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PopCap's 4th & Battery Game Unpleasant Horse Rejected By Apple On First PassPopCap's 4th & Battery Game Unpleasant Horse Rejected By Apple On First Pass

PopCap's new experimental games label 4th & Battery is off to a rocky start, as the label's first game, Unpleasant Horse, was rejected by Apple for App Store publication due to "mature content."

Danny Cowan, Blogger

April 8, 2011

1 Min Read
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PopCap's recently-established experimental games label 4th & Battery is off to a somewhat rocky start, as the company's first game, Unpleasant Horse, was rejected by Apple for App Store publication due to "mature content." 4th & Battery announced the rejection in a series of Twitter updates on Thursday. Though the posts have since been removed and replaced with a message assuring the company's commitment to Apple, the original tweets were archived by Joystiq. "We thought horses dying in meat grinders was wholesome family entertainment!" the announcement reads. 4th & Battery has since resubmitted its free debut app to Apple with all content intact, but with a higher age classification rating. Unpleasant Horse is a far cry from PopCap standards such as Bejeweled and Zuma. In the game, players take control of a "strikingly unpleasant" winged horse that destroys small birds and lands on "more pleasant horses" from above, knocking the nice ponies "earthward into a perpetual meat grinder for extra points." The new 4th & Battery label plans to release several smaller-scale, arcade-style titles per year for platforms including PC, Facebook and iPhone. Some of the games from 4th & Battery, including Unpleasant Horse, will be aimed at mature audiences, PopCap said.

About the Author

Danny Cowan

Blogger

Danny Cowan is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist for Gamasutra and its subsites. Previously, he has written reviews and feature articles for gaming publications including 1UP.com, GamePro, and Hardcore Gamer Magazine.

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