Apple iBookstore categories for Comics & Graphic Novels, subcats for Manga
According to Appslice and BustedData, it’s estimated that the new iTunes eBookstore (or whatever they end up calling it) will be divided into more than 150
sub-categories. This classification scheme is far more differentiated
than that of the current App Store, which has only 19 sub-categories for games.
And yes, there will be a section just for Comics and Graphic Novels, with at least one subsection for manga. They haven’t suggested if there will be further subdivisions for age appropriateness or other forms of content restriction.
They also haven’t indicated if they’re going to pull purchased books out of your iPad the way Amazon did a while back to copies of 1984, but the iPhone
Developer Program License Agreement does give them the right to do so. And no, you won’t hear about it from anyone else because developers are forbidden from making public comments on the terms of the
agreement.
So for people looking to distribute through these folks, think of it as like dealing with Diamond, except Apple has bigger lawyers. (Oh, and Apple knows what they’re doing with computers.)