After Sitting In Apple's Review Queue For Nearly Six Months, IUGO's A.D.D. Is Finally Available
November 23, 2009
A.D.D. was meant to be IUGO's answer to Nintendo's WarioWare, a fast-paced and addicting mini-game filled adventure that knows no boundaries. The problem was that Apple, being the prudes that they are, decided to hold A.D.D. back from being released into the App Store for a variety of reasons, including the nature of the content included in some of the mini-games. IUGO attempted to appease Apple's reviewers by removing a few mini-games just as they had asked, but it just never seemed to be enough. Every single time IUGO took care of one issue, Apple's reviewers found another. Even worse, Apple's lack of communication drug the process out, making it more painful than it ever should have been. Apparently IUGO was able to make enough changes to the game over the last six months, however, as it has now passed all tests and is available in the App Store.
A.D.D. consists of over 70 mini-games that are full of humor, wit, and charm. The game contained even more before the review process, and IUGO intends to at least try and bring them back, albeit in a different form, now that the game has been approved.
“We are going to work on redoing most of the mini-games Apple asked us to cut to bring the mini game count back to over 100, “promises Sarah Thomson, IUGO’s Director of Business Development. “We’re super stoked the game is finally available to our users and we hope the wait was worth it!”A.D.D. features over 70 mini-games that utilize the iPhones unique capabilities in various ways, three gameplay modes, quirky artwork, and online leader boards. Basically, if you enjoy mini-games in the vein of WarioWare's, there is little doubt you will enjoy A.D.D. A.D.D. is now available in the App Store for $2.99. Unsurprisingly, it carries a 17+ rating. Below is a quick rundown of what IUGO went through while trying to get A.D.D. approved. As you can see, this safety net called the review process isn't as developer friendly as Phil Schiller claims it to be.
- 2009 June 5th: First submission of ADD v1.0 and ADD Lite v1.0
- 2009 June 16th: Received email informing about "unexpected additional time for review" and no clear explanation.
- 2009 June 29th: ADD Lite v1.0 approved.
- 2009 July 8th: ADD v1.0 rejected. Informed about the need to re-rated the game with no clear instruction. IUGO re-rated game to maximum 17+ and submitted ADD v1.3 on the same day. Email sent to iPhone Developer Program informing them about the submitted binary.
- 2009 July 20th: Received email apologizing about delay with no other information.
- 2009 July 31st: Inquiry email sent. Received automated response with no other information.
- 2009 Aug 12th: ADD Lite v1.0 pulled by IUGO.
- 2009 Aug 27th: Inquiry email sent. No response.
- 2009 Aug 28th: IUGO was advised via Apple developer representative that a particular mini game (Get Off The Lawn) is the problem blocking it from approval. IUGO fixed the problem and resubmitted ADD v1.3 on the same day. Email sent to iPhone Developer Program informing them about the submitted binary.
- 2009 Sept 8th: Received phone call from Apple. Verified with IUGO that the mini game (Get Off The Lawn) had been removed and an updated binary was submitted.
- 2009 Sept 12th: ADD v1.3 rejected. Need to remove keywords. Instruction followed exactly with no other keyword changes and resubmitted on the same day. Email sent to iPhone Developer Program informing them about the submitted binary.
- 2009 Sept 25th: ADD v1.3 rejected. Need to remove keywords from the same batch of previously vetted keywords. Instruction followed exactly with no other keywords changes and resubmitted on the same day. Email sent to iPhone Developer Program informing them about the submitted binary.
- 2009 Oct 2nd: Inquiry email sent. No response.
- End of October: Removed 5 mini games.
- November 5: Asked to remove 27 mini games.
- November 23: APPROVED
