An elaborate drone show that lit up the sky over the Hudson River on Thursday to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the popular game Candy Crush has sparked controversy.
At 7:45 p.m. on Thursday, 500 drones launched into the skies above New York City, lighting up the Manhattan skyline with an advertisement commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the video game Candy Crush.
Candies were matched at over 1,000 times the size seen on a mobile phone in a stunning performance by 500 GPS-linked drones for 10 minutes. Some of the game’s most iconic elements took part in the night sky, from electrifying Color Bombs to a larger-than-life Tiffi.
Over 1,000 people joined in the fun at Battery Park Esplanade throughout the night, listening to a live DJ, Luda Love, and enjoying Candy Crush Saga-inspired food, drinks, a massive adult ball pit, carnival games, and more.
Beyond the candied carnival space, the show was visible to thousands of New Yorkers from downtown to midtown, as well as residents of New Jersey across the Hudson.
A similar performance in New York in June used hundreds of light-equipped drones to promote the upcoming NBA draft.
About Candy Crush
In the “match three” game Candy Crush Saga, the main objective is to exchange two adjacent candies among various ones on the gameboard to create a row or column of at least three candies of the same hue.
As a result of this, the matched candies are taken off the board, candies above them fall into the vacant spaces, and new candies start to appear from the top of the board. A new set of candies that match may be produced as a result, and it would be automatically cleaned in the same way.
These matches earn the player points, and chain responses earn them ever more points called cascades. A unique sweet that, when matched, can clear a row, column, or other area of the board is also created when four or more candies are matched.
About King
The Candy Crush franchise, which is well-known worldwide, and popular mobile games like Farm Heroes Saga, Bubble Witch Saga, and Pet Rescue Saga were all created by King.
As of Q2 2022, 240 million monthly active users were playing King’s games, making Candy Crush the top-grossing franchise in US app stores, a position it has held for the past five years.
Since being acquired by Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) in 2016, King has been home to roughly 2,000 employees throughout its offices in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, and Malta as well as game studios in Stockholm, Malmö, London, Barcelona, and Berlin.
Backlash and mixed opinion
In honor of the game’s tenth anniversary by turning “the sky into the greatest screen on the earth,” according to Candy Crush chief marketing officer Fernanda Romano, as quoted by Gothamist.
“It turns out that the citizens of the Big City hated such ambition.”
“On Thursday night, 500 drones flew above the Hudson River in New York City, but they weren’t there to amaze people with a futuristic light show; instead, they were there to promote the mobile game Candy Crush. The stunt has caused a heated discussion among New Yorkers.”
“Wildlife specialists and New York state senator Brad Hoylman believe this program goes too far.”
Brad Hoylman, told Gothamist that the indisputable drone billboard “offends New Yorkers, our local laws, public safety, and animals.” Other elected officials in the area have also criticized the intrusive advertisement.
“Are we expecting New Jersey to serve as a billboard for years to come, bombarding New Yorkers with drone shows?” Hoylman declared. God forbid there might be an accident.
According to Jessica Wilson, executive director of NYC Audubon, “it’s really all about artificial light at night, which is really disturbing to birds, especially during the migration season, which is presently ongoing.” They become disoriented by that brightness, which increases their chances of running into buildings.
Twitter users also outraged on this
You did little more than cause a significant nuisance”, they wrote. Never repeat this action.
Another user stated that Candy Crush is well-known to everyone who saw the advertisement and isn’t a youngster and that they stopped playing it seven years ago.
He continued, “I think it’s obscene to ruin our city’s skyline for private gain.”
In response to the criticism, King Games’ chief marketing officer, Fernanda Romano, stated: “We worked closely with all government organizations, including the FAA, to make sure that we followed all protocols.”
It’s a symbol of humanity’s deteriorating relationship with the night sky, according to astronomers like Barentine. We’ll see more of this in the future rather than less if I can’t get people to care about stars they can’t see anyway. And that is a genuine loss for everyone, he argued.
We may not be able to see the stars clearly due to light pollution, which can involve artificial light brightening the night sky.
The level of light pollution is rising. According to a study published in September 2021 and based on satellite data, global light pollution rose by at least 49% between 1992 and 2017.
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