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Assassin's Creed 4 slammed by PETA for whaling element
Recently announced pirate-themed video game called 'disgraceful' by the animal rights organization because it glorifies whale hunts.
Tue, Mar 05 2013 at 12:15 PM
Photo: Ubisoft
Popular video game publisher Ubisoft takes pride in the historical accuracy included in its hit franchise "Assassin’s Creed," with players assuming the roles of characters in such periods as the Italian Renaissance or the American Revolution. For its recently announced next chapter in the series, "Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag," 18th-century piracy is the objective, with plundering, high seas engagements, and hunting via land and sea all present.
It's the latter that has PETA upset, since the game will equip players with the ability to realistically harpoon whales.
"Whaling — that is, shooting whales with harpoons and leaving them to struggle for an hour or more before they die or are hacked apart while they are still alive — may seem like something out of the history books, but this bloody industry still goes on today in the face of international condemnation, and it’s disgraceful for any game to glorify it," the organization said in a statement published by VentureBeat. "PETA encourages video game companies to create games that celebrate animals — not games that promote hurting and killing them."
This isn't the first time the animal rights organization has gone after video games that it believes promote animal cruelty. A demo for "Overlord II" was briefly in the crosshairs in 2009 for promoting the clubbing of seals, as was the venerable Nintendo character Mario in 2011 for his use of the skin of a raccoon to gain superpowers. More recently, PETA has gone after the Pokémon franchise for promoting the fictional creatures "as unfeeling objects and used for such things as human entertainment and as subjects in experiments."
Ubisoft has yet to comment on PETA's criticism of"Assassin’s Creed 4," but if the company did decide to remove the whaling option, it certainly wouldn't be an unprecedented move by a game publisher. PETA successfully convinced Zynga to remove a pit bull fighting element in the popular Facebook game "Mafia Wars."
You can watch a trailer for "Assassin’s Creed 4" below. The game is due for release in October 2013.
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I am against whaling, but come on, assassins creed about the history. so that mean you suit something about the past.
Instead of worrying about a video game, maybe your efforts would be made better by focusing on what is happening right now in the world...animals being put to sleep in shelters or pit bulls that haven't done anything to anyone being put down just because they are who they are...it's a game...get a life!
Or maybe we could be historically accurate...
Isn't that how AC has always been?
Hm... so using PETA's logic, why don't we ban all the games that have any sort of violence towards humans? Maybe, we should start imprisoning all FPS/RPG gamers, for slaughtering so many innocent virtual people?
I love animals, but this is simply BS, pardon my language.
P.S.: I have a feeling that the fact that Ubisoft might introduce nudity in AC4 will bring yet another senseless ruckus blaming the company for acts of disrespect or disgrace.
Ok just because they show a screenshot of a whale does not mean that whaling is going to be in the game. I really couldn't care less if it is or isn't
There will be whale hunting, according to the news. It's just stupid that PETA spends their time and resources protesting virtual hunting...
Peta protesting about pictures of animals being "killed" meanwhile 85% of animals in their "shelters" are killed rather than cared for or housed. I think the real story is being missed here.
peta is getting a little ahead of themselves aren't they? it's a game but they don't care. they think people are going to see this and go out and kill whales. take away that it's peta, the idea itself is not new as some people do get influenced by what they play, i.e. some games that are deemed too violent that they are killed before they are sold or taken off the shelves soon after.
still, if they are going for historical accuracy then i say keep it!
FMD...what will PETA whinge about next. Skyrim? Farcry 3? Deer Hunter series?
World of Warcraft has players killing animals for quest all over the joint. WTF is wrong with these PETA people.
Ubisoft please DO NOT remove the whaling factor! Who cares? (Of course PETA does) It's YOUR game, and plus the whaling part of the game will probably make the game FUN. It's not like we're actually KILLING the whales in REAL LIFE.