Canadian game journalist Steve Tilley reports that game retailer Future Shop cancelled midnight launch parties in Toronto and Vancouver out of respect for Brandon Crisp and his family.
The 15-year-old gamer was found dead late Wednesday afternoon. He had been missing since October 13th after running away from home following a family dispute over his video game play. Tilley writes:
Future Shop just got in touch to say they're cancelling the festivities surrounding tonight's midnight launch of Gears Of War 2 in Toronto and Vancouver, out of respect for the friends and family of teen gamer Brandon Crisp. Future Shop stores will still be opening at midnight to sell the game... there just won't be any of the planned hoopla...
I guess a public spectacle around the release of a popular multiplayer video game so soon after the Brandon Crisp tragedy didn't sit well with Future Shop, who said the decision was made by the company and their "vendor partner", ie. Microsoft...
Meanwhile, Toronto's CityNews has a quote from Future Shop:
Future Shop and our vendor partner have decided to cancel promotional activities prior to the midnight release of Gears of War 2 in Toronto and Vancouver out of respect for the family and friends of Brandon Crisp.
GP: What do you think, GP readers? Did Future Shop make the right call?
Comments
Re: Gears 2 Launch Parties Scrubbed as Gesture to Brandon Crisp
Well this makes no sense at all. It's a celebration suddenly to sell a game at midnight? Most of these "launch parties" are just a ton of underdeoderanted gamers in lines sipping free soda while the game trailers play on a TV somewhere. Occassionally the carnival barker jumps up and does a countdown asking everyone if they're excited for the game, people grab the title and either go home or hit a Steak 'N Shake, and likely never see line companions again, in life or online.
Doing this begs the ultimate question. On the day John Travolta dies, will Future Shop cancel all launch parties for Rock Band/Guitar Hero games? After all, Travolta was known for Saturday Night Fever... which is about music... so it kind of fits, right?
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Re: Gears 2 Launch Parties Scrubbed as Gesture to Brandon Crisp
That is a horrible decision on Future Shop's part.
I can understand if they want to try and be sympathetic, but doing this only makes people think that there is a connection between video games and the death of a 15 year-old when it is really a run away dying from exposure because he and his father had an argument.
Gears of War and Future Shop had nothing to do with the incident. I have to wonder, if the father and son had an argument about math being too difficult and he ran away as a result of that argument would schools suddenly stop demanding students take math classes? Would anti-math legislation take effect? Would it be cited as a way to remove math from the sight of 'innocent minors'?
This story is a tragic case of a son running away from home after having an argument with his father and dying as a result. Nothing more, nothing less.
Re: Gears 2 Launch Parties Scrubbed as Gesture to Brandon Crisp
Was thinking exactly this while reading the article, except less well-put.
Re: Gears 2 Launch Parties Scrubbed as Gesture to Brandon Crisp
"This story is a tragic case of a son running away from home after having an argument with his father and dying as a result. Nothing more, nothing less."
Hear, hear. I said almost the exact same thing in a post to another entry on this story. I get sick and tired of a media that has no creativity what-so-ever. They get pointed in one direction and suddenly everything has to tie into that. What they fought over should have no bearing on this. It should be a message about how to discipline your children when they are not behaving appropriately, not a message that video games caused him to die.
Re: Gears 2 Launch Parties Scrubbed as Gesture to Brandon Crisp
Amen! I couldn't agree more. Personally, I can agree with them toning down any hoopla about their game in the area around where the kid died, but advertising the fact is only going to tie the kid's death to videogames more.
Re: Gears 2 Launch Parties Scrubbed as Gesture to Brandon Crisp
I don't think it'd matter much. Gears 2 has enough "hoopla" going for it as it is.
I didn't even know it came out today until the first kid dragged his dad to Wal-Mart in his bed clothes at 12:30 in the morning to buy it. The second kid's mother was still in her nightgown and bathrobe. Neither parent looked at all happy.
Re: Gears 2 Launch Parties Scrubbed as Gesture to Brandon Crisp
I take it they weren't in an mood to listen about why they shouldn't buy the game for their kid?
Re: Gears 2 Launch Parties Scrubbed as Gesture to Brandon Crisp
Just more evidence how this entire case was chasing a Red Herring. "Der, kid played games." What kid his age doesn't?
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Re: Gears 2 Launch Parties Scrubbed as Gesture to Brandon Crisp
It actually strikes me as odd. Future Shop, nor Gears of War had any part of the ensuing drama that revolved around the Crisp case. For Future Shop it is a polite and admirable jesture in this fashion, but still strikes me as something odd about it...
Now if it was Call of Duty 5, it might be more understandable.
Re: Gears 2 Launch Parties Scrubbed as Gesture to Brandon Crisp
uh.... what? i guess i can see where future shop is coming from, but i think this is a bit much. kind of draws more attention to video games than if they just went through with the thing, and this will just further reinforce the media's perception that video games were the cause of crisp's death.
Re: Gears 2 Launch Parties Scrubbed as Gesture to Brandon Crisp
I think the telling part in this article is "the decision was made by the company and their "vendor partner", ie. Microsoft..."
Brandon was an Xbox gamer and MS put up $50000 to the reward for finding him (or raised it to $50000, I can't remember which). I would imagine the decision would have come from that side.
Re: Gears 2 Launch Parties Scrubbed as Gesture to Brandon Crisp
Microsoft isn't the vendor. At least in most cases it wouldn't be.
Re: Gears 2 Launch Parties Scrubbed as Gesture to Brandon Crisp
in the case of gears of war MS would certainly be the vendor.