For the second time in under a month, Electronic Arts has pulled one of its games from the iTunes App Store. Whereas Battlefield 3: Aftershock was removed after being met with fiercely negative user feedback, The Simpsons: Tapped Out has been temporarily delisted for what are essentially logistical reasons. After being caught ill-prepared for the sheer amount of user activity aimed at its servers following the game's release March 1st, EA has brought its latest Simpsons adventure offline to "address connectivity and lag time issues." It claims these are the direct result of an "overwhelmingly positive" reaction the iPhone / iPad title has enjoyed since launch.

Anyone who purchased before this voluntary removal will be able to continue playing and can expect improved online performance as EA works to rectify the situation. Those itching to play The Simpsons: Tapped Out can keep up with the latest progress updates via the title's promotional Facebook page.

The fact that an industry giant like EA would seek to correct problems by halting sales entirely is rather interesting, particularly when developers often elect to ship apps or games that contain bugs and rely on software updates as a solution. Regardless, two app withdrawals within a month should be a clear indicator to the publisher that its quality assurance process needs serious revamping.