120°

Nintendo Makes Video Game Parodying PETA

- Now they know how it feels, says Shigeru Miyamoto

Roughly two weeks ago, animal rights movement PETA released Pokémon Black and Blue, a parody and critique of Nintendo’s Pokémon universe. Now, Nintendo has finally addressed the issue in their latest episode of Nintendo Direct. During the fairly short presentation, Shigeru Miyamoto appeared to announce PETA World – a game based on the animal rights movement.

[Satire]

Read Full Story >>
pixeledcourier.com
-Gespenst-3950d ago

In fairness, what message does capturing (what are essentially) animals and making them fight other animals as well as making them do your bidding, send out to kids?

Not to mention that the world of Pokemon is so mindlessly divorced from any political issue whatsoever, which makes the actual central concept seem less sinister. However, it's sinister in itself that the game is so simplistic.

I know it's all about companionship and granted the latest games in the series have touched on the philosophical a bit, but all the same, it's a series that needs to not be so simple. You can communicate complex issues to children through simple means, which is something Pokemon by and large chooses not to do. Many works of children's literature are subjected to scholarly study for just that reason - they have a kind of depth to them that perhaps registers in children's minds on more subconscious or subliminal levels.

Pokemon is not something I'd want any kid of mine to grow up watching, at least not obsessively. I'm pretty sure he or she would turn out to be a drooling moron.

Wenis3950d ago

I enjoyed Pokemon as a kid and I don't drool

Tommykrem3950d ago

I think the message of pretty much every second episode of Pokémon was "Look how Ash wins because he cares about his Pokémon, while others don't."

As far as games and television go, I've grown up watching and playing far more mindless things without that being much of a problem.

I'm glad PETA do things like promising reward to people who can commercialise synthetic meat. Stuff like that is probably why they're able to get the support of an incredibly intelligent person like Peter Singer, but some of their PR stunts are just tasteless.

tigertron3949d ago (Edited 3949d ago )

I was 9 years old when I first played Pokémon Red, but I didn't turn out to be an animal beater, and I certainly don't drool (well, not unless you want me to? :P).

klecser3949d ago (Edited 3949d ago )

You make an interesting argument, because I think its rooted in two classic parenting philosophies that we know don't work.

The first is that you come awfully close to the "classic" scapegoating technique claiming that media in of itself is damaging to children. The same argument has been levelled at rock music, Elvis, Dungeons and Dragons, violent video games, violent films, Huckleberry Finn, The Catcher in the Rye, etc.

This one has never panned out in serious research.

The second is the 1990s parenting philosophy in which parents were taught to be hyper-sensitive to any and all harm that could befall their child, lest they turn out to be "broken". This one actually ended up doing harm and parents are still teaching their children that they can live in a world free of mistakes or damage. Kids need to play in the dirt, outside, and skin their knees. They need to fail at something every so often. Sugary drinks didn't cause our obesity epidemic. Parents who have forced their kids to sit inside because playing outside is "dangerous" have taught their kids sedentary lifestyles. Cut the umbilical cord and let them learn that life is difficult on their own.

Parents themselves have the biggest influence in whether their kid turns out to be a "drooling moron", as you put it. Censorship can't touch education and confronting issues with children as a primary philosophy of child-rearing.

Pokemon doesn't even come close to the impact of the other hundred stupid decisions people are making in raising their kids.

But hey, people love a good scapegoat.

Kos-Mos3949d ago

Thanks for a well formed reply. Another example is that shooting games makes kids go on a rage with a gun, yes it can trigger them. But there are so much more that lies behind when a kid do that.
Simplicity can be described in many ways. And even if Pokemon is simple, it doesn`t change the fact that it`s an experience healthy kids can and will learn from one way or another. It doesn`t need to be much, but it is something. I`m really fascinated by kids when watching them dig into something. It gets harder as you grow because you know what to expect from i.e movies and games.
I could go on forever in this topic, but we need more bubbles to do that:)

Kos-Mos3949d ago

I`m sorry to say this, but you need to open your mind a tad. If you think Pokemon damages your kids in any way, you need to see a psychiatrist. Kids develop their mind mostly from their parents, not from Pokemon.
Putting an A in front of a B is really simplistic, but a kid learns from it.
A kid doesn`t need intertextuality to learn.

klecser3949d ago

Its also out of a "Victorian" parenting style. Victorian parenting is the idea that children are simply little adults and that they should be treated like adults. Pokemon is not as "simple" as Gespenst thinks. Perhaps narratively, I'll grant him that. But the gameplay goes pretty deep, especially for young kids.

I just get this "my kids are gonna be dumb unless I shelter them from anything that I find 'stupid' as an adult" vibe from him. Victorian.

3-4-53949d ago

Doesn't PETA realize that a huge percentage of Pokemon players are either Cat or Dog owners and thus likers/overs of animals ?

So 50 million people play pokemon, does that mean 50 million dogs and house cats are killed ? No, therefore game doesn't = reality.

PETA kills more animals every year than Nintendo.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3949d ago
Blankolf3949d ago (Edited 3949d ago )

I hope Nintendo puts this down, I bet it's a trademark violation to put Pokemon in there.

I am all up for animal rights, but I don't over protect them, this is overprotection!

When I see in the movies or in a game a guy getting tortured or killed I don't rush out and do the same, or when I see a guy fighting in the arena as a slave, I don't rush out and find a person to enslave and build myself an arena, fantasy and real life are completelly appart.

I believe animals should be protected when it is the right time and place to do so, Pokemon is a franchise that despite encoraging fights and whatsoever, encorages a bound with your pocket monster, and I believe that most people grown up to have better bounds with animal because of such childhood.

60°

The Nordic Game 2024 (NG24) Spring conference is to host more than 150 speakers

"While the 20 year anniversary edition of Nordic Game, NG24 Spring's homepage on 21-24 May in Malmö, Sweden, is getting closer, the organizers announced that more than 150 speakers are now lined up for the show." - Nordic Game.

170°

I Miss When Games Came In Full Package Rather Than Broken Mess Filled With Microtransactions

The gaming industry has drifted away from offering full-fledged games to putting unfinished titles that are jam-packed with microtransactions on the market.

Read Full Story >>
gamescordia.com
Christopher1d 9h ago

It's not the fault of the gaming industry. Gamers were told what was happening, were warned about where this would lead, did nothing, and now are acting like it's the fault of publishers that they kept buying these games and investing in MTX. If only those gamers at that time felt as strongly about these things as they do Helldivers 2.

Hugodastrevas1d 8h ago

I don't think MTX target the common gamer but instead predate on the so called "whales". It's gambling pure and simple.

Christopher1d 7h ago

Oh, so it's okay to buy MTX-laden games as long as you don't spend money on MTX, which has led to even more MTX-laden games with even more predatory practices where content that used to be unlocked is now behind paywalls?

C'mon now people. You gave the corporations and inch, and they kept taking and taking. Community members told people that investing in these things alone would only lead to more and more MTX and putting more and more behind paywalls. But it's only the fault of the corporations, not the people who kept supporting it with purchases as more and more was taken away?

Hugodastrevas1d 6h ago

@Christopher that's a straw man, I didn't say any of that I just added context.

-Foxtrot1d 4h ago

Well exactly

People stand up for something which seems small to them and they get called whiners or negative. Then years later the shit hits the fan and they all go “why is this happening?” Like they are innocent.

The issue aswell is younger gamers who grew up with all this thinking it’s normal and we all just look like old farts yelling at clouds when we’re trying to help us all, even them.

Crows9010h ago

Who woulda thought that listening to your elders could be a good idea...too late now

Hofstaderman9h ago

It all started with that damn horse armour. Back then I thought nobody was stupid to buy into that crap. How wrong I was....

CrimsonWing698h ago(Edited 8h ago)

I like how people move the goal-post. First it’s, f*ck any game with MTX’s, f*ck GaaS games, f*ck this game with “optional” MTX’s (Dragon’s Dogma 2), Helldivers 2 is ok because it’s fun and even though it has Battle Passes or Season Passes and MTX’s it’s ok because… you don’t need to buy them? 🤷‍♂️

HellDivers 2 is the best selling game this year. Just think about that, games like FF7 Rebirth sold poorly, but a continuous game that lives off recurring revenue sells extraordinarily well. Then we’ll hear everyone b*tch about a GaaS future.

I really wonder what this industry would’ve been like if we never gave into this crap, and yes I’m saying “WE” since I’m guilty of it, but man it’s literally no closing the door once it’s been opened.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 8h ago
Hugodastrevas1d 8h ago

This is what amazed me the most when playing hours upon hours of stellar Blade version 1.00.00 no bugs, no crashes, no sudden drops in frames, no screen tear, no falling from the world, just a complete package on a game under 50GB.
I think Korea will play a major role in gaming in the long run , because they're releasing banger after banger.

isarai1d 8h ago

Still pretty common to find if you stay away from the AAA publishers, in the last 10yrs ive probably only bought like 3 games combined from EA/ACTIVISION/UBISOFT. Even now i still buy games that work right out the box perfectly fine. Just recently got like 6hrs into Alone in the Dark, and not a single sign of any of that bs, really enjoying my time with it.

shinoff21831d ago

There's such a misconception about every game needing a patch,this and that when in reality it's not even close. You nailed it isarai

Crows9010h ago

It's really only AAA devs and publishers that seem to have these constant problems

z2g11h ago(Edited 11h ago)

And we as gamers have to accept our role in that. Constantly never being satisfied. Constantly demanding more while paying less. Constantly demanding better frame rates, better graphics, more modes and faster faster faster…. Then review bombing the product when a demand isn’t met. Meanwhile those same demands are making games more difficult, complex and more expensive to create than ever before, on shrinking timelines that burn out employees and make their lives miserable.

You wanna know why so many games get delayed? Cuz the original release dates weren’t realistic to begin with, but you can’t tell a gamer their game is further away than they want to hear. Some dev or game designer will be threatened physically. That builds even more pressure and rushing. We are officially squeezing water out of rocks and still complaining about that how hard you have to squeeze the rock be just waiting for rain. Most of the time we take it out on the developing studio, when it’s the publisher making the calls.

All you need to do is read the comments on most websites and social media to see how toxic, entitled and petty the gaming community at large is, and realize how that transforms into impossible expectations on the parts of game makers.

Crows9010h ago

Nope. Some gamers are to blame. Never demanded anything you mentioned.

A fully finished and functioning product is a standard. It's not demanded. If someone sells you a tv that only works 60% of the time are you going to recommend it OR write a review calling out the obvious problem...it's not a demand...it's a standard.

A standard triple A publishers can't seem to hit consistently.

thorstein8h ago

You've never heard of planned obsolescence.

HankHill5h ago

I take it you like microtransactions? 🤣

Kinza5501211h ago(Edited 11h ago)

This is one battle that gamers have never won, hahaha. They were parading recently for their "win" against Sony. Where's the energy for this one, guys? LMAO!

Show all comments (20)
70°

Gamescom Latam 2024 has just announced its finalists for the latam BIG Festival event

"The most important games event of Latin America, gamescom latam, has unveiled the finalists for its flagship award ceremony, the gamescom latam BIG Festival, which celebrates the best in the global market of games." - Gamescom.