Southington cancels event designed to collect and destroy ‘violent video games’

A previously planned event to collect and dispose of "violent video games" has been canceled just days before it was set to take place. A group of residents in the small town of Southington — about 30 miles from the site of the Newton massacre — had organized a voluntary video game return program to help dispose of "violent" video games. The original plan was to have a dumpster set up for the collection of violent video games, CDs, and DVDs, which would later be destroyed. Needless to say, it cause quite a stir among those in the gaming industry.

Now, just three days shy of the actual event date, SouthingtonSOS has decided to cancel the program. In a press conference held today, the organization said it had accomplished its goal which was to create "strong awareness in Southington for parents and families and citizens and children."

“We succeeded in our program,” spokesman Dick Fortunato told Polygon. “Our mission was to create strong awareness in Southington for parents and families 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 the families at the home. And we've accomplished that in spades. So we deemed it became unnecessary to have the physical return on Saturday of violent games. Also because it would create an unnecessary amount of logistical details for us."

When news of the event went public, SouthingtonSOS made sure to emphasize the event was "not intended to be construed as statement declaring that violent video games were the cause of the shocking violence in Newton." Still, it caused quite a fuss. I'd bet that the negative publicity from this event was one of the contributing reasons for the canceling of the event, though SouthingtonSOS didn't admit that.

In a press release sent out about the cancelation of the program, the group said this:

"Today, after just one week, we are pleased to announce that awareness has been raised significantly, thanks to the support of the media and widely disseminated e-mail communications within our community through our local SouthingtonSOS member organizations. The result has been a swift, positive and supportive response of parents, young people and the general population of our community. Our mission now continues as a work in progress in the hands of a very caring Southington community.".