Technology blog Boing Boing reports that iPhone app developer Storm8 has been served with a class action lawsuit accusing the company of collecting and transmitting its users’ phone numbers without prior consent or notification.
Storm8 publishers a lineup of popular multiplayer online role-playing games for the iPhone and iPod Touch, including World War, iMobsters, and Vampires Live.
The suit, filed by Washington resident Michael Turner, alleges that Storm8 engaged in the practice of “accessing, collecting, and transmitting without notice or consent the wireless telephone numbers of iPhone users who download Storm8’s games to their iPhones via Apple’s App Store.”
Furthermore: “The wireless telephone numbers of users’ phones are not used or necessary to play any of Storm8’s games, yet Storm8 has written the software for all its games in such a way that it automatically accesses, collects, and transmits the wireless telephone number of each iPhone user who downloads any Storm8 game. It does so without disclosing this to any user before or after the fact.”
Storm8 acknowledged this behavior in August, claiming that any harvesting action was the result of a bug that had been fixed in a software update.
The suit, however, alleges that no such activity could take place as the result of a programming error. “Storm8’s characterizations of its practice of harvesting phone numbers as a ‘bug’ and an ‘oversight’ are false,” the lawsuit reads. “Storm8 could not have accidentally harvested its users’ phone numbers — it used very specific and specialized software code to do so.”
Storm8 has not responded to Boing Boing’s requests for comment.
Tags: Industry News, mmo, Multiplayer, storm8, vampires live
Does the thought of spending even a few minutes away from Azeroth make you anxious and gassy? Are you constantly worried that your guild might be falling apart while you’re away at work? Blizzard sympathizes with your need to tie World of Warcraft into every facet of your life, and they’ve developed just the tool for you — the World of Warcraft Mobile Armory, a free iPhone application available from the iTunes App Store.
Similar in practice to online version of the World of Warcraft Armory, this iPhone app allows WoW players to log in and track their characters’ statistics, inventory items, and achievements. Users can also keep track of their guildmates, access the in-game calendar, and use an included talent calculator to figure out how to best equip their characters.
All kidding aside, this actually looks like a powerful and well-designed application. It’s sure to be of great help to World of Warcraft players who want to be able to quickly access character information and item descriptions without tabbing out of the game to look it up on the Internet. It’s free, too, which is especially nice.
Tags: blizzard, mmo, tool, world of warcraft mobile armory
Aurora Feint (Free) developers Danielle Cassley and Jason Citron released a sequel to their acclaimed RPG with a Tetris Attack/Panel de Pon twist. Those of you who’ve played Puzzle Quest should be familiar with this hybridization, but Aurora Feint II: The Arena ($7.99) takes it a step further with its new focus on multiplayer competitions as an “asynchronous MMO.”
The title’s App Store description breaks down how you’ll be able to play against other players’ “ghosts” with this asynchronous gameplay:
Compete head to head against other players in the world even when they are not online. Their Ghosts will take you on in real time duels and try to mess up your game play, as if they were really there.
Additional updates you can expect with this follow-up:
- 68 levels
- Character/account transfers from Aurora Feint: The Beginning
- Continuous personal news feed
- A multi-player community
- New character classes
- Player profiles with walls
- Friend and global leaderboards
- Updated soundtrack
- New locations to explore
Unlike the original game, which was available for free, Aurora Feint II: The Arena requires an investment of $7.99 to play. After December 25th, Cassley and Citron intend to bump that price up to $9.99, their Christmas cheer and goodwill put behind them.
Tags: aurora feint, cason citron, danielle cassley, mmo, rpg, the arena
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