( CNN ) -- The maker of a mobile game highlighting the uglier side of electronics production has seen the game banned from Apple 's App Store just hours after its release . The creators of `` Phone Story '' describe it as a game that `` attempts to provoke a critical reflection on its own technological platform . '' According to the developer 's website , the game involves a player in cartoon versions of real-world scenarios involving mineral mining in the Congo , the reported suicides of workers at an Apple manufacturer 's plant in China , the `` planned obsolescence '' of tech gadgets and the resulting environmental impact . As the most profitable consumer-electronics company in the world , Apple has been front and center of discussions about all of those issues . Paolo Pedercini , the game 's Italian developer , posted a blog item on his Twitter feed Tuesday announcing the app had been pulled under the header `` Phone Story RIP ( 13/09/2011 - 13/09/2011 ) . '' He said Apple cited sections of its guidelines that ban apps that depict violence or abuse toward children , `` excessively objectionable or crude content '' or paid apps that solicit donations to causes . The game 's website says proceeds go to workers ' groups and other nonprofit organizations . In response , Pedercini said he 's planning a new app that `` depicts the violence and abuse of children involved in the electronic manufacturing supply chain in a noncrude and nonobjectionable way . '' Apple 's response was succinct . `` We removed this app from the App Store because it violates its developer guidelines , '' said Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr . Neumayr would not elaborate and did n't confirm or deny that the sections Pedercini cited are correct . The game is still available for $ 1 in the Android Market . It 's not the first time Apple has been embroiled in controversies over electronics production ( which , in fairness , are the same for many manufacturers of computers , phones and other gadgets ) . Wired magazine , for one , has taken a close look at conditions at the Foxconn factory in China that makes iPhones . The report describes nets strung around the building after a rash of worker suicides . Amnesty International and other organizations have decried the way coltan , a mineral necessary for mobile phones , is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo -- where there are reports of bloody violence to control the coltan trade and deadly conditions for workers held in slavelike conditions . One Amnesty documentary calls it `` Blood Coltan , '' comparing the mineral to the `` blood diamonds '' mined in some African nations . And environmental groups such as Greenpeace have blasted Apple 's environmental impact , saying its products contain hazardous chemicals and their short life spans have led to massive waste . On its site , Apple lists `` supplier responsibility '' actions it takes to ensure `` the highest standards of social responsibility wherever our products are made . '' `` We insist that our suppliers provide safe working conditions , treat workers with dignity and respect , and use environmentally responsible manufacturing processes , '' the page says . Apple 's site says it regularly audits the companies it partners with and works with those firms to make improvements when needed .
Apple bans mobile game that shows the uglier side of electronics production . `` Phone Story '' depicts worker suicides , brutal mineral mining in Africa and environmental impact . It is a very powerful film with an important message for people to think about before buying products made by companies like Apple. App violated guidelines , which include no abuse toward children and `` crude content '' Developer , who still has the game in the Android store , says he 'll work on a new version .