Now that single-station radio apps have been put on the same level as fart apps the gatekeepers of the Apple App Store have begun to ban them because in the words of Apple to Jim Barcus, president of DJB Radio Apps, “they (single-station apps) are the same as a fart app and represent spam in the iTunes stores”.

According to a post at The Register Barcus says that Apple began rejecting the single-station radio apps starting on November 10 with a logic that Barcus says is ridiculous and shows that Apple doesn’t understand the stiff competition radio stations are facing.

Given that it is the business of DJB Radio Apps to convince as many radio stations as possible that they must have these type of apps I think Barcus’ argument is a little on the facetious side but he has taken his gripe public:

Barcus is now broadcasting his gripe via an article in Radio Magazine, urging radio station owners to complain directly to Apple and Steve Jobs. “I think after enough broadcast professionals complain and make Apple aware of the fact that radio stations are in fierce competition with each other and listener loyalty makes the listener want to only listen to his favorite radio station, Apple may change this rule,” he says.

As Cade Metz say in the post on The Register – Good luck with that.

Apple’s newest ban hammer: Single-station radio apps is a post from: The Inquisitr

In a move that would have Orwell spinning in his grave, South Korea plans to crack down on gamers who play into the wee hours, by enforcing a nightly six-hour blackout on 19 different MMO games.

With South Korea gaining a growing reputation as a nation of gaming addicts, Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has stepped in, declaring that gamers will now have to back away from their computer for at least six hours each night.

Gamers will be able to choose a window: midnight to 6 a.m., 1 to 7 a.m., or 2 to 8 a.m.

Critics of the scheme – of which there are understandably plenty – suggest MMOs and games are being unfairly targeted, and it’s hard to disagree. As unwanted government interference goes, I genuinely can’t think of many more shocking examples from a supposedly developed democracy.

See also: Switzerland preparing to ban violent videogames

[Via Hot Blooded Gaming]

Nanny state alert: South Korea clamping down on late-night gamers is a post from: The Inquisitr

Previously, we knew that the Chinese government was censoring World of Warcraft. Now, a separate non-governmental authority has wielded its Banhammer +42 (or whatever) and ordered that the game be shut down throughout the country.

This order comes direct from the General Administration of Press and Publication in China (GAPP), which is apparently displeased that the new version of the game lacks official approval, despite launching September 19. GAPP, incidentally, is going to head-to-head with the Chinese Ministry of Culture, which also looks after online gaming.

Shutting down World of Warcraft down in China essentially blocks 20% of the World’s population from playing the mega-MMO. That’s a big drop in potential consumers for Blizzard, and I suppose Cheetos and Mountain Dew, or whatever the Chinese equivalent is.

Nevertheless, Leon Li, vice president of Chinese mobile Internet firm KongZhong, thinks gamers will cope well enough:

“Millions of Warcraft players will suffer the most. But if you take a long term view of the industry, many of these Warcraft gamers may migrate to other games, so for the other Chinese online game companies, it is a good thing.”

[Reuters, via VG247]

China shuts down World of Warcraft is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Chinese and German governments aren’t the only ones to flinch at the mere thought of videogame violence – Venezuela isn’t too keen on the likes of Manhunt 2 (above) either.

A new bill is currently doing the rounds in Venezuela’s parliament that could see all violent videogames banned from sale in the country. The Bill for the Prohibition of Video Games and Toy Weapons – yes, they’re attempting to ban water pistols – has already been approved by the National Assembly in the first of two debates. If it passes debate number two, and is rubber-stamped by the President, M-rated videogames will no longer exist in Venezuela.

From that point on, Venezuelans who are caught selling or distributing such games in the country will be slapped with a colossal fine. Venezuela’s politicians are allegedly concerned with the effect of game violence on kids (yeah, that old chestnut).

True, Venezuela might not have a games market the size of the U.S. or Europe, but it’s the principle, folks. While film and other media remains comparatively unchecked, games are once again getting it in the neck (if you’ll excuse the violent analogy).

[Via Kotaku]

Venezuela could veto violent videogames is a post from: The Inquisitr

There’s nothing like a few rounds of Doom 3 or a bit of mayhem in GTA to ease the stress of the day. Sure there’s a lot of nonsense about violent video games being responsible for people committing violent acts but to date there has been no (reputable) conclusive studies that have proven that argument.

This fact apparently hasn’t stopped the German government from moving forward with a plan to ban all violent video games, which they define as “where the main part is to realistically play the killing of people or other cruel or inhuman acts of violence against humans or manlike characters”. Not only that but the ban would be applicable to video game companies operating in Germany making it illegal to even create such games.

Well that pretty well means about 90% of the games on the market today as well as the majority of games that are created every year. Plus let’s not forget that Crysis from Crytek – a German based company – would no longer be able to see any future versions being created.

The government’s reasoning for this ban? As usual it stems from some teenager going on a killing spree and blaming on playing some video game for hours on end prior to thinking they could do it for real.

Why all the panic over video games? The usual stuff, really: Their potential link to violence, particularly among youths. Earlier this year a German teenager killed more than a dozen people while dressed in black camouflage, purportedly copying moves learned in the terrorism-focused Counter-Strike. Such links are extremely controversial, but Germany has been at the forefront of lambasting violent games for years as causing these incidents.

Source: Yahoo Tech News

Germany getting ready to ban all violent video games is a post from: The Inquisitr