After being available in the Android Market for some time, Android decided to finally drop Dog Wars following complaints from the Humane Society, Michael Vick and Alicia Silverstone. I know there are laws protecting real dogs from violence, but never have I heard of virtual dog protection. Anyway, I wonder what they will have to say against Angry Birds’ animal violence, and $42 million in additional funding.

The game is basically just training your dog to become the best fighter among all others. I’d say pretty much like Pokemon battles for easier comprehension. However, if they took down Dog Wars, I wonder where the line will be drawn for game violence and virtual depictions of socially unacceptable behavior?  Catapulting birds against the wall certainly sounds a lot more violent than dog fights. The controversy has shed more light on Android’s ongoing Market concerns, and as Google tries to appeal to more game developers, it will need to address growing public debates as well.

For Google, it’s about reaching a balance with its Android platform and the game developer community.  The Android Market is booming right now; a recent Nielsen report shows that future buyers prefer Android mobile devices over the iPhone, at 31 percent and 30 percent respectively. Moreover, Distomo, an app store analytics provider declared that there are more applications on the Android Market now than the Apple App Store.

Games around the Android are becoming so popular that Google is looking into hiring a product manager to head the new Games and Google business unit. Even beyond gaming, the Android platform is gaining validation from some high-profile organizations.  The US Army is making Android the operating system for its Joint Battle Command Platform Handheld. All of these successes makes Android one of the most flourishing acquisitions for Google.

But the Dog Wars controversy merely marks Android as a viable game arena, sparking debates over its content and regulation.  It’s not entirely different from what we’ve seen over the years.  We’ve all witnessed extreme violence against humans in the gaming world, such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, where you can randomly shot somebody out of nowhere, Witch Hunt and God of War 2 which have insanely high level of nudity, and Left Behind: Eternal Force which highlights irreligious content.  But to be fair with the complainants, I think it has something to do with the use of real dog images, thus, appearing as if though the game is promoting violence against dogs.

Google has yet to confirm that Dog Wars has been officially removed. If you search the game on the Android Market, it is still on the list but when you click on the link, it redirects you to a page saying “We’re sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server.”