Teenage Mutant Ninja Fraudsters

A fake Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for iOS has managed to piss off a lot of consumers and many are wondering how Apple allowed a game that has been in the App Store system for nearly six weeks to get past its approval process. The bogus game app claims to be an official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game and is the work of a Vietnamese developer known as Dang Van Phuong. The license for the popular franchise is currently held by Nickelodeon, who are working on a brand new animated property to be released in 2013. While it is not know whether this particular developer has a license, judging by the work and the fraud contained within, it’s highly doubtful. The game’s logo is an exact replica of the official Turtles emblem and displayed next to its App Store description.

The $5 app misleads consumers into thinking it is official, but that's not the worst part of it; the game doesn't seem to actually work and borrows art assets from several other classic games such as Contra and Metal Slug.

According to one review of the game, there's no clear way to interact with it. Another review from a distraught grandmother laments purchasing the game for her grandson:

“I bought this game for my grandson, he loves the TMNT!! This game has no directions we can't figure out how to play, or even how to restart the game. There aren't any turtles in the game. A total waste of $5”

Another review offers more details on the horrors of trying to play:

"The character immediately slides off the side of the screen. There seems to be no way to actually interact with the game. And there doesn't seem to be any way to start a new game. The use of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters on the splash screen are almost certainly infringement; the blob that slides off the screen during the actual game isn't identifiable as a turtle. Or much of anything.

Visiting the developer website and the support site both go to the same spammy, Vietnamese-language website selling iPhone and iPod accessories. There doesn't appear to be any actual support. Deleted and requested refund."

Apple has not commented publicly on the game or how it made it on to the app store in the first place. Chances are the game will be pulled sometime today if it hasn't been already.

Source: Develop