of the attention on Rolando 2 at full price doesn't seem all that crazy to me. If they think that in the future, after the launch of Rolando 2, re-releasing Rolando 1 will make them money, then they will. I would venture to say that <1% of the user base reads this forum (or any forum). The average user simply goes to the top 25 app list and gets their apps from there. If Rolando 1 is lowered in price, it may make it to the top 25 (possibly instead of Rolando 2) and the vast majority of users will have no idea that Rolando 2 even exists. Again, I would hope that this is only a temporary thing and not permanent.
Personally I don't have issue with the fact that it's being pulled. I think it's their right to do it if that's what they want to do. What I have issue with is that the "announcement" that Rolando was being taken off the appstore was a sentence made in the middle of a thread about two of their other games dropping to 99 cents in celebration of Rolando 2. With only 4 days til Rolando's release (3 now) it doesn't give users who saw that post little warning. The only reason most people know is because those unhappy with it are being VERY vocal about it. Of all the games taken off the appstore Rolando: Has been on the appstore for the longest time Is of the highest quality Has some of the best reviews on all websites and has one of the highest pricetags ("I am Rich" was 999.99, NetShare was 9.99) It's true that a good 1% of customers frequent TA... so where does that leave the other 99%? There are just a lot of unknowns that are going along with this The Appstore is still growing and devs are still learning. We are, and will stay, vocal because it's been proven in the past that if we voice our opinions on the things we don't like devs doing, then they will change (if only to keep their wallets happy)
Based on the fake letter, she can no longer get the product due to the fact that it was destroyed by her "friend". I think her "friend" is therefore responsible for it. If her friend took her ipod and threw it off a cliff would you ask Apple for a refund? (or in this example case, destroyed a limited edition CD that is no longer available) arn
So according to the front page item, Ngmoco has said they'll continue supporting Rolando; it just won't be for sale. I'm not sure how that's possible, but presumably that means that if a future firmware update breaks the app, they'll fix it. So I don't think this is really going to hurt anyone who currently owns the app, it just means the rest of it won't be able to get it (Arza's idea that it would be available as DLC in Roland 2 makes some sense...).
Wow. <rant> Perhaps people like me are the reason they are doing this - I was totally on the fence with Rolando - loved the demo, but thought $6 was a tad expensive for the game, so I was waiting for them to drop the price of the first game when the second came out. But with them pulling a stunt like this, I will sit back and wait. I've got plenty of other great games to play (and none of them cost as much as Rolando currently does...) I've always thought of these games more as a "rental" than a "purchase" as they seem to have a limited lifespan - games get pulled from the app store and you better hold on to those .ipa files, and you sure better hold on to those backups when the OS gets updated. And if iTunes goes away you might not even be able to use the device at all! Call me skeptical, but I've got game systems ranging back to an Atari 2600 that still work, and might even be usable longer than this iPod Touch... </rant> <edit> Also now I have a 'stuck' update in the iTunes store - an update to Toneboard which is tested against OS 3.0, but apparently is no longer in the US store (which means iTunes now always tells me there's an update available, but I can't download it. ) </edit>
Definitely gonna hold off on Rolando 2 after hearing something like this. I may just skip the game altogether simply out of principle, I'm not too crazy about the first one anyways. It's a very frustrating game to me.
I buy daughter an ipod touch today. In 3 days time her friend throws it off a cliff. I go back to Apple and ask for a replacement machine and I pay for it because that is how it is with hardware. They say Yes and I'm happy. They say No. I say Why? Well, we are launching Project X so we have withdrawn the ipod touch from sale. What? So you have some, they are in the store and you could sell them to me but you choose not to? Even if I will pay for it again I cannot have it. I am stuck with buying a more expensive product. And a hardware upgrade is a very different beast to an .ipa file. As for a limited edition CD - it's a limited edition. But this is a file they have, will sell again but I can't have it now even if I pay. Upgrading and enhancing the user experience is one thing. For a large company to suddenly withdraw a product and say "may" "if" when" about it's return is strange. If R2 is good enough to stand up to it's previous incarnation then they should live side by side. In the end though it undermines my belief in the company and I will not purchase from them again if this happens.
I really don't like the fact, that ngmoco is silent about this... At least they could try to communicate to their "fans"...
Good move... not playing into the appstore 99c crapalooza. Everyone thought its going to be garage-saled at 99c when 2 came out, but instead pulling it would make people buy it. Its definitely worth a lot more than 99c, take it or leave it.
Yeah I have mixed feelings about this. On one side, I see that this is a marketing tactic, nothing more, nothing less. On the other side, I see a Developer (ngmoco) who has grown and learned so much, not only through their experiences, but by communicating with the fans and the rest of the community. Their silence on this, tells me that they have something shady (with or without the intention of) going on. I can easily see them pulling Rolando 1, letting Rolando 2 get some hype and app sales, then as someone mentioned earlier, release Rolando 1 again as a "Back By Popular Demand". This is incredibly brilliant for the developer, horrible as sh!t for the rest of us. As it stands, I do not own R1, and unless it drops much lower than 6 bucks (I'll pay 1-3), I probably will not purchase it. It's just personal preference. I played the lite version, and while I thought it was pretty fun for the most part, I don't want it at 6 bucks. If they don't drop it, I don't get it. No big deal, I have other games to play. There are 2 things that need to be considered that makes sales with the app store, and dev-community relationships, a tough one to crack. We, as the consumer, have to realize that this is business. They do these things to help themselves out in the long run. Now what they need to consider, is that this market is nothing like the normal retail market. And I am sure they know that. But not all of their ideas are going to be good ones. What may seem obscure to us, may seem perfectly logical to them. They may have a reason for all this that we just ultimately do not know, and do not nessisarily have the right to know. As much as we like to be in the know with all that developers do, we can't expect them to comply with ALL of our demands, even though our opinions on this matter, do need to be taken into consideration, if not for our sake, for theirs. Ultimately we have the choice of either continuing purchasing products from this developer, or not. Plain and simple. Though I am not 100% in agreement with ngmoco's tactics, I know that there isn't much else I can do but vocalize my opinion, and it's up to them to respond/communicate how they want, IF they want. They will lose following by this move, no doubt about it. Will they lose a mass amount of their following because of it? Probably not. I am just going to sick back and watch it play out. If Rolando 1 prices drops decently, I'll get it. If not, I won't. Either way though I will probably not be getting Rolando 2. I just don't think they are all that fun for their prices. They look great, and have a cool feel to them, I am just a little weary of the price of entry, though R 2 is looking pretty sweet.
Yeah I don't really have a problem with them removing Rolando 1 for a bit, as long as it's temporary. With all of this backlash, there's no way that they won't eventually bring it back as soon as the Rolando 2 hype is over. They are a business and their main objective is to make money. I'm sure they feel like pulling 1 will generate more 1 downloads this week, and also increase sales of the more expensive 2 for the next several weeks. I also think that we'll see more of this kind of thing when more developers start to release the sequels to their games. Not necessarily pulling the first version, but maybe raising the price so that it doesn't hinder the sales of the newer version. People need to calm down. Ngmoco isn't stealing from you. You still have Rolando1. And they've updated Rolando 1 with much more new and FREE content than most games. It also works flawlessly (at least for me) on 3.0, which can't be said about some newer games that have come out after it. Nobody is taking it away from you. If you worry so much about losing it, back it up. EDIT: The post above wasn't there as I was writing this.
I agree here. I don't think they are stealing from us. We willingly bought their game, and while it is weird that they are doing this to us, they are still going to make sure they game will work with other updates, which is among the most valid of concerns for their recent announcement.. It's not like once we buy this game, were f*cked for the rest of the existance of the game, and it no longer works. Just make sure you back up your sh!t often and you will be ok. The world is not going to end, you aren't going to lose your game... they are just a business and sometimes the business end of this sh!t will suck.
