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King of Pop-inspired Enemy to be Replaced in Previous, Future Versions of Plants vs. Zombies
Xav de Matos
10
One of the most recognizable adversaries in PopCap's Plants vs. Zombies has been sent to the grave, permanently.

PopCap tells MTV Multiplayer the Michael Jackson lookalike in the popular casual title has been removed from the iPhone version due to objections from the late singer's estate.

The "Dancing Zombie" was originally modeled after the King of Pop's famous iconic look in the classic 1983 music video "Thriller." Following the update, the enemy unit now dons generic disco-themed garb. PopCap told MTV the character replacement will alter all previous and future versions of the title:
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. After receiving this objection, PopCap made a business decision to retire the original 'dancing zombie' and replace it with a different 'dancing zombie' character for future builds of Plants vs. Zombies on all platforms. The phase-out and replacement process is underway.

Unfortunately, some users are reporting the update has rendered the game unplayable on iPhone 4 models. Not because they can't live without a gyrating zombie covered in red leather, mind you, but because the game constantly crashes.

Actually, now that we think about it, both scenarios are a real bummer.

Xav de Matos was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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  • AgentPothead legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
    reply
    July 27, 2010 3:31 PM

    Alter all previous versions? Looks like I'm setting steam not to update PvZ.

    • DanaCrysalis legacy 10 years
      reply
      July 27, 2010 3:44 PM

      Just did this myself.

    • Kinfet legacy 10 years
      reply
      July 27, 2010 4:31 PM

      done as well as make a backup so i won't lose the game as intended

    • rtrson legacy 10 years
      reply
      July 27, 2010 5:01 PM

      i updated my iphone version last night. the patch notes clearly left that info out.

    • Azrael88 legacy 10 years
      reply
      July 27, 2010 7:05 PM

      Good call. I forgot about this option.

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