Majesco responds to PETA's Cooking Mama parody
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Nov 20th 2008 at 8:30AM }
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.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
SuperAfroBoy @ Nov 20th 2008 8:40AM
Well done Majesco, very well handled.
Obie @ Nov 20th 2008 11:54AM
I know right? I wish more companies would handle stuff like this with class and humor.
Temidien @ Nov 20th 2008 4:41PM
Agreed. It's nice to see companies not screaming lawsuit and handling these things with a bit of finese. I'm sure Majesco also appreciates the publicity this thing brings to Cooking Mama.
BananaBoat @ Nov 20th 2008 11:57PM
I highly doubt they want this type of publicity. I'm sure they are just hoping that PETA will mind their own damn business before this type of propaganda makes headlines and sucks Majesco into a fight that they shouldn't have to be involved with in the first place.
It would be nice if Majesco had a spine, or if people would stop reporting on groups like PETA, (Remember, game and TV reporters made Jack Thompson matter in the exact same way) but that isn't going to happen. The best thing Majesco could have done (since they seem to fear headlines that could be made by taking them to court) is what they did; Make a joke of it, and hope it goes away.
For our part? I think a meat feast is in order. It's Tyson chicken nugget time.
/runs to the freezer
j.howlett @ Nov 20th 2008 8:41AM
too nice, don't be a saint
StarFoxA @ Nov 20th 2008 8:47AM
Hahaha, Majesco did a good job of handling this.
Henry @ Nov 20th 2008 8:49AM
I just played the game again...why is there blood coming out of the eggs? PETA need to take some biology lessons.
j.howlett @ Nov 20th 2008 8:56AM
there can be blood in eggs if they're fertilized. when i learned about baking i was taught to crack the eggs one by one in a separate bowl just in case you get a bloody one.
Alex L. @ Nov 20th 2008 9:24AM
I think you do that, to avoid mixing in a rotten egg, the little dot of blood on the egg doesn't make the egg less edible.
Some people may think of it as gross, but hey, you're eating an animal's egg to begin with, if you got beyond that, a dot of its blood should be a no brainer.
j.howlett @ Nov 20th 2008 9:36AM
it could also be for rotten eggs but i was specifically told about the blood. the person showing me didn't want it in cakes.
Henry @ Nov 20th 2008 9:56AM
I stand corrected.
Even so, have you seen the amount of blood coming from the eggs? That can't be accurate.
offday @ Nov 20th 2008 10:02AM
I've eaten and prepared a lot of eggs, and not once have I seen blood come out of one. PETA exaggerates everything, and you know it.
SKI @ Nov 20th 2008 11:11AM
Try eating balut.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut
Habiib @ Nov 20th 2008 8:55AM
They should include a recipe for haggis just to piss off Peta.
thebig33tuna @ Nov 20th 2008 8:56AM
"And thanks to PETA for making the whole laugh possible."
No. No thanks to PETA. They are nutty. Quit talking about them on Joystiq, please.
Bunker @ Nov 20th 2008 9:16AM
This, this a million times this.
Please don't give them any press.
DiRT @ Nov 20th 2008 9:37AM
Why can't I hit the little plus sign next to your comment a millions times for this?
Abdo @ Nov 20th 2008 3:22PM
Agreed.
NoHitHair @ Nov 20th 2008 4:01PM
I also am becoming very sick of how often PETA is mentioned on this site, and worse, in a positive manner.
I'll "thank them" when they abandon their extremist idiotic views designed to polarize rather than educate.
PoisonedV @ Nov 20th 2008 4:55PM
I agree. PETA< like Jack thompson, thrive on any and all publicity.
NoHitHair: That was sarcasm, check your detector. what else can you expect from a naruto fan, I guess.
NoHitHair @ Nov 22nd 2008 10:01PM
Thanks for your input. I appreciate advice about my character from a person over the internet who summarizes me through an avatar.
As for completely missing my point, the sarcasm isn't the issue. It's that PETA's mentioned on this site more than should happen on a gaming blog.
(The Award-Winning) dark_inchworm @ Nov 20th 2008 9:08AM
I love how they "quoted" Mama in the press release. Kudos to Majesco for not letting their knickers get bunched up.
[playwhutyalike {C.E.P}] @ Nov 20th 2008 9:15AM
Well done. Handled like true business people. Not like a bunch of doe-eyed, opinionated, screaming freaks.
And why is it when I watch Animal Cops I never see PETA hunting down those losers who abuse and neglect animals? Not enough celebrity for them?
Geist @ Nov 20th 2008 10:02AM
They're too busy making Cooking Mama parodies.
A.J. @ Nov 20th 2008 9:19AM
Well played, Majesco. I cannot understand why PETA still pulls shit like this. Every time they try some new publicity stunt, they always end up making themselves look like asses and everyone talking about how crazy they are. I mean honestly, making fun of PETA is like winning a game of (select preferred multiplayer title) against your mom, it's too damn easy and not worth the effort.
Alex L. @ Nov 20th 2008 9:21AM
Stay classy PETA, nothing you ever do will be taken seriously anyway. Good job digging yourself the biggest hole anyone could have.
butaneko @ Nov 20th 2008 9:34AM
Fuck PETA! They are terrorists!
I'm going to buy 100 copies of this game then I'm going to eat 5 steaks for lunch and flush 5 more down the toilet.
tmacairjordan87 @ Nov 20th 2008 9:39AM
Hey now that's a waste of perfectly good steaks. The least you could do is set a table up outside their office and eat it there.
DeaconGTG @ Nov 20th 2008 9:44AM
Of course, PETA will now be pissed off because there's a pet dog in the series, as Majesco now endorses the slavery of animals.
Dirty @ Nov 20th 2008 9:46AM
I heard that in the Korean version you get to cook protégé.
Phylicus @ Nov 20th 2008 4:41PM
I laughed. And it felt gooood.
offday @ Nov 20th 2008 10:03AM
I think they should make a Cooking Mamma: Bizarre foods edition. Mmmm hamster and cat brains.
Jakka ( The Order of Haters of Balance) @ Nov 20th 2008 10:35AM
For every animal that PETA refuses to let die, I'll eat three!
Levi @ Nov 20th 2008 11:31AM
Go right ahead Maddox.
aristokrat @ Nov 20th 2008 2:24PM
PETA doesn't refuse to let them die though. Over 2/3's of all the animals that go into PETA custody get euthanized. Yet they still send their brainless minions to picket animal shelters that do the same thing (to a lesser extent even, because they try to find the animals homes instead of releasing domesticated animals into the wild to die).
Mighty Ponygirl @ Nov 20th 2008 10:44AM
One thing that PETA does very well is set the terms of the extreme so that a moderate point can be reached.
For example, you have one extreme end (any industry that uses animals) saying "we can do whatever the hell we want with the animals, they're not human and they're our property" (for example, a medical researcher saying that doing a retro-orbital eyebleed from an animal without any anesthetic is just fine and dandy (imagine having blood drawn from your eye while you were awake to experience it), or a meat industry spokesperson stating that it's fine and dandy to shove a pipe down a goose's throat and forcefeed it until its liver becomes fatted, or lock cattle in cages so small they can't move... that's one extreme.
On the other extreme, you have PETA saying that animals have souls and eating eggs is murder, and that humans have no right to exploit the hard work of honeybees, and that killing a chicken is functionally no different than killing a child. That's the other extreme.
In between those two extremes most people find a moderate voice: the SPCA/Humane voice which states that animals should not suffer needlessly, that they should be allowed at least a minimal standard of living, but that they are not the equivalent of humans. This continuum will have room in it for diversity: for example, a vegetarian who would not eat an animal or even a vegan who would not "exploit" an animal, but recognizes the privilege of this position and would not force it on others, or the research veterinarian who understands that the animal subjects will be subjected to testing and even termination, but who attempts to care for these animals and make sure that they are not tortured and that their overall suffering is minimal.
In the last few years, with its endless array of shock campaigns, PETA has jeapordized its position, it risks no longer being able to set the extreme position but actually causing a backlash, which may allow the "moderate" position to push further away from their goals of overall animal protection.
NoHitHair @ Nov 22nd 2008 10:18PM
I don't agree that we should embrace extremism because it can be used to counterbalance its opposite. That effectively condones both extremist sides while neither are necessary or helpful. Worse, since there is a radical voice rather than a reasoned one, those who believe in, advocate and work for them are deceived into accepting uncompromising views as reality rather than rationally assessing the situation.
We're too polarized. PETA does not help that situation.
e168 @ Nov 20th 2008 11:08AM
I'm a vegetarian and thought the parody was hysterical and well done. I've also played and enjoyed the Cooking Mama games. People are getting so upset, but I don't see what the big deal is. I've played many videogames where characters eat meat, and have never thought twice about it. It doesn't influence my actions. The connection between Cooking Mama and real recipes or food is weak anyway. It's more like food-based minigames than actual recipe preparing.
aj @ Nov 21st 2008 1:07AM
How many people believe murder is wrong but play video games that involve killing human beings?
Kali4 @ Nov 20th 2008 11:44AM
Save the animals!!! Eat Peta members!!!
WRE @ Nov 20th 2008 11:32AM
Huh? I have a People Eating Tasty Animals bbq every year. What PETA is this?
Gnoll @ Nov 20th 2008 12:22PM
I appreciate the classiness of the response, but does this mean PETA's not getting sued? Because that's what I wanted for my birthday this year :'(
Saria the Cat @ Nov 20th 2008 12:32PM
:) Nice one, Majesco. I wish more companies would handle situations with this kind of tact. And it's also nice that they're including veggie recipes in the menu next time.
I just don't understand why PETA attacked them in the first place. Aren't there bigger animal rights issues like, I don't know, gorilla poaching?
WRE @ Nov 20th 2008 12:49PM
Get real, Saria! Nobody solves actual problems nowadays! I suppose you want the government to improve your quality of life, or doctors to cure diseases. Why do things that matter when we can funnel billions into ridiculous wars or combat the "threat" of global warming? Come on!
NoHitHair @ Nov 22nd 2008 10:22PM
Hairstylists are paid more than the most esteemed of teachers.
Our loyalties are crystal clear.
Bass Masterson @ Nov 20th 2008 1:30PM
Yes, well, fuck animals. Seriously, somebody needs to tell these hippies to grow up. These are the exact same kind of people who caused Prop 2 to pass in California, guaranteeing that eggs and chicken meat will cost more for everyone just so the chickens who are going to be slaughtered or farmed for eggs will have a few extra inches of space. Why? Because hippies put their own feel-goodism above any practical concept of reality. Their pro-Prop-2 commercials actually had a photo of a chicken in a cage and the word 'BAD', then a photo of a kid hugging a chicken in a gigantic yard and the word 'GOOD'. How do you reason with such idiots?
WRE @ Nov 20th 2008 2:40PM
Exactly.
aj @ Nov 21st 2008 1:05AM
I don't know, pretend that you believe that all life deserves some measure of respect and should be treated in an ethical manner. What do you do when people just say "fuck animals"?
gst @ Nov 21st 2008 4:12PM
"Fuck animals..."
Um, seriously?
I hope you were going for absurdist humor there. People who talk like that, in a ridiculously reductionist and reactionary way, just end up lending more support to groups like PETA.
That is, the idiocy of your statements makes it easier for PETA to justify their own idiocy.
And as far as your larger point goes, I am not familiar with Prop 2, but I really see no reason why people shouldn't pay a little bit more out of a basic level of compassion for other living things. PETAs messages - which are disturbingly misanthropic and questionably support violence and forms of terrorism to reach their goals - are far different from just asking people to have a concern about where there food comes from.
There is a difference between giving a shit about animals and being completely batshit insane about animals. I really don't see there as being anything wrong with the former (in fact, a little more unselfish compassion would do much of us some good), and to bash that sort of moderate view is just as unreasonable and ignorant as categorically bashing meat-eaters (etc.) as PETA does.
rougewisp @ Nov 20th 2008 4:15PM
As a vegan, I think everyone is being a tool about this. PETA, Majesco, the general public. Some further thoughts, even though probably nobody cares: http://matthew.balousek.net/?p=16