Disney Yanks Tiny Death Star Without Notifying Creator Nimblebit - Update

[Sarah LeBoeuf]

Disney Yanks Tiny Death Star Without Notifying Creator Nimblebit - Update

Nimblebit's Ian Marsh believes Tiny Death Star was removed because "they don't feel it is worth it to maintain the game any longer."

Update: According to Ian Marsh, who is still "trying to get the official story" from Disney, Tiny Death Star won't be coming back to the App Store or Google Play, but is still playable by those who have downloaded it "for the time being."

Marsh also told us, "Although we don't have direct control over the game, NimbleBit would like to apologize to anyone who had interest in Tiny Death Star and encourage fans to try our recently released game Tiny Tower Vegas which is immune to Rebel torpedoes!"

Original Story: In less than two weeks, Nimblebit's Tiny Death Star would have celebrated its one-year anniversary, but instead the creator received a different kind of gift from Disney. Tiny Death Star was removed from app storefronts without notice and without reason, according to Nimblebit's "President of Code Hacking" Ian Marsh.

Speaking with Pocket Gamer [http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Star+Wars%3A+Tiny+Death+Star/news.asp?c=61859], Marsh called the Star Wars-themed mobile game "a significant source of revenue for us," but apparently Star Wars overlord Disney didn't feel the same way. "My assumption is they don't feel it is worth it to maintain the game any longer," Marsh stated.

Along with Tiny Death Star, Star Wars Assault Team has also disappeared after just five months. A source close to Pocket Gamer suggests Disney made the moves to focus on other projects. If you've already downloaded either of these games, you'll be able to access them from your purchased selections, but don't expect any updates going forward.

We've reached out to Nimblebit for comment and will update if and when we've heard back.

Source: Polygon [http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Star+Wars%3A+Tiny+Death+Star/news.asp?c=61859]


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[Neverhoodian]

Isn't this ultimately self-defeating? Who's going to spend money on these F2P titles if there's a good chance they're going to be discontinued soon after launch?

Come on Disney, get your act together. First you flood the market with buggy, uninspired mobile games that squander the franchise's potential, then you turn around and pull the plug on them when they're still turning a profit? That's some Michael Eisner-level mismanagement bullshit right there.

 

[The_Darkness]

So... What was the game about? "Tiny Death Star" isn't much to go on...

I agree that it was harsh of Disney to pull it without apparent explanation. I find myself reminded of Nintendo in some ways, even though this seems to have been a licensed product.

 

[direkiller]

So... What was the game about? "Tiny Death Star" isn't much to go on...

I agree that it was harsh of Disney to pull it without apparent explanation. I find myself reminded of Nintendo in some ways, even though this seems to have been a licensed product.

It's Tiny towers Star wars edition

 

[Shaolen]

It was a crappy game anyways. I spent some money on the premium currency, and after an update, my game got wiped back to the beginning. I tried to appealing to both Apple and Nimblebit for a refund, which went no where. There wasn't even an option to restore purchases. So yeah, that was my experience with this "game".

 

[PPB]

I may be a bit old fashioned, but I never really understood the interest in the "Tiny" series. I played this one a bit last year because of the Star Wars branding (which I can't resist) but after a couple of days the novelty had worn off and I just didn't see the point. Perhaps I missed something but there didn't seem to be any sort of thing close to a goal.

 

[Delance]

Shameful disregard for partners and costumers. Incredible.

That side of F2P IAP Mobile Market is terrible.

I still have CDs from the 90's that I can play. I have Intellivision cartidges from the early 80's that work. But there's games from 2013 that I can't play anymore. Things are less durable, less customer friendly today. Makes no sense.

 

[Grabehn]

So... What was the game about? "Tiny Death Star" isn't much to go on...
I agree that it was harsh of Disney to pull it without apparent explanation. I find myself reminded of Nintendo in some ways, even though this seems to have been a licensed product.

I'd like to say "Tiny Towers, Star Wars edition" since that's what the creator talks about, but then again, I don't know what Tiny Towers is, so I dunno if that helps.