All those remarks about how Nintendo won't screen WiiWare games and let small developers have free reign have proven to be bogus. First, Nintendo patrols the release of WiiWare games like a hawk, only letting one or two trickle out a week, and now, in the most blatant reveal of their big Right Hand of Doom grip on WiiWare, they won't allow a game with the name "Beer Pong," but it's cool that it is still called Frat Party Games.
But wait, I can't say beer. According to Nintendo, that's not family friendly but shooting zombies and/or humans is totally cool. Beating the crap out of people is also a good time according to Reggie Fils-Aime. But beer, which is legal to people over the age of 21 and heavily advertised on television, is not allowed to be mentioned on a Nintendo system. This whole problem could have been easily solved if this game was just given a Teen rating for, I don't know, drunken debauchery or use of the word 'beer.'
Yes, this is on WiiWare and theoretically any kid with Wii Points could download this but that same kid could buy the upcoming Animales de la Muertes, which is a bloody game about killing undead animals. There's a blackjack game already out and that's technically only for people over 21 as well. And look, it is a Teen rated game, just like what this Beer Pong game should be rated and probably still will be regardless of the name.
This isn't really a big deal and the name change is merely an attempt by Nintendo to prevent any kind of public relations disaster but either way this game promotes drinking and either way Nintendo is compromising the words they said about WiiWare when it was first announced. Maybe the best solution for this specific situation is to call it by the game's alternate name: Beirut.