The scenario with Doodle jump is way different. Biggest difference is that people that rate the game 5 stars get an advantage over everyone else! That doesn't happen in Doodle Jump. Think logically here... if Doodle Jump gets 5 star rating, they get more people to buy their game, THUS they will put more effort into updating their game. So, they aren't technically trying to get people to rate the game 5 stars, they are simply stating the truth. Free or not, it has absolutely nothing to do with it. Let's say for example, there is a newspaper being handed out for free, and you're excited because it's got so many good reviews from so many people. Would you be happy to find out that this newspaper company bribed people to give it high reviews? Good newspaper or not, if I found out the newspaper bribed people to give it good reviews, AND on top of that charged for premium access, I would just crap on it, burn it in my fireplace and feed it to my dog. Someone report this to Apple or I'm going to blow up.
I would just throw away the free newspaper that I didn't agree with and no longer pick up a copy when I saw it at the news stand. Now if I had paid money for the paper and then found out it was crap, I'd be angry, but in this case I'm not out anything other than the energy it takes to throw the paper in the closest trash bin. People who buy this game and don't care for it can just delete it. It's free. Nobody is losing any money by getting "tricked" as you call it from the 5 star reviews. I firmly believe this is a 5 star game. I've gotten more enjoyment and play time out of it than just about any other game I've purchased in a long time. So just because they're asking for 5 star reviews, doesn't mean that they aren't worthy of said reviews. And as far as reporting it to Apple, do you know for a fact that this goes against Apple's policy? I really have no idea. I'm just asking if you know for sure if it's breaking a rule. If it is, then I agree with you that it should be stopped, or the rule should be removed so other apps can do the same. However if they aren't actually breaking Apple's policy on anything, then I don't think reporting it will do much of anything. BTW - Do you really think your dog would eat a crapped-on, burnt newspaper?
The point I was trying to express is that both developers are offering incentives for 5 star reviews; therefore, they are both soliciting 5 star reviews. No matter how you do it, then it may still lead to false 5 star reviews. I'm not sure why that is so hard to understand; furthermore, I'm not sure why people complain about this practice. I know plenty of full 5 star apps sitting at the bottom of the barrel.
Doodle jump is soliciting 5 star reviews? If people didn't already like it, they wouldn't want updates. It's just a little nudge toward the "write a review" button. It won't bring about false reviews. The game in question is essentially paying people to give them a good review. While there's nothing legally wrong with that, there are some moral wrongs being done to the other developers trying to get a leg up in the already difficult App Store (not that large corporations let ethics get in the way of their profits, of course ).
I think that ANY review unfairly earned is unworthy. If I was to use steroids to get good ratings in the Gymnastics in the Olympics, but I could have gotten good ratings anyways (probably not as high though), would it be fair? And, before you answer that... I look sexy in tights. Yeah, you still can't answer that, because my body is too amazing. I was going to say more, but I decided to hold my tongue, or... my finger. My middle finger.
I just checked this game out here are the steps before you are asked to leave a review 1. a 4 step sign up process 2. a play lotto pop up which you voluntarily press 3. select and scratch through 2 lotto tickets 4. click a yellow button to earn more 5. see offers for more tickets You basically have to click 16 buttons (if you dont count choosing a name) before you even see the offer. This is a LOT of steps for this so called "forced review". Basically they are asking players who are clearly enjoying the game to leave a 5 star review. It isnt like this is the first step or even the tenth. If apple will ask players to review a app they are DELETING (the reason apps sway towards 1 star in the first place) why cant developers ask players to review a app they are clearly enjoying? Also, they aren't even verifying the review you get the lotto ticket as soon as you click the button.
while that sounds like a lengthy process, obviously it is not too difficult in practice if 40,000 people are leaving 5-star reviews, the majority of them being reviews filled with nonsense not pertaining to the game whatsoever. I believe that this is a highly immoral way to gain reviews, and I do not see the doodle jump comparison. this is literally bribing people with an in-game reward for rating the game 5 stars and I don't care if they don't "verify" the reviews, people are still rating it 5 stars. read some of the reviews, they're ridiculous.
Well looks like they just changed the text to exactly what doodle jump says. Anyways now that I have been paying attention to this, this app has been in the top 25 grossing ALL DAY long. A lot of people must like this free game if its in the top grossing. Just saying.
Yep, it would seem the vast majority of folks don't have a problem with it at all. I've said it in this thread already, but the game is great if you like these types of games, and I've been addicted to it since it went up on the FreeAppADay site. So whether you do or don't agree with their policy, I still suggest you give the game a spin to see what you think.
Looks like they've changed their wording ... I was just checking out the app that is in question here, and it looks like they've changed their review wording to reflect a review request similar to Doodle Jump's (I've attached a screen shot below) Instead of soliciting only 5 stars reviews ... it now states: "1 Lotto Ticket for leaving a review ... Your 5 star review and ratings keep the updates coming!" So, they're obviously encouraging 5 star reviews ... but not outright asking for ONLY a 5 star review. Plus, there is no way to really track that ... the lotto ticket is credited when the app store is opened. (basically they have no idea if you leave a 1 - 5 star review ... or none at all) Don't know if they got some backlash from Apple ... or maybe just this forum post, but just wanted to let you guys know ...
