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Apple fights game clones, pulls Angry Ninja Birds, Plants vs Zombie, others

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Apple fights game clones, pulls Angry Ninja Birds, Plants vs Zombie, others
Apple has finally started to notice clones on its App Store and it’s not happy about having them - the company has pulled clones like Angry Ninja Birds, Plants vs Zombie and Temple Jump from its application catalog.

The three games mentioned obviously borrow a lot from the originals: Angry Birds, Plants vs Zombies, and Temple Run. Not all of the removed games were extremely popular, but Temple Jump for example climbed to the top of the Paid Apps chart.

Interestingly, all of the clones come from the same developer - Anton Sinelnikov. After the sweep, the total number of his apps on the App Store dropped from 68 to mere nine.

Game cloning is forming to become the next huge scandal in the mobile industry as some of the largest studios were accused of blindly copying existing titles. Zynga for example has recently made a direct clone to Tiny Tower named Dream Heights, and has now also released a clone of Buffalo Studios’s Bingo Blitz.

"We're really happy with how quickly Apple responded to the situation and removed [Temple Jump]," Imangi Studios co-founder Natalia Luckyanova said. "The app was clearly a scam that traded entirely on the popularity of Temple Run and was packaged to confuse users."

Do you think Apple did right to remove the obviously cloned games, or do you think that they have the right to exist? Let us know why in the comments below.



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1. Confucio posted on 06 Feb 2012, 08:16 7

Can't they make the names less obvious...

2. kshell1 posted on 06 Feb 2012, 08:16 1

apple did a good thing for once. the guy was trying to rip off peoples hard work to make a quick buck. people should have paid attention to what they was downloading though

3. Roomaku posted on 06 Feb 2012, 08:20 3

Angry Ninja Birds?!?!? I wish i had gotten a chance to play that one...

4. Bluesky02 posted on 06 Feb 2012, 08:31 2

That's a good move that will encourage developers creating new games.
First good news from Apple aside from lawsuits

5. PAPINYC posted on 06 Feb 2012, 08:43 6 11

Typical Apple control iFreaks: they control what you play; they control what music you can listen to (via iToones); they control what videos you can sync to your device ( via iToones); they control how your Home Screen can look; they control and limit their FaceTime to Wi-Fi……I'll be glad when, like Samsung's Superbowl commercial for the Galaxy Note, they are left with one sheep on-line ('waiting for their next big thing')……cough, cough!!

6. ghost__uwi posted on 06 Feb 2012, 08:56 3 8

Hmmmm well once you enjoy paying for clone software enjoy the android market I guess. Whatever floats your boat.

10. bigdawg23 posted on 06 Feb 2012, 11:15 1 3

Many people like Android because of the ability to get normal paid games for free because of rooting.

As for the Galaxy Note, I have owned a SGS 2 Skyrocket and at 4.52" that is getting a bit large in screen size.

14. Lucas777 posted on 06 Feb 2012, 16:37 1

uh dude this is just not ripping off devs… i wud so much rather have quality apps then stupid free clones… but suit urself

7. PimpStrong posted on 06 Feb 2012, 09:04 1

I agree with this move. A game dev shouldn't be able to slightly tweek a game and call it something different just to try and sell you the same product twice.

I guess its a judgement call when it comes to pulling a "blatant clone". Tough calls at times I bet.

8. arcq12 posted on 06 Feb 2012, 09:09 2 1

is there like a patent claim on this? thats how Apple goes right?

13. LoneShaolin posted on 06 Feb 2012, 14:58

Probably calling ther gestapo...... I mean lawyers right now

9. EclipseGSX posted on 06 Feb 2012, 10:45 3

i guess Disgruntled Ninja Fowls didn't flow as well

11. Stuticus posted on 06 Feb 2012, 11:29 2

WIth my Disclaimer being i've not played any of the clones, This strikes me as being no more bad for gaming than Saints Row being a clone of GTA is bad for gaming. People will buy and enjoy both. This is the developers place to complain not apples. They have no business sticking their noses in it, they aren't the developer.

12. TKFox007 posted on 06 Feb 2012, 12:54

I agree with this, there's so many apps and games that do the same on both Android and iOS. It's silly that you paid for a clone of an app that you already paid for or worse, got for free.

Especially in this case where they're direct copies of more popular games with a name that's exactly like the title they're ripping off. Because they're just trying to trick people into buying their app to take money away from the originals.

15. squeeb posted on 07 Feb 2012, 11:22 1

lol angry ninja birds

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