2K CZECH'S MAFIA II LAUNCH PARTY
Last week we finally unleashed our virtual baby into the world. Mafia II was definitely the most anticipated game in Czech Republic, partially due to the history of the developer and the reputation of the first Mafia. This was well reflected during the midnight sales opening which happened in many stores across many cities of the country. The biggest one was obviously in the Czech capital city Prague. Part of the 2K Czech team participated in the event.
The event did not happened just in the regular store but actually in a much more stylish "Casa Gelmi" palace. Many hours before it began eager fans were already setting camps in front of the building so that they would have the best spots when the long row of hundreds of people was created later in the evening. When the doors were opened and the event officially started, the line moved inside the palace where a 4-hour long show took place on the podium in front of the large main room, surrounded by stairs and balconies. The show was hosted by Ondrej Broukal from Czech television show Game Page and it began by the contest for the best contemporary costume. Almost everyone in the room – not only the promoters but also the guests – came in proper contemporary costumes from 1940's/1950's.
After that, representatives of 2K Czech family took the stage and opened a discussion panel with the fans, showing also some videos such as "Outtakes from motion capture sessions" etc. The atmosphere was awesome and some of us from the developer team were really moved when for example one of the fans stood in the long line for questions only to humbly ask us if he can shook our hands. In the end we also voted for the worst costume in the room which pointed to the guy in a GTA shirt who was then taken backstage with the guards with Tommy guns.
At the stroke of midnight contemporary uniformed policemen and mobsters fought a fight for crates of contraband which resulted in opening the crates full of Mafia II games. The midnight sales were officially started and the line started moving. However many fans did not just run home with the game, they patiently stood in another hour-long line to get the autographs from the 2K Czech team. Some of the girls even asked to be signed on their bodies.
The event ended few hours later in the morning and we started to gather information and photos from the other shops and cities around the country to realize that similar events full of hundreds of costume-dressed people happened everywhere. Few days later we have it officially confirmed from the local game's publisher Cenega that Mafia II is the fastest selling game in the history of Czech Republic. Shouts out to everyone who supported us, we are happy to welcome you all in Empire Bay!
Martin Zavrel, Development Manager, 2K Czech
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