Appynation calls out sites that charge for game reviews

UK startup app publisher Appynation has taken the brave move of calling out six sites that it says routinely charge publishers and developers to review their games.

Specifically, six sites are named – AppCraver, Tapscape, Best 10 Apps, The iPhone App Review, iPhone Toolbox and iPhone Footprint.

Accusations range from outlets charging $150 for expedited reviews” (AppCraver) to those demanding payment simply for games to be submitted for consideration.

It is not journalism, they can’t be objective, it takes credibility away from the app and doesn’t give consumers all the info,” author Andrew Smith of Split Milk Studios claims.

Charging for reviews (or for ‘consideration’, or to cover ‘administration’ fees) is a tactic that raises our hackles, gets our goat, boils our blood and generally makes us want to shout.So, rather than shouting, we thought we’d create a permanent list of these websites.

To Appynation’s credit, the objective here is one of resolution – it invites the sites in question to get in touch and would like to work positively to eradicate this practise.

If any of the sites or organisations we call out here would like to engage in some discussion about the practices, then please do not hesitate to contact us. Similarly, if you can show us that you’ve stopped these practices, then we’ll happily remove you from this list.

Please do share this list, as we feel like a lot of people who maybe don’t know any better might get tricked into falling for their schemes. And we don’t want that.”