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MTV Multiplayer has reported that casual games developer PopCap Games recently decided to change the Dancing Zombie character in its popular Plants vs Zombies title for iPhone in response to complaints from representatives of Michael Jackson's estate. A new disco themed zombie has replaced the previous undead dancer in the iPhone version and will be added to future updates of the game on all platforms.

I reached out to a PopCap Games representative about the change, who confirmed that it was brought on by lawyers representing the King of Pop:

"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."

Legally the Dancing Zombie would've probably fallen safely into the realm of parody, but I can understand why PopCap wouldn't want to risk any trouble for a small gag in tremendously successful game.

Multiplayer MTV: Jackson Estate Forces Zombie Removal

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