What do you do when the name for your app is already taken?

JCFord

Just gone to upload my first app to iTunes Connect only to be told the name is already taken. The sad thing is I checked before I started to develop my app a month ago and there was no app already called this, but in the last week someone has used it.

Anyone else been in this situation, and what do you do?

StormyStudio

That must be damn annoying...I guess the one and only thing you can do is think of a new name, a better one that will blow away the competition. Or choose one similar to your previous idea and put Deluxe, or 'The Original' at the beginning.

quantumsheep

I have about 30 games registered with Apple, just for this very reason.

It may seem a little underhanded, but you don't have to upload the binary to iTunes when you add a new application.

In this way you can 'reserve' game names and saves you the heartache of finding out at the last minute, like you did, that the name was taken...

Hope that helps!

QS

PS - and yes, they will all eventually become real games!

design219

Just add the words "deluxe edition."

butterbean

Hey Quantum, to register games with apple, do you just submit the application without the binary, and when the binary is ready, just add it?

i didn't know you could save game names this way, thanks for the tip!

rebump

Yeah, that is how it is done butterbean. Kind of a domain name gold rush parallel but maybe not near as bad (yet!).

butterbean

Thanks rebump!

rebump

Be sure to push the date out a few months (like it is in production). Then when that date is about to arrive, push it out some more. Never let one expire by much so I don't know if they would delete it after so much time but I didn't want to test/risk it. May not even be necessary but it looks like your production schedule is being pushed back. ;-)

JamesZeppelin

Be careful.
If you name the app one thing and the actual games title screen is some thing else they will reject it. I knownit sucks but just want to make sure you don't do that and not find out for another week.

BTW. I like the deluxe edition idea.

BeyondtheTech

Up until the moment of submission to iTunes Connect, I checked for "Spellcaster" and found nothing, so it obviously irked me when I tried to name my game as such.

Needless to say, I made myself sorta famous by calling it "Raphael Salgado's Spellcaster."

I think there's some obvious name squatting going on, as you can create entries without ever uploading a binary. I think that needs to be fixed by the powers that be at Apple.

butterbean

It does suck and I don't intend on abusing this name saving thing.

I so far have saved one app name for an app that is near completion, and I have the title screens already made and such

I have a question though, if someone has an app, let's just say called "hand sanitizer"

Can you make an app similar to it called "Hand Sanitizer Deluxe" and they won't come after you? Seems a bit sketchy, but I notice apps like labyrinth and similar apps just add the number 2 next to it or deluxe, or portable, and seem to do fine

With so many apps in the app store I figure this isn't an issue, but just wanted to make sure!

Vmlweb

This happened to to me too, I just added a "s" on the end

BeyondtheTech

Unless you trademarked your name, you can file a formal complaint, but that's obviously going to be a long-winded and costly process.

I have a tip calculator, my first program written in Xcode, called `Tipster.` Of course, some douchebag comes out with another tip calculator called `Tipstar.` Really not much I can do about it.

It's basically a free for all, so you might as well get what you can get. Just try not to step on your fellow brothers and sisters here. I'd like to think we're a more closely knit group.

StormyStudio

if you get a name without uploading binary, you have to upload a logo image and screen shots, how do you get round those. Have you already made the needed images, or do you upload blanks. Can you easily change the images later?

jonmulcahy

Yes upload blanks. Yes change later. It's the first thing I do when working on a game.

I just have 2 blank images that say temp. I use them every time n

only thing is to put appropriate keywords in otherwise you can't update them till your first update

quantumsheep

I think that as long as your binary is not submitted, you can change keywords as many times as you like.

Try it