Category: Apps

The company had previously stated that it would be removing apps that didn’t meet their standards.

Back on May 8, Sega announced that it would be taking down a list of titles of mobile games that had not been meeting its standards for the type of playing experience that it wanted to provide to players, though it did not release the names of the titles at that time.

What was known was that the unwanted mobile apps would be removed from all major app stores.

The company was presumably working on its strategy to place a greater focus on mobile games as it moved away from the console experience. It said that the apps that it would be removing were titles that they considered to be unable to meet their current standards. This announcement was made close to another one that was released by the company that said that players could expect to see 20 new titles in the near future, each of which would have “console quality”.

The mobile games that Sega has now removed have come down from all app stores, regardless of the platform.

The initial list of mobile game apps that have been pulled from the Sega catalog include: After Burner Climax, Altered Beast, Ecco the Dolphin, Golden Axe 1, 2 and 3, Jet Set Radio, Phantasy Star II, Space Harrier II, Streets of Rage 1 and 3, Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2, Super Monkey Ball Tip’n’Tilt 1 and 2, and Virtua Fighter 2.

Sega has explained that if one of these games had already been purchased by a mobile device user ahead of the removal of the option from the app stores, it should still be possible for that person to download it, even though it is no longer available for sale. However, the company also pointed out that there will be no more support provided for that game. It is, therefore, available only to be downloaded and played until the time comes that it will “becomes incompatible with the latest phone operating systems or hardware,” at some point in the future.

That said, the company also suggested that this may not be the end of those mobile games, as “given the right situation,” they may look into recreating the apps within “an updated form.” Sega has not provided any more details about which games could potentially reappear in the future.

These applications allow parents to see how their kids are using their devices, and can even remotely shut them off.

In South Korea, mobile apps that allow parents to be able to monitor their children have been growing in popularity and one in particular, “Smart Sheriff” has been standing out among the rest as it provides parents with the ability to watch their child’s smartphone activity, shut down applications, or turn off the entire device.

This app was created with funding from the South Korean government in order to let parents block pornography.

This app was meant to give parents control over the offensive content that their kids will be able to view online. That said, the features expand well beyond that and parents have taken notice. Smart Sheriff is one of at least 15 mobile apps that are available in that market to let parents monitor the smartphone use of their kids.

They reveal how long the mobile devices are being used, how often apps are being used, and which websites are accessed. Some of these applications will even tell parents where a child is located using the device GPS. In fact, some apps will send an alert to parents if certain specific keywords are searched for, such as “suicide”, “bully”, or “pregnancy”. An alert may also be sent if the child sends or receives a message that contain those terms.

So far, these mobile apps have been downloaded nearly half a million times (about 480,000) in South Korea.

These app download stats are only likely to rise. The Korea Communications Commission in the country decided, last month, that telecom companies and parents will be required to install Smart Sheriff or another one of these monitoring apps on the smartphones of anyone under the age of 18 years. The commission is the regulator for the entire telecommunications industry in the country.

This requirement will not apply to old smartphones that are already carried by people under the age of 18, but the majority of schools have sent out letters to parents, regardless, encouraging them to obtain and install this type of mobile apps to help to keep their kids safe.