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City, Sports & Play

vidTO: Smash My PS3

Posted by Jerrold Litwinenko / November 20, 2006

24 Comments


[ - runs 3mins - contains profanity - ]

Sometimes very strange ideas put Toronto on the map. This video, shot last week at Dundas Square, has already been viewed over 1.6 million times in just 3 days (making it the most viewed video on all of YouTube this week)!

Smashourstuff.com is a rather vague concept, although the folks that run the site operate using a fairly simple formula. They get ahold of new, popular electronic gadgets, smash them, and post the results to the web page - much to the delight of some and the chagrin of others. Their latest stunts (following on the heels of their previous iPod and Xbox destruction projects) were the smashing of Sony's Playstation 3 and Nintendo's Wii. Purchases of the objects are funded by donations to a Paypal account.

Why do they do this? According to the web page, "this is only a social experiment, for the entertainment of the donors, and visitors of this site". The reactions of the "fanboys" in line to purchase the games, and the "hate mail" they post to the site are pretty much what you'd expect. Still, I'm left searching for a deeper meaning and purpose for this product smashing phenomenon.

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Gloria / November 20, 2006 at 12:47 pm
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Social experiment on what? Pissing people off? If it's some kind of comment on commercial consumption ... Sony and Nintendo get their money regardless. Do they care?

Idea: Use the money to buy a machine, some extra controllers, and games for a hospital's sick kids wing. How's that for a social experiment?
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jerrold / November 20, 2006 at 01:01 pm
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Maybe ad revenue they pull in from the web site could be used to make even larger donations? They address the charity and anti-corporate arguments in the <a href="http://www.smashmyps3.com/faq.php";>FAQs</a>.
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Gloria / November 20, 2006 at 01:27 pm
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Maybe. Their FAQ makes it clear they're for entertainment only ... which is fair enough. If people want to send their dollars there, I suppose it's not my business.

Maybe if they asked everyone to donate enough for one PS3/Wii/iPod/whatever to smash for garnering publicity, and another to donate, I'd feel friendlier. Maybe for every one they smash, they donate another? Apparently people enjoy it enough to commit up to $20 apiece.

It's too bad that simply donating to a charity straight up just isn't sexy enough these days.
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jerrold / November 20, 2006 at 01:30 pm
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Apparently they did buy a second PS3, which they then sold on Ebay.
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Gloria / November 20, 2006 at 02:06 pm
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Ah. Where did you read this? I must've missed this on their site.
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nick Fay / November 20, 2006 at 02:19 pm
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Let me get this straight: they bought a PS3, then smashed it up as a protest against corporations?

So both Best Buy and Sony benefit from the sale of the PS3, these guys smash it up leaving themselves with a smashed up PS3 to teach the corporations a lesson?

Why don't I punch myself in the face to protest violence?

That is the dumbest protest... ever.
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jerrold / November 20, 2006 at 02:22 pm
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The thing is, they don't claim to be doing it as protest. It's just for entertainment, and as a social experiment (which they don't really elaborate on to any appreciable extent).

Gloria: the second unit was mentioned at the end of the video posted above. :)
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jerrold / November 20, 2006 at 02:29 pm
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I also just noticed how they are dealing with people that send them hate mail. They publicly post their names and email addresses to the site.

Be warned: if you send them negative comments you're likely going to see a LOT of spam coming your way. Ouch! See the <a href="http://www.smashmyps3.com/contacts.php";>disclaimer here</a>.
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Mark Dowling / November 20, 2006 at 04:20 pm
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I wonder how they managed to dispose of the debris in an environmentally proper manner...
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A.R. / November 20, 2006 at 04:55 pm
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They may be doing it for entertainment, but perhaps this will get people to reflect on the dominance of luxury goods in their lives. I'm not saying that'll convince anyone not to buy a PS3, just to think about it. If just a quarter of the people in the lines donated their money to, say, the hospital for Sick Kids, that would be rather substantial.
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jerrold / November 20, 2006 at 05:31 pm
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Some of the effects of this campaign (whether intentional or not) may be profound.

Maybe it will make people realize that luxury goods are distracting us from the basics.

Maybe it will remind people of the costs of technology (and goods in general) that go far beyond the retail price (think of the wasted labour, fossil fuels, materials, environmental costs).

Maybe these guys just want to get a rise out of gamers, and it's simply for kicks.

The possibilities are many.
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Sam / November 20, 2006 at 08:38 pm
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My friend knows the leader of the pack and he isn't particularly intelligent, but he does have some business sense. They make a lot of ad revenue.

While they're obviously not looking to make any profound statements, I like to think of it as the burning of a golden calf.
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Piero / November 21, 2006 at 12:47 am
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OMG, I wish they had live video footage of all the kids and PS3 fans around the world as they watched them smash the unit! That would bring a tear to my eye.

One can love the games, the entertainment value and the technology of PS3s, Xboxs (or is it Xboxes?), and the wee wii but don't hate us if we abhor the marketing/hype spectacle that accompanies these product launches. What the hell is Best Buy doing taking over Dundas Square, a PUBLIC space and going over-the-top with banners?

Yonge-Dundas Square
(The City of Toronto is a partner in this venue)
Patrick Carnegie
416-979-9960
patrick@ydsquare.ca

Let him know you don't approve of this type of over-the-top event in OUR space.

http://www.toronto.ca/special_events/booknps.htm
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fink / November 21, 2006 at 07:33 am
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OMG, Piero, It just dawned on me why your website was designed the way it was. It's primary purpose was never meant to be a socially concscious website for the people but rather as a revenue generater for the you. That's why you have amazon.com advertisements on your site!
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jerrold / November 21, 2006 at 12:24 pm
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Today's National Post has a short <a href="http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/toronto/story.html?id=7970c2cb-bfdd-4bef-9381-c3c8111b9895";>interview</a> with Ben Lovatt, the sledgehammer-toting "entertainer".
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Piero / November 21, 2006 at 04:28 pm
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Yeah fink, I'm raking it in at $0 total revenue. I don't have a problem with making money or corporations. I have a problem with EXCESSIVE advertising that is obtrusive and dominating. A SINGLE small icon at the bottom of my page hardly fits the mold of being excessive. Whereas an entire public square adorned with at least 30 Best Buy banners/logos, balloons, and a massive tent in a public space (not private webspace which you CHOSE to visit) is absolutely excessive. You comparison is incredibly weak.
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Matt / November 21, 2006 at 08:30 pm
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I've seen some stupid things done before but that just left me speechless. For some reason the pimp outfit made it even more infuriating. What a waste of a perfectly good system.
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miles / November 22, 2006 at 07:29 am
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I think it's creepy when people idolise these machines so much they wish bad things on someone who abuses one. Who cares if you stood in line for 18 hours to get one. You got yours, go home and whack off in front of it if you want.
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Fink / November 22, 2006 at 08:24 am
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Pieo, did you honestly believe the city would build something like Dundas Square and not want it to generate revenue?

Even if there was no advertising in that area, the city makes money off the rental of the square for special events. Pardon me if I don't think your revelation about Dundas Square is on the same level as "Soylent Green".
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Piero / November 22, 2006 at 12:35 pm
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Fink / November 23, 2006 at 10:15 am
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Yeah, you missed the point.
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Piero / November 23, 2006 at 11:53 pm
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Wow, what a comeback.
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Fink / November 24, 2006 at 08:37 am
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Well, you did.
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Ben / November 27, 2006 at 11:09 am
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Hio, this is Ben from the smash crew. I wore the pimp outfit. I just wanted to let you know what we've opened up a charitable website called http://www.EducatedEarth.net. 10% of profits and money raised via donations are given to a publicly voted-upon charity every month.
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