Canabalt Copycat App Available on iOS: Why Was it Approved by Apple?

Canabalt, the popular endless running game for iOS and Android, is the latest game to get a copycat app on the platform. Previous copycat titles included Pokemon Yellow, an apparent iOS port of the Game Boy title.

The app is called "Canabalt HD" - the same name as the Android version - and is, unlike Pokemon Yellow, the original game. The game is developed by Picks Mano, and priced at $0.99. A Google Search of the developer brings up a Web site called picksiphone, with e-mail and phone number contact information.

This isn't the developers first app; the others seem to be basic version of game such as Tetris, while some are purely images. As The Verge reported, the game is also free to play in-browser. The Web site contacted developers of the real Canabalt, Semi Secret Software, though it has not commented.

The other question is how Apple allowed the app to go live, considering the company is usually strict on its submission policy. Apple disallowed apps such as Google Voice initially, before reconsidering the verdict.

Canabalt was open sourced in 2010, explaining why the copycat app runs the full game and allowed it to be used for "commercial projects." The code supports 60FPS and Retina display support. However art, animation, code and other assets could not be used (meaning engine can be used but "Canabalt-specific stuff" cannot, as Semi Secret said).

The developers also talked about updates coming to the game for the first time since 2010's universal app update, and 2011's update which introduced Retina display support. Two-player multiplayer could be arriving, along with "Hardcore" modes. It's not known what the latter is, but it could be a mission-based mode contrasted to the endless main game.

Canabalt has received critical acclaim since its debut, called "simply beautiful and beautifully simple" by Kotaku and "proves [the] iPhone can take bite-sized distractions and explode them into gaming heroin," PocketGamer also said in its preview.

The original Canabalt for iOS is available for $0.99, as it's on sale, for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.