Whale Trail IAP update upsets consumers weeks after Papa Quash controversy
UK developer UsTwo has met with controversy for the second time in just a few weeks.
Last month it was game Papa Quash, accused of seeming a little too similar to indie darling and PlayStation Move title J.S. Joust. The word 'clone' was used over and over by something of an anti-UsTwo uprising on Twitter.
And now, thanks to a new update to its popular iOS game Whale Trail, the studio is faced with another PR challenge. The update introduces In App Purchasing to the game, but more than that, it removes previously included standard game elements, and asks the user, in affect, to pay for something they already own. Or owned.
One-star user reviews are now flooding the game's App Store page.
Primarily a UI and design studio, UsTwo has a taste for experimentation, and the IAP update may be exactly that.
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Whale Trail made the headlines when it emerged that, with no previous experience making a full commercial game, UsTwo opted to invest £150,000 in developing the critically well-received title.
UsTwo should have released a separate free version, leaving those who have paid to continue to enjoy their purchase. The only way I see out of this PR disaster is to return this version to paid and restore the original included features, then release the IAP version. Some will benefit from a free app, but not doing so is damaging for all developers, but especially UsTwo.
