Nintendo’s response to the Pokemon PETA situation
October 16th, 2012 Posted in DS, News, Posted by ValayAnimal rights group PETA kicked off a parody against Pokemon (specifically Black/White 2) last week, complete with a playable Flash game. The organization was targeting the popular franchise because it promotes animal cruelty and linked abused animals to the Pokemon in the game.
“Pokémon are treated as unfeeling objects and used for such things as human entertainment and as subjects in experiments. The way that Pokémon are stuffed into pokéballs is similar to how circuses chain elephants inside railroad cars and let them out only to perform confusing and often painful tricks that were taught using sharp steel-tipped bullhooks and electric shock prods.”
So how does Nintendo feel about the situation? The company sent out a terse statement a few days ago:
“Nintendo and The Pokémon Company take the inappropriate use of our products and intellectual property seriously.”
Thanks to Tim for the tip.
- New PETA “campaign” focuses on Pokemon Published on: October 8, 2012
- More Pokemon Mystery Dungeon WiiWare details Published on: July 15, 2009
- Pokemon Black/White details (finish the game to see old Pokemon) Published on: August 3, 2010
- “Shock announcement” about new Pokemon RPG on next episode of Pokemon Sunday Published on: April 4, 2010
- Nintendo’s Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky Lets Players Be a Pokémon Published on: October 12, 2009
2 Responses to “Nintendo’s response to the Pokemon PETA situation”
By Hisiru on Oct 16, 2012
PETA needs to have something better to do.
By Dark202 on Oct 17, 2012
Yea, cause there are several things wrong with that statement.
1. Nintendo have put into all their pokemon games that the pokemon characters are to be treated as friends and that they also have feelings (e.g. friendship needed to evolve, and the way a pokemon feels towards another whilst in the day care centre)
2. Pokemon aren’t stuffed into pokeballs, they are converted into a digital form so they don’t have a physical form whilst inside the pokeball itself.
And 3. Pokemon aren’t only let out in battle, they are also used in fashion shows, musicals, and for exploration of various areas within the game.