Connecticut Town Cancels Video Game Burning
Southington, Connecticut, the town that was planning to run a program in which people could turn in their violent media in return for gift certificates, only to destroy the media later, has decided to cancel their plans.
According to Polygon, the group called the SouthingtonSOS have told them that they've accomplished their missions. Spokesman Dick Fortunato said, "We succeeded in our program. Our mission was to create strong awareness in Southington for parents and familities and citizens and children. And we accomplished that. Our other objective was to promote discussion of violent video games and media with children and with families at the home. And we've accomplished that in spades."
And so parents spoke to their children, awareness was raised, and many discs were kept safe. Fortunato said that it would have been unnecessary to have people turn in their media and that the logistics would have been troublesome for the group. The SOS was supposed to receive the gift certificates, which were valued at $25 each, from a member of the Greater Southington Chamber of Commerce. These were to be given out on January 12th, 2013 after citizens traded in their media at the local drive-in movie theater.
The article from Polygon also states that while the SOS won't be destroying games en masse and giving out gift vouchers for those who relinquish their goods, they still plan to reward parents who discuss the violence in video games with their children.
For more on this story about how a small town in Connecticut is making strides to spread awareness, check out the article here. And as always, let us know what you think in the comments below.