'Homefront' Video Game Company Launches 10,000 Balloons --- Into the Bay

By Erin Sherbert Wed., Mar. 2 2011 at 4:43 PM

One balloon is one too many

A peaceful anti-North Korea protest turned into an environmental panic after the video game company, THQ, released 10,000 balloons in the air today near Moscone Center. The balloon launch was supposed to draw attention to Homefront, it's new video game that simulates American guerrilla fighters challenging North Korean forces.

And attention is what they got.

The rally started today at the Golden Gate Bridge, where hundreds of people marched to Yerba Buena Gardens and held a protest to draw attention to North Korea's human right violations -- and promote the new game. The event was capped off with the launch of 10,000 red balloons, which drifted into the Bay.

Apparently, people in San Francisco were truly unhappy about the balloon launch; THQ's corporate office in Los Angeles has received a flood of calls from the press and the community, asking why the company would wreak such havoc on the local environment.

But the balloons -- which were filled with promotional fliers and pre-order slips for the game -- are 100 percent organic and biodegradable, said Julie MacMedan, spokeswoman for THQ.

So then animals can eat them and not die?

"We researched it first and there is no history of these balloons causing environmental pollution on land or water," she said. "We are very confident there will be no harm."

Perhaps the soy-based balloons are safe(r), but the stunt certainly sent the wrong message to residents in an environmentally-aware city like San Francisco.

"They were supposed to be eye-catching -- we didn't mean to create an environmental scare," MacMedan said.

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Tags:

Homefront, Moscone Center, red balloons, THQ

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Eeckholt

I just found a couple pieces of red balloon here on Stinson Beach.

Ohdannyboy96

Seriously there are mote things to worry about. I would give kudos to THQ thinking about the environment. But the liberals and hippies are to sensitive. I believe that they are to blame for Americas loss of job. Seriously, think about it. There are no EPA laws in china so that is why we send or scrap over there to be processed. And then in return we worry about toys for our children that contain contaminates from the same place. When they were doing the Olympics in Bejing they made, that's right, made a machine to make rain clouds to try and purifiy there breathing air. Everybody is so worried about being politically correct, well tell me this, how is It that people can protest at a service mans funeral, dishonor his family, his town, our country, our president and tell us "America Must Die" and still be breathing and living in this country. I understand our fist amendment but if all that applies to you and your beliefs, get the "F" out or I will show You out. I'm sorry to fill this page with a Father of two chidren, voluteer fireman, working, and also im dealing with a 3 yr olds diagnosis of brain cancer (a very rare and aggressive form), ideal of what is really important to me.