Animal Crossing: Wild, Racist FILTH [update]
Update: Nintendo has issued an official statement. Head past the break to read it.
Nintendo is, famously, very politically correct where Animal Crossing is concerned. In the games, any festivals or holidays with even a hint of religious overtones are quietly repackaged: Easter becomes "Bunny Day," Christmas is "The Night that Jingle Comes to Town," and so forth. This keenness to be inclusive and totally inoffensive means Animal Crossing: Wild World was the last game we expected to spew racist terminology.
Because that's what it's done ... albeit accidentally. If you've played an Animal Crossing title before, you'll know that you can teach your fellow villagers words, which they'll then use to greet you. Naturally, this is open to player abuse, as you can enter cuss words and other rude terms -- something that not even Nintendo is above doing.
MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo recently received a copy of Wild World from Nintendo, so he could test the Wii/DS transfer feature in City Folk. The copy had been played before, because it was full of rare, unlocked items, but those weren't the only secrets the cart held. As he started chatting to his village's animals, Totilo suddenly found himself being racially abused by a sheep called Baabara. "How are you, N---a?" is just one greeting he received from the woolly fascist. Whoops!
Maybe triple-check the next batch of press-only carts you send out, Nintendo? Now if you'll excuse us, we're off to phone the Daily Mail.
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Nintendo's official response:
Previously played copies of the 2005 DS game Animal Crossing: Wild World were sent to 14 members of the media to demonstrate the ability of players to transfer items to the new Animal Crossing: City Folk for Wii. We regret that an offensive phrase was included without our knowledge via a wireless function that allows user-generated catchphrases to spread virally from one game to the next. This version is limited to 14 copies created for media review purposes only and is not available at retailers. We sincerely apologize for the incident and are working with media who received the game cards to return them to Nintendo immediately.
