IndustryGamers - Informing the Games Industry

Mafia 2 Launch Party 'Fails' As Italian-American Coalition Turns Up The Heat

Posted August 31, 2010 by M.H. Williams

On Saturday, August 28, a coalition of Italian American advocacy groups struck their first real blow against Take-Two’s franchise sequel, Mafia II. The leader of the group, Andre’ DiMino said, “I have no doubt our efforts resulted in the Mafia II Launch Party, at the 92nd Street Y's Tribeca Center, being a dismal failure. When we first heard about this marketing event only recently, we went into action, using our resolve to challenge an event whose purpose was to mock the Italian American community by promoting the new video game Mafia II."

The event was one of many parties leading up to the final event in New York City. The site of the event, the local 92nd Street YMCA had weathered a week of angry remonstrations by DiMino for hosting the launch party. No Take-Two executives attended the party, and the turnout was less than expected.

"I believe the combined result of our activities was that, without acknowledging our efforts, both Take-Two and the 92nd Street Y became very hesitant to heavily promote ethnic bashing in this very public way,” said DiMino. “The lack of media coverage for the launch party is another indicator that they pulled back on promoting this event."

"For us, this is one small, satisfying victory in a much longer, more sophisticated campaign within the Italian American community opposed to Mafia II specifically, and the continued misrepresentation of the Italian American community, generally. Take-Two and its major investors, and the entertainment industry in general, will be hearing further and forcefully from us,” he concluded.

M.H. Williams has been writing in some form or another for ten years and has been a hardcore gamer since the NES first graced American shores.  You can catch him on Twitter as @AutomaticZen, Google+ as himself, or on his personal Facebook page.