MAY 2, 2012 ● Owners of the Rock Band iOS version were notified in-game that the title will no longer be playable after May 31 when the servers would be turned off. A fuller explanation of the closure also appeared on the title’s online FAQ page. The next day EA announced the in-app message was issued in error. During the 24-hour period, it was reported that Apple’s App Store had begun issuing 100% refunds to purchasers of the 2009 game who complained.
Impact: One can imagine that there were quite a few complaints when Electronic Arts announced that an app that was sold for $4.99 to $9.99 would no longer be playable. Of course, there is still a question of whether it was an error or some major backpedaling. With Apple starting to issue 100% refunds we imagine that was a very strong incentive to reverse the policy. What we speculate is that online support for the game was being pulled but they worded it in a way that made it sound like the entire game would be unplayable. It is a big deal to support sophisticated online game play for a title and revenue from mobile games is still fairly small.
