Nintendo on Bad Lyrics
This one is short and sweet...
Dear Sir or Madam,
First of all, I'd like to introduce myself, I am a father of two children,
ages 4 and 7. They have owned a Nintendo 64 system for about one year now.
I'm very protective of them and like to monitor what kinds of games they
play. I rely heavily on the ratings given to games when choosing new
titles.
So far, they own Bust-a-Move '99 and Beetle Adventure Racing, which have
both been excellent games. This Christmas, I decided to purchase the new
title Donkey Kong 64, which they had asked for. I saw on the cover that it
received the "E" rating, which I assumed meant it was free of violence and
language. When they put the game in the system, we first watched the
introduction rap song, which I'll admit began very catchily. Then I was
appalled to find that the song contained the line "He's one hell of a guy".
This kind of language has no place in a children's title. I can't believe
this game passed the ratings board with an "E" rating. I am tempted to
trade
in the system and games immediately to FuncoLand to get a PlayStation with
more suitable games. I would like an explanation for why it was necessary
to
put a curse word in an otherwise excellent children's game.
Thank you,
Floyd Miller.
Dear Mr. Miller,
Thank you for sharing your concerns with Nintendo regarding certain lyrics in the opening song in Donkey Kong 64. Please know that it was certainly not our intention to offend or disturb anyone.
With each addition to the Donkey Kong series, new and exciting characters are introduced. In Donkey Kong 64, our game developers use a rap-style song to introduce each character. Chunky Kong, one of our newest characters, is a big, new addition to the DK Crew. The phrase you object to is commonly used for emphasis and in this case was used to emphasize just how big and how much fun Chunky Kong can be.
We realize that you feel the use of this phrase in a video game is inappropriate and your feedback is important to us. Rest assured that your comments will be shared with the appropriate departments within
Nintendo.
Sincerely,
Nintendo of America
Stéphane Clemenceault