yes.. thats true.. but thats only true afterwards.. from a review standpoint where does scam start..? just buy a similar name ? a similar icon? the description can be changed anytime, the same goes for the screenshots.. but the game did not even had a screenshot but a single adventurish image (surely stolen from the internet) but then again who is to check if a dev is just lousy at advertising his game or trying to scam people.. i mean you must be a pretty new or naive user to buy something that does not have any screenshots of the actual game.. but if people don't check themself and apply simple common sense.. they get scammed.. so what todo .. ? make an customer review process and check if their iq is above an apple approved level? where to draw the line? maybe apple would need to put the screenshots and the description into the review process and could force the developer to at least post one screenshot from within a gameplay scene.. or whatever.. but then it gets all very complicated to check all this stuff.. as for deceptive description.. hehe that would mean around 99% of the games could be consideres scam.. because they are all "unique, amazing, revolutionary, best games ever" etc. etc.
There are a number of different factors here. Firstly the term "quality" is so subjective when it comes to games to be meaningless. There are many games that I would say have no quality whatsoever but yet millions may download and enjoy. "Quality" is an aspiration, but it cannot be used as a criteria. Trademark/copyright infringement is another issue, but again that's something which has to be dealt with by the owner of the trademark/copyright. Obviously all apps should at least function correctly, and checked at least up to the front screen of the app. Regardless of the dubious nature of using a similar sounding name to an already popular game, I'm not entirely sure how you would stop this, do you ban every game with the word "temple" in the title? All you can do is make the details of any app (name, description, screenshots, rating) as clear as possible and then it's down to the buyer to make their choice. Raising the developer fee sounds like a good idea on the face of it but on further thought I'm not sure it is. For a start what about somebody who has this great idea, manages to get $99 together spends 6 months making a game and then puts it on the store and has a big hit? I think it's good to encourage innovation and you don't do that by raising the entry level. Even raising it to $1000 will not stop people who are intent on gaming the system because of the potential profits at stake. These would be my ideas to help the situation.. An Ebay style developer reputation rating. An Amazon style reviews section, where you see the main positive and the main negative review, along with the latest reviews on the side. You have to have at least 5 screen shots Make it a lot clearer what the overall rating of the game is, and put screenshots at the top under the name of the game so users can see instantly the content of the game, rather than what someone says the app is. Perhaps a system where apps are approved but are not immediately available on the store front or in any of the main sections until they reach a certain level of rating. Similar to Digg, Newgrounds etc.
I keep hearing the same arguments on how Apple can't/shouldn't judge "quality" or can't/shouldn't check for IP infringement, but those arguments are crap It's Apple's store, and they are ultimately responsible for every product, and every product ultimately reflects directly on them. E.g. If you ran a reputable a brick-and-motar store and some new supplier came in with a sack of Gucci wallets would you double check they were real or just start selling them? If some new manufacture showed you his belts that snap in two when you try to buckle them up would you sell those? Now imagine walking into an Apple Store, and seeing a shelf stocked with fake boxed copies of "Pokemon Yellow" - sounds ridiculous don't it?
I agree with whatever you say, but the real question is whether Apple's role is of market provider or crazy dictator. If they're just providing a market, then it is ultimately up to the end users to pick the right products, they have to research the product they're buying, the things Apple should really take care of are the algorithm for top apps, and providing more information about the app and the developer. If there had been no leak in that algo, the chances of these scam apps appearing at top was near to 0 in the first place. And, if Apple should assume the role of the crazy dictator, then many small developers will suffer too, with companies like Lodsys chasing them down for multiple IP infringements out of nowhere. Continuing with your scenario of walking into the AppStore with a shelf stocked with fake boxed copies of "Pokemon Yellow". If the AppStore app ranking algorithm were to be faultless, these boxes wouldn't lying at the front for everybody's attention as "Best Seller of the Month", but with dust in the "Dead & Forgotten" section.
hehe well if the customers cry out loud if a gucci bag is more than 99 cents i think the shop owner would not look to closely into every product since its all bargain bin crap for the customers anyway.. the appstore is more like thoose 1$/€ shops where every item is prices the same and most of it is chinese junk but sometimes in rare occasions you find something usefull in there.. my point is you can't dictate quality if you don't also want to dictate prices.. why should apple expect quality x apps from developers who are then forced to sell it for nothing in exchange? that won't work and the day they start doing so will be the start of an mass exodus away from it because then it just becomes another xbox live or other closed platform.. what would happen is apple rises the minimum price to 4,99 for every app.. most appstore customers would send nukes to cupertino.. just check a random price discussion on this board. this would be havok. and its a missconception that apple is responsible for anything on the appstore.. they are not.. they are not reliable, the developer is.. they are just publishing your junk, but what you offer is off little concern to them as long as you follow a few simple rules. and there is qute a difference between the retail apple stores who earn apple an tremendous amount of money and the still peanuts in comparsion of the app store earnings.. the app store is their platform but not their products and people know that.. i have yet to see a rage mob to turn to apple for the fake crap developers sell.. and again.. especially in the land of the free it would be a start for customers to turn on their brain for a moment.. all thoose pokemon fans know who nintendo is.. and if they are not suspicious that not nintendo bur juri makolokovowowvn is trying to sell them product x.. i would be carefull.. i mean if someone wants to sell you a gucci bag for 5$ on the street corner you don't expect it to be the real deal? but in a country where you can become millionaire by spilling hot coffee on yourself because you are not accountable for even the most basic actions i can understand the big cryout. at least apple removed it pretty fast. why it was on the store in the first place (not because of copyright because it crashes on startup) is a different question.. maybe the appstore can be easier to a flea market.. you pay the city to use the spot but surely the city is not responsible for what you sell.. there are others whos job it is to check that..
They are responsible for selling everything though. Same if you bought a blender that doesn't work - you might go to the manufacturer for questions or warranties but if you want your money back you gotta deal with the retailer. Everyone in the loop has responsibilities. Not sure about that. When I tell non-technical people I make iPhone games more often than not they assume I work for Apple, or was contracted by Apple, or that Apple buys my apps outright. Of course not - but when I buy something from goddam Apple Inc. I sure as ####ing hell expect it to be real
well you see that apple removes fake apps.. so if customers comes in and say this products breaks on use.. and a hundred customers come back with the same thing they take it off their shelves.. that does not mean they x-ray every product they sell down to the last screw.. or in this case code line see the coffee spilling example.. doesn't help to point at clueless people to make a point.. there is a saying in germany.. "dummheit schützt vor strafe nicht".. thats like.. stupidity does not save you from punishment , and is usually said in conjunction with daily things like getting a parking ticket, because you did not notice you had to pay in that area or whatever.. most people are being scammed because they behave careless and stupid.. and thats their sole fault. no ine is buying from apple.. using google checkout does not mean you buy from google either.. they are just the distributor and accounter.
I am curious to know if Apple will refund the money to any customer that bought the fake app and requested a refund for the app not working. If they do, how will they recover monies already paid to the developer? So I am assuming they will not refund except perhaps for recent purchasers from any monies they still haven't sent to the developer and they still get to pocket the 30% from what they do not refund. They cannot make the developer responsible since the developer has no record of who bought the app, only Apple does. Apple is playing an interesting role here. All the benefits but none of the responsibilities of being a retailer. With regards to the exchange above, in practice, not resolving the above conflict works as long as such apps are free or $0.99 cents that most people will not bother. If it was a $9.99 app, then you bet customers would want to see either Apple take responsibility to refund or that they offer the means for the developer to do so. The current system would not work then. So perhaps, Apple spends more time with app approval for apps that cost more than those that don't as a practical matter.
You're way off there. Google checkout is a merchant service - you're paying the developer/publisher directly - just as if you gave them your credit card or sent money with PayPal or wired it from a bank. With the App Store/iTunes you are truly and honestly buying something from Apple. Developers/artists get a commission or royalty - that's it - completely different payment models.
Well thats hair splitting.. Of course you buy from apple but not an apple product.. There is a difference buying an iphone from apple or buying an app from the appstore. If you go into a best buy and buy product x, its not best buy who is responsible for the quality.. If product x breaks best buy maybe refunding you but that refund they get back from the manufacturer of of x. Apple here is just the middlemen and not reliable for the quality of the product. It may be in the interest of them to carry only quality products but thats not the case. Of course you can take a single sentence and quote it out of the context of an lengthy discussion.. Point is the developer is reliable for the product he sells through apple, not apple themself. You may want to read section 2 of your license agreement.. actually its the other way around.. they get a comission from you.. Thats the hole point, the dev is reliable not them.
Raising the developer charge to 1K would be terrible. There are lots of genuine quality developers who don't turn over that much in a year...even with >1 releases behind them. Who's to say it takes less than a few attempts to make top quality, and those who do should be suddenly demoted from selling unless they happen to be on the right side of a wider line. The system is fair at $99/yr, for that we also get a better service than say a competitor who charges 'a quid'.
I agree, Apple seem to insist on things that keep their brand looking good with what seems to be "picky" runs for apps. But the most important thing, the app quality, seems to be ignored. The whole app rating/ranking system seems to be able to be manipulated from what ive read/seen. Obviously there are going to be rip off of other apps. Some will be improvements. But some are terrible rip offs, money making scams that just make the AppStore look bad
of course 1k is figure of speech.. its about to raise the price to still attract indie devs but to keep the shovelware.. lets just put something on the store guys out.. may it be 200 500 or whatever.. of course it needs to be reasonable.. the general problem is that apple needs both.. quality and numbers.. and they have both.. there are tons of amazing quality games out there.. more than one can play in a lifetime.. problem again is to find all the gems who are not in the top lists.. especially in a big huge sea of app poo..
App Approval - needs refocussing I completely agree, I think at the moment the guys approving at apple are too focused on the technical side of the app without paying too much attention to the content. I think blocking apps due to copyright concerns of other developers wouldn't be something they would want to get involved with, deciding who copied who, who owns the IP, what percentage of a breach of copyright is each offense, etc., is ultimately up to the parties involved to protect their own IP. That said I agree that the store has some shocking cases of fraud and a high percentage of clones making some serious cash and demishing the apple brand as a result. It isn't something you see on other games platforms because the developers have to go through a long and rigorous developer approval process, they way nintendo protect it's brand is a good example of this. Some of our apps have been targeted and copied, and it is very difficult to do too much about it, given the location of some of these dodgey businesses. I think apple should tighten their approvals based on copyright, some cases are in grey areas, but for the obvious ones like 'Cut The Rope Classic' a clear rip off and fraud, apple should raise a concern and alert the original developer prior to posting the app. I think for repeat offenders developer accounts should be suspended, and funds held back. As an honest and dedicated developer of quality apps I would welcome any moves to bring the app store more in line with the level of quality apple is know for in all their other areas of business. Also if it keeps getting worse and worse more and more serious development companies like ours will move to other platforms where the quality titles they produce won't be buried in a see of fraudulent content.
