PETA and the Virtual Cows

This story will be almost a week old by the time this blog comes up, but it came the day before April Fools. It has got to be one of the most stupid things to really go after and why animal rights groups are a joke. The sad thing is that this isn't the first time the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has gone after this company. Let's get into it.

Last month, Nintendo released their brand new Switch system. So far, it has done well, but it is a wait and see scenario. It could fail or pass depending on how the company plays its cards. One of its launch games was 1-2-Switch. I don't own the system but looking at this title, it looks very awful and not worth 60 dollars. This should have been a pack in game to showcase as a tech demo. However, the mixed reception is not the reason for this blog. PETA went after Nintendo for a mini-game called Milk. In it, you act like you are grabbing the utter of a cow, trying to get more milk than your opponent. The link is from a YouTube user who has done some Switch videos. Go to the 33:34 mark of the video. That's where the milk part is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZJeH8pcOkg&t=2474s You be the judge on whether you think this is even worth complaining.

This was in response to a challenge Nintendo accepted from a group called Billings Farm and Museum. They were skeptical that it was that easy to milk. After Nintendo accepted the challenge, this competition is set to happen sometime this month. Combined with the mini-game, it is what set PETA off with really a half-assed response. It's why I have waited a few additional days to respond about this because you would think this is a joke. It is not. And if you look at the video link, I don't see anything that shows any harm to a cow. There's not even a cow.  What you see is two people with Switch controllers acting like they are milking.

As I said, this is not the first this animal rights group has gone after the Big N. Back in November 2011, they went after the Tanooki Suit when Super Mario 3D Land came out for the 3DS. The suit was first seen in late 1988 in Japan, early 1990 in the U.S., and late 1991 in Europe with Super Mario Bros. 3. It got pretty severe when PETA created a flash game, Super Tanooki Skin 2D. In it, you are a Tanooki who tries to get its skin back from Mario. The lengths they took to criticize a video game is not only bad, but severely stupid. It's a fantasy video game. It's not like you're forced into using the some of the animal powerups, but they are useful.

Groups like PETA and the Ad Council wonder why they get so much hate. It's because of stuff like Nintendo that hurts any credibility they have in making criticism over something that quite frankly, shouldn't have been newsworthy in the first place. This isn't a McDonalds flash game (yes, it actually exists, and plays like a Theme Park or Tycoon game) where you are killing cows. Hell, Pac-Man 2 on the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo had an objective where you you had to milk a cow to get milk for Pac-Baby. Unless I'm seeing something different from these morons, there's nothing to criticize.

When it comes down to it, it's all desperation to stay relevant. That's the goal of PETA. It is very ridiculous to criticize a video game that doesn't involve actual animals. May the day come that groups like these die off. They are about as useless as the National Enquirer.

Check out my thoughts on the Switch before it launched:

http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/02/nintendo-switch-last-hurrah-or-comeback.html