Outrage Erupts Over Faux Ninja Turtles App

[Earnest Cavalli]

Outrage Erupts Over Faux Ninja Turtles App

A new iOS game called Ninja Turtles contains no ninjas, no turtles, nor any mutagenic combination of the two. Unsurprisingly, people are angry.

Created by Vietnamese developers Namphuong Star, the $5 game borrows assets liberally from a number of sources. "The app uses official Ninja Turtles art for its icon, backgrounds from NES shooter Contra, effects from SNK's Metal Slug, and some amateurish recreations of the titular turtles," according to Edge.

Unsurprisingly, the App's review page [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ninja-turtles/id456911672?mt=8] is full of consumers venting their frustrations.

The character immediately slides off the side of the screen. There seems to be no way to actually interact with the game. And there doesn't seem to be any way to start a new game. The use of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters on the splash screen are almost certainly infringement; the blob that slides off the screen during the actual game isn't identifiable as a turtle. Or much of anything.

Visiting the developer website and the support site both go to the same spammy, Vietnamese-language website selling iPhone and iPod accessories. There doesn't appear to be any actual support. Deleted and requested refund.

Terrible software and bootleg games are nothing new, but the real question this situation raises is how a title like Ninja Turtles that is both completely broken and presumably in violation of several copyrights could pass through Apple's secretive review process.

Apple has yet to comment on the situation and as of this moment, Ninja Turtles is still available for purchase if you have an Abe Lincoln in your pocket and a total disdain for responsible spending.

Source: Edge [http://www.next-gen.biz/news/fake-turtles-app-sneaks-past-apples-review-process]
(Image [http://www.flickr.com/photos/aunto/1452787038/])




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[V8 Ninja]

...And THAT'S why I'm staying away from phone games for the time being. I love awesome games for cheap prices, but the fact that developers have the power to do this makes me want to avoid all of it.

 

[Mahorfeus]

Shame on the developers for making this kind of crap, but how the heck does stuff like this make it through to the store?

 

[Eri]

...And THAT'S why I'm staying away from phone games for the time being. I love awesome games for cheap prices, but the fact that developers have the power to do this makes me want to avoid all of it.

Or you could just wait a day for reviews and never have this happen?

 

[Scrythe]

A useless app on the App Store? This is an outrage!

This is why I always consult the reviews before picking up any paid app. If it's a game I'm still unsure of, I hop over to YouTube.

 

[UnravThreads]

...And THAT'S why I'm staying away from phone games for the time being. I love awesome games for cheap prices, but the fact that developers have the power to do this makes me want to avoid all of it.

Well, let's be honest here, this is one case out of thousands. The console and PC markets - the latter especially - are open to this kind of abuse. Do you stop buying toys for yourself/kids because of the thousands, if not millions, of really crap Chinese knock-offs kicking around?

To be brutally honest about phone games, they're largely crap anyway. I play Battleship, Bejewelled 2 and... that's about it. I have Monopoly, Civ Revolution, Catan, Stratego and a couple of others permanently installed, but for the most part buying a game on the Apple Game Store is just going to be a waste of money. If you keep to the Top Sellers lists of games, chances are you're not going to go wrong with a purchase, although it's not guaranteed to be brilliant.

 

[GiglameshSoulEater]

How in hell did that get through Apple's checks?

 

[Kenjitsuka]

"Ninja Turtles is still available for purchase if you have an Abe Lincoln in your pocket and a total disdain for responsible spending."

Lol, good one!
Burn those Lincolns on useless stuff. It's all about the Benjamins (ask Weird Al, he'll vouch for me on this!)

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

how a title like Ninja Turtles that is both completely broken and presumably in violation of several copyrights could pass through Apple's secretive review process.

Allegedly.

[sub]Failing that, sheer incompetence; but this is Apple here...they never make mistakes[/sub]

 

[V8 Ninja]

...And THAT'S why I'm staying away from phone games for the time being. I love awesome games for cheap prices, but the fact that developers have the power to do this makes me want to avoid all of it.

Or you could just wait a day for reviews and never have this happen?

The problem is that I just don't like the idea of a developer being able to do this and still make money off of it.

*snip-snip*

Well, let's be honest here, this is one case out of thousands. The console and PC markets - the latter especially - are open to this kind of abuse. Do you stop buying toys for yourself/kids because of the thousands, if not millions, of really crap Chinese knock-offs kicking around?

But the thing is that this is being sold on the official App Store. This gives me the idea that Apple really doesn't care the game-playing consumer whatsoever. True, most phone games aren't that good, but at least taking a quick peak at the game and seeing whether or not it doesn't break any laws shouldn't be too difficult.

 

[Joey Wonton]

Is it possible to troll the appstore?
Because maybe that's its origin.
Maybe to show people the lack of filtering or something, if that were like a current issue.

It just sounds so bad that it couldn't have had any actual effort put into it, unless to make it specifically attract hate.

 

[Worgen]

I've seen more then a few apps on the ipod store that have art assets from other games, one tower defense game I've dled took stuff from sc2 and another one directly took art assets from tyrian.

 

[ZeZZZZevy]

Hey, looks like someone messed up down the line. And enough consumer outrage will cause someone to undoubtedly lose their job.

Sucks for that person, but hey, this kind of mess up just shouldn't happen.

 

[nagi]

How in hell did that get through Apple's checks?

Simple: they don't check for copyright content or quality. They never did and never will. Apart from banning any apple-like services, pseudo-sexual and fart apps. That's all the public content filtering they have.

Apple never had any qualms about getting rich off of other people's assets.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

...And THAT'S why I'm staying away from phone games for the time being. I love awesome games for cheap prices, but the fact that developers have the power to do this makes me want to avoid all of it.

I always love how anytime there's a story like this, there's someone posting as-though this is a common every-day occurrence, and exclusive the particular device in question.

The problem is that I just don't like the idea of a developer being able to do this and still make money off of it.

Because the console gaming market is any better? Do yourself a favor and don't look into anything Activision does behind the scenes, because you'll need to find a new hobby. If things like this article turn you off to phone-based gaming, then you won't even want to look at a console after hearing about some of the stuff Activision does, and gets away with.

Speaking of getting away with it, who's to say that these guys are even going to make anything off of this? This app is probably only a few days old. Give the lawyers some time to notice the app, and I'm sure there will be plenty of lawsuits flying around.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

How in hell did that get through Apple's checks?

Simple: they don't check for copyright content or quality. They never did and never will. Apart from banning any apple-like services, pseudo-sexual and fart apps. That's all the public content filtering they have.

Apple never had any qualms about getting rich off of other people's assets.

More like it isn't any of their business who submitted the app. They're running a business, not a law firm. If an app gets posted that violates copyright law, they have no problem removing it when they hear word from the copyright holder. Until then they just review the apps and post them. They aren't gonna sit there and say "Gee, this company is submitting a TMNT-related app, we better bend-over backwards to nose around to make sure this is all legit." Greed has nothing to do with it (though I won't deny that Apple is bad in that department, this just isn't a case of it =P).

 

[orangeapples]

I wonder is people who bought this will get reimbursed for this.

wait, this was on the apple app store? nevermind >_>

 

[UnravThreads]

But the thing is that this is being sold on the official App Store. This gives me the idea that Apple really doesn't care the game-playing consumer whatsoever. True, most phone games aren't that good, but at least taking a quick peak at the game and seeing whether or not it doesn't break any laws shouldn't be too difficult.

Do you realise just how impossible that is? There's thousands of apps on the store (And that's just games!) with many more coming each day. It isn't possible for them to check every single app. I've just checked iTunes now, and the app isn't up.

Mistakes can, do and will happen. This is one of those times.