So PETA is angry with Nintendo... but not for reasons you would think. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a scathing letter to Nintendo over their treatment of farm animals in one of their more popular Nintendo Switch titles.

Polygon is reporting that PETA has come down on Nintendo for their game 1-2-Switch. Recently, Nintendo participated in a media event with a dairy farm in a challenge to see who could milk cows better in 1-2-Switch: dairy farmers or hardcore gamers.

PETA was displeased with how positive the game 1-2-Switch was being perceived for its cow-milking mini-game, where players use the left and right Joy-Con controllers to imitate milking udders in order to fill up their cup with milk.

The mini-game doesn't actually show cows being milked, and it's a rather simple mini-game designed to be fun at parties or get-togethers.

PETA found this to be rather distasteful.

In their letter to Nintendo, which ended up being pasted up on Facebook, they chastised Nintendo for not being more realistic in their depiction of animal cruelty that cows undergo during the milking process.

According to PETA, the 1-2-Switch mini-game glamorizes the act of milking cows and does not show the harm and dangers associated with milking cows, nor does it show some of the unsavory acts that cows endure at some dairy farms.

Ingrid E. Newkirk, the head of PETA, stated that over the course of 35 years of working at dairy farms, she noted that milking cows was "never" a pleasant experience for the animals. She asked... "can we have some realism here, please?"

At this point the game is already shipped... it fact, it's been shipped since March 3rd, 2017. So, with being available on the market for a month, this means that Nintendo would have to completely rework the game if they wanted to add more "realistic" portrayals of cows being milked in 1-2-Switch for the Nintendo Switch.

The thing is... why would they?

It's an expensive task to completely bring back the development team, adding in all new animations for the cow, making the cow look uncomfortable (which would surely make players uncomfortable) and then adding in either real footage of cows or 3D cows in pain during the milking process. It would be a quick way to kill sales of 1-2-Switch. The party game is all about bringing people together to feel good, and I doubt seeing farm animals in discomfort and pain would help accomplish that.

Of course, the other alternative is for Nintendo to completely remove the milking mini-game from the Nintendo Switch exclusive. This is another net negative since it would cost money to remove an entire aspect of the game, and Nintendo doesn't really gain anything from that. Plus, the milking mini-game appears to be one of the more popular offerings from 1-2-Switch.

This isn't the first time PETA has targeted Nintendo, as they also went after them for the Super Mario tanooki suit and for Pokemon.

Polygon attempted to reach out to Nintendo regarding the matter, but the company hasn't responded yet.

Nintendo released a series of new videos for 1-2-Switch for the Nintendo Switch. There are a number of mini-games on display for the upcoming Nintendo Switch exclusive, which takes a very different approach to competitive gaming.

There are some crazy mini-games in 1-2-Switch for the Nintendo Switch, as showcased on the official Nintendo Japan website. The description at the top of the site explains that players stand face to face staring each other in the eye. It mostly translates to "match eyes to eyes", as in looking at your opponent.

As depicted in the crazy samurai game above, one player has to watch carefully and attempt to catch the sword of their opponent successfully to avoid being sliced in half. It's bizarre but also kind of cool. The samurai mini-game is focused on reflexes and timing as much as it is paying attention to the movement and motion of your opponent. They explain in the description that you stare at each other and then attempt to catch the "naked blade".

Another mini-game for the Nintendo Switch exclusive includes imitating eating a sub sandwich as quickly as possible. The description explains how you hold the Joy-Con at a specific distance from your mouth while it makes use of the IR reader to simulate eating a sub sandwich. The description conveys that players will virtually attempt to get full by using their arms and mouth to eat as many subs as possible.

Another mini-game in 1-2-Switch sees two players attempting to shave as quickly as possible using the Joy-Cons as razors.

None of these games look like fun to me, but I'm sure these will be a blast at get togethers, or while you're out having fun with friends and family, or maybe even courting a stranger with a quick game while you wait for a ride or take the long commute home.

One thing that does entice me is how cool and functionally diverse the Nintendo Switch is with the Joy-Con controllers. Nintendo didn't have to innovate but they did, and not only that but instead of upping the pixel count or competing with frame-rates in the diminishing returns of mediocre looking games with mediocre looking graphics, they decided to try to focus on games that elevate the interaction levels between two players.

Even if 1-2-Switch isn't my kind of game, I can easily see this game selling like crazy. It seems like something casual gamers would absolutely adore. It's a shame we actually haven't been able to see more of ARMS, because despite its simplicity the motion-based fighting seems like it could be pretty fun.

Anyway, if all the crazy mini-games in 1-2-Switch seem like fun to you, you can look to get your hands on the party game pack when the Nintendo Switch launches on March 3rd next month.

Price, performance and software... those are the three things that can really determine how alluring a game console looks to the customer. The Nintendo Switch already comes in at a $299 price point, and that has made some gamers leery of purchasing it. However, some people would be willing to change that view if it came bundled with a game, such as 1-2 Switch. Well, Nintendo executive Reggie Fils-Aime explained why one of the launch titles isn't bundled into the package and it's to keep it under $299.

Speaking with Gamespot, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime explained that they needed to hit that $299 price point and including a game would have raised the price of the Nintendo Switch...

It would have been nice if the Nintendo Switch needed to be at $299 with a piece of software.

Right now there are some people who have already given up on the Switch because it isn't $250. Some have expressed reservations that $299 is steep, but if it came with a game, such as the party game launch title 1-2 Switch, it would be an instant buy. Others feel it's just too overpriced compared to the $250 bundles for the Xbox One and PS4 available at some outlets.

The thing is, there's a fine line that Nintendo is threading in order to sell the Nintendo Switch at a profit (which is something they always aim to do with their consoles and portable devices) and also keep the hybrid console at an affordable price for consumers.

Nintendo managed to find that perfect sweet spot with the Wii, which launched at $250 and came with Wii Sports. The Wii became an instant phenomenon and managed to sell out around the world. What's more is that it ended up winning seventh gen gaming, putting Nintendo back up top as a prime time console manufacturer. The complete opposite happened with the Wii U, which ended up faltering due to a high price ($299 and $329 respectively) and the fact that a lot of people were confused as to what it was.

The bigger question is: had the Wii U not had such a confused marketing message, would casuals have flocked to pick one up?

It's one of those questions that will forever remain a mystery, but is also one of the biggest variables in whether or not the Switch will catch on with casuals. If the marketing isn't confused and casuals do know what the Switch is, will they be inclined to pick one up?

At that point the answer boils down to price and software. And in this case, Reggie Fils-Aime believes $299 is the magic number for the Nintendo Switch, which is why it won't come bundled with 1-2 Switch. If casuals are a-okay with that, then it's just a matter of ensuring that compelling software is made available for the platform at a consistent rate.

With the Nintendo Switch set to launch on March 3 and a whole bunch of games and release windows thrown around during last week's Switch-focused events, folks have started to question what, exactly, they'll be able to play during the new console's launch window. Well, we now have a better understanding of exactly that.

One of our concerns with the Nintendo Switch was whether or not the launch window would provide enough entertainment to keep folks busy heading into the fall, when more of Nintendo's newly-announced titles are gunning for launch. Over at GameSpot, they've pulled together a list of everything that has been confirmed so far, including a list of just five launch titles.

Launch Day (March 3, 2017)

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

1-2-Switch

Super Bomberman R

Just Dance 2017

Skylanders: Imaginators

The Binding Of Isaac: Afterbirth+

I Am Setsuna __???????

To be clear, these are all of the titles that have been confirmed so far and, with about a month and a half between now and that March 3 launch, there's no telling whether or not a few extra surprises will pop up. We imagine the new Zelda is big enough for many folks to forgive an otherwise lackluster launch collection, but many seem to be less impressed with what we've seen so far.

That 1-2-Switch game certainly looks neat and is obviously intended to be the "show the console off to friends and family title. That slot was filled by Wii Sports back in the day so, if 1-2-Switch is anywhere near as effective a showcase as Wii Sports, it could turn out to be a big hit.

Super Bomberman R seems like some good multiplayer fun but, again, it's not exactly screaming "must-have launch title." And then there are Just Dance 2017 and Skylanders: Imaginators, which we suppose will be exciting for series fans who don't already have those games on other platforms.

Heading further into the year by a month or two, though, a collection of additional games at least make the Switch's launch window a bit more interesting.

Spring

Has-Been Heroes (March)

Snipperclips, Cut it Out Together (March)

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (April 28)

Arms (Spring)

Puyo Puyo Tetris (Spring)

Not to keep sounding negative here but, again, we're having a hard time getting too excited for the Switch's initial lineup of games. Arms looked entertaining during the console reveal event and a remastered version of Mario Kart 8 is a welcome addition, but we don't have too much of a read on these other games. I Am Setsuna is a great old-school JRPG from Square Enix, but we imagined many members of its would-be audience already bought the game when it launched on other platforms last July.

One of the launch games for the Nintendo Switch is a party game called 1-2 Switch. If the name sounds odd it's because the game is odd. However, it's an extremely original title and speaks well to Nintendo's creativity.

1-2 Switch was announced during the live-stream presentation held in Tokyo, Japan for the unveiling of the price and release date of the Nintendo Switch. Separately, a full-on gameplay trailer for 1-2 Switch was posted up on the official Nintendo YouTube channel, where gamers briefly got an idea of what to expect from the party game.

Now, I'll be honest here, all during the initial live-stream presentation I didn't know what they were trying to sell. They barely showed gameplay and the description didn't make much sense; it didn't sound like much of a game to me.

The initial trailer showcasing the two cowboys made it seem like it was going to be a sort of Red Dead Redemption title (although it was obvious it wasn't, given that Nintendo tries very hard to veer away from a lot of overt violence in the first-party line-up), but then the trailer began showcasing all of these other odd scenarios that completely threw me for a loop.

We see two people in different situations facing each other and performing all sorts of odd pantomimes. One pairing pretends to swing a sword while another blocks. Another scene shows two people attempting to throw magic at each other. Another sequence shows two guys battling each other in air-guitar. Another scene shows two female sailors, and then there are some other short sequences where I can't even tell what they're doing.

As the headline mentions, 1-2 Switch for the Nintendo Switch is very... Nintendoy. It's not a traditional party game nor is it a traditional competitive game. It reminds me of something you might see at the arcade in a foreign resort.

Thankfully they showcased more of the game during the Treehouse Live event for Nintendo Switch games. During the event they revealed that there are some crazy 1-on-1 competitive games such as using the Joy-Con controllers to rapidly milk the udders of a cow, and whoever gets the most milk out of the cow the quickest wins. They also demonstrated the quick draw where you have to face your opponent and then quickly raise the Joy-Con and press the trigger to out-draw your opponent. It's actually pretty cool.

There are a variety of other games included in the pack as well, including dance and pose games and all sorts of other odd, weird, quirky and entertaining mini-games. They didn't give a price for 1-2 Switch on the Nintendo Switch, but we do know that it will be a launch title for the system on March 3rd. It's really hard to tell exactly how well this game will be viewed by the consumer market in the Americas and Europe, but it definitely seems like this could be a smash hit on the Nintendo Switch in Japan.