PETA satirical browser games

File:SuperChickSisters.png

Some of PETA's earliest forays into gaming include Flash-based games such as Make Fred Spew (2001)[https://web.archive.org/web/20010604011654/http://www.milksucks.com/spew.html Original Make Fred Spew game page]. Internet Archive. Archived 4 June 2001. Retrieved 15 May 2014. and Save the Chicks (2003),[https://web.archive.org/web/20030207101553/http://www.kfccruelty.com/game.html Original Save the Chicks game page]. Internet Archive. Archived 7 February 2003. Retrieved 15 May 2014. which were included as part of PETA's anti-dairy and Kentucky Fried Cruelty campaigns. These games received some coverage in academic and news sources,Frasca, Gonzalo. [http://www.bogost.com/watercoolergames/archives/kfc_cruelty_gam.shtml KFC Cruelty Game]. www.bogost.com. 18 February 2004Jackson, Rachael. "[https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2008/05/11/peta-dials-back-diatribe-edges-into-the-mainstream/ PETA dials back diatribe, edges into the mainstream]." Orlando Sentinel. 11 May 2008.Smith, Wesley J. A Rat Is a Pig Is a Dog Is a Boy: The Human Cost of the Animal Rights Movement. (2010) Encounter Books, {{ISBN|978-1-59403-346-9}} and PETA's head of online marketing, Joel Bartlett, identified their 2004 Revenge of the PETA Tomatoes and the Frogger parody, Lobster Liberation, as some of the organization's earliest released games."[http://www.gameranx.com/features/id/18176/article/an-interview-with-peta-game-developer/ An Interview with PETA: Game Developer]." Gameranx. 21 October 2013.[https://web.archive.org/web/20040910135548/http://www.petakids.com/games.html Original 2004 lineup of 4 games]. Internet Archive. Archived 10 September 2004. Retrieved 13 May 2014. However it was not until 2007 that PETA began to attract wider attention within the gaming community with its release of Super Chick Sisters, a parody of New Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Galaxy. Controlling two female chicks named Nugget and Chickette, the player sets out to rescue vegetarian actress Pamela Anderson, who can be unlocked with the code GOPAM, who has publicly revealed animal cruelty endemic to KFC's food production, from KFC's mascot Colonel Sanders.{{cite video game|title=Super Chick Sisters|developer=PETA|publisher=PETA|date=2007|quote=Description: Colonel Sanders and his minions have kidnapped Pamela Anderson for revealing to the world that KFC's secret recipe is cruelty to chickens! Help the Super Chick Sisters save Pam before it's too late!}} In 2009, the game was met with a sequel, New Super Chick Sisters, a homage to New Super Mario Bros. Wii. In this game, McDonald's mascot Ronald McDonald kidnaps Anderson with the intent of using her as a Happy Meal ingredient, and the Chick Sisters must rescue her again.{{cite video game|title=New Super Chick Sisters|developer=PETA|publisher=PETA|date=2009|quote=Description: Princess Pamela Anderson has been captured by evil Ronald McDonald, who plans on making her a part of his unhappy meals along with the chickens who are tortured for McDonald's restaurants. Help free Princess Pam and rescue the chickens from McDonald's cruelty!}}

In 2008, PETA released an adaptation of the cooking simulator Cooking Mama 2: World Kitchen called Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals. In it, PETA encouraged users to write to Cooking Mama developer Majesco Entertainment to create a version of the game with only vegetarian recipes.{{cite video game|title=Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals|developer=PETA|publisher=PETA|date=2008|quote=Message: Urge Majesco to make a vegetarian recipe version of Cooking Mama!}} Mama Kills Animals consists of minigames related to the preparation of animal carcasses, in this case, a stuffed turkey.{{cite video game|title=Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals|developer=PETA|publisher=PETA|date=2008|quote=Objective: Remove the Internal Organs: Using your mouse, stick your hand inside the turkey, remove the organs, and place them in the mixing bowl.}} After successfully completing the main levels, Mama goes vegan and hugs a live turkey, while the player makes a tofurkey. The game contains facts about turkeys and includes vegan Thanksgiving recipes.

Edmund McMillen{{cite web|url=http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/26/if-you-think-super-meat-boy-is-hard-try-developing-it/|publisher=Joystiq|title=If you think Super Meat Boy is hard, try developing it|date=October 26, 2010|last=Ransom-Wiley|first=James|access-date=May 30, 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140114055727/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/26/if-you-think-super-meat-boy-is-hard-try-developing-it/|archive-date=January 14, 2014|url-status=dead}} from Team Meat, the developer of the indie game Super Meat Boy, created various accounts on PETA's official forums to try to get his game parodied by PETA. PETA developed Super Tofu Boy and released it in December 2010. It stars Tofu Boy, an anthropomorphic cube of tofu whose goal is to rescue Bandage Girl, the girlfriend of the original game's protagonist Meat Boy, from Meat Boy.{{cite video game|title=Super Tofu Boy|developer=PETA|publisher=PETA|date=2010|quote=Tofu Boy: I must save Bandage Girl from Meat Boy's bloody, jealous rage!}} It plays as a standard platformer and is peppered with inter-level pro-vegetarian messages and facts about meat consumption and the livestock industry.{{cite video game|title=Super Tofu Boy|developer=PETA|publisher=PETA|date=2010|quote=Tip: Tofu doesn't scream when you cut it!}}{{cite video game|title=Super Tofu Boy|developer=PETA|publisher=PETA|date=2010|quote=Tip: Red meat can lead to impotence, obesity, and loss of girlfriend.}} Team Meat responded by adding Tofu Boy as a playable character. Tofu Boy is unlocked by typing the word “petaphile” in the character selection screen. As a playable character, he is very slow and has a poor jump height, but players are always given an A+ level completion grade regardless of how long they take to finish a level as him. He would eventually return in the sequel, Super Meat Boy Forever.

File:Tanuki01 960.jpg, Mario can wear an item called the "Tanooki Suit" – a costume resembling a tanuki (raccoon dog) similar to those shown here. PETA created Mario Kills Tanooki.]]

After releasing Mario Kills Tanooki, a parody of Super Mario 3D Land, PETA released a statement that "Tanooki May Be Just As 'Suit' in Mario Games. But in Real Life, Tanooki Are Raccoon Dogs Who is Skinned Alive for Their Fur." The organization also stated that "by wearing Tanooki, Mario is sending the message that it's OK to wear fur."{{cite web|url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2396529,00.asp|work=PC Magazine|date=November 17, 2011|last=Horn|first=Leslie|title=PETA Claims Mario Dig Was 'Tongue-in-Cheek'|access-date=May 7, 2014}} It is an action game in which the player controls a skinned but living raccoon dog that chases Mario to retrieve its fur.{{cite video game|title=Mario Kills Tanooki|developer=PETA|publisher=PETA|date=2011|quote=Objective: Save your skin! Press the space bar to jump.}}

PETA took on the Pokémon series with Pokémon Black and Blue, a parody of Pokémon Black and White 2 that focuses on animal fighting and experimentation. In role-playing-style battles, the player controls a Pikachu who escapes Ash Ketchum’s abusive circus. Pikachu first fights a drunk Cheren,{{cite video game|title=Pokémon Black and Blue|developer=PETA|publisher=PETA|date=2012|quote=Objective: You have escaped from your trainer—get ready to fight!}} who brutally abuses his Tepig in a dog fighting-esque manner, and then moves on to other Trainers and characters in order to rescue their Pokémon from their ownership (a Snivy being experimented on by Professor Juniper, an Oshawott skinned alive by Ghetsis, and finally Ash himself).{{cite video game|title=Pokémon Black and Blue|developer=PETA|publisher=PETA|date=2012|quote=Objective: Defeat all the trainers to free all Pokémon!}}{{cite video game|title=Pokémon Black and Blue|developer=PETA|publisher=PETA|date=2012|quote=Pikachu: Pokémon are not yours to abuse, Cheren. We exist for our own reasons.}} Pikachu recruits these Pokémon to its cause,{{cite video game|title=Pokémon Black and Blue|developer=PETA|publisher=PETA|date=2012|quote=Tepig: Let's get going, Pikachu. I haven't had a good walk in a long time!}} as well as the sympathetic Nurse Joy.{{cite video game|title=Pokémon Black and Blue|developer=PETA|publisher=PETA|date=2012|quote=Nurse Joy: I heard what you said to Cheren. I want to help you. As a nurse, I've seen how mistreated and exploited Pokémon are. Like all thinking and feeling beings, Pokémon must surely suffer terribly when they are cut up in experiments or forced to fight.}} A sequel, Pokémon Red, White, and Blue, A parody of Pokémon X and Y, followed in 2013. Also a role-playing game, it stars Pikachu and Miltank,{{cite video game|title=Pokémon Red, White, and Blue|developer=PETA|publisher=PETA|date=2012|quote=Pikachu: I can't believe you think it's OK to feed Miltank to people. Prepare for trouble!}} who battle McDonald's characters like the Hamburglar in a crusade against the rare but ongoing practice of meat production in the Unova region.{{cite video game|title=Pokémon Red, White, and Blue|developer=PETA|publisher=PETA|date=2012|quote=Mysterious Stranger: The people of Unova eat Pokémon, do they not?}}{{cite video game|title=Pokémon Red, White, and Blue|developer=PETA|publisher=PETA|date=2012|quote=Pikachu: Only occasionally, and we're fighting to change that. Everyone knows it's gross.}} Pikachu must rescue a Jigglypuff from being treated like furniture, a Miltank from the dairy industry and the slaughterhouse, and Grimace from being tortured. At the beginning of the game, Pikachu is nearly eaten by an obese gamer but lives.

Also in 2013, PETA released Cage Fight: Knock Out Animal Abuse, a beat 'em up game in the style of River City Ransom. The player controls vegetarian mixed martial arts fighters Jake Shields, Aaron Simpson, and Georgi Karakhanyan and attacks animal testing practitioners to rescue confined animals. There is a warning before the game begins that it is illegal to punch scientists in real life.

PETA has parodied Fast Food Nation in a game called “You Want Lies With That?”. The player controls an evil chef who must create hamburgers while avoiding the pigs and cows who are chasing him. Successful completion of each level reveals the links between meat consumption and heart attacks or E. coli.

There is also a hunting game where the player shoots tofu deer; “Stick a Chick”, where the player must prevent salmonella-infected chicken from entering the shopping cart; an animal testing awareness game that also spreads awareness about breast cancer; a gory maze game about seal clubbing; several games about animal skins used in fashion; and a quiz game that compares the American Kennel Club to the KKK.

PETA's games have received mainly negative opinions from video game journalists. Forbes contributor Erik Kain summarized the series in general as "a long parade of silly protests." He also considered PETA's failure to satirize well-known hunting games like Duck Hunt and Big Game Hunter as well as the general message that video games encourage real-life violence, to be illogical.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/10/10/peta-pokemon-protest-isnt-a-first-4-other-silly-anti-video-game-protests-from-the-animal-rights-group/|work=Forbes|last=Kain|first=Erik|title=PETA Pokémon Protest Isn't A First - 5 Other Silly Anti-Video Game Protests From The Animal Rights Group|date=October 10, 2012|access-date=May 7, 2014}}

Response to Mario Kills Tanooki has been negative, generally holding that it was under-researched. While PETA's protest focused on Mario wearing a raccoon dog's skin rather than harming them himself, Gaming Union stated that "from any gamers' perspective, it's clear to see that PETA have missed their mark on this one; Mario squishes hundreds of enemies in each of his games, but is never seen harming a tanuki." Kain called the game "ludicrous" given that gamers had long adored the Tanooki suit and would not be encouraged to kill real-life raccoon dogs.

Jessica Conditt from Joystiq found the messages of Pokémon Black and Blue to be contradictory: "while it's terrible to punch, kick, cut or hit fictional animals with bats, it's perfectly acceptable to electrocute humans".{{cite web|url=http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/08/peta-parody-pokemon-black-and-blue-fights-for-fictional-animal/|publisher=Joystiq|title=PETA parody 'Pokemon Black and Blue' fights for fictional animal rights|access-date=May 7, 2014}} Jason Schreier from Kotaku called it "ridiculous".{{cite web|last=Schreier|first=Jason|author-link=Jason Schreier|url=http://kotaku.com/5949895/humans-are-the-enemy-in-this-ridiculous-peta-pokemon-parody|publisher=Kotaku|date=October 8, 2012|title=Humans Are The Enemy In This Ridiculous PETA Pokémon Parody|access-date=May 7, 2014}} Kotaku's Mike Fahey wrote a mostly negative piece about Pokémon Red, White, and Blue; he stated that despite its occasional humor, "mostly it just wanders about, beating its message into your brain with heavy hands."{{cite web|url=http://kotaku.com/im-not-sure-but-i-think-peta-is-upset-with-pokemon-1443910146|publisher=Kotaku|last=Fahey|first=Mike|date=October 11, 2013|title=I'm Not Sure, But I Think PETA Is Upset With Pokémon.|access-date=May 7, 2014}}

Not all critical response has been unfavorable. Fahey opined that New Super Chick Sisters "manages to be a rather capable little platformer despite its heavy-handed message."{{cite web|title=PETA Releases New Super Chick Sisters|url=http://kotaku.com/5403312/peta-releases-new-super-chick-sisters|publisher=Kotaku|date=November 12, 2009|last=Fahey|first=Mike|access-date=May 7, 2014}} Nikole Zivalich of G4TV called Super Tofu Boy "actually a pretty good time waster" and, as she is a vegetarian, claimed to be "on Team Tofu." Overall, Mike Splechta from GameZone stated that "some are a little less flattering than others, but they do tend to get their point across." He also called Cage Fight "kickass", praising its gameplay and chiptune soundtrack, and encouraged readers to play it.{{cite web|url=http://www.gamezone.com/news/2013/06/25/peta-has-mma-fighters-free-animals-in-kickass-river-city-ransom-clone|publisher=GameZone|title=PETA has MMA fighters free animals in kickass River City Ransom clone|date=June 25, 2013|last=Splechta|first=Mike|access-date=May 8, 2014}}

In some cases, the creators of the original games have responded to PETA's parodies. In response to Super Tofu Boy, Super Meat Boy developer Team Meat added Tofu Boy as a playable character in a Super Meat Boy update.{{cite web|url=http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/708965/team-meat-responds-to-petas-super-meat-boy-parody-super-tofu-boy/|publisher=G4TV|last=Zivalich|first=Nikole|title=Team Meat Responds To PETA's Super Meat Boy Parody, Super Tofu Boy|date=December 2, 2010|access-date=May 7, 2014|url-status=deviated|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113030200/http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/708965/team-meat-responds-to-petas-super-meat-boy-parody-super-tofu-boy/|archive-date=January 13, 2013}} Majesco responded to Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals that the Mama character, while not a vegetarian herself, supports treating animals humanely and "would never put rat in [her] Ratatouille."{{cite web|url=http://kotaku.com/5093315/cooking-mama-responds-to-peta|publisher=Kotaku|title=Cooking Mama Responds to PETA|date=November 19, 2008|last=Fahey|first=Mike|access-date=May 8, 2014}} Nintendo also released a statement in regards to Pokémon Black & Blue stating, "Nintendo and the Pokémon company take the inappropriate use of our products and intellectual property seriously."{{cite web |last=Jabbour |first=Nicholas |date=16 October 2012 |title=Nintendo Responds to PETA's "Pokémon Black & Blue" |url=http://www.zeldainformer.com/news/nintendo-responds-to-petas-pokemon-black-blue#.VPKWVy5SUoA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709201745/http://www.zeldainformer.com/news/nintendo-responds-to-petas-pokemon-black-blue#.VPKWVy5SUoA |archive-date=9 July 2015 |access-date=1 August 2015 |work=zeldainformer.com}}

PETA's games—and the games they parody—that have received press coverage include:

• Super Chick Sisters (2007) – New Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Galaxy
• Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals (2008) – Cooking Mama: World Kitchen
• New Super Chick Sisters (2009) – New Super Mario Bros. Wii
• Super Tofu Boy (2010) – Super Meat Boy
• Mario Kills Tanooki (2011) – Super Mario 3D Land
• Pokémon Black and Blue (2012) – Pokémon Black and White 2
• Cage Fight: Knock Out Animal Abuse (2013) – River City Ransom
• Pokémon Red, White, and Blue: An Unofficial PETA Parody (2013) – Pokémon X and Y

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Portal|Animals|Video games}}

• [http://www.peta.org/interactive/type/games/ Full list] of PETA's browser games

{{Pokémon video games series}}

{{People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals|state=uncollapsed}}

{{KFC}}

Category:Action games

Category:Animal rights mass media

Category:Beat 'em ups

Category:Browser games

Category:Cooking video games

Category:Flash games

Category:Parody video games

Category:People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

Category:Platformers

Category:Role-playing video games

Category:Simulation video games

Category:Vegetarian-related mass media

Category:Video games scored by Tommy Tallarico

Category:Video games developed in the United States

Category:Satirical video games