HA! As if putting the exclamation point on my earlier entry about Apple iPhone gaming apps needing a Sheriff, Apple goes ahead and approves a 'game' where you shake a crying baby until it dies. Well done guys! I mean I can see how you would let that app slide and not the South Park app... Surely South Park, which is on television and seen by millions is in far worse taste than that app.

In fact, I'm betting that the South Park team are at this very moment working up a script on this very topic because really, how could they not?

Seriously though, I'm not exactly sure what's worse - the fact that Sikalosoft (who will probably now go down in gaming infamy) made the game or the fact that the Apple App store Overlords approved it? Frankly I see all parties at fault.

Now I do not agree with censorship in any way. I believe that all forms of expression are valid ones. Not everyone will agree with them and that's part of life. However a game where you are rewarded for shaking babies to death? I can't see where that fits into society at any level nor how it might be art. In fact I'm really torn on the matter now that I think about it. I'm not sure that I can honestly say the app should have been pulled and in the same breath lambast censorship of any kind. I guess  have to sitI should sit this one out because after careful thought, the content of that game is only a little bit more disagreeable than some of the things that you might be able to do in some other games on the market.

I think the general uproar over this title is based on the fact that it's about the idea of harming children and that should be guarded against with all our ability. So while I applaud Apple for actually pulling the application down I'm also afraid for the precedent that it sets.

Granted this is not government level censorship but is censorship by a private company who is policing their own service. I guess it's no different than Xbox LIVE not allowing certain things in your gamertags or banning people over being offensive or us policing our own comments and forums here at GDN. As long as the government doesn't get involved in this I think it should simply be used as an example of bad decision making all around and left at that.