Filed under: App Store
Developer to pull Tris from App Store tomorrow
Tris Developer Noah Witherspoon has conceded to removing his app from the App Store after pressure from the owner of the copyright for Tetris. Tetris offers its own app for $9.99, while Tris is free.
Macworld reviewed both games, and found the official version, developed by EA, lacking. It takes about 30 seconds to load, and you can't listen to your own music while playing. Tris [app store link] isn't perfect either, rotating pieces the wrong way, and doesn't offer "ghosting": seeing where pieces will land before they drop (which always seemed like cheating to me).
The Tetris Company is well known for aggressively enforcing its copyright on the game. Tetris clone Quinn, for example, goes to great lengths to distance itself from Tetris: it doesn't even mention the word except for a small disclaimer at the bottom of the screen.
Witherspoon understands that The Tetris Company is entitled to enforce its copyrights, but said on his blog "the approach they're taking seems to me little more than bullying." Witherspoon is a student, and admits he lacks the means to pursue the case through the courts.
Witherspoon will pull Tris from the App Store on Wednesday. He wants to offer the app at some point in the future, but is evaluating his options.
[Via MacNN.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Stephen Lang said 12:41PM on 8-26-2008
So in other words, download it while you can?
Too bad about some of those gameplay glitches (which probably won't get fixed/improved.) I like the idea of a free Tetris game that you can play your own music while playing.
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Ara Green said 9:48AM on 8-28-2008
The glitches are minor at best. The ability to upload images on the move is great. The 2.0 update has definitively changed the usability of the phone. Try reading this free report. It provides all the info you need.
http://www.reportbuyer.com/go/ROA00036
Bob S. said 12:51PM on 8-26-2008
Hate to say it, but it was so buggy (or poorly designed; the difference is moot here) that it wasn't worth the "price" of the download. I do hope Mr. Witherspoon goes on to bigger and better things, but I deleted this from my iPod touch after a few rounds of playing because, well, it just wasn't that good.
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Dave said 1:11PM on 8-26-2008
Your out of your tree. Its been rock solid for me.
This really sucks. Tris is one of the few apps worthy enough for my home screen.
Screw you greedy money grubbers at TETCo.
Mike said 1:16PM on 8-26-2008
Really? I thought it was pretty good. Not any more buggy than most other software I've found, and I thought the interface novel.
Ryan Trevisol said 1:55PM on 8-26-2008
It seems great, I love it; it seems much more smooth and stable than the jailbreak version of this software.
Electronic Arts needs to step up its game, or just buy Tris, because it's FAR superior.
ChillyWilly said 5:11PM on 8-26-2008
I'm with others... Tris works great for me on the touch. Nothing but praise for this free app. If there's any glitches, I've not seen them yet.
I understand why companies want to protect their copyrights on their creations, but this seems changed enough. I mean, c'mon... how many Tetris clones are there out there that operate without infringement?
Daniel Vargas said 1:02PM on 8-26-2008
What about the people that already have TRIS? Is steve-o going to use his almighty power to have it removed from our app folder? I like the app and its FREE. Will we be able to keep it if we have it already?
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Robert Palmer said 1:06PM on 8-26-2008
The shortest answer is "I don't know." I have the app, and I'll post an update tomorrow if I still have it (or don't).
Avinash Vakil said 5:46PM on 8-26-2008
Most likely yes, you can keep it. Apple hasn't deleted apps from anyone's computer/device yet (people who had Netshare still have it). So I think you are safe.
Nick said 7:02PM on 8-26-2008
I doubt it will disappear. I mean, NetShare is still working fine for me, and that seems to be a much more controversial program.
Shaun Hussey said 1:09PM on 8-26-2008
Will this be a situation where Apple will use the "remote Kill"?
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Josh said 1:17PM on 8-26-2008
No, Apple will not remove it via the remote kill. That is only for malicious software. I still have netshare and boxoffice on my iPhone... they haven't been killed yet. Anyways, I feel for Noah with this... CTA has an article up about it right now. It includes contact information for The Tetris Company. Let them know how you feel about this.
http://www.cocoatouchapps.com/
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Eric said 1:17PM on 8-26-2008
Maybe it already was, but it's now at the top of the most popular apps list.
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Justin said 1:20PM on 8-26-2008
I'm all in support of the copyright owner on this. They have the rights and this guy shouldn't have made a free version.
Not everything in life can be free. Wouldn't like someone squatting on your back porch, would you? What if you'd written a book and found it being given away at Barnes and Noble? I bet you'd be suing left and right.
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steve said 1:47PM on 8-26-2008
They aren't copying the game itself as you implied with your comparison, they seem to have wrote their own, and it happens to look and work like Tetris.
Balls said 2:06PM on 8-26-2008
@steve
Just because he wrote his own code, doesn't mean it's not copyright infringement.
The game plays and looks like Tetris. It doesn't matter that it's a different code base. The code itself isn't what is being disputed, it's the essence of the game (look and feel, gameplay mechanics, etc) that was copied.
NICCAI said 3:15PM on 8-26-2008
The essence of a game is not copyrightable. I believe only the name and visual of the gameboard itself are - for physical board games anyway. 99% of intellectual property in board games is the name - ideas are a dime a dozen.
SpinThis! said 3:44PM on 8-26-2008
NICCAI said it best... you can't copyright game play. You can only trademark the name of the game, any music used in the game, the specific characters, weapons, etc.
If you were able to lock down the game play, I'm sure ID Software—makers of Doom and Quake—would hold a "copyright" to the 1st person shooter genre. But that's simply not true.
The developer could change the game's name and remove any references to Tetris in the game's description (I don't remember if there were any), his version would probably stand up legally.
While EA has a right to protect their trademark, at the same time, there are so many clones of Tetris it really has little commercial value any more as a genre. Why EA continues to sell its version is simply the almighty dollar and big pockets to shutdown anyone else. Pathetic.
Oneiroi said 1:42PM on 8-26-2008
Why not do what the scrabulous people did? Change the shape of the blocks a bit. Maybe add a new feature and reintroduce it .
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