Appstore reaches a new low....

[Kyle Poole]

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/a-100-to-win-now/id357407437?mt=8

So... $500 app... 1/5 chance to win $10,000? Yeah, right...

#14 in top grossing apps proves that people are still stupid [sigh]. Appannie.com confirms the app started at $0.99 to get some reviews, then upped the price to $499.99

How does Apple allow this? Aren't there laws to prohibit this sale in the US? I seriously have doubts that they payed out any money at all.

[mehware]

Yeah I don't think you can do that. I didn't even know you could have a 500$ app.

[originalcopy]

So this app is basically a lottery ticket?

[headcaseGames]

Yikes, that is pretty garbage.

In unrelated news, my new app releases next month. Compete for a chance to win one of my kidneys!

[klicktock]

It's not "mild/simulated gambling" - it IS gambling!
I'm surprised it's even allowed in the Australian store, you can't have competitions in this country without authorisation from the authorities.

[derek420]

Yeah I don't think you can do that. I didn't even know you could have a 500$ app.
The max price for an app is $999.

[spacefrog]

Guess that is what Steve Jobs meant by saying "Intermediate Layers produce low quality Apps" when targeting Monotouch, Unity, Flash etc....

Damn... wait....
I'm quite sure this crap app was build with 100% Xcode, Objective C, C or C++ ( it features an impressive 0.1Mb downlad ...). Does that mean Steve Jobs does'nt really know what he was babbling about, and the new Terms of Services in SDK 4.0 beta was really NOT about quality, but about total control and competition lock out ?
:D

[Kyle Poole]

I'm pretty sure the app was approved because the description listed it as a trivia game, then they changed the description after it was approved to make it a scam contest promising real money prizes... sorry to see people fall for this :mad:

[egarayblas]

I honestly can't believe there are people who actually bought the app. :-S

[Sinecure Industries]

So if I buy 5 copies, I'm guaranteed to win! That's a $2500 investment with a return of $10000! I can't lose!

[originalcopy]

Anyone remember the I am rich app ?? Several people bought that.

[CastleSoftware]

Strange that Apple spend all that time recently removing stupid apps like boob wobble (or whatever it was, while leaving playboy) and they allow this type of rubbish on the store. Glad Apple added the 4.0 clause to prevent people using Flash to make apps, because they didnt want the store filled with junk... now its only quality apps...oh yeah...Doh!

[Uptown Arts]

I wonder if they think that the worse that can happen is that their app gets pulled. Think again.

[don_k]

I wonder if they think that the worse that can happen is that their app gets pulled. Think again.

I know you mean they'd get hurt if people refund it, but those stupid enough to buy the app won't have any idea they can refund an app, so the dev is pretty much safe.

[Uptown Arts]

I know you mean they'd get hurt if people refund it, but those stupid enough to buy the app won't have any idea they can refund an app, so the dev is pretty much safe.

Lol, no, I meant serious legal issues in multiple countries.

[Sinecure Industries]

Anyone remember the I am rich app ?? Several people bought that.

Hah, the guy that made that programs our Android ports now

[TinyTechnician]

@don_k

Yeah, totally forgot about the ability to refund an App.

Someone needs to make some kind of write up on the app and totally explain (in detail) how to go about buying and then refunding the app...just so that business/person can get their due...and also prove a point that the App Store is not a place for this type of thing.

:-/

[bmn0210]

Who the **** approved this?

I've seen apps get rejected for nothing at all and yet something as blatant as this somehow made it through? Did Apple even ****ing LOOK at this app, let alone test it?

Somebody needs to lose their job... :)

[derek420]

Hah, the guy that made that programs our Android ports now
Lol small world :p

[Eastbound]

It seems to have been pulled from sale...

[bmn0210]

I expect it was reported by the guy who started this thread (and rightfully so) - hopefully now Apple will freeze that developer's account and prevent any payments from being transferred. The puzzling thing is how an app like that even made it that far in the first place.

[CurlyBrace]

So if I buy 5 copies, I'm guaranteed to win! That's a $2500 investment with a return of $10000! I can't lose!

No. Five tickets with 1/5 chance each don't add up to 1. The real number is closer to 67% chance.

To get a 99% chance of winning the $10K, you'd have to buy 21 tickets.

The trick to calculating these things is to consider the chances of not winning, which are 4/5 for each ticket. Then, to calculate the chances of not winning any prize with N tickets, you raise 4/5 to the power of N. The resulting number is the chance of not winning the prize with any of your tickets, so subtract this number from 1 to get the chance the chance that you do win the prize.

I wonder if it would have been allowed if the "game" contained an element of arcade and not just luck. For instance, I could think of a game where my server randomly sends out a push notification of "game on!", and the first person to press the big "play!" button in the app wins the prize.

Since I am currently making money on the app store, I'm not really itching to find out whether this would get me banned :-)