Thomas & Friends: Bachmann for Kids

The Bachmann for Kids app is a Thomas & Friends app allegedly made by Mattel in early 2017. The app was intended as a simulation for a model railway using Bachmann's model trains to bring the engines into the customizable model railway. The app could only be found on Apple's App Store, as Mattel didn't feel like porting it onto the Google Play Store. Since there wasn't a proper app icon made, Mattel used an image of a Bachmann Thomas the Tank Engine model as a placeholder.
In late 2018, the app was taken down by Apple since it was revealed that there was content in the files that was majorly inappropriate for a kids' game. The content found is unknown, as people who looked at it were horrified at what they saw and didn't want to disclose what any of the contents were. According to one of the people who saw what the game's files had to offer, the content in them disgusted them and they immediately uninstalled the game so their kids wouldn't have to see it.
Many parents downloaded it for their kids so they could have their own Bachmann trains since the Bachmann line of Thomas and Friends is recommended for kids 8 and up and kids that used the app were primarily below that recommendation.
==Mattel's Forums:==
Outraged by the app, many people went to complain about it to Mattel, describing what they had saw in forum posts. One of the posts was retrieved and explains more about the matter.
February 12, 2017, 8:30 AM:
I recently downloaded the Bachmann for Kids app. I got it for my kids since they were really into the Bachmann model engines. I heard one of my kids scream, and I saw that they had somehow got into the game's files and found something horrifying. It was horrifying, for me and my kids. I found that the game had a bunch of illegal content in the files. I immediately told them to delete the game and I reported it to Apple. They told me that they would contact Mattel and Mattel then told me that they didn't make Bachmann for Kids, someone else did. How they coded it to look like a Mattel game, I'm not sure. This app's innocent disguise is similar to what the Elsagate phenomenon on YouTube is, so don't fall for any of that innocence shit if "Mattel" makes any claims of innocence, if it really is them behind this app.
The post was what sparked controversy over the app, and what started the search for the developers of the game.
=== Afterwards ===
After the post was put up on Mattel's forums, Mattel began scouring the web for Bachmann for Kids to find the developers, but each search never returned proper results, instead returning results on Mattel's other games.
==Mattel and Bachmann's Investigation==
Bachmann for Kids was also investigated by Bachmann themselves. They confirmed that the models used for the engines were in fact 3D renders of their model engines. Mattel followed up with another investigation to confirm whether it was true that assets were stolen from their other games. After discussing the matter with Budge, it was confirmed that the assets were in fact stolen. Mattel, Bachmann and Budge agreed to sue the developers if someone could find out who they are.
==The Hunt==
In late 2017, Mattel and Bachmann made an announcement on their Facebook pages. The text was retrieved from both posts so that it could still be read, even if the posts were deleted.
===Mattel's Announcement===
We have recently been receiving complaints about an app called Bachmann for Kids. It is reported that in the game files, there is illegal content. We are searching tirelessly to find the developers of this horrible game. We don't need games like this tarnishing our reputation. If you have it installed, delete it and don't reinstall it.
===Bachmann's Announcement===
Mattel has recently notified us about an app called Bachmann for Kids. Mattel has explained that in the game files, there is lots of inappropriate content. This game is also infringing on our and Mattel's trademarks, as it blatantly uses our name and the developers even call themselves Mattel to impersonate them. Don't install it if you haven't already. It may seem innocent, but there is illegal content in the files.
==The Cutting Room Floor==
The Cutting Room Floor is a wiki that is dedicated to finding and researching unused content in video games. They had a page on Bachmann for Kids at one point, but the page was deleted later on. The moderators explained why in a post.
The Bachmann for Kids page was recently deleted from our site because of the illegal content it had to offer. Upon investigation, we found it had pictures of animal abuse, child pornography and torture images. We can't host content like this because we would be in trouble with the FBI if we did. We will never host illegal content on our site.
==Why the developers weren't found==
Mattel and Bachmann both had a hard time finding the developers, as it whenever they were getting close, they would often counter by removing any leads they had or throwing them red herrings. The developers were also notorious for finding ways to avoid charges. The FBI worked with Mattel and Bachmann to try and find them. They found a big lead that the developers completely overlooked. They had a site hosted in the deep web. Mattel and Bachmann went onto the Tor Browser and found the site. The site was a file-sharing site that hosted illegal content like the Pirate Bay, albeit much worse. They had all kinds of illegal images like Bachmann for Kids had.
===Mattel and Bachmann's Announcement===
Thanks to help from the FBI, we have managed to find the site that Bachmann for Kids had its IPA on after its removal from the app store. The site is an unofficial deep-web branch of the Pirate Bay called the Deep Bay. The FBI found its code was almost exactly the same as the Pirate Bay's. This has brought us much closer to finding the developers of the app and bringing them to justice. Stay tuned on our Facebook pages, as we'll keep you updated on the situation.
==The Lead==
With a great lead on the developers, Mattel and Bachmann finally identified who the developers were. They were an indie company known as Pirate Playtime. The company was based in Japan, and they were notorious for making games with characters from different franchises and putting illegal content within the files of their games. The CEO was identified as Kawasaki Katsuro and the company consisted of 10 employees, whose identities will not be disclosed.
==The Lawsuits==
After Pirate Playtime was found out, Mattel, Bachmann and Budge each sued Pirate Playtime for production of child pornography and copyright infringement. Pirate Playtime lost the case and was forced to pay $10 million in damages to each company. The Deep Bay was also sued for hosting the IPA of the app and publishing child pornography. Kawasaki also faced controversy after being outed for impersonating Mattel and being a pedophile.
== After the App and Pirate Playtime ==
After the charges were paid, Kawasaki Katsuro was extradited to America, fined $250,000 and is serving a life sentence in prison for distribution of child pornography. The other employees' whereabouts are largely unknown.
Category:Thomas & Friends
Category:Longpasta
Category:PBS Kids
Category:Video Games
Category:Lost Media