Posts Tagged ‘majesco’
Cooking Mama & the Veg*n Agenda
So there’s been all this stuff about the Cooking Mama thing PETA did.
First of all, I don’t know that I really agree with some (okay, a lot) of the shit PETA does, despite being a crazy vegan from space. That said, they often do a good job of getting a ridiculous amount of press. Which, maybe is enough for them.
The only thing I’ve really seen as a reaction of this, though, is snide remarks and the lambasting of veg*nism in general. I haven’t heard anyone say “you know, after examining the material at hand, maybe I don’t want to kill things for food” after playing a hyperviolent flash game. There aren’t any actual conversations happening as a result of this, just people pointing and laughing. Nice one, PETA!
Today Majesco put out a press release responding to it.
(As an aside, Majesco has a swank stock symbol.)
It’s a complete joke, though. PETA raised some valid points about veg*ns getting the shit end of the stick and Majesco’s response is to do some song and dance routine while spouting off marketing buzzwords. (”Well, we’re not going to do anything you just mentioned, but listen to us talk about the cute dog mascot we introduced in our newest title!”)
It’s just fucking disrespectful.
Well, not that PETA was being terribly polite on their part.
I understand that they would do an anti-turkey spiel right before Thanksgiving, but why Cooking Mama? It’s like attacking Disney for not addressing immigration issues in Lilo and Stitch. They’re not in the business of critical thought, they’re in the business of putting on a happy song and dance routine and selling lunchboxes. Disney in particular goes to great lengths to suppress any kind of real world bullshit that might break the illusion of shiny-happy-nothing-is-wrong. Why did PETA think Majesco would react differently? What was the fucking point of this campaign?
Majesco makes Cooking Mama because it sells, and it sells because people like playing stupid minigames with sugary characters that are happy and sparkling. Nowhere in there is anyone concerned about the ethical issues of eating or not eating meat. For fucks sake, who even plays Cooking Mama on any kind of regular basis except for like twelve-year-old girls in between sessions of Animal Crossing?
If PETA wanted to bitch about chefs ‘killing animals’, why couldn’t they start a campaign against an actual, existing chef who is adamantly anti-veg*n and generally a dick about it?
So, a severe finger wagging at PETA for being sensationalist pricks, and a severe finger wagging at Majesco for (in my opinion) completely blowing the issue off. Would it kill either of them to have some class about this?
