Independent Game Developers Attempt To Fill The Void
February 4, 2009
Independent game developers have been doing well ever since the App Store launched. We have seen oodles of success stories surface almost daily. These developers have had the advantage of competing with each other rather than with large game developers. This all may be about to change.
In 2009 we have seen two developers attempt to take advantage of the lack of a certain games being available at the App Store with mixed results. The first was a Duck Hunt clone created by Lucas Mansfield. The game made it through Apple's stringent acceptance process and things were looking good for Mansfield.
Nintendo had other thoughts about his remake, they felt that the game too closely resembled the original Duck Hunt for the NES and contacted Apple regarding the removal of the game. The game has since been removed from the App Store and Mansfield reluctantly agreed with the decision.
"It's an unfortunate situation, but I do understand Nintendo's position," said ManfieldLucas Mansfield intends to rework the game while keeping it true to its classic roots. The second example is Peggie, a Peggle clone created by JSeus Software. MTV Multiplayer Blog first reported on the story, discussing how closely it resembled PopCap's hit casual game. There are currently other Peggle clones available at the App Store but none so closely resemble the original like Peggie did. This time the results were a bit different. PopCap Games had issued a cease-and-desist order simply asking JSeuss Software to change the name of its game, it is now called Pegs in Space. It's easy to see both sides of the coin. Independent developers are simply trying to take advantage of what consumers want while large developers are trying to protect their intellectual property. Nintendo, in all likelihood, has no intentions of creating their own Duck Hunt game for the iPhone. PopCap on the other hand fully intends to make Peggle for the iPhone and it is due for release sometime in early March of this year. With the swirling rumors of a premium games section at the App Store and the news of Apple's overall game sales success, it looks as if App Store is drawing more attention from consumers and developers than any other time before, for better or worse.