Super Monster Brothers Takes In-App Purchases And Copyright Infringement To New Levels Of Insanity
April 26, 2013
Whenever a gaming platform becomes a smash success, cheaply-developed shovelware inevitably appears. Fortunately, the major console and handheld gaming platform producers maintain an approval process that requires lots of time and money to pass. You just can't throw any trash at the wall to see what sticks. Mobile app stores, on the other hand, are still new enough that there is a minimal approval process in place to publish an app. Consider the ludicrous case of Super Monster Brothers by the keyword-centric Adventure Time Pocket Free Games, for instance. This is a little platformer game for iOS that is built of assets ripped from other, better games. Pokémon are the star characters (although they've been edited slightly to include hats). When they jump, they make the jump sound from Super Mario World. Copyright infringement is just the tip of the iceberg here; the real insanity comes from all of the in-app purchases that the game attempts to force on players. Watch IGN's iPhone Garbage team tear this poor excuse of a game apart as it tries to overcharge them for every playable character, disposable weapon, and power-up. $100 for an unlockable Charizard? Sure, why not?
Obviously this game is intended for younger audiences who borrow a parent's iPhone to play. The pop-ups ask for money, the child doesn't understand what they're doing with the agree button, and by the time the game is over, mom and dad are in the hole for $1000 worth of pointless content. Apple really should step up their approval process to catch scummy apps such as this one. Apps using stolen assets are nothing new (and another issue that should keep them off of the store), but these kinds of persistent in-app purchase prompts aren't doing the mobile gaming space image any favors either.