Apple Pulls 'Baby Shaker' iPhone Program

SEATTLE — Apple Inc. pulled a 99-cent iPhone game called "Baby Shaker" from its iTunes store Wednesday after its premise _ quiet a crying baby with a vigorous shake _ prompted outrage.

According to screen shots posted on several Web sites, "Baby Shaker" displayed black-and-white line drawings of a baby. The iTunes description included the line, "See how long you can endure his or her adorable cries before you just have to find a way to quiet the baby down!" Once the iPhone owner finishes shaking the device, the on-screen baby is depicted with large red X's over its eyes.

Public outcry ensued, with organizations including the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome and the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation condemning Apple for approving the game's sale.

The application was designed by Sikalosoft, which also makes a 99-cent "Dice Mosaic" iPhone program that converts digital photos into black and white mosaics made from dice.

Sikalosoft did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment, but "Baby Shaker" was deleted from its Web site Wednesday afternoon.

Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said "Baby Shaker" went on sale Monday, and confirmed that Apple removed it Wednesday. She would not comment on why the program was initially approved for sale nor about how many people downloaded the game. Apple itself screens each iPhone application, a process some prospective iPhone application developers have complained can take weeks or months. Others have said Apple gives little feedback when it accepts or rejects a program.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company has rejected apps that let iPhone users throw virtual shoes at President George W. Bush or watch clips from the "South Park" cartoon. It has accepted numerous programs that simulate flatulence.

Comments

[DontselltheUS]

09:34 PM on 04/25/2009

That is horrible! Extremely irresponsible. I am shocked that Apple would even consider this.

[patnb]

08:59 PM on 04/25/2009

Sometimes Apple seem smart,
yet at other times
it is abundantly clear they have a contingent of unsupervised morons on their staff as well.

[MsLuscious]

07:09 PM on 04/25/2009

how could anyone thnk that this would be a good idea to begin with?????????????? www.Shop-Luscious.com

[Free2Speak]

02:56 AM on 04/24/2009

Looks like the teleco companies is trying to come through the back door to eventually make removable sim cards obsolete on cell phones.They will locks us permanently to a carrier.But first they have to pretend the embedded sim (even though it has all the functions of a removable GSM sim) is for a totally different function.This nose under the tent I am afraid we will regret some day...

http://www.mobiletechnews.com/info/2009/04/23/112230.html

[gretchenart]

01:55 AM on 04/24/2009

want to do X, there's an app for that or Y, there's an app for that, ZZZs, well I guess no app for that. They will make an app for anything and only pull it if they get the pushback!

[zelda777]

11:53 PM on 04/23/2009

ONLY IN AMERICA...could such a hideous game be invented and marketed. A new low from the country that waterboards. It should be well known that shaking babies or little kids can permanently damage their spinal cords and nervous systems causing lifelong damage.

Living in Mexico has shown me a much better way to raise babies - you hug and cuddle and smooch them a lot and then, they are happy and calm most of the time. Even the spanish conquistadors noted the "great love the natives had for their children". The babies and kids are much happier and well-behaved than in the US, presumably because their parents know how to raise them - with much love and affection. Surprise, surprise.

I shudder to think what the Northern Cultures have lost after centuries of industrialization, mechinazation, religious guilt, emotional repression, and, last of all, the great loss of status of mothers and grandmothers, who are greatly revered in the Mexican culture. BTW, it is SO much more pleasant to live here...

[mollymac]

11:21 PM on 04/23/2009

I am a very liberal individual and have had my share of gallows humor. But, this is some nasty sh*t. No way to be funny.

[wadenelson1]

10:30 PM on 04/23/2009

I'm waiting for a "Don't Tase Me Bro!" app.

[fenrirswrath]

09:58 PM on 04/23/2009

This is all we need, more censorship.All this outrage over a game showing fictional events.

[Smurfaveli]

09:26 PM on 04/23/2009

Phew!!

I'm glad they removed that game. My adult common senses might have been overthrown by a cheap $0.99 game and I may have been tempted to shake a baby against all human instincts.

[booboo111]

09:09 PM on 04/23/2009

Thank g0d, for a minute I thought you were talking about Gwynith Paltrow's daughter!

[planetjeffy]

06:38 PM on 04/23/2009

As long as I have my Waterboard Hannity and Cattle Prod Rove in the Nuts games on my iPhone - I'm ok.

[Darthwave]

07:29 PM on 04/23/2009

lol. Are you for real. I so I would love to have that on my jail broken iphone. Iphone app writers get cracking.

[TimLB]

06:37 PM on 04/23/2009

Shaking alternates: coathanger, knitting needle, Xanax.

[OliverEdwards]

06:07 PM on 04/23/2009

HEY...how about the app where you shake Larry Summers during a crucial financial meeting and the x disappear and his eyes OPEN for godsakes.

[booboo111]

09:10 PM on 04/23/2009

Raygun slept thru his entire second term.

[abmabardy]

11:10 PM on 04/23/2009

rotflmao !!!

[BlueZoo]

05:57 PM on 04/23/2009

Good grief! All the geniuses at Apple and they pick the one who thought up this? It's sickening!