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Apple rejects the Binding of Isaac: Rebirth b/c of 'violence towards children' (polygon.com)
7 points by msabalau on Feb 7, 2016 | hide | past | favorite | 1 comment


Apple appears to have great difficulty understanding context in video game culture, perhaps as a consequence of Steve Jobs distaste for the form. In this case, they seem unaware that the Binding of Issac is an important, well regarded indie video game, with a high meta critic score, an average score of 10 out 10 across 38,000 steam review.

Unlike many video games, it is noteworthy for examining serious topics, in the developers own words: "It touches on aspects of child abuse, gender identity, infanticide, neglect, suicide, abortion, and how religion might negatively affect a child, which are topics most games would avoid."

This calls to mind the Ultimate General: Gettysburg incident, where Apple apparently acted to remove a title because they didn't understand that wargames use flags to represent opposing factions, and that doing so doesn't imply endorsement.

It should be noted that just as Apple was quite happy to sell Gone with the Wind while pulling a war game, they are also happy to take your $12 and sell you Nabokov's Lolita.




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