Interesting. I never checked size of games unless there is a warning that I cant download more than 50mb over cellular. Only factors for me are ratings & price.
ROI is not the complete issue here. The fact is 2048 is a clone(or inspiration) of Threes. 2048 is gaining more popularity and some people think that it is a better game. Also, the originality lines are getting blurred.
Inventing a new game is a creative exercise. I see it like writing a book. iPhone development took years. This reminds me of all the evidence that is pouring from Apple these days on the conference rooms, sketches, mockups etc.
I agree, but comparing an app to the iPhone seems a bit silly to me. This "ripoff" was apparently done in a few weeks and is currently #1 free app in the store. While obviously the original is going to take longer, I'm not sure it has to take 30x longer. And if it really does have to take 30x longer, that's probably a good sign that it's a terrible business model and you should only do this in your spare time as a hobby.
Frankly, the ripoffs are getting the original more exposure, and are probably helping their sales.
when I heard Facebook's paper, I immediately thought about FiftyThree's paper app. They have been around for over year and they certainly built a good brand name around "Paper" from an "App" perspective. I just wish Facebook came up with a different name.
It would be interesting to see a HN poll on this. It seems to me that HN is mostly pro-Google/Android, anti-Apple, anti-MSFT, anti-FB and anti-Twitter.
Walmart is quickly catching up on technology. It acquired bunch of startups recently and opened walmart labs in the valley. Their website also improved quite a bit in terms of recommendations and other services. I think they are improving quite a bit in this regard.
