App store rejection experiences

Hi,

I think it would be appropriate to have a thread about rejection experiences when uploading a construct 2 app to App store (what ever the reason). Because it's not always easy to get an app approved by Apple.

I'm currently in a process where my latest game, that I've been working on for 3 months, has been rejected. Apple referred to 16.2 "Apps that are primarily designed to upset or disgust users will be rejected", as a reason for the rejection.

So what can you do when the all mighty Apple says "REJECTED!"

1. You can use "Resolution Center" to ask a question to Apple about why the app was rejected and also provide more information if you feel it has been rejected incorrectly.

In my specific case I have a game about a dude called Mr Poo McFart, the game contains cartoon poo (I won't go into details about the game more info here is you are interested: https://facebook.com/poomcfart). Apple said that the the app was primary designed to "upset and disgust", but my statement back to them is that it is primary designed to entertain and educate.

2. So what happens when they still won't listen to what I say and they just keep feeding me the same rejection, based on the same incorrect assumptions, without giving me anything to work with?

There is one way to take your rejection challenge to the next level. You can you can submit an appeal to the App Review Board. Apples own explanation:

"If you think that your app complies with the App Store Review Guidelines and would like to explain why, you can submit an appeal to the App Review Board."

That as far as I know is the last instance you can appeal to about a rejection.

In my case I still haven't received any answer about my final appeal, but as soon as I do I will update this post.

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It would be great is someone else has any experiences that they could share regarding their App Store rejections and what you had to do to get the app approved.

If you make a game with "for iPhone" or "for iPad" and don't capitalize the p, then you can fail. It's actually pretty easy to fail.

mammoth Thanks for the input I had no idea about that!

Here is the final decision from Apple, and it's just silly as poo...

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"Hello David,

We are writing to let you know the results of your appeal for your app, Mr Poo McFarts Poo And Fart Adventures.

The App Review Board evaluated your app and determined that the original rejection feedback is valid. Your app does not comply with:

16.2: Apps that are primarily designed to upset or disgust users will be rejected

Therefore, your app will not be posted to the App Store at this time.

This concept is not appropriate for the App Store. It would be appropriate to revise the scope and focus of your app so that it does not involve cartoon poop or farting.

We hope you will consider making the necessary changes to be in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines and will resubmit your revised binary.

Best regards,

(edited away name)

App Review Board"

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So there you have it, don't include any cartoon-poo in your games or they will be rejected! sigh* cartoon-poo, really Apple?! GTA is ok, running around shooting people or running over people with cars, but God forbid anyone should download a game that contained cartoon poo!

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With a name like "Mr Poo McFarts Poo And Fart Adventures" it is kind of odd, in terms of naming. I'm still wondering why you would want to make a game about feces, but nonetheless that was a funny response from the app review board. :)

Maybe if you named it "my little pony adventures" they would change there minds...

The surprise here is that you thought it would pass.

Seriously you would have had a better chance naming yourself Balrog, and saying "Please Mr Gandalf, can I pass?".

Best.Name.Ever

I would like to share my experiences, I got 2 reasons:

1- App that mentions the word: "demo", "trial", "shareware" will be rejected.

2- App that mentions to other stores and platforms like Android, Blackberry, Google Play, Chrome Store, etc.

Also your title name is funny, It would disgust the users, you need to trick the app reviewers.

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You can re-appeal the decision, but go into it with examples of products (preferably those doing well with good ratings) that traverse the same comedic territory. If you get a response to that, my guess is the real reasons for your app being rejected will become more clear.

rgeuens big thanks! :)

digitalsoapbox I tried keeping away from bring up other games in my appeal since I read somewhere on itunes-connect that it wouldn't help. Have you had positive experience bringing up other games in the way you describe?

I guess it really can't hurt to bring up other games to perhaps get the clarification on what needs to change as you describe it. I would be a bit discouraging to not get the game in there after all those month of work.

retrodude and newt why did I make a game like this with that title? Well...

I am a father to two sons, 4 years and 1.5 years old, and my days consists, among other things, of diaper changing. So I decided to build a game that takes place on a toilet, with the title "Mr Poo McFarts Poo And Fart Adventures". The game play consists of catching pee and poo in the toilet and avoid catching things that do not belong in the toilet. The inspiration came partly from all the diaper changing, partly because my oldest son thinks that pee and poo is the funniest words in the world but also because it was a bit problematic with the transition from diapers to the toilet for him. My oldest son has been very involved in the development of the game and likes it and thinks it's fun.

Joannesalfa Thanks for the insights! It's easy to "slip" and mention other platforms when we are on a multiform game-maker.

How about 'Scat shooter' as a name? It's a little more ambiguous, and could be interpreted as featuring an improvisational jazz vocalist who's on a machine gun rampage instead of a game about poop. <img src="smileys/smiley17.gif" border="0" align="middle" />

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Sorry I was being rude. The name is funny, but in the appstore I think giving it a more scientific name for the word "poo" or a more peculiar name that's just a bit less childless like "Toilet Rush: A Man's greatest Duty" with Duty referring to feces would have a better chance of being accepted.

The name "Mr Poo McFarts Poo And Fart Adventures" seems like something my 4 year old self would name. But I think that's the point you were trying to get across with the name.

Apple is known for its "polished" policy.

I agree with most of the advices that tells you to "trick" the reviewers or go for a more ambiguous stance.

It's sad, but in nowadays society, even though your daily is met with lots of encountering with poo, big entities like Apple won't let you go down that road.

All my wishes for your creation to finally hit the stores, or maybe go for the less "tight" android store ?

JohnnySix hahaha :)

retrodude "Toilet Rush: A Man's greatest Duty" is a great title! Good suggestion! I am still trying to think of how to get the game up on app store without too much changes and a title like Toilet Rush (if it's not taken) could be a good first step! :)

Kyatric Thanks! I do think that to "trick" the reviewers seem to be the way to go. I guess I was naive, and it's probably also a cultural thing. I do think that if Apple was a Swedish company this would have been approved without any questions. Swedes tend to think that drugs and weapons are worse than poo ;) I have released the game for Android, I didn't have any problems there :)

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=se.onemuppet.mrpoomcfartspooandfartadventures&hl=sv

— My experience with the absolute randomness that is App Store rejection is that pointing out things like similar products can be helpful if the reviewer on the Apple side actually cares about their job, which is extremely hit or miss. When I've run up against a wall in the past, which has mostly been for client projects, I've just changed the name and resubmitted as a new app after pulling everything I can about the previous version out of my Apple dev account. On one occasion, I simply removed a single space in title, sent it in as a totally new submission, got a different reviewer and it was approved almost immediately...well, immediately in Apple-world time, which was about a week.