Ustwo pulls Papa Quash from the App Store over cloning allegations

Ustwo has pulled its iPhone rhythm game Papa Quash from the App Store in light of a stream of cloning allegations.

Ustwo's iOS party game, created by ex-Big Brother contestant Sam Pepper, bears a striking resemblance to Die Gute Fabrik's inventive party title J.S. Joust, in which you must hold a PlayStation Move controller steady while attempting to jostle other players.

Papa Quash operates on the same basic principle, but swaps out the Move controller for an iPhone.

When the game, which was developed by Whale Trail studio Ustwo under instruction from Pepper, debuted on the App Store earlier this week, forums and social networks were quickly inundated with outraged commentators declaring Papa Quash a clone.

In a statement to The Appside yesterday, Ustwo marketing head Steve Bittan responded definitively to the outcry, saying: "We are pulling [Papa Quash] ASAP."

According to Bittan, Pepper claimed that he had reached out to Die Gute Fabrik and been given the all-clear to develop Papa Quash, despite its similarities to J.S. Joust.

However, Douglas Wilson of Die Gute Fabrik told Gamasutra, "I never gave [Sam Pepper] 'permission' to develop Papa Quash."

Wilson, who opened up about the issue on his company's blog, also stated that he never asked Ustwo to pull the game, and that "[he doesn't] harbour any animosity towards Ustwo or Sam Pepper".