GameSpot is reporting that Nintendo committed a PR gaffe when they sent members of the media promotional material for Animal Crossing: City Folk. Included in the package was a copy of Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS) with a saved city already on it. That city turned out to contain racial slurs.
Quote:
But as spotted by MTV Multiplayer and confirmed by GameSpot, not everyone in the city was very neighborly. Specifically, the character of Baarbara the sheep greets players by using a racial epithet (pictured) in a modified form commonly used as a greeting in hip-hop culture. The line also includes a line of dialogue from the film Full Metal Jacket which Asian-Americans might find offensive. Wild World allows players to customize greetings, and it appears the objectionable wording was inserted using that function.
When contacted by GameSpot, a Nintendo representative said only that the company is aware of the situation, and is preparing a statement.
Whoops! Sounds like an honest mistake by Nintendo. I bet they'll be looking a little closer the next time they do something like that.
Whoops! Sounds like an honest mistake by Nintendo. I bet they'll be looking a little closer the next time they do something like that.
I fail to see how this could be an 'honest mistake'. It obviously wasn't sent out intentionally, but this isn't a cute little misstep that can be dismissed so lightly. Someone's getting fired.
I fail to see how this could be an 'honest mistake'. It obviously wasn't sent out intentionally, but this isn't a cute little misstep that can be dismissed so lightly. Someone's getting fired.
I'm not saying it was not a big mistake, just that they did not consciously do it.
I agree, somebody is going to end up in hot water over this.
It's pretty obvious the word was "Ninja". Kidding aside it might just have been someone who was already leaving the PR firm who did it to get back at their boss, pretty childish though if that's the case.
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It's pretty obvious the word was "Ninja". Kidding aside it might just have been someone who was already leaving the PR firm who did it to get back at their boss, pretty childish though if that's the case.
Looks like it was user-generated.
GameSpot updated the story with this statement from Nintendo:
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"Previously played copies of the 2005 DS game Animal Crossing: Wild World were sent to 14 members of the media to demonstrate the ability of players to transfer items to the new Animal Crossing: City Folk for Wii," said the publisher. "We regret that an offensive phrase was included without our knowledge via a wireless function that allows user-generated catchphrases to spread virally from one game to the next. This version is limited to 14 copies created for media review purposes only and is not available at retailers. We sincerely apologize for the incident and are working with media who received the game cards to return them to Nintendo immediately."
I don't understand... an entire swath of American society is perfectly allowed to use that word, and frequently does so in countless songs. What's the big deal?
Good of Nintendo to recognize and apologize for the mishap so fast, though. What was probably just some stupid joke the player put into his game turned out to be something of a fiasco, didn't it?
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Good of Nintendo to recognize and apologize for the mishap so fast, though. What was probably just some stupid joke the player put into his game turned out to be something of a fiasco, didn't it?
Not funny? This is HILARIOUS!
*mocking voice* Ooooh, a racial slur, how offensive and shocking. It sooooo not funny! *eyeroll* Let's lighten up a tad, shall we?
I wouldn't call it a fiasco. 'Hot Coffee' was a fiasco. This is a misstep, faux pas, or gaffe. It's a genuine mistake and, while someone will get fired over it just to show that Nintendo is serious, it's too funny for words. A general recall and replacement strategy, easy as pie.
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1) It was user-generated, so Nintendo itself's pretty teflon when it comes to handing out blame. The PR goon who let this slip through is now probably looking for a new job, of course.
2) Watch The Boondocks on Adult Swim, and realize what a non-issue using 'nigga' is even in a cartoon-like setting.
I'm actually more offended when some self-righteous black jackass pretends that they're being victimized by the obviously non-belligerent use of the word, especially when they bring up the "cruel history of the use of racial slurs in America" and blah blah blah. It's only a problem when you make it into one, otherwise it's just a two-syllable word that shouldn't hold any more power in today's society than saying "trigger", "bigger" or "snigger".
Speaking of PR issues, I was actually interested in picking up the new Animal Crossing until I saw the commercials they were using. Well, also the reviews. Anyway, definitely no interest now.
I don't understand... an entire swath of American society is perfectly allowed to use that word, and frequently does so in countless songs. What's the big deal?
/sarcasm
For some reason it reminds me of an amusing interview on Fox News from a while back.
They were interviewing some people about racial issues and the guests, who were black people, referenced the word "nigger" as a part of the discussion of the issues. The Fox News hosts panicked. At first they seemed a little stunned, and then said something like "Umm, I don't think we're allowed to use that word", meanwhile the guests seemed to ignore the hosts objections and went on discussing it like it wasn't any kind of big deal.
Kidding aside it might just have been someone who was already leaving the PR firm who did it to get back at their boss, pretty childish though if that's the case.
