Apple's first and only iOS game goes kaput
Apple has quietly shelved Texas Hold'em, the first and only game it made for its iOS platform. The 2008 software was mainly a pitch to get developers to build things on the iPhone.
Apple has quietly killed off Texas Hold'em, the first and only iOS game the company ever offered.
As spotted by MacRumors this morning, the game is no longer available on the App Store, giving users an error message if they try to click through to its product page.
An Apple spokesman confirmed that the company is no longer selling the app, but declined to elaborate.
The $4.99 card game, which continued the card-playing franchise from the clickwheel iPod era, went on sale just weeks after the launch of the original App Store. Apple pitched it as an example of the kind of things developers could do on its then-fledgeling software development and sales platform.
Despite that initial pitch, Apple did not update the software to keep it in pace with changes to iOS and its own product line, including the iPad, which the title did not natively support.
Since releasing Texas Hold'em, Apple has shifted developmental focus to utility applications for MobileMe, and portable-size versions of its productivity and creativity software for Mac OS X. Any gaming-related resources have gone into Game Center, Apple's social platform that developers can build into their own titles.