Baby Shaker

Baby Shaker was developed in 2009 by Sikalosoft, which, according to The Guardian, was operated by a programmer named Alex Talbot. The game was approved for the App Store later that year by a team led by Phillip Shoemaker, an Apple employee who was in charge of iOS app approvals. The game was sold for. In Baby Shaker, a timer counts from zero and the sounds of a baby crying are heard over a black-and-white illustration of a baby. Players must calm the baby: they can rock their iPhone back and forth like they are cradling the baby, or shake it, which results in two red Xs appearing over the baby's eyes, symbolizing the baby's death. After the baby stops crying, the user is asked if they would like to play again. The goal of the game is to endure the baby's cries for as long as possible. Baby Shaker received negative feedback from both parents and child protection groups, accusing the game of mocking and promoting shaken baby syndrome and infanticide, despite the game's description warning to "Never, never shake a baby". Patrick Donohue, the founder of the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation, filed a complaint to Steve Jobs, stating "words cannot describe [his] reaction." According to Shoemaker, protests occurred outside the Apple Infinite Loop campus, and he admitted that the app's approval was a mistake on his end. Baby Shaker was removed from the App Store on April 22, 2009, two days after its release. Apple then issued an apology for approving the app, calling it "deeply offensive", but RTVE criticized Apple for not explaining why the app was approved, and Daniel Ionescu of ABC News said that Apple has banned less offensive apps, such as one about South Park. Sikalosoft has not responded since Baby Shaker was pulled from the App Store.