Super Smash Bros. Fan Dies From Cancer Days After 'Wishes Came True' To Play Game Early
Rebecca Shepherd
Last updated 5:32 PM, Tuesday September 25 2018 GMT+1
It's natural that as human being we're really impatient, we want everything yesterday and hate having to wait. Especially when it comes to beloved games, films or music being released.
But for Chris Taylor, the impatience was for a completely different reason altogether. The 21-year-old took the brave decision to stop his cancer treatment back in July and was given between three and six months to live.
The avid gamer was brutally honest with his Twitter followers when he told them about the prospect of not being able to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. What happened next was magical.
Im really scared i won't be able to play ultimate
- Chris Taylor (@SpookyWoobler) September 13, 2018
A huge wave of support from the Nintendo community was triggered and a campaign began to get Chris pre-release access to the game, which is due to become available in December.
A good friend of Chris initiated the entire thing and sent a tweet to Nintendo saying: "A dear friend is bedridden with terminal cancer, and would love to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate before he passes away. It would mean the world to him if you could help grant his wish! Thank you so much!"
Credit: Twitter/Chris Taylor
Nintendo then turned up to his home on September 21 with a copy of the E3 demo of the game and Chris was over the moon about it.
He took to Reddit, where a lot of his support came from, saying: "No words can describe how thankful i am to the smash and DMC communities banding together and helping me.
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"I hardly deserve it but you guys did all this and just the pure kindness brings me to tears, thank you so so so so so much."
And now, just days after the wish being granted, Chris sadly passed away at home. Last night his brother, Zach wrote: "Today Chris passed away at around 5pm est. He was surrounded by friends and family when it happened in the comfort of his own home.
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"On behalf of him and our family we are extremely thankful for all the love and support Chris has gotten. You guys made it possible for his wish to come true.
"I hope Chris's memory lives on through all of us when we game. Just remember this once... everybody got together for the most genuine man I've ever known.
"He just wanted to get out there meet some people and play some games. Unfortunately, he can't do that anymore so lets continue his legacy for him."
Since news of Chris' death, tributes have poured in from the gaming community. One said: "RIP Chris, you had the best support ever, we're glad your wishes came true."
Featured Image Credit: Twitter/Chris Taylor
Topics: Nintendo
I'm Becky - a journalist at LADbible. I graduated with a First Class BA in Journalism before going on to cover criminal court cases, medical tribunals and breaking news for the national media - which inevitably and eventually became as glum as it sounds. Can often be found rocking a bag for life - which I made a 'thing' way before Rihanna. You can contact me at [email protected]
Follow @RJShepherd94