Tintin Forums

It has been a while, but has anybody noticed that Gameloft has removed its Tintin game from iTunes?

The game was comparatively better than the PC tie-in, and I had paid Rs. 420 for it.
However, since I updated my iOS to 12, it is showing that it is no longer supported on my device.
And as I said before, the game had been removed from iTunes.

It is a disgrace that I cannot play this game which I had paid for. Is anybody facing this situation?

It's annoying, but it's just a fact of life with computer systems and hardware - having been buying and running software from the days it came on cassette, then floppy disks (single sided 400K, double-density 800K and then 1.44Mb High Denisty disks), then CD-ROM, and now direct download, it is always going to happen.
There's just no way that anyone would develop software if they had to anticipate changes and upgrades to operating systems and hardware, and support their programs in perpetuity.
The first game I had was "Alice in Wonderland" which ran in black-and-white, from a single-sided 400K floppy disk, on a MacPlus, 'round about 1987; would it be reasonable to expect it to run now? I especially miss an exceptionally elegant clock which ran as a screen-saver, but I wouldn't think that it would be compatible with my current iMac.
Apple also have chosen to migrate from one chip set to another for their processors, and the operating system has gone from a proprietary OS, to the current OS X, which runs over a UNIX kernel; they have also gone from supporting floppy-drives, to not supporting floppy drives, even if you try and add an external USB drive.
I actually have an old iMac in storage against the time when I may need to access disks that it can read, or files that need software which no longer runs on modern machines.

For the Tintin game, the manufacturer will have offered support to users running the software on a specific version, or range of versions, of an OS, and maybe even specific hardware. Seven years is a long time in hardware and software terms, and it is unlikely there is enough demand for it to keep them upgrading it and even selling it, and that's before we consider that they might no longer have the license to do so.

Sadly, if you don't have a device with the system that they suggested you use, then there isn't a lot you can do now, I am afraid...

You make them sound so unenthusiastic about their customers and products.But I am afraid that I see your point. :)

Nevertheless, they should have at least notified the buyers about the game's removal or that it would no longer be supported on current version. As buyers it is the least we can expect. I guess it is the same scenario for the Android users as the game apparently has been removed from the playstore as well. There have been similar complaints about several other paid-for games being removed by Gameloft, which will only deter consumers from investing in their products. This would be a shame as Gameloft is one of the best game-making companies that I know of.

As far as I know, Gameloft licensed Tintin from Paramount in 2011. Does the removal of the game have something to do with the end of rights to license Tintin or something like that? Does anybody know anything about Gameloft's license of Tintin?

Definitely not my intention - I certainly don't think that, I just think that you are looking for a level of service that no company could reasonably be expected to give.


I'm not sure I see why - I mean, if you went back to a book shop, would you expect them to automatically have a book they stocked in 2011, or to contact you to tell you that they weren't going to stock it any more, or that there had been an update since you bought it? Your grocer wouldn't be obliged to carry a line of soup in perpetuity, and your favourite café can change its menu of items overnight, all without informing you: why should software be any different?

As to not being supported on the latest version, that really is moot: they told you what they would support it on when you bought it - it was up to you to keep within those parameters, or run the risk of the game breaking or not working. It really isn't their fault, as far as I can see.
If you were running a system that they said was supported, and the game didn't work, or was buggy, then you would have a case. This way, it's annoying as I said, but not the fault of the company.

Gameloft are absolutely not doing anything that other software publishers do, so it's wrong to pick them out in this way as if they are being deceitful or underhand. It's a fact of life, and if anything, software houses have actually been more proactive than conventional publishers, in that they do offer (limited) revisions and updates to customers - when was the last time a book publisher sent you a set of updates to revise a physical book when a new edition was brought out, because your old copy was no longer accurate? Have they ever?


It's a possibility, but perhaps the best thing would be to ask Gameloft directly, and report back here?

You first said that software and books and the menu in the cafe are the same thing and then later in the post, you give several examples of how software publishers are different than conventional ones. I find it a little bit contradictory.

You said:

Gameloft are absolutely not doing anything that other software publishers do...

I do not see your point. Are you trying to say that Gameloft is different than other publishers and trying to operate differently? Because that would be contrary to your argument, I suppose.

As for the system requirements, they said that the game would work on a particular OS and higher, so I fail to see how I can foresee that a game would be outdated after a particular update.

No, not at all - there are intersection sets in many things! Two (or more) things can share any and all traits, and yet one can have additional features that the other doesn't have.

For example, take the book Explorers on the Moon; it contains a certain story.
The volume Tintin's Moon Adventure contains Explorers on the Moon, but additionally has Destination Moon too.
Then The Making of Tintin: Mission to the Moon has everything in Moon Adventure, plus further material.

So the generalization that they all share features is absolutely true.

But it is also entirely true that one can discuss how different they are: the covers are different, the bindings are different, the sizing is different, the pagination is different.

It's not a contradiction to compare similar features, and then differences.


I didn't, and I am sure you know that I didn't. I didn't make any comparison of them to each other - I compared the operation of each to a further, separate item.

I made the comparison between how one reacts to the offering of items for sale: you don't have automatic expectation of supply of goods in a service industry (a café) or a physical retail establishment (a book shop). I didn't compare a café to a bookshop.

If you don't expect a café to have a fixed menu for ever (not impossible I grant you, but unusual if so), it still doesn't negate the idea of a general expectation of change; why do you expect it of a company's iTunes store?

You can't expect to walk into a bookshop, and automatically be able to buy a seven year old book, so why expect that of a games company?

These are the questions you must think about.


Apologies, that is a typo - but I think that that is implied by the context - it should read:

"Gameloft are absolutely not doing anything that other software publishers don't do..."

However, I still have to say that whether you find my argument sound or not, it doesn't change a thing: software companies give finite support and lifespan to their software, and this is unlikely to change.

Pick holes in my logic, and uncover my typos (thank you!), there isn't a resolution to this which you are going to be happy with, and nothing I can do or say to change that.

I have no intention to bend your logic or nitpick your post. :-(
I just wanted to have a debate about the functioning of Gameloft and other software publishers. I guess I knew your typo, but still it is better to make sure, I hope you did not mind it?

Now here are the points which you wanted to highlight through your posts (correct me if I am wrong):
-Software companies in general are not liable to update a game regularly and it will eventually get outdated
-they can remove their products from the store , all without informing us.

Now, for the functioning.
You compared the functioning of book stores and a cafe to that of a software developer. But you must keep in mind certain differences in the two products, which call for different services. There is always an alternative that we can purchase the said book online or any other store. The same goes for the cafe. If they change my favourite line of soup, I can generally get it somewhere else or ask for the recipe (if it is not found anywhere else). You see, in both the cases, there are alternatives to buying a book or eating a line of soup. It does not become unobtainable. But here, since the removal of the game from iTunes, there is no other way to get the game working legally. So that is another criteria which is outside the union of these three sets.

As for bugs,there was one where you had to swipe the whole screen instead of the door to get it to open, but since I got the solution from searching the Net, I did not contact them.

However, I agree with you that neither of us are in position to do anything about it, and that is why I am waiting to get a word with Gameloft. Actually, I have a buttoned phone running on KaiOS which has net but I cannot check my email or get a captcha to contact Gameloft. I do have an iPad, but there is no data pack in it, so I have to wait for my mother to be in a good mood to get me to use her Wi-fi, the chance being very seldom. So, I will contact Gameloft eventually, never fear.

I made an interesting discovery. There are two Tintin games in their customer care website (I could not get past the third act eventually because of a captcha not registering). I searched the Net, and found out that Gameloft had initially released a 2-D version of the game which looked in the Tintin in Tibet vein, which they later toned up to the current one, both of which are now missing.

Furthermore, I am not against Gameloft for doing this but is just trying to know why, which I am sure I will get to know once I contact them. I wish they make more games like this one.

I contacted Gameloft via their support centre and was most probably sent an automated email listing the various reasons for an unsuccessful download or game malfunctioning, neither of which is my case.

However, they did say they had to remove some games for business reasons and left it at that and did not mention anything about unsupported apps. Surely, they are trying too hard to enhance our imagination power!

Gameloft recontacted me (or did I recontact them?), saying they are unable to give an appropriate answer to why the game was removed from the store but there is a chance that the game might return. They commended me for being a devoted Gameloft customer and asked to keep a lookout on their Facebook and Twitter handle and also on their official site for news about oncoming games.

Now, apparently it seems that game companies do not reveal their business to every Tom, Dick and Harry (I would not if I owned a game company), but their are still some characteristic points to take away from their e-mails.

They said that the game was removed for business reasons but may return. Given the past record of Gameloft removing games from the store after their license ended, it could be the same in this case too. Also, there is a probability that they may license back Tintin after the new movie releases because as they said,'the game could return'.

It may be just that I am just making a castle on the air, but then again, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder! ;-)

Either way, thank you for your researches!
See how useful it is to go directly to the source...? As you say, they can't, or won't, disclose business-sensitive information, but at least you know that the door is open to a return in the future!