Kongregate — a GameStop-owned online site that hosts independently developed flash games — released a mobile app that brings flash games to devices running Google’s Android mobile operating system. But, according to the New York Times, the application was barred from the Android marketplace for violating Google’s terms of service less than a day later.

Google’s admission policy for apps on Android devices seemed quite open, but this latest move left GameStop in the dark about their motives. Does Google prefer to launch their own gaming arcade?

“Google basically said the Kongregate Arcade app behaved like an app store, violating the non-compete clause in Google’s terms of service agreement.”, said Jim Greer, Kongregate’s CEO and co-founder. Kongregate explained to Google that their Arcade app is not comparable to an app store, but Google does not respond to this argument.

“It does seem like a pretty extreme distortion to call something that plays content in a browser to be the same thing as an application store,” Greer said. “By this definition, we don’t see why apps like the Kindle or other music apps aren’t across the line.”

Perhaps, the question whether Kongregrate’s app is too similar to an app store is besides the central focus. Google has attempted several times to work its way into the gaming space. The Kongregate Arcade fills a nice niche for a constant source of free online games that make money off advertising and the sale of virtual goods. Sabotaging the way up for Kongregate’s application leaves the door open for Google to step in and take over that niche with its own version of a mobile game marketplace.

Google’s competitor for smartphones Apple has been accused of similar practices,  restricting their app store to applications that appeal to them. Recently however, Apple showed the first signs of opening up their app store, by relaxing their strict non-nudity policy with the introduction of a new uncensored Playboy app.

This latest move by Google is particularly odd since Google has not been as picky as Apple in selecting apps for the Android phones. Moreover, the Kongregate Arcade may well be a lucrative way to give Android usage a boost. Keeping up with Apple’s iPhone is not easy and Kongregate could lure their 13 million gamers onto devices running Android. “It’s weird to me that at the same time Apple is becoming more transparent and more open about their app store policies that Google would be kind of shutting down on games,” he said.

The explanation could be quite simple, maybe Google Games is still in the works? This story is remarkably similar to a practice Apple was accused of earlier: pulling applications from the App Store to stave off competition. 

Meanwhile, GameStop is still in competition. They will continue to promote their app, regardless of whether it’s on the Android Marketplace. Kongregate Arcade will be for sale on the GameStop website and on GetJar, a third-party marketplace for Android applications.

Source:  New York Times