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UK newspaper reports complaint at "vulgar" Animal Crossing

4:19 PM on 05.13.2007, David Houghton 27 comments

UK newspaper reports complaint at
     United Kingdom

In a move which has single-handedly brought the worldwide average respectability of journalists down by at least two points, the UK's free Metro newspaper has run the complete non-story of a young Animal Crossing: Wild World player, whose mother has banned her from playing the game due the filth and depravity inherent to its makeup.

The girl's mother has taken this action after everyone's favourite cute and cuddly village simulator apparently used the phrase "f***ing cow", unprovoked and completely without warning. Either oblivious to, or ignoring the fact that AC:WW is not only an online game, but also allows players to customise its lexis, the woman seemingly then felt the need to take the "news" to the Metro, who then ran it. 

I despair, I really do. Not only does one look at the screenshot of the incident in the Metro's story make it plainly clear that the phrase in question was a a piece of user created dialogue (identified by its blue highlighting) but the fact that a national paper like the Metro saw this as newsworthy, rather than a blatent piece of stupidity or attention seeking, is thoroughly depressing.

Whether the phrase was the work of another player, a previous owner of a second hand copy, or the girl herself may never be known; but regardless of the explanation, the fact that this was printed at all is embarrassing to all concerned. While the Metro have been steadily building a reputation for slack-jawed sensationalism for quite some time, this is a step up even for them, and I can't imagine the girl's mother is going to be too impressed once she gets to the bottom of things either. 

A bit of research, people ... Seriously, it helps.  

[Via n4g.com


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ian_esq's Avatar
ian_esq at 05/13/2007 16:30
I made my animal crossing Ds villagers say "wanna smoke a spliff?!" and "what up nigga"
Justice's Avatar
Justice at 05/13/2007 16:30
And to think I used to read the Metro
AS IT WAS FREE!
I'll probably continue to
Newspapers will do anything for stories
Tempus's Avatar
Tempus at 05/13/2007 16:44
Education is the key. These problems will be phased out over the next 40yrs as the ageing population decides it's time to kick the bucket. Then all of our 30yrs and under gamers will no longer have to put up with this bullshit :D
David Houghton 's Avatar
David Houghton at 05/13/2007 17:00
I can't wait for the day a couple of generations down the line when all parents are clued up on gaming by default. It's going to make life SO much easier all round.

But in the meantime, it's the age old problem of a sensationalist media combined with parents who'd rather publically flip out than pay attention to what their kids are doing, let alone take an interest. And thus pap is printed on a daily basis.
UltraViolence's Avatar
UltraViolence at 05/13/2007 17:16
Fuck I hate idiots.
ridley80's Avatar
ridley80 at 05/13/2007 18:03
Isn't the Metro that paper you get for riding the tube? I'm sure their reporters get paid a ton.

It's also funny how they censor the word in the article but then don't in the picture. In an article about vulgar words. "Again kids the word is FUCKING, F-U-C-K-I-N-G, got that?" Hmm, this irony tastes delicious.
10BobMarleys's Avatar
10BobMarleys at 05/13/2007 18:07
I understand how this mother feels. I was playing The Halo with some school friends and one of the players was named "FukWad". I was disgusted.
Dexter345's Avatar
Dexter345 at 05/13/2007 18:08
Remember, child molesters can use PictoChat to molest children. The news told me so.
Jim Sterling's Avatar
Jim Sterling at 05/13/2007 18:49
OH NOS NOT THE METRO NINTENDO ARE FINISHED!

Haha, The Metro. Fantastic.
Buster's Avatar
Buster at 05/13/2007 20:09
i remember reading crappy stuff in metro all the time, it was written by some asshole named.... robert summa or something like that
Ambulance-Y's Avatar
Ambulance-Y at 05/13/2007 20:38
yes blame animal crossing for children learning to drop f-bombs, because the f word has never been used in movies or anything. maybe even the fact that the poor lil hell spawn could be playing in the other room while mommy watches sopranos? yes blame video games for everything wrong with our world. whos with me on a class action lawsuit for my anti-socialness and mental anguish waiting for something deacent to come out for psp?
comradetrotskii's Avatar
comradetrotskii at 05/13/2007 21:18
I like how the child was so distressed - and her parent and the newspaper so concerned for her wellbeing - that they managed to replicate the incident for a photo shoot.

I wonder if they know that you can also draws cocks in the game?
Mxyzptlk's Avatar
Mxyzptlk at 05/13/2007 22:34
But why do research when the uninformed information is so much more scandalous?
pkhilson's Avatar
pkhilson at 05/13/2007 23:10
It's great how they call it a "computer game". Right there is shows they know nothing of video games.

I hope when the little girl grows up and gets married, her mother suffers a massive fatal stroke at the reception and falls face first into the wedding cake like the fat fucking irresponsible cow of a mother she is.

Now THAT's "PRET-ty harsh"
Coonskin05's Avatar
Coonskin05 at 05/14/2007 00:35
One thing that no one has touched up on is the mom's age...28. Yeah, this woman knows a lot about responsibility...
Winston Churchill's Avatar
Winston Churchill at 05/14/2007 03:20
I swear it doesn't allow "fuck"...
Winston Churchill's Avatar
Winston Churchill at 05/14/2007 03:21
And the top screen is blank... This is lies!
Tino's Avatar
Tino at 05/14/2007 03:51
So, I originally posted this comment on the wrong page. So, I'll repost it here.

Stories like these support friend codes.
TheBrain's Avatar
TheBrain at 05/14/2007 08:16
I am guilty of making my animals say "w00t" "1337" "in bed" and "dumbass"

Fun times.

"Thank you for your present, in bed!"
SaDyST1K's Avatar
SaDyST1K at 05/14/2007 09:29
"One thing that no one has touched up on is the mom's age...28. Yeah, this woman knows a lot about responsibility..."

Well said! lol.

If you ask me, bitch had it coming. Animal Crossing is a horrible game for children!
doktorpeace's Avatar
doktorpeace at 05/14/2007 10:56
My favorite free London paper story this year was a 2-page editorial about a man who felt unfairly at risk to STDs because he was "addicted to riding bareback."
Ambulance-Y's Avatar
Ambulance-Y at 05/14/2007 12:13
i wonder how many takes they had to do of that picture they had to do to make the girl look all sad and innocent?
ninja blogger's Avatar
ninja blogger at 06/19/2007 19:55
Okay first read the article. It says that the child was 11 years old and the mother was 28. So the mother would have had to have been impregnated at the age of 15 or 16. Yeah. Real responsible just like COONSKIN05 said and like Winston Churchill said, Animal Crossing censors the words shit, fuck, and cunt. So take that rip "The Metro".
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