When we received the press release about Overlord II's Whack-a-Seal game being hosted on IGN, we immediately thought of the animal crusaders over at PETA. Considering the organization had recently done a seal clubbing protest in World of Warcraft, we figured it would have something to say about the promotional minigame.

Instead, PETA sent us a response back about some place called Can-a-da. Apparently, baby seals are killed by the "hundreds of thousands" there and we may soon see "PETA-made helmets for baby seals."

When asked for comment about the seal hunts, our token Canadian Xav de Matos commented, "I do not live in an igloo ... I live in a city and I have health insurance! Stop asking me stupid questions like that! Oh, and it is pronounced ZED!"

Jeez ... we just wanted to know. Check out PETA's full statement after the break.

Take-Two's upcoming Ringling Bros. game for Wii and DS looks to recreate all of the stuff you'd see at a real-life circus show. And that's why PETA hates it so much.

In a blog post, PETA sends out a call to arms, asking folks to send Ben Feder, Take-Two's CEO, an email asking him to cease and desist development on the game. In fact, PETA already did most of the work for you by filling out the subject line and body of your potential email with things we're sure you'd want to say to the CEO of a multi-million dollar company.

Despite years of PETA's crusading, animals are still completely edible and, in many cases, delicious. Perhaps focusing on more manageable goals now, the organization has taken to protesting the murder of seals ... in World of Warcraft. That's right, if you log on to the WhisperWind realm on April 11 at 1 p.m. EST and trek to Howling Fjord, you'll be able to defend digital seals against imaginary slaughter.

We asked a real, actual seal if he appreciated the sentiment, but his response was drowned out by the sound of him being clubbed to death by a burly Norwegian.

[Thanks, Amy]

Following a Massachusetts high school petition protesting the treatment of dogs in Call of Duty: World at War, the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is now joining the protest as well. Upon seeing news of the protest, PETA sent publisher Activision Blizzard an invitation to take one of its "Developing Empathy for Animals" seminars for free. The organization has also sent the company a package of Nintendogs for the DS, which it deems "dog-friendly." PETA hopes the puppy sim will help influence Activision's treatment of animals in future games, with the organization's blog noting "perhaps the next Call of Duty game will have you unlock achievements for petting the dogs you encounter and going on walks or playing Frisbee with them."

Is that before or after the Nazi attack dog bites the player's hand off?

We'd agree with the PETA folks on the Fable 2 nod if it wasn't for a few not so animal friendly themes in the Albion world. You know, things like rewarding players with Gamerscore for kicking chickens, killing fluffy rabbits, eating crunchy chickadees and abusing your dog. True, if you do any of these activities, you'll build up your evil-ometer, but the fact that they're in the game PETA calls 2008's most "Animal-Friendly Game", well ... that's just odd. We guess vegetable purity points clouded their chicken kicking judgment.

When Joystiq chose Fable 2 as its Game of the Year, were you aware that we were displaying not only our great taste in electronic entertainment but also our abiding love for all the planet's creatures? No? Neither were we until we saw that the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals had chosen Molyneux's baby as this year's Most Animal-Friendly Video Game.

We think the more obvious choice was Doritos Dash of Destruction, as (1) its protagonist is the king of animals (a dinosaur!) and (2) it serves as an invitation to meditate on the very real effects of extinction. Just think of it: You could be watching dinosaurs racing every day, if we hadn't hunted them out of existence for their delicious skins.

Following up their recent Super Mario Bros. and Cooking Mama games, PETA has commented to GI.biz that they'll continue this format as a way of "engaging with the public." We guess it's been successful for them, as they say this approach to spreading their message is as "important as music, movies, and television." We can't say we agree, but different strokes for different folks, we suppose.

"Many people are unaware of the real-life violence that animals endure on factory farms and in slaughterhouses," a PETA spokesperson said. "We use games to highlight the cruelty to animals because they appeal to people who are interested but may be turned off by more direct appeals." Well, we don't understand the effectiveness of this approach, to tell you the truth, but, then again, we enjoy a burger every now and then.

PETA intends on creating more games to raise awareness about practices within the meat industry. The organization states that its recent Cooking Mama game wasn't an attack on publisher Majesco, but a way of getting its "Meet your Meat" video -- an unsettling "undercover video" of a corporate turkey farm -- in front of fresh eyes.

Speaking with GI.biz, a PETA spokesperson said the organization uses games to raise awareness in people who "may be turned off by more direct appeals." It originally turned to games to attract young males, but has since learned the demographics are much wider. The group believes Majesco took the parody in the way it was intended, which seems like a reasonable assumption considering the publisher's lighthearted response. Despite all the joking, PETA does hope that Majesco makes a Cooking Mama: Vegetarian Kitchen "one day."

Source - PETA: We'll keep using games "to spread our message" [GI.biz]
Source - Cooking Mama Responds to PETA Parody [PETA]

Majesco kept it classy in its response to PETA's Cooking Mama parody. Taking the whole situation in stride, the publisher quoted the fictional Mama as saying, "I would never put rat in my Ratatouille. Like any accomplished cook, I create my recipes to appeal to a broad range of tastes and preferences. My only goal is to ensure you leave the table well fed."

Majesco went on to note that the company's latest entry in the franchise, Cooking Mama World Kitchen, features over 25 vegetarian-friendly recipes. It also states that Mama is not a vegetarian, but "fully supports" the humane treatment of animals, as her doggie "protégé" Max will make his debut in the latest game -- hopefully, not as an entrée. Kudos to Majesco for incorporating some flair into what would otherwise have been another boring press release about a game launch. And thanks to PETA for making the whole laugh possible.

Mama, lovable cook and Majesco mascot, wants us all to know that her latest game, Cooking Mama: World Kitchen, isn't all about killing animals and preparing them as tasty dishes. No, the Mama has a bunch of vegetarian recipes, as well, evidenced by the press release sent over to Go Nintendo. What kind of veggie dishes can be prepared in Cooking Mama: World Kitchen? Well, there's miso soup and rice cakes, just to name a few.

"I would never put rat in my Ratatouille," said Mama, wrist-deep in her latest recipe. "Like any accomplished cook, I create my recipes to appeal to a broad range of tastes and preferences. My only goal is to ensure you leave the table well fed." We imagine PETA's next step is a Flash game where Mama viciously murders piles and piles of Octopi for their ink so she can write out a press release.

Ready to be sick? Coinciding with the release of Cooking Mama: World Kitchen, PETA has wielded the Awesome Power of Copyright Infringement to make a Cooking Mama Flash game about the preparations involved with cooking turkey.

Combining an impressively accurate facsimile of Cooking Mama gameplay with horrifying, bloody visuals, Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals is intended as an appeal to Majesco to create a vegetarian-only version of Cooking Mama.

In Mama Kills Animals, a sadistic Cooking Mama guides you through the process of defeathering, preparing, and stuffing a turkey. Between levels, the game presents horrifying facts about the meat industry as well as videos we didn't dare watch. Apparently, at the end, Mama reforms and becomes a vegetarian.

In case you didn't get our subtle hinting, this game can be really upsetting. Keep that in mind should you decide to click.

PETA's parody on Majesco's Cooking Mama franchise may be the best Flash-based game we've seen from the activist group yet. Following up on its Bloody Burberry and Super Chick Sisters games, Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals takes a stab at soon-to-be-released Cooking Mama: World Kitchen, not to mention the main course of most Thanksgiving meals. The game is done in perfect Cooking Mama style - having the player pull out the bird's feathers and then scoop out its innards. Whether you agree with the message or not, it's the medium and style that got our attention.

PETA does give some constructive feedback to Majesco, asking if it could make an all vegetarian-recipe version of Cooking Mama. Considering how important Mama is to Majesco's cash flow, a vegetarian version might be a good marketing ploy. PETA's Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals can be played after the break (Warning: Sound auto-plays and is loud).*

*The "Meet your Meat" video, which becomes available after finishing the game, may be difficult to watch. Don't click the link if you're not interested in seeing what a corporate turkey farm looks like.

When PETA saw ads for Samba de Amigo featuring a live chimpanzee, they got a bit outraged (as is their wont). They sent a letter to Sega describing the quite horrible life that goes along with being a Hollywood chimp, including, obviously, separation from family, but also painful training methods and eventual abandonment to even worse conditions. We all like to think that acting chimps retire to slightly downscale, but still opulent, hilltop mansions, but apparently this isn't the case.

Sega responded by pulling the ads from their website and pledging never to cast great apes again -- thus helping to ensure a happier future for chimps. Not to mention a more dignified future. PETA then sent them some vegan chocolate. That's not necessary, PETA, Sega already apologized! We're just glad Sega wasn't shooting ads for Super Monkey Ball.


[Via Joystiq]

Look, we don't condone the unethical treatment of any creature forced to endure the repetitive waggling that's characteristic of rushed, rehashed Wiimakes. It's disgusting -- about as disgusting as little vegan chocolates in the shape of monkeys!

So when PETA says it's grateful to Sega for pulling the Samba De Amigo promos featuring a real chimp from its site (not that the ads aren't still on YouTube ... and embedded after the break) and sends the publisher a gift basket full of fake chocolates, we have to wonder if the effort isn't more trick than treat. After all, the damage is done. And, according to PETA, soon after defeating the down-and-out, middle-aged-man actor in a flailing contest, this chimpanzee was shipped to the laboratory -- no doubt to live out his tortured days testing the stability of future revisions of Wii wrist straps.

In all seriousness, though, kudos to Sega for pledging to keep great apes out of future marketing. Now, if only we could convince the company to be more sensitive to the plight of lycanthropic hedgehogs ...

Spurred on by the apparent success of anti-KFC game Super Chick Sisters, PETA is once again entering the Flash-based interactive activism arena with Bloody Burberry: The Fur Fighters. This time, the action focuses on controlling cute animal critters who are trying to raise awareness of the cruel, fur-coat-selling ways of the Burberry clothing stores. They complete this goal by freeing caged bunnies, protesting at fashion shows and spray-painting coats, all while avoiding some shadowy, black-clad security agents.

You might think a game that encourages spray-painting private property might be a little irresponsible for an activist group, but an in-game disclaimer notes that it's all right because the animal characters are "not subject to human laws." It's like the ultimate diplomatic immunity! This gives us an idea for a crime spree involving trained penguins that the courts can't touch ... but perhaps we've already said too much ....