Here at Gamezebo, we've recently published a glowing review for a new iPhone game called Ninja Fishing. We certainly weren't alone in this - IGN and 148Apps both gave it high marks. In fact the game is sitting at an 8.6 on Quality Index and an 81 on MetaCritic - clearly this is a title that's getting some love. So why are some people getting upset over it?
As much as Apple might like to steer clear of the topic, "theft" has become something of a buzzword surrounding the App Store lately. On more than one occasion hard working developers have seen their work plagiarized - or worse yet out-and-out stolen - only for it to be approved by Apple as a sellable product.
If you were a developer of an indie hit on Xbox Live Arcade that was critically acclaimed, you'd be pretty pleased with yourself. Now imagine you're that same developer working furiously on a sequel, when all of a sudden a major publisher releases an iPhone game that seems to copy your formula point for point. That's exactly what the developers at Twisted Pixel Games woke up to discover earlier this week when Capcom released MaXplosion, a game with a more than passing resemblance to their own Splosion Man.
As a developer, EdisonGame isn't known for their creativity. Their recent release Rainbow Pony seems to borrow heavily from Solipskier. Before that they released HugeWorm, a game that seems to cut and paste the Super Mega Worm formula. But while cookie cutter games are a dime a dozen on the App Store, out and out theft is not. Yet that's exactly what EdisonGame now stands accused of regarding their recent release The Blocks Cometh.