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Indie: Atari claiming copyright infringement on 'hundreds' of iOS games, Atari responds
Vector Tanks and Vector Tanks Extreme, two iOS games from Black Powder Media, have been pulled from the App Store after receiving a copyright-infringement claim from Atari. "Atari appears to be paving the way for a reissuing of their classics by putting the squeeze on hundreds of apps!" Black Powder Media's Kickstarter page reads. "Anything that has even a passing resemblance to an Atari classic has been issued a copyright infringement claim." Atari recently released updated versions of Breakout and Asteroids, and has had an Atari arcade app for some time. And a new Battlezone isn't a ludicrous thought, which is one reason Vector Tanks programmer Peter Hirschberg previously tried to secure Atari's permission to make a game inspired by Battlezone. Atari never responded, Hirschberg told Edge. "Now this," he said. "It's very depressing." When asked for comment, Atari released the following statement to Joystiq: "For companies like Atari, our intellectual property portfolio is our most valued asset. While we have great respect for the indie developer community and greatly appreciate the enthusiasm that they have for our renowned properties, we need to vigorously protect our intellectual property and ensure that it is represented in highly innovative games. We have been actively engaging with numerous established and up and coming developers to help us re-imagine our iconic franchises, and outside app developers have already helped us produce two top 10 mobile game successes in Asteroids: Gunner and Breakout: Boost. We look forward to further developing strong relationships with the indie app development community through additional games that we will be releasing in the future." Black Powder Media is now working on The Visceral Adventures of Vic Vector, a game that it believes "cannot fall under the Atari claw."
Daily iPhone App: Breakout Boost
Atari's been on a remixing jag lately, and I was really impressed by the recent iOS take on Asteroids. Now with Breakout Boost, Atari aims to update another old gem. Unfortunately, this one isn't quite as successful. It certainly is Breakout, as you control a little paddle across the screen, bouncing balls up to hit bricks, earn powerups, and score points. The controls are well designed for touch, too. There's a virtual handle underneath the paddle, and there's an added element of a slider that will make ball go faster (and earn more points) or go slower (and earn fewer). That's a fun mechanic, but otherwise, there's no real innovation. In fact, I've seen better Breakout clones on other platforms (including iOS). That said, Atari sidesteps most of those issues by offering up the app for free, so if you like the Breakout style of gameplay at all, you might as well download it and test it out. I'm not so sure you'll be convinced to buy any of the level packs as in-app purchases, but that's up to you -- if it floats your boat, they're there. But I'm sorry to say Asteroids Gunner did a better job of updating the Atari classic, and hopefully Atari will take those notes to heart when it decides to update any other titles (Missile Command, I hope).
Atari announces Breakout: Boost for iOS
Atari is bringing a new version of Breakout to iOS devices. Titled Breakout Boost, it adds plenty of modern features to the classic brick-breaker, including power-ups, special bricks and – the most modern feature of all – in-app purchases. Yes, in addition to grenade balls, exploding bricks and the like, Breakout Boost will contain five (five) free levels and "over 200 more unique brick layouts available via in-app purchase." Specific prices and levels aren't mentioned, but here's hoping Atari opts for the popular "here's a ton of stuff for 99 cents" model.%Gallery-140824%
