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  • Tired of boycotts? Donate money and fly Gabe Newell to Australia! [update]

    by 
    Ben Gilbert
    Ben Gilbert
    09.11.2009

    Update: A Valve representative got in touch with us and confirmed both the legitimacy of Newell's conversation with "Joe W-A" and that he would fly to Australia should the money be raised. Looks like this thing just got really real!Valve's Gabe Newell has been getting all kissy-face with the Left 4 Dead 2 boycott leaders recently, and one man is (jokingly) mad as hell about it. Enter Brisbane, Australia resident "Joe W-A," entrepreneurial Left 4 Dead campaign modder and buddy of Gabe Newell, who recently started a (presumably) tongue-in-cheek blog to collect donations based on an email exchange with the Valve Software head. "Joe W-A": Why the hell haven't I been flown to Valve? I mean, you guys need to preview my campaign."Newell: We are boycotting your campaign."Joe W-A": Does that mean I have to fly you here?Newell: Me and Erik [Johnson, Valve project manager].And just like that, donations started piling in. Though we've contacted "Joe W-A" for more accurate numbers, our calculations put the dollar amount just over $700 as of this morning. He assures readers that if Newell and Johnson do in fact back out from visiting, he'll refund as much as possible and donate anything left to Penny Arcade's Child's Play charity. We know it's selfish, but the YouTube video that "Joe -W-A" promises to create of the visit has us hoping that Newell and Johnson will go through with it. We've asked Gabe Newell for comment and will update this post when we hear back.[Via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]