The folks at Apple must have been asleep when they approved the 99-cent iPhone game “Zombie School.” Pushing the boundaries of good taste in a post-Columbine society, “Zombie School” essentially glorifies school shootings, thinly veiled under the guise of a zombie game.
In the game, players occupy a “Zombie shooting tower” and pick off the cheerleaders, principals, quarterbacks, nerds, and “talkative” zombies. You start out with a bow and arrow and work your way to guns and grenades. This idea would have been fine in most any other setting, but the game’s publisher — aptly named Retarded Arts — chose a school. You can almost hear the stampede of angry citizens now. Don’t expect this game to stick around for long.
“Zombie School” is another example of Apple’s inconsistent policy on application approvals. So far this year we’ve experienced baby shaking and pornography. These apps are approved, get discovered by the public and the media, and are promptly yanked from the App Store. Meanwhile, otherwise harmless apps — such as the Nine Inch Nails app — are banned for arbitrary reasons and have to fight in the press to regain acceptance.
Apple needs to beef up its screening process; otherwise this rigmarole will repeat itself endlessly and make Apple look foolish, contradictory and lazy.
