Mario the tanuki murderer

Binh Nguyen 14 Nov, 2011 at 6:00pm ET Article published in Gaming

The People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals, also known as PETA, is targeting Nintendo and everyone’s favorite plumber, Mario.

Over the weekend Nintendo released Super Mario 3D Land for the Nintendo 3DS and one of the power-ups that Mario is able to obtain is the Tanooki suit, which allows Mario to glide across the screen after he jumps. The suit looks like the original Tanooki suit from Super Mario Bros. 3, but PETA says that the game is sending the wrong message to gamers.

Tanooki may be just a ‘suit’ in Mario games, but in real life, tanuki are raccoon dogs who are skinned alive for their fur. By wearing Tanooki, Mario is sending the message that it’s OK to wear fur.” According to PETA “Mario Kills Tanooki” website.

Remember folks, this is the game group that also targeted Battlefield 3 for depicting rats being killed in a ‘sadistic manner’ because you were giving an option to kill a rat in the single-player campaign.

If I were to write a letter to PETA, this is what I would say,

Dear PETA,

Leave video games alone. They are not reality. They do not cause harm to any animals in real life. Video games are a form of entertainment just like movies and TV shows. I do not hear you preaching that it’s okay to eat unicorns just because they showed it in the Harry Potter movies. If you want us gamers to take you seriously, you might want to quit insulting our intelligence.

Thanks for wasting our time,

Binh Xuan Nguyen

PETA, get a life. Seriously, quit wasting our time with your nonsense.

Comments

14 Nov 2011 ~ 6:07pm ardichoke PETA just does this stuff to get attention. Hate to say it, but you're giving them exactly what they want. Probably would be better off just ignoring those nut jobs... as long as they're not breaking any laws that is.
14 Nov 2011 ~ 6:40pm Ilriyas Oho, this is beautiful love learning about what these wackos are up to in the world.

This article may have just made my day.
14 Nov 2011 ~ 6:56pm Canti This is my favorite thing they've done since the Sea Kittens. Which surprisingly is still online AND with more things to choose from!

And let's not forget this classic game.
15 Nov 2011 ~ 8:25am Cliff_Forster Should we tell them about Snake Eater? Perhaps we all should be worried about Super Meat Boy? Time to check the Burgertime Chef to make sure he is only serving the fniest soy based patties??? :confused2

PETA "get active" game site.
15 Nov 2011 ~ 9:32am Kwitko What PETA doesn't like to tell you is that they're the leader in pet euthanasia.

In 2009, PETA euthanized 2,301 dogs and cats -- 97 percent of those brought in -- and adopted only eight, according to Virginia state figures.

source
15 Nov 2011 ~ 9:53am Ilriyas

Kwitko wrote:

What PETA doesn't like to tell you is that they're the leader in pet euthanasia.

source

HERP

'Hey guys don't kill animals...now if you'll excuse me I have to put down 97% of the dogs and cats in our shelters.'

Wackos and Hypocrites, beautiful.
15 Nov 2011 ~ 10:30am Fitzkrieg

PETA "get active" game site.

So, my time was 32 seconds, how about everyone else?
15 Nov 2011 ~ 1:03pm Canti 13 seconds and 5 coins is my record.
17 Nov 2011 ~ 3:42am Fitzkrieg

13 seconds and 5 coins is my record.

Dang, you're good.
17 Nov 2011 ~ 11:52am Jokke Apparently, PETA has turned, and are now claiming it was "all a joke", and that they "love the Mario games."

(source: vg.no)
17 Nov 2011 ~ 3:42pm Game Blade If i had a fire flower for every IQ point PETA does not have, I could set the world ablaze with 8-bit fire
17 Nov 2011 ~ 3:44pm Ilriyas Even still, by using Mario in a video game they are technically stealing Nintendo's intellectual property...I can't wait to see how this gets handled.
17 Nov 2011 ~ 4:16pm primesuspect Parody is fair use.
17 Nov 2011 ~ 4:19pm Ilriyas I suppose, I rarely think of PETA's actions as falling under parody however.

Well that and in Canada parody is not a defence to a copyright claim...such as featuring a character of intellectual property in a video-game.

EDIT: The game nowhere mentions Nintendo as the original creator of Mario. Therefore under neither Canada's copyright law or 'Fair Dealing' is it protected and is thus considered copyright infringement and theft of intellectual property.

Of course I don't know what the copyright laws in the US are so this is purely my own viewpoint based on the laws I know of.
18 Nov 2011 ~ 5:51pm Game Blade I love animals, I love videogames, I love a good steak, because they hate these things (and are crazy)
I HATE PETA, anyone with a normal mind and an IQ over seven (7) can stomach video game violence normally.