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Indie drops game from 'terrible' Amazon App Store

Indie drops game from 'terrible' Amazon App Store

Bitdrop warns indies away from Amazon's Android platform

A Swedish indie studio has removed its game from Amazon’s App Store and warns other developers to reconsider partnering with the retail giant.

Smartphone studio Bithack ended its relationship with Amazon with several damning parting shots.

A statement published on the studio’s blog criticises Amazon App Store’s “slow” submission process and a supposed lack of support for specific mobile handsets.

It is also claimed the app store shuts developers out from engaging with customers.

In a prepared statement, Bithack goes on to allege that Amazon hand-picks the games which feature on its ‘most-popular apps’ list.

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And the studio has echoed other complaints about Amazon’s entitlement to lower the prices of all apps without notice.

“We're sorry to announce that we have decided to pull [our mobile game] Apparatus from Amazon Appstore,” read the statement by the anonymous author.

“If you have the money to buy 384 phones and tablets, and if you have the resources to let the game go through a couple of months of pre-release testing, then Amazon Appstore is for you.

“If you are a small indie development team, or possibly even alone, don't bother with Amazon Appstore. Create a great app, publish it on Android Market, and provide great customer support.

“You will never succeed on Amazon Appstore without a big wallet, or at least an established reputation so that Amazon puts value behind their promises.”

Error!

posted by Acron Jul 08, 2011 at 12:37 pm
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Acron

Your sub-title reads "Bitdrop warns indies away from the Android platform". Don't you mean 'Amazon platform'?

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Nerror!

posted by robcrossley Jul 08, 2011 at 12:39 pm
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It's an Android re-skin, essentially.

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Misleading!

posted by Debbie Timmins Jul 08, 2011 at 2:16 pm
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Debbie Timmins

Amazon App Store it's a store for Android with some extra T&Cs but the author certainly isn't warning anyone away from Android as a platform. Says quite the opposite with "publish it on Android Market"

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Right,

posted by robcrossley Jul 08, 2011 at 2:21 pm
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I've changed the strap before this strange semantics debate wastes any more of our collective time.

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