We know.  We had to.  Having written an article on the first Escape from City 17 it came natural to check out the “second”.  Not paying attention a clever uploader under the name purchosebrothers has duped 128 000 people thus far.  

Interestingly enough the joke is not completely out of the blue as another video extremely similar to the Half Life style (it carries a Half Life tag as well) has surfaced out of the Netherlands.  Tim Smit has gained a tsunami of attention since uploading What’s in the Box on March 13th.

The similarities are obvious and sources across the ponds claim he has raised studio attention not only for the skill but for the fact that it was done for 150 euros.  

The RickRoll had to be done.  

Cheers!

Escape from City 17 brings together the right elements to go viral. It found a motivated and savvy audience: gamers. The top linking sites to the clip are all video game related. Half Life has a huge following (built over a decade) and combine that with the obvious talent the Purchase Brothers display it isn’t hard to see why this video is making waves.

YouTube Honors are truly gratifying and this week was first-class for the Purchase Brothers. As of today Escape from City 17 is the most discussed (this month) video in Canada, but that’s pittance compared to the 72 others that are on the list. Honors like #1 Top Rated (all time) must be truly flattering along with the 21 countries that listed the video in their most viewed section for the week.

No doubt sonsanddaughters.ca are happy with the exposure they are getting. Potential clients will be knocking everyday armed with the knowledge that the whole project cost only 500$.

Cheers