another is to let your app phone home to get a list of other products you've got, then show the other games to your players.

Annoying, yes, but can be very effective at getting your other products noticed.

I don't see how this is annoying unless you interrupt the users experience with it.

If you like the game, I think most people are happy to easily find more games from the same developer.

We often take it one step further and have playable demos of our new game embedded into our old games, and I've never heard anyone complain about it.

I personally hate it. Too many games have an opening sequence that starts out "Here are four other games! Click on them to be taken to the store" with a tiny little button "Oh yeah, here's the button for the game you actually came here to play, but please don't push it until after you've given us more money."

As for embedding other versions of your games, the license agreements cover that as well. Both Google and Apple are explicit that you are not supposed to do that, you are to put the other products on their store page and direct them to the appropriate segment of the store. Using your own product as a micro-distribution-center is prohibited by both of them.

I haven't seen any games that force you to view a developers other games as part of the opening sequence. It's always been a "more games" button somewhere that you have to seek out.

To agree with Olof, I'm pretty sure it is fine if a cross platform game shares the same currency pool as long as you are using that platforms purchase system. We've also never had any problems giving players free in game currency when we have messed up or as part of some other support issue. But of course players are less likely to report you when it benefits them.

I personally hate it. Too many games have an opening sequence that starts out "Here are four other games! Click on them to be taken to the store" with a tiny little button "Oh yeah, here's the button for the game you actually came here to play, but please don't push it until after you've given us more money."

That would be disruptive... I personally havn't seen it though. But it is pretty common now with ad banners in loading screens, with links to other apps, and I can agree I find that annoying. (It's not even games from the same dev, but totally unrelated, plus, I'm waiting on starting the game, why would I press it?)

As for embedding other versions of your games, the license agreements cover that as well. Both Google and Apple are explicit that you are not supposed to do that, you are to put the other products on their store page and direct them to the appropriate segment of the store. Using your own product as a micro-distribution-center is prohibited by both of them.

I had to look through the iOS agreement, but I couldn't find any such point. I didn't read every line though, do you have more details, maybe a qoute?

We havn't had any problems (afaik) in getting it through review.

It's not a distribution center though, its just a single level or similar from an upcoming game, a playable demo, then you have to get the actual game the normal way.

No code is downloaded (that is prohibited) its distributed in a normal update.

As for embedding other versions of your games, the license agreements cover that as well. Both Google and Apple are explicit that you are not supposed to do that, you are to put the other products on their store page and direct them to the appropriate segment of the store. Using your own product as a micro-distribution-center is prohibited by both of them.

I had to look through the iOS agreement, but I couldn't find any such point. I didn't read every line though, do you have more details, maybe a qoute?
We havn't had any problems (afaik) in getting it through review.

It's not a distribution center though, its just a single level or similar from an upcoming game, a playable demo, then you have to get the actual game the normal way.
No code is downloaded (that is prohibited) its distributed in a normal update.

You mean like these guidelines?

It is certainly a fine line. They do allow a limited amount of cross-branding and links to other products in the store.

We were told (at EA) that we could not include any type of playable demo for any other product, nor could we include a movie or any other cross-marketing except for single static screens in certain places which could link to cross-branded products.

Here are the ones on the list that immediately come to mind based on the descriptions so far in this conversation:

We were told (at EA) that we could not include any type of playable demo for any other product, nor could we include a movie or any other cross-marketing except for single static screens in certain places which could link to cross-branded products.

That's interesting to know...

I see how 2.4 could be interpreted as not allowing an included demo (in the way we do it), none of the other points seem applicable though.

Maybe they just like us