No Promo Codes Available for Apps Rated 17+

by Jody Mitoma on July 18, 2009 at 4:13 pm

Developers will notice that applications that are rated 17+, and are submitted to the App Store do not come with up-to-50 promo codes that you would receive otherwise.

As it stands, neither the 3.0 software nor iTunes display parental warnings when using a promo code to purchase apps with a mature (17+) rating, so Apple has made the promo code functionality unavailable for apps that fall into that category. We were informed of this condition by a developer who prefers to remain anonymous.

This obviously puts developers of these apps in a bit of a bind, as well as eliminates the potential amount of sales that could come from being able to distribute promo copies. Developers in this position may be stuck doing ad-hoc builds or going back to the questionable practice of sending iTunes gift cards to reviewers.

And if you’re thinking this just applies to the massive number of adult-oriented apps that have recently poured into the App Store, you’re wrong. Apple specifies that any application that may contain high levels of offensive language, violence, sexual content, or references to drugs or alcohol receive a rating of 17+. But, according to Apple, apps that feature an embedded web browser or provide access to 3rd party content also automatically require the 17+ rating, regardless of the application’s content or intended audience.

Here’s hoping that Apple is already working on a solution to this, as the lost potential sales caused by this not only affect the developers of the individual apps, but the overall success of the App Store as well.

via TUAW

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