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Kongregate App Pulled From Android Market

Posted by Soulskill on from the gone-in-a-flash dept.

itwbennett writes "Last week Google took a page from Apple's book and pulled the Arcade by Kongregate app from the Android Market for violating its terms of service. In particular, the part that forbids distributing 'any Product whose primary purpose is to facilitate the distribution of Products outside of the Market.' As Kongregate's Jim Greer explained to Joystiq, the app is essentially a custom web browser that loads in a Flash game from the mobile version of Kongregate. Plus, it will cache the game so you can play offline. And this may be the feature that got it yanked, speculates Ryan Kim at GigaOm."

4 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Not critical by Floritard · · Score: 4, Informative

    You can actually grab it from Kongregate's site itself.

  2. Google Reply (Karma Whoring) by binkzz · · Score: 3, Informative

    UPDATE: Google responded with a statement standing by its decision to pull the Kongragate Arcade app. “Applications in violation of our policies are removed from Android Market,” Google said. The reasoning comes down to the fact that the Kongregate app, while it acts much like a browser, has the ability to cache games for offline play. That elevates it into a competing software distribution platform offering outside content, something the Android Market terms of service prohibits. It’s likely that a simpler app that listed Kongregate games and launched a traditional browser could get approved. Or if the games were submitted as individual apps, they would also fly. It seems a distinction is being made here between digital content like books or music and mobile apps, which is why Kindle and other services don’t appear to be in danger of being pulled.

    --
    'For we walk by faith, not by sight.' II Corinthians 5:7
  3. Says it all, really by bhunachchicken · · Score: 5, Informative

    Google Marketplace: "My house, my rules."

    Android Phone User: "My phone, my rules."

    Apple App Store: "My house, my rules."

    iPhone User: "My phone, Apple's rules."

    --
    THE HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS - CC Licensed Sci-Fi Novel
  4. Not like Apple by Lavene · · Score: 5, Informative

    Apple says "We don't like it so you can't use it!"
    Google says "We don't like it so we will not distribute it. You're of course free to get it elsewhere."
    Big difference. Huge actually.