Apple takes Confederate Flag games off App Store
Goods featuring the Confederate flag are being taken off sale from retailers across the US, and that now includes Apple's App Store, which has removed Civil War games depicting the flag from listing.
It looks like Apple is joining the political shift in the United States, sparked by states removing the Confederate flag from public spaces, and spurred on by major retailers like Walmart and Amazon removing related products from sales. Apple contributes to this growing trend by pulling Civil War related games that show the Confederate flag from listing from its App Store.
As reported by Polygon, games that have been removed from the App Store include Ultimate General: Gettysburg and all Civil War games developed by Hunted Cow. Although it might appear that Apple is going a bit overboard with its politically correct policies, it wouldn't be the first time, since Tank Battle 1942 was removed for depicting Germans and Russians as enemies.
The US has had a complicated history with the Confederate flag, as some see it as symbol of oppression and others a point of Southern pride. In either case, it is still part of the nation's history. It's too bad that Apple can't take the time to sort out politically appropriate from apps, like historically themed Civil War games, from those that use the flag decoratively or politically.
Alternatively, Ultimate General: Gettysburg is still available for PC and Mac from digital retailers like Steam and GoG.
Source: Polygon
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replySteven Wong posted a new article, Apple takes Confederate Flag games off App Store
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Holy overreaction, Batman!
Is the confederate flag the new swastika? I mean even in historical civil war games it's taboo? Come on, US, don't turn into Germany.
This is mental. -
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It was full stupid the moment it happened. Removing a flag of any kind isnt going to stop people who hate others to stop doing what they want. It's not like it has people under mind control.
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I dont see how removing it from anywhere changes anything, past or future.
It's not only hateful racists that fly that flag.-
Really? Why else are people flying it then?
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Maybe they like the design? Maybe there ia something that appeals to them about it that isnt hateful, maybe there is a memory from an older relative attached to it that isnt dripped with evil, or harmful ties. There are tons of reasons why someone can like something because of aesthetic reasons, or emotional attachment, it doesnt all have to be bad. For most people, it isnt.
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How is that any different than someone liking a symbol or flag related to hatred for aesthetic purposes only?
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It looks like this is exactly it:
Apple has pulled everything from the App Store that features a Confederate flag, regardless of context. The reasoning Apple is sending developers is "...because it includes images of the confederate flag used in offensive and mean-spirited ways."
http://toucharcade.com/2015/06/25/apple-removes-confederate-flag/
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FFS
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it's like 9/11 all ove ragain
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What the flying fuck. So...they're going to remove all WWII games with the Nazi flag, too, right?
It's not like Gettysburg is important or anything.
What a crock of shit. -
Wait they're actually removing games where it's used in a historical context? Do they allow WW2 games with nazi insignia?
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If I had to guess, I would say they will release a statement (or not release a statement, because they're Apple, and they do what they want) saying that they basically took everything down and will review them - only after the developer re-submits, of course - one at a time for context and see if they're in violation of whatever rule or guideline they're saying this falls under
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I don't know about how good a site toucharcade is but:
http://toucharcade.com/2015/06/25/apple-removes-confederate-flag/
Update: It's looking like Apple has pulled everything from the App Store that features a Confederate flag, regardless of context. The reasoning Apple is sending developers is "...because it includes images of the confederate flag used in offensive and mean-spirited ways." We just spoke with Andrew from HexWar Games, who have released many historical strategy games. He insists, "We're in no way sympathetic to the use of the flag in an offensive way, we used it purely because historically that was the flag that was used at the time."
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^^^ this.
Remember how they took down Papers, Please because of nudity and then reversed their decision calling it a "misunderstanding"?
I predict within the next week the Civil War games come back but the "confederate flag app because we think it's cool" apps will stay gone.
I also bet that there's some new requirement to preface the game with a statement saying "depiction of confederate flag is for historical accuracy only and is in no way meant to condone or..." type of statement. Similar to what is shown before the Wolfenstein: The New Order game. It'll be like porn in the chatty: context required.
I mean if goddamn Taylor Swift can make Apple pay millions in royalties they didn't want to pay surely Apple will reverse themselves for Civil War games, like they've done with a lot of things recently.
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I think the confederate flag and nazi'ism Probably shouldn’t be compared.
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No, they are not the same, but the confederate flag has been pretty insidious historically, been around for way longer, and it's clear it stands for something much worse for one group of people than the other - and i think it's not just symbolism. It represents a very real problem that is still happening today.
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No more General Lee car. :( Boss Hogg has won!
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It wouldn't be the General Lee in that case.
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Apple is a bunch of hypocrites.
They have authorized dealers in Iran, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, etc. Qatar, mind you, a country that still uses slave labor. -
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It's Fahrenheit 451esque to me.
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It's one thing to remove it from government property. It's quite another to perform blanket censorship.
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You know what else was suppose to blow over in a couple of months? The civil war.
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"As you may have been already informed (Read Facebook link), Apple has removed our game from AppStore because of usage of the Confederate Flag. Ultimate General: Gettysburg could be accepted back if the flag is removed from the game's content.
We accept Apple's decision and understand that this is a sensitive issue for the American Nation. We wanted our game to be the most accurate, historical, playable reference of the Battle of Gettysburg. All historical commanders, unit composition and weaponry, key geographical locations to the smallest streams or farms are recreated in our game's battlefield.
We receive a lot of letters of gratitude from American teachers who use our game in history curriculum to let kids experience one of the most important battles in American history from the Commander's perspective.
Spielberg’s "Schindler's List" did not try to amend his movie to look more comfortable. The historical "Gettysburg" movie (1993) is still on iTunes. We believe that all historical art forms: books, movies, or games such as ours, help to learn and understand history, depicting events as they were. True stories are more important to us than money.
Therefore we are not going to amend the game's content and Ultimate General: Gettysburg will no longer be available on AppStore. We really hope that Apple’s decision will achieve the desired results.
We can’t change history, but we can change the future."-
Censorship because of the risk of offense/hurt feelings. Like I said above...Am I in Fahrenheit 451?
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Man, and I just bought that game on Steam during the sale. Heard its really good.
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Finally. I've been calling on them to do this for years.
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