iOS gaming: Just what happens to the blatant ripoff makers?

[Tanukitsune]

I've heard about quite a few people who put blatant copies, ripoffs and similar of original games on the Apple market place, they get taken down but...

What happens next? Does anybody know if the people who, for example, sold Pokémon Yellow, which was really just a bunch a screenshots got punished in anyway?

The news never seems to mention this part, I'd hate to think that you could just port a game you don't own and not even get a slap on the wrist.

With so many journalist and iOS game makers here, somebody must know, right?

[SiN]

I'm not positive because (obviously) I haven't made a rip-off a game, but as an iOS dev I can make a pretty good guess.

Your iOS dev account (tied to an e-mail address) gets banned. Your annual subscription ($100) goes along with it.

But here's the kicker: Apple pays devs every month. I'm pretty sure if your game has been pulled, you don't actually see any of that money. So all these scam apps seem like a waste of time, because I doubt very many of them see any pay-out in the end.

Perhaps if an app goes unnoticed for a month or two, they'd get paid (Apple can't really revoke a money transfer after the fact). Hopefully, Apple would withhold funds if an app is under investigation.

(that said, it can work both ways. I bet Mobigames a.k.a. the EDGE guys had their money withheld because of a certain troll)

I get the feeling it doesn't really pay off for the dev. Of course, it's in Apple's best interests to ensure that it doesn't pay off for the devs. As with most things App Store related, it'll get better in time.

[Tanukitsune]

While I'm glad to hear that the scam apps are unlikely to get any of the money they got from the people that fall for it, what would happen to the money?

Does Apple keep it or do you get a refund?

I'm also not that happy to hear that all they get is a ban and the loss what they pay for that year's fee. Maybe if they got an actual fine or jail time people wouldn't do it that often.

And how do these games get past the Apple people? Your app will be turned down if it's risque, but they don't care if it's an obvious rip-off?

[Lu]

I think the process is largely automated, as so many apps get submitted. You also select an age rating yourself, of which I'm sure certain tags are more likely to be investigated than others.