More 'Animal loving' on the Internet

Many big names in entertainment have been accused of 'selling out' over the years. They have perhaps 'forgotten where they came from' or sadder yet, 'not kept it real'. Nintendo is not one of those names. As a company who is generally credited with inventing the whole 'cute animals as video game characters' design philosophy Nintendo has decided to once again 'give something back'. It’s recent humanitarian ventures in relation to the uber-successful Nintendogs has once again led them down the path of charitable cross-marketing.

This time however, the species of interest is our own cousin - unless you live in Kansas - the ape. More specifically the apes living in the Animal Protection Institute's Primate Sanctuary located just outside "beautiful' (so their tourism board would have us believe) San Antonio, Texas.

In celebration of the upcoming release of Donkey Kong Country 3 for the GBA/Micro/DS, Nintendo is hosting a “Where’s DK Search”. For those interested in helping our thumb-toting brethren, virtual and otherwise, head over to www.whereisdonkeykong.com where you will “follow the clues” to “discover his whereabouts and earn a donation to charity”.

For those pondering the relevance of a missing Donkey Kong to DKC3, because you either don’t remember or just aren’t as bloody ancient as us, DKC3 does not star DK or Diddy, but rather sees Dixie and Kiddy Kong, who must find the game's namesake and free him from the most evil of kidnappers, some sort of reptilian creature to be sure. Like Donkey Kong Country 2, but with a slightly worse interface. If you never played the SNES originals, pick these games up. They don't make them like this anymore.

So go forth, gaming news enthusiasts, and lend your ample time to a good cause, then come back here and tell us what you think. Unless you hate cute little poop-throwing monkeys in which case you can tell us to bugger off. Our lovely forum located just south of these words will facilitate either way.