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My favourite iOS game from when I was a kid is no longer actively developed and as a result it was removed from the app store because it doesn't work properly o

My favourite iOS game from when I was a kid is no longer actively developed and as a result it was removed from the app store because it doesn't work properly on new devices. Its perfectly understandable why this happens but its a shame there is no way at all to play this game other than finding an old ipad that still has it installed where as old windows games still work fine.

pmarreck 6y ago
As a retro gaming fan I can almost guarantee you that there will (if not already) be a way to play those things. I too miss iOS games that I can't play anymore, like (most memorably) the Texas Hold 'Em game Apple itself made!
- egypturnash 6y ago
  I bet a lot of ios games are gonna slip through the cracks. Take the general lack of giving a damn with regards to archiving their source that game companies have, and multiply that by having the games distributed entirely digitally - and limited space on phones/tablets/etc that means people tend to delete old games that don't get updated.
  - Polylactic_acid 6y ago
    Also largely the reason we have such complete archives of old console games is because of piracy. Back when they were new games no one cared about copying them and building emulators for archives, they wanted to distribute them and as a result ended up with an archive. Most iOS games are so cheap that piracy is not a concern and there are so many games that your favourite one probably doesn't have a huge fanbase behind it.
    - pmarreck 6y ago
      As a rebellious young nerd, at some point I realized that my piracy was more akin to/aligned with collecting/preserving content as I consumed just a fraction of it but still derived joy from the acquisition and storage. Of course, once I got a job as a developer I paid for everything (too much, really... my unplayed Steam collection keeps growing!) I still love emulation tech, though
- briandear 6y ago
  Here you go: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/texas-holdem/id284602850 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/texas-holdem/id284602850
  - pmarreck 6y ago
    HOLY CRAP, WHAT?!?!
- rabidrat 6y ago
  I do not share your optimism. The main post says that you can do this for code up until ~2005, but not since then, and I would tend to agree. Also, many of the games require access to servers, which are no longer running, and even if you could get access to the server code, you wouldn't legally be allowed to run one yourself!
wtracy 6y ago
I have a tablet I'm scared to mess with because it has a copy of the Android port of Frozen Synapse, and the game has since disappeared from the Play store. I paid real money for that game, to boot.
- RandomBacon 6y ago
  There are apps that let you backup other apps installed on your device.
- hombre_fatal 6y ago
  I love Frozen Synapse. Always interested in the idea of simultaneous turn resolution.
shmerl 6y ago
That's the problem of DRMed stores, not a problem of older games per se. For instance, GOG specialize in restoring old games, as long as they are DRM-free. Apple simply never cared about preservation use case. Don't support DRM with your money if you care about this.
- Polylactic_acid 6y ago
  Its not just drm in the way. Even if I had a copy of the app I wouldn't be able to use it because no device I have could run it. Its the fact that apple doesn't give 2 shits about backwards compatibility. Which is not entirely a bad thing but it means games will all eventually be unplayable.
  - shmerl 6y ago
    > Its not just drm in the way. Even if I had a copy of the app I wouldn't be able to use it because no device I have could run it. Depends on the game. For example, a lot of old Windows games run on Linux in Wine pretty well, despite not working even on Windows anymore.
social_quotient 6y ago
Unrelated... “My favourite iOS game from when I was a kid” I’m 40 and maybe this is the first time I feel really old on HN. Cheers!
- aogl 6y ago
  This is exactly what was going through my mind when I read it too.. how awful
- Polylactic_acid 6y ago
  I figured someone would think that when I wrote it. For context I'm 21. The ipad was released when I was in primary school and I had the first one.
- Tainnor 6y ago
  I'm 32 and even I felt old reading that. :D
- iso1210 6y ago
  I'm just hoping he's referring to an easteregg in a cisco router
jasonkester 6y ago
I feel like this has happened to an entire category of games, broadly defined as "Games you can pay for and play". Those don't exist anymore. The only games that get released now are "Free games that you pay to make less annoying, repeatedly". There was a point around iOS8 where studios started scrambling to modify their games from the first category into the 2nd. So previously complete and balanced games like Civilization Revolution started getting new wonders and leaders that you could pay for (that the AI gets for free). Fortunately in that case, they released a completely separate Civ Rev 2 that was built with that crap from the ground up so they didn't need to finish ruining the first one. But they certainly aren't about to release compatibility updates for those old games, so I keep an old iPad Air with a cracked screen around and carefully navigate the upgrade nag screen every single day to keep it safely on iOS8 so that the last handful of good mobile games remain playable. One dead battery or mis-tap on the upgrade screen, and they'll be gone forever.

pmarreck 6y ago

As a retro gaming fan I can almost guarantee you that there will (if not already) be a way to play those things. I too miss iOS games that I can't play anymore, like (most memorably) the Texas Hold 'Em game Apple itself made!

egypturnash 6y ago
I bet a lot of ios games are gonna slip through the cracks. Take the general lack of giving a damn with regards to archiving their source that game companies have, and multiply that by having the games distributed entirely digitally - and limited space on phones/tablets/etc that means people tend to delete old games that don't get updated.
- Polylactic_acid 6y ago
  Also largely the reason we have such complete archives of old console games is because of piracy. Back when they were new games no one cared about copying them and building emulators for archives, they wanted to distribute them and as a result ended up with an archive. Most iOS games are so cheap that piracy is not a concern and there are so many games that your favourite one probably doesn't have a huge fanbase behind it.
  - pmarreck 6y ago
    As a rebellious young nerd, at some point I realized that my piracy was more akin to/aligned with collecting/preserving content as I consumed just a fraction of it but still derived joy from the acquisition and storage. Of course, once I got a job as a developer I paid for everything (too much, really... my unplayed Steam collection keeps growing!) I still love emulation tech, though
briandear 6y ago
Here you go: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/texas-holdem/id284602850 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/texas-holdem/id284602850
- pmarreck 6y ago
  HOLY CRAP, WHAT?!?!
rabidrat 6y ago
I do not share your optimism. The main post says that you can do this for code up until ~2005, but not since then, and I would tend to agree. Also, many of the games require access to servers, which are no longer running, and even if you could get access to the server code, you wouldn't legally be allowed to run one yourself!

wtracy 6y ago

I have a tablet I'm scared to mess with because it has a copy of the Android port of Frozen Synapse, and the game has since disappeared from the Play store. I paid real money for that game, to boot.

RandomBacon 6y ago
There are apps that let you backup other apps installed on your device.
hombre_fatal 6y ago
I love Frozen Synapse. Always interested in the idea of simultaneous turn resolution.

shmerl 6y ago

That's the problem of DRMed stores, not a problem of older games per se. For instance, GOG specialize in restoring old games, as long as they are DRM-free. Apple simply never cared about preservation use case. Don't support DRM with your money if you care about this.

Polylactic_acid 6y ago
Its not just drm in the way. Even if I had a copy of the app I wouldn't be able to use it because no device I have could run it. Its the fact that apple doesn't give 2 shits about backwards compatibility. Which is not entirely a bad thing but it means games will all eventually be unplayable.
- shmerl 6y ago
  > Its not just drm in the way. Even if I had a copy of the app I wouldn't be able to use it because no device I have could run it. Depends on the game. For example, a lot of old Windows games run on Linux in Wine pretty well, despite not working even on Windows anymore.

social_quotient 6y ago

Unrelated... “My favourite iOS game from when I was a kid” I’m 40 and maybe this is the first time I feel really old on HN. Cheers!

aogl 6y ago
This is exactly what was going through my mind when I read it too.. how awful
Polylactic_acid 6y ago
I figured someone would think that when I wrote it. For context I'm 21. The ipad was released when I was in primary school and I had the first one.
Tainnor 6y ago
I'm 32 and even I felt old reading that. :D
iso1210 6y ago
I'm just hoping he's referring to an easteregg in a cisco router

jasonkester 6y ago

I feel like this has happened to an entire category of games, broadly defined as "Games you can pay for and play". Those don't exist anymore. The only games that get released now are "Free games that you pay to make less annoying, repeatedly". There was a point around iOS8 where studios started scrambling to modify their games from the first category into the 2nd. So previously complete and balanced games like Civilization Revolution started getting new wonders and leaders that you could pay for (that the AI gets for free). Fortunately in that case, they released a completely separate Civ Rev 2 that was built with that crap from the ground up so they didn't need to finish ruining the first one. But they certainly aren't about to release compatibility updates for those old games, so I keep an old iPad Air with a cracked screen around and carefully navigate the upgrade nag screen every single day to keep it safely on iOS8 so that the last handful of good mobile games remain playable. One dead battery or mis-tap on the upgrade screen, and they'll be gone forever.