Apple removes iPod classic click wheel games from iTunes Store

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
As Apple is rumored to discontinue its aging hard-drive-based iPod classic, the company has removed a section from the iTunes Store devoted to click-wheel games.



Users used to be able to access a link to "iPod Click Wheel Games" by clicking the drop-down menu on the App Store link in iTunes. But now, that option has disappeared from the menu.



The removal comes as Apple is rumored to be planning to discontinue the iPod classic this year after the device's form factor had a 10-year run. The classic is Apple's legacy iPod, sporting the same click wheel and general design as the first iPod released in 2001.



Games on the iPod date back to Apple's very first model, with the game "Brick," originally invented by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, included as a hidden easter egg. As the iPod grew in functionality and gained a color display, more titles were added, and the latest iPod classic comes with "Vortex," "iQuiz" and "Klondike."



Apple began selling games for the iPod classic in 2006 in a sort of precursor to the iPhone and iPod touch App Store that would eventually launch two years later. Apple released its own click-wheel games like "Texas Hold'Em" and "Reversi," while major publishers including Electronic Arts, Square Enix and Disney also released titles.



Titles were priced at $7.49, and they rely on the touch-sensitive wheel that receives input on the iPod classic, as well as older versions of the iPod nano and iPod mini. In all, there were around 50 downloadable games available for purchase through iTunes, limited by the fact that Apple did not make a third-party iPod classic software development kit publicly available.



A link to "Click Wheel Games" was previously available in iTunes.



It's possible the iPod classic could get the ax at next week's iPhone centric media event, scheduled for 10 a.m. Pacific on Tuesday. As the iPod lineup has become a less important part of Apple's business, the portable media players have taken a backseat to devices like the iPhone and iPad.



In July, AppleInsider first reported that Apple's flagship iPod, the iPod touch, will receive few changes in this year's refresh. The new iPod touch is expected to be offered in white, but will feature largely the same internal hardware as the model released in 2010.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 115
    Doesn't make sense to me. If you buy an iPod Classic today, you're still going to want apps for it, and the cost for Apple to continue hosting them is negligible.
  • Reply 2 of 115
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cajun View Post


    Doesn't make sense to me. If you buy an iPod Classic today, you're still going to want apps for it, and the cost for Apple to continue hosting them is negligible.



    You can't buy apps for it. There was a tiny selection of mostly not very good games.



    People who buy iPod Classic's today are probably buying then to listen to music with and want the larger capacity.
  • Reply 3 of 115
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kfury77 View Post


    You can't buy apps for it. There was a tiny selection of mostly not very good games.



    People who buy iPod Classic's today are probably buying then to listen to music with and want the larger capacity.



    His point, though, is that it really doesn't hurt to keep them up there for the few people who want them. Why go out of their way to remove them?
  • Reply 4 of 115
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cajun View Post


    If you buy an iPod Classic today, you're still going to want apps for it,



    No one who buys an iPod classic today is buying it for the tiny applications on it. They're buying them to have a backup when their current one dies because they 'need' an iPod over 128GB.
  • Reply 5 of 115
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kfury77 View Post


    You can't buy apps for it. There was a tiny selection of mostly not very good games.



    People who buy iPod Classic's today are probably buying then to listen to music with and want the larger capacity.



    Use mine locked in the jeep console with the ipod integration Oh and i loan a spare out to friends for watching digital copies of movies & tv series using the component or composite out cable.
  • Reply 6 of 115
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TimUSCA View Post


    His point, though, is that it really doesn't hurt to keep them up there for the few people who want them. Why go out of their way to remove them?



    True, but we have seen that Apple goes all out when it wants to stop something - the Final Cut Pro fiasco being one example. So I am not surprised that the games are gone. If they were all priced above $5, then I wouldn't have bought them anyway.



    I am kind of sad to see the iPod Classic go. I have the third generation iPod, as well as the iPod Photo, but both of them are maxed out at 40GB. I think I will pick up the latest (and last) iPod Classic for the extra capacity (if we do not get a 128GB Touch this year). My MP3s are only 128kbps, so a higher capacity iPod would mean that I can use a higher bit rate, or Apple Lossless for added quality.



    With the evolution of the iPod line to iPod Touch, the Classic seems like a quaint device from the past and I think that is half the appeal for me. There is something truly magical about the click wheel.
  • Reply 7 of 115
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    It's possible the iPod classic could get the ax at next week's iPhone centric media event, scheduled for 10 a.m. Pacific on Tuesday. As the iPod lineup has become a less important part of Apple's business, the portable media players have taken a backseat to devices like the iPhone and iPad.




    Good. Nobody needs that much storage in a pocketable device.



    Apple needs to focus on what makes them the most profits, and iCloud is the way forward.
  • Reply 8 of 115
    Typical Apple. When they want to stop selling something, they like to force you to give it up and buy something new. Oops! That reminds me of Microsoft...



    Personally if something is on sale right now I would expect the support for it to last at least three years - and that includes selling the games.
  • Reply 9 of 115
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ConradJoe View Post


    Good. Nobody needs that much storage in a pocketable device.



    Lies!!!!
  • Reply 10 of 115
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member
    Is this the sign we will finally get 128 GB. iPod Touch? One can only hope...
  • Reply 11 of 115
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SwissMac2 View Post


    Typical Apple. When they want to stop selling something, they like to force you to give it up and buy something new. Oops! That reminds me of Microsoft...



    Personally if something is on sale right now I would expect the support for it to last at least three years - and that includes selling the games.



    This I concur. No point to end it now.
  • Reply 12 of 115
    dave k.dave k. Posts: 1,306member
    Perhaps they will be included for free on a new updated Classic and made available to all after October 4th... Or at least I am hoping.
  • Reply 13 of 115
    I think they should keep it as a build to order device. They'll make it if you want it. No returns!
  • Reply 14 of 115
    I feel like Apple should release some new iPod to replace the classic called something Apple-ish like iPod X to mark the 10th anniversary... They seem to love their X's... It'll be interesting to see what they come up with on Tuesday ala Touch/Nano/Shuffle/Classic and what does get discontinued if any.
  • Reply 15 of 115
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jakevin. View Post


    I feel like Apple should release some new iPod to replace the classic called something Apple-ish like iPod X to mark the 10th anniversary... They seem to love their X's...



    iPod X! Only plays music released after it was. Only mono audio. Only 96kb/s audio. Only AAC files.



  • Reply 16 of 115
    shenshen Posts: 434member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by maccherry View Post


    I think they should keep it as a build to order device. They'll make it if you want it. No returns!



    BTO only works if you have all the parts on hand and simply swap a few things custom. BTO RAM works because they have RAM for all machines, the custom part is a little extra work only. Similarly if I have 4 different graphics cards available from different machines, I can offer a BTO where I add one of those to a machine that doesn't normally offer it.



    BTO does not normally mean I carry a special set of materials just for those orders. A BTO iPod implies the outer shell and control board of that iPod, which are not used in any other product, being made just for that BTO.



    ...would only be worth doing if they charged about $900 since each one would basically be a custom run.
  • Reply 17 of 115
    This is great news for consumers. iPod Classic is a disgusting device and should be eliminated immediately.
  • Reply 18 of 115
    shenshen Posts: 434member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    iPod X! Only plays music released after it was. Only mono audio. Only 96kb/s audio. Only AAC files.







    ...and other great iPods, like the R Kelly iPod! Only plays songs less than 14 years old.
  • Reply 19 of 115
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cajun View Post


    Doesn't make sense to me. If you buy an iPod Classic today, you're still going to want apps for it, and the cost for Apple to continue hosting them is negligible.



    Exactly. I don't think Apple's lawyers are going to collect all the older iPods.



    I guess I will be picking up two of the Classics this weekend.
  • Reply 20 of 115
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ConradJoe View Post


    Good. Nobody needs that much storage in a pocketable device.



    Apple needs to focus on what makes them the most profits, and iCloud is the way forward.



    Good for Apple's stockholders, but not so much for the customers.



    Because we all get unlimited storage on the Cloud, right? And the Cloud is always online, right?



    I have a bridge to sell you.
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