DigitalBattle.com

Apple is beginning to discover the downside of dipping your toes into the vast ocean of the video games industry: it’s full of protesters who’ll nibble at your toes in outrage. They’ve already dealt with one controversy over a baby shaking iPhone application and now another game is coming under fire.

Many video games put you in a position of godlike power, while others actually put you in the role of a deity. One such title is ‘Pocket God’ for the iPhone, one of the dozens of games which cost ninety-nine cents and offer a few minutes of entertainment. Players are put into the role of a god who has dominion over ‘primitive islanders’.

The Pacific Women’s Information Network has taken umbrage against the game, claiming that the developers modeled the primitive people the player can endlessly create and destroy after Pacific Islanders. Group spokesperson Elaine Howard asked: ‘how do you think people would react if you created a game where you were God and you could create and kill as many Mexicans as you wanted? Or Asians? People would be outraged.’

The developer of the app, Bolt Creative, denies that it intended to depict any ethnic group in the game, though it’s impossible to argue against the claims that the people in the game look Polynesian.