Apple Kills Weed Growing Game After It Climbs App Download Charts
CUPERTINO (CBS SF) — Apple removed the iOS simulation game Weed Firm from the App Store after it soared to the top of download charts while other similar games remain available, CNET noted on Wednesday.
The game puts users in the shoes of expelled botany sophomore 'Ted Growing,' who manages a weed-growing operation. The goal? Build your weed empire quickly over time while fending off police and gangsters. Users can even customize their virtual home--complete with record player--to make it inviting to guests.
Manitoba Games, the company behind Weed Firm, said on its website:
As you might have noticed the game is no longer available on the Apple App Store. This was entirely Apple's decision, not ours. We guess the problem was that the game was just too good and got to number one in All Categories, since there are certainly a great number of weed based apps still available, as well as games promoting other so-called 'illegal activities' such as shooting people, crashing cars and throwing birds at buildings.
Weed Firm reached the top of overall App Store download charts for several days before its removal, according to data from analytics firm App Annie. By the last day, it was the 13th top grossing app.
The Android app is also no longer available at Google Play, but Manitoba Games blamed the removal on its publisher, according to CNET.
Manitoba promises to make a comeback on both platforms and keep the new versions "as censorship free as possible while assigning the highest maturity rating to the game. We do not want kids playing Weed Firm, but we firmly believe that adults should have a choice to do whatever the hell they want as long as they are not hurting anybody in the process."
