

Is Unity3d banned by new Apple SDK licence? - tomh-
http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/7408/is-unity3d-banned-by-new-apple-sdk-licence

======
bilbo0s
You know, I have to say, that given what we know now, even without
clarification, it is clearly risky in the short term and dangerous in the long
term to be using tools like Unity. That is, if you plan to base a business on
the iPad, iPod, iPhone platform.

It's also a somewhat stunning to see people pondering whether or not Apple can
be sued. Clearly most people here are unfamiliar with the licensing terms of
other mobile gaming platforms. The terms for Nintendo, for example, are far
more egregious. And if the mobile gaming terms scare you, then you should
refrain from even looking at the terms for big three console development.

My point is that if this is to change, it will not be in court that the change
happens. Running to the government should, in general, be avoided in all
entrepreneurial activities. It invites 'help', of the kind that may be
unintended.

Vote with your IP on this issue. If you think these terms are bad, don't
develop for Apple's platform. If enough developers stop developing for it,
things will change.

If you try to get around it by using something like Unity that compiles to C,
Apple is just going to gain access to Unity, ascertain the 'fingerprints' if
you will, and ban you on that basis. Software forensics has been around a good
deal longer than Unity, so I would not bet against it. The only question is
whether or not Apple cares to be strident about these rules. And if I am
investing my money, I wouldn't bet against that either.

And really, why play cat and mouse, when you can develop elsewhere? For web,
or for Android, if Google ever figures out how to deliver a package attractive
to consumers.

I realize I am proposing that we engage in a massive game of the Prisoner's
Dilemma, but talking to Apple won't work. They may be willing to accept
something now, but not in a year. So you're still screwed.

Best to vote with your IP.

~~~
ehnus
Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony are very clear about their restrictions up front
and enforce them consistently among licensees. It is very difficult when
developing for console platforms to get yourself into a position where you
have spent hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars on development only to
be told that your game has been rejected.

The problem with Apple in this case and in many others is that they do not
enforce every app's compliance consistently and see no problem with the fact
that they don't.

~~~
pmjordan
"Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony are very clear about their restrictions _up
front_ "

This is the crucial point. You can talk to a human at those companies if you
have any doubts whatsoever about what is allowed and what isn't, or if you're
trying something that sails a bit close to the wind. They do occasionally
change their rules, but there is usually some wiggle room, and they give you
notice. The changes are generally also not as drastic as this. With Apple you
don't find out until _after_ you're done and have submitted your app.

Besides, the rules tend to be fairly obvious and predictable stuff, with the
occasional technical subtlety, not the kafkaesque nightmare that is the iPhone
SDK Contract.

The Nintendo developer newsgroups are pretty friendly and staff (real humans!)
are very keen to help you out - I guess the barrier to entry is also somewhat
higher than to iPhone development, but it's much more pleasant and predictable
than Apple, which only ever seems to act as one faceless corporation.

~~~
ericd
That's like the difference between enterprise and small business sales. Apple
could in no way afford to offer that level of handholding to all its tens of
thousands of app store developers under the current arrangement.

I'm under the impression that the bigger name developers do have more contact,
and if you have the budget to develop something big, you probably have access
to them as well. If this is not the case, this is clearly something they
should do, because otherwise it will stunt the development of big software
projects on their hardware.

~~~
pmjordan
I get the impression you have to be a _lot_ larger to be in Apple's special
club than you need to be to be a Nintendo developer - I know studios with <5
permanent staff who are doing DS & Wii dev. With Apple it doesn't seem to be a
matter of "pay us $X and we'll help you get your title published", it's more
of a "you have to be big enough that we can even see you from our ivory tower,
and only if you bend over". Don't forget Google Voice on iPhone isn't
happening, and neither is Opera. Does Nintendo let you publish a game that
competes directly with Mario? Yes.

------
xsmasher
Unity is probably the most broadly used tool that's impacted by this change;
many popular games are made with Unity.

Apple is aware of this - they briefly rejected all Unity games in November of
last year for unpublished APIs before an update brought Unity back into
compliance. [http://toucharcade.com/2009/11/12/ravensword-and-many-
other-...](http://toucharcade.com/2009/11/12/ravensword-and-many-other-unity-
powered-games-rejected-by-apple/)
<http://forum.unity3d.com/viewtopic.php?t=35744>

I'll be very surprised if this language isn't modified to give Unity a pass,
or to relax this rule for games.

------
gte910h
I've heard they're confident they're in the clear, but I wonder if Apple will
be forced to ban them to not lose some sort of legal dealings

