Apple strictly monitors the App store to make sure that nobody uploads content that infringes on any other group’s copyright, but sometimes things get through. Somebody may want to tell Nintendo about this one then.
In what may be the most hilarious oversight on the part of Apple yet, a user by the name of Home of Anime has uploaded Pokemon Yellow to the iPhone app store. The game promises to be a complete conversion of the original game.
But wait a minute, how can this be? Well, let’s take a look at the app store page for the game, shall we? First things first, those press reviews seem suspect:
“Fantastic and addictive gameplay. Six stars.” 5/5
“Just like the original. Only better because you can play it on the most intuitive device ever – the iPhone.” 5/5
“Hundreds of hours of gameplay, fun and collecting all Pokémon. Great app from Home of Anime.”
This app just launched today. How can there already be reviews for it, especially for this specific version? Also, there is no attribution to the reviews so we can assume this is just fake.
Moving on down, we get to the screenshots which are lifted directly from Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, the Gameboy Advance games. Pokemon Yellow was for the Gameboy.
What really makes me laugh is the disclaimer at the end:
All trademarks and copyrights are owned by their respective owners.
That’s not going to save Home of Anime from the legal beat down they’re going to receive from Nintendo. If the app was free, Home of Anime would just walk away with a slap on the wrist. The app costs $0.99 though so they are profiting off of another company’s IP.
It would just be illegal, yet funny if the app worked – too bad it doesn’t. Every review for the game mentions how the game crashes after the title screen.
So let’s get this straight – we’re dealing with stolen IP being sold by some random group on the app store preying upon those who would love nothing more than to get their Pokemon on, and it doesn’t even work. Either Home of Anime is a mastermind or just really gutsy.
It’s also worth mentioning that this isn’t just some random infringement for an app that nobody is buying. The fake Pokemon Yellow is the third best selling paid app on the iTunes app store right now.
Before we move on to the other great products from Home of Anime, it should be pointed out that clicking on the support link on the app store page takes you to a barebones WordPress site called Qeab.net. The message those wondering why the app doesn’t work is absolutely hilarious:
If you are experiencing issues with Pokémon Yellow, we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience.
Thanks for your patience while we thoroughly investigate this issue.
We are working on a new build and we anticipate this will be completed soon, which should overcome the issue.
Again, apologies for the inconvenience.
Home of Anime deals in other high quality apps, though not as outright infringing as his Pokemon Yellow app. They are selling Digimon and YuGiOh apps that appear to be just as much of a rip-off.
It’s amazing that Apple or Nintendo haven’t caught on to this yet. I do, however, believe that these apps will be gone by the end of the day. This particular brand of blatant copyright infringement never sticks around for long.
For now, just bask in the utter hilarity that is Pokemon Yellow on the App Store and feel sorry for those that have been duped into buying it.