Nintendo yesterday was attacked by PETA over Mario's wearing his famous Tanooki suit in Super Mario 3D Land, which released this week for 3DS. The organization claimed that the message Nintendo is sending by allowing the suit to be worn by Mario is that wearing fur is acceptable.
"Tanooki may be just a 'suit' in Mario games, but in real life, tanuki are raccoon dogs who are skinned alive for their fur. By wearing Tanooki, Mario is sending the message that it's OK to wear fur," PETA explained.
Nintendo, however, says it's just a lighthearted transformation of the Mario character and is not sending any message at all.
"Mario often takes the appearance of certain animals and objects in his games. These have included a frog, a penguin, a balloon and even a metallic version of himself. These lighthearted and whimsical transformations give Mario different abilities and make his games fun to play. The different forms that Mario takes make no statement beyond the games themselves," insisted a Nintendo spokesperson.
[Thanks Eurogamer]
