Pirates versus Ninjas
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- This entry is about a cultural phenomenon. For the Xbox Live Arcade and Wii game, see Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball
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| Artist | Marcus Hadlock |
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| Year | 2009 |
Pirates versus Ninjas (or vice versa) is an internet meme that circulates in the form of an ongoing debate that asks the question "Who would win in a fight: pirates or ninjas?".
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[edit] Recent History
[edit] Games
In 1989 Atari produced the arcade game (later ported to home computers) Skull & Crossbones which allowed the players to play as pirates fighting against ninjas.[1]
The 1998 Playstation ninja video game Tenchu: Stealth Assassins features a level in which the player must free a Japanese village from European pirates.
The 2006 Ninja Burger 2nd Edition RPG features Pirate Pizza as the main enemy of Ninja Burger.
In 2007, Gamecock announced that they would be releasing Pirates Vs. Ninjas Dodgeball in 2008, an Xbox Live Arcade game pitting pirates vs ninja (among other groups) against each other in dodgeball.[2]
The 2008 video game Saints Row 2 also makes references to the Pirates Vs Ninja meme in the "Fuzz" activity, in which the player poses as a police officer. The player is instructed to break up the "fight of the century" and upon arrival discovers that the perpetrators are none other than pirates and ninjas.
In the Xbox 360 game Castle Crashers the meme is inverted when the player's boat is attacked by pirates, who just happen to be ninjas.
Artix Entertainment's games (excluding Mechquest): AdventureQuest, DragonFable, and AdventureQuest Worlds, make references to a sort of feud between pirates and ninjas.
A World of Warcraft ingame item, called Savory Deviate Delight can turn player avatars into either pirates or ninjas. [3]
Puzzle Pirates released a series of ads wherein it stated :"Ninja free since 2006."[citation needed]
The 2009 video game MadWorld has a level in which the player fights ninjas. In this level there is an item to pickup that is a Pirate's hat. When the player throws the hat, the ninjas attack it.
[edit] Websites
Robert Hamburger's Real Ultimate Power website in March 2002 was one of the first internet appearances of the meme.
The popular flash animation How to Kill a Mockingbird, a mockumentary about the book To Kill a Mockingbird, appeared in 2004[citation needed], aiding in the online spread of the meme. The animation begins as a genuine description of the book, but quickly turns into a science-fiction fantasy, a significant part of which involves a battle of pirates and ninjas.
Several competitive web sites and games based upon the ninjas vs. pirates theme later appeared, including PVNgame.com and a popular viral Facebook application[4] with millions of users.[5] The site Ninjas and Pirates allowed members to join either the Ninjas or Pirates and compete for control of the site every week. The site piratevninja.com invited visitors to cast a vote for either the pirates or ninjas, and explain their reasons for the vote.
The website weebls-stuff.com make a reference to this meme in their flash animation series Weebl and Bob where a character named "Chris the Ninja Pirate" holds both the characteristics of a ninja and a pirate thus creating an "ultimate warrior".
[edit] Comics
The inclusion of the meme in webcomic author Scott Kurtz's PvP in June 2002, in a strip titled Ninja vs. Pirate,[6] is one of the first verifiable online appearances.
A webcomic called The Adventures of Dr. McNinja was created by Chris Hastings. Issue 2 of this comic features a storyline based upon the war between Pirates and Ninjas. The theme then follows on through other comics on the site.
Another webcomic was setup by Sam Shaw early in 2008 entitled PiratesVzNinjas.
Antarctic Press has produced a series of comics titled Pirates Vs. Ninjas which have a pirate crew taking on a ninja clan for the weapons of ancient gods. This was followed by a sequel called Up The Ante, plus an annual and several one-shot specials like Global Harming, Debate in 08, and Ghost Pirates Vs. Ghost Ninjas.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Killer List Of Video Games
- ^ Pirates Vs. Ninjas Dodgeball confirmed for XBLA, zombies revealed
- ^ Savory Deviate Delight on Thottbot, a World of Warcraft database
- ^ Naone, Erica. "Facebook Pushes for Sophistication." p.2. ABC News Online. September 20th, 2007. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Story?id=3628095&page=2
- ^ Sara. "Top 200 Facebook Applications" (Spreadsheet). October 9th, 2007. http://www.swivel.com/data_sets/spreadsheet/1010082
- ^ Kurtz, Scott. "Pirate vs. Ninja" PVP Online. June 4th, 2002. http://www.pvponline.com/2002/06/04/tue-jun-04/
[edit] External links
- Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball by Escapist Magazine's Andy Chalk. 24 Aug 2007
- Ninjas Vs Pirates forum on LiveJournal
