PopCap removes Michael Jackson lookalike from Plants vs. Zombies
A recent update for the iPhone version of PopCap's floral tower-defense title, Plants vs. Zombies, makes a significant change to a prominent member of the game's undead roster: Dancing Zombie. The red leather jumpsuit-clad ghoul formerly resembled Michael Jackson in his seminal, super-lengthy 1983 music video "Thriller." After the update, the shambling fiend now has much more generic disco attire.
PopCap explained the reason for the update to MTV Multiplayer, stating, "The Estate of Michael Jackson objected to our use of the 'dancing zombie' in Plants vs. Zombies based on its view that the zombie too closely resembled Michael Jackson." Rather than risk a legal kerfluffle, PopCap has decided to "replace it with a different 'dancing zombie' character for future builds" of the title.
Unfortunately, the update seems to be causing the game to crash on iPhone 4. Keep an eye peeled for an update update, which will still leave the title King of Pop-less, yet delightfully functional.
