“Apple fans in Korea have even more reason to be cheerful — other than the imminent arrival of the iPhone 4S — after the government lifted a ban preventing Apple including games in the country’s App Store this morning,” Andy Tebay reports for TNW.
“Korean Apple can users now get their hands on games which had been blocked for almost two years due to concerns from the country’s Game Ratings Board about the content of games,” Tebay reports. “The block was an obstacle for Korean game developers many of whom claimed that the government was holding back the industry in a nation of gamers.”
MacDailyNews Take: “Concerns” our collective arse. It was blatant protectionism. The goal was to hurt iPhone by any means possible in order to boost sales of Samsung’s pretend iPhones. It’s amazing that Samsung, oh, so sorry, “the South Korean government” (same difference) finally lifted the ban.
Tebay reports, “The news comes at a significant time for Apple in South Korea as the iPhone 4S is due to be released in the country on November 11.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
Korean Bashing Mode [ON]
Since government is nothing more than another word for mafia, bashing government for violating people’s rights is perfectly respectable.
Think about what this was– censorship by the government rationalized with vague assertions.
Everyone involved in violating people’s rights, both inside and outside korea, in this way, belongs in jail.
They’ve opened it up to give the illusion of being open. Timing is critical now because any “patriotic” Korean will likely not buy an iPhone 4S due to the legal wranglings.
Um. I think apple copied LG way back when they came out with one of the first touchscreen Prada phones.
Seems everyone forgot about that one.
The Prada was first announced on December 12, 2006.Images of the device appeared on websites such as Engadget Mobile on December 15, 2006. Apple introduced the MULTI-TOUCH iPhone Jan 9, 2007. Do you really think Apple copied LGs design from screenshots first published a month prior and have a working model ready?
Apples iPhone took three years to develop. Not 30 days.
It takes a whole government to try and steal from Apple and stop them dominating the market with innovative products. Korea is a joke!
@MDN
“The block was an obstacle for Korean game developers many of whom claimed that the government was holding back the industry in a nation of gamers.”
It sounds like the government was holding up Korean developed games too. No favoritism there; they were equal opportunity obstructors.
No really. It just forced the game developers to only develop for android. Since Apple was off limits. Korean government, business policies and education are all about favoritism.
It is not just Samsung who bites the hand that feeds them, also the Korean Gvt bites the US company as the US basically guarantees the continued existence of S. Korea. Does not make sense…