Not logged in
Click here for instructions on how to embed "Kotaku" into an external webpage.
•
The Shadowland Prophesy
by mcc
at
Run Hello
•
Xaxxaxoxax
by mcc
at
Run Hello
•
Markov Space
by mcc
at
Run Hello
•
01/26/12 : Roxy: Break some glass.
at
MS Paint Adventures
•
01/26/12 : Roxy: Clear some space.
at
MS Paint Adventures
•
01/26/12 : Roxy: Break bottle.
at
MS Paint Adventures
•
01/26/12 : Roxy: Retrieve mutant kitten.
at
MS Paint Adventures
•
01/25/12 : Roxy: Take cat.
at
MS Paint Adventures
Page 1 of 2 >>
Michael Phelps might have been on a Wheaties box. It doesn't mean he advised General Mills on how to make the cereal taste better.
But that's also the role Evan Longoria, the newly minted Silver Slugger and Gold Glover from Tampa Bay, takes on as the cover man for MLB 2K10, an endorsement announced this past week.
A cynic might view the selection of Longoria - a third-year player from a small-market franchise - as a budget choice for 2K this year, especially in light of MLB 2K9's underachieving performance last year with a Cy Young award winner (San Francisco's Tim Lincecum) headlining it. Longoria on MLB 2K10 is also well overshadowed compared with NBA 2K10 and NHL 2K10, which landed Kobe Bryant and Alexander Ovechkin, easily the top stars of their respective leagues.
But Chris Snyder, 2K Sports' director of marketing, insists the title wasn't settling when it signed Longoria. His team starts looking for the MLB cover man about two months into the season, meets with a pool of candidates at the All-Star Game, and bases the choice on his willingness to contribute to the game, not just its promotion.
"If Albert Pujols or A-Rod want to be in a video game, and give us that kind of time commitment, certainly we'd listen," said Snyder. "It's not that younger players have more time, it's more about them seeing video games as an avenue to promote themselves and their teams, and to be a part of something cool."
Longoria, who goes back to Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball on the Super Nintendo, is part of a generation of sports superstars now in its middle- and late-20s that has been playing modern, 3D sports simulations since at least their teenage years. It's a perspective that brings an innate enthusiasm for the product.
"Whatever I can do to further the realness and the gameplay - as far as things like the data, or the way I step in and out of the batter's box - any kind of input I can provide, I might not ever get this opportunity again," Longoria said.
Increasingly, we're seeing this kind of athlete input. An aside comment from Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals gave NHL 2K10 its "Is Party Now," marketing slogan. Although he wasn't the cover athlete, Edmonton's Zack Stortini consulted with EA Sports' NHL 10 on its new first-person fighting mechanic, and also the finer points of how physical play can be a tactic affecting team morale. Top mixed-martial arts fighters have also visited EA to weigh in on early builds of EA Sports MMA, sometimes with hilarious results.
And although, yes, the majority of a purchase decision will be for the game inside the box, it's why the person appearing on its front is in fact a consequential decision, Snyder said.
"It does matter, not so much for the star quality of the athlete, but what they bring to the table in making the game better," Snyder said.
Fair point. But clearly, Bryant was tabbed for NBA 2K10 - the centerpiece of 2K's sports catalog for going on five years now - as a statement about that game's excellence in the studio's 10th anniversary year. What statement does Longoria make about MLB 2K10?
"It's not so much a message about Evan and the game inside," Snyder concedes. "We start working on 2K10 immediately after 2K9 comes out, and we don't have the cover athlete locked and loaded. But our goal is still to put out the best game possible."
Still, Longoria's announcement is the first public detail about this year's game, and many peoples' assumptions are still built on last year's. "We know MLB 2K9 wasn't a 90-rated game," Snyder says, "but hopefully this shows that we are taking the necessary steps to repair that, and put out a product people are proud to plunk down their dollars for, and for Evan to have his face on."
Longoria's role will be largely advisory, the game-within-a-game rather than the fundamentals of how it is played. "This game's 10 years old now, and every baseball game has catch the ball, hit the ball, throw the ball," Longoria said. So he'll be consulting on subtler aspects - individual matchups, his tendencies and others', how a hitter might guess the next pitch and jump all over it. It's one thing to be standing at third base and see a hunch play out; seeing a video game conform to those expectations is a surefire sign of quality.
"From a major league baseball player's standpoint, that's what really furthers the game for us," Longoria said. "We're fans of video games, we play them, too."
As an example, in his meetings with 2K Sports so far, Longoria's been asked about the tendencies of pitchers he's done well against, and seen those who have given him trouble in real life - such as New York's Andy Pettite - and judged their in-game difficulty.
Snyder said Longoria rose out of "a stable of guys" the team works with throughout the years in a role that is part consultation, part audition. Longoria also worked with 2K through a local GameStop tournament last year, helping his candidacy.
Snyder wouldn't name any of the other ballplayers in the consulting pool when I asked, but did say they were there because of their willingness to contribute. "We touch base with these guys throughout the season, picking their brains on baseball, asking them if they would be willing and able to jump in and help critique the game, and tell us what he'd like to see changed," Snyder said. "When you've got an athlete willing to lend time and expertise, that's a big deal."
But in the end, to be on the cover of this kind of product is primarily an honor. Longoria mused that his career is still young enough that its highlights - a World Series appearance in 2008 and two All-Star selections among them - are only starting to sink in. The significance of a video game cover likely won't strike him until "maybe a 10-year-old kid brings a 2K sports box down to the field for me to sign."
And he went to lengths to reflect his success here back to his teammates, and to Rays lifer Carl Crawford in particular.
"Carl's played his whole career in Tampa Bay, and he's been a part of some really bad teams," Longoria said. "If there was one other guy to have on the cover with me, it would be him. I feel like I stepped into an organization that was ready, ready to do nothing but go up. The year that I had (in 2008) and going to the World Series, it propelled me and a lot of guys who've been really good players into the spotlight. I think Carl has been one of the best players in the major leagues for seven years now. But he didn't have this opportunity, and it's just thanks to him and to the team for me being in this position."
Stick Jockey is Kotaku's column on sports video games. It appears Saturdays at 10 a.m. U.S. Mountain time.
Not all of the deals this weekend are doorbusters designed to get you to a brick-and-mortar location. If your butt remains fused to the living room couch, you can still get some value-added shopping done thanks to Kotaku Weekend Coupons.
Hardware
• The 120GB 360 Elite bundle that includes PURE and Lego Batman is yours with a free $50 gift card through Newegg, but only until the end of today. Free shipping, natch. [Dealzon]
• An alternative: You don't get the cash, but you do get the 250GB Elite Modern Warfare bundle, plus Left 4 Dead 2 through Amazon (for $399). That offer is good through Monday. [Dealzon]
• Ah, Radio Shack. How the f—k you stay in business, I don't know, but I've never gone a Christmas season without visiting you for some damn reason. Anyway, the offer ends today but PS3 controllers are $29.99 there, $10 better than the next best price. Free shipping. [Dealzon]
• Also from Amazon, a new DSi bundle (in white) comes with five Brain Age games for $154.98, which is $15 off the usual. [Dealzon]
Software
• Steam's "Five-Day-Long, One-Day-Only" sale will churn up values throughout the weekend, so be sure to check back. It looks like the offers reset at 9 a.m. U.S. Mountain time (aka right f—-ing now). Two $49.99 bundles, LucasArts and THQ, are on sale throughout. [Steam]
• GamersGate is likewise running its own Thanksgiving Sale with 30 to 65 percent discounts on a ton of PC titles [GamersGate]
• GameStop's doorbusters have expired (they were good for yesterday) but Left 4 Dead 2 is $39.99. Also, any Rock Band purchase gets you the AC/DC Track Pack - originally a Walmart exclusive - for free. [GameStop]
• Not mentioned in the flyer, but GameStop's three-for-two sale on used games and accessories is going on through tomorrow. The code B2G1FREE activates the sale online, and Cheapy points out the code SAVER gets you free shipping. [CheapAssGamer]
• Guitar Hero: Metallica? Sounds like a nice stocking stuffer, especially at $25, via Amazon. [TechDealDigger]
As always, smart gamers can find values any day of the week, so if you've run across a deal, share it with us in the comments.
Some Saturdays I feel like I should start my shift with NPR's Weekend Edition theme and the dulcet vocals of its host, Mr. Scott Simon (pictured). We weekend shift guys need to stick together, you know.
This weekend after Thanksgiving might find you indulging in a long breakfast or a colossal mug of overpriced coffee, which go with Weekend Edition like the Scarecrow and Mrs. King. Anyway, we've got a shortened report today and tomorrow to account for the holiday. Here's the deal: All standing weekend features will run at their normal times, beginning with this one, with the remainder of the posts spread out through the day on the hour, concluding by 8 p.m. There'll be eight items today and tomorrow.
Then, we're back to normal when Luke and Bash resume their regular shifts Sunday night our time. On Monday, I'll show up in the evening with my Kai Ryssdal voice. I swear, that guy reads the news like he's hitting on someone. And by the way, Simon looks nothing like I expected him to. Nor does Cory Flintoff, who I imagined as a cross between Willem Dafoe and Crecente's old nemesis assignment editor at the Rocky Mountain News. OK, now I'm just rambling. Here's the week in original coverage:
Top Stories
MTV: Rock Band Network To Be Fully Launched In Early 2010
ESA: Today Is A "Very, Very Good Day" For The Gaming Industry
IBM: We'll Keep Making Cell Processors As Long As Sony Needs Them
News
Red Dead Redemption Gets A Proper Release Date
Zelda Developer Was Stumped By New Zelda Game's Puzzles
Nintendo Boasts 9 Million Player Advantage Among Female Console Gamers
Is The DSi LL Bigger Than Uncharted 2, Nolan Ryan's Autograph, A Can of Beer?
DSi LL Unboxing
LittleBigPlanet PSP Now Available Digitally
Beat A Man Into A Urinal, Consider Buying Deodorant
iPhone Chart Toppers: Monopoly Times Two
Features
Turning The Beautiful Game Into A Video Game
Sports
Tampa Bay's Longoria is - Officially - MLB 2K10's Cover Man
Columns
Well Played: Gaming For Good
Hindsight: Seeking A Game That Can Trick Me
Well Played: Wii Fitness Shares Store With Dumbbells, Treadmills
Stick Jockey: No Less of a Memory - The Human Drama of Video Game Sports
Gift Guides
The PlayStation 3 Buyer's Guide
The Xbox 360 Buyer's Guide
The PC Buyer's Guide
The Wii Buyer's Guide
The PlayStation Portable Buyer's Guide
The iPhone Gamer's Gift Guide
What Games You Should Give and Get For the Holidays
Warcraft Turns Five
The MMOs That Rose Or Fell During World of Warcraft's Reign
Why I Don't Play World of Warcraft
Why I Play World of Warcraft
Reviews, Previews, Hands-On and Impressions
Sound Blaster Arena Surround Gaming Headset Review: Who's That Sneaking Up On Me?
Assassin's Creed Bloodlines Review: Thicker Than Water?
PSPgo Cradle Review: Dock and Go
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles Review: Three's A Welcome Trend
Excitebike: World Rally Micro-Review: Race back to 1985
Astro Gaming A40 Audio System Review: Sound Advice
Wii Energizer 4X Charging Station Review: Induction Into the Hall of Fame
NCAA Basketball 10 Review: Some Shining Moments
Outreach
We Came, We Partied, We Raised ...
Need something to wash the taste of that movie trailer out of your mouths, KoF fans? How about this new Vanessa figure. Yes, Vanessa. Not Mai. Vanessa. Who seems to have lost all her buttons.
This figure, by A-Label, will be out next year in Japan. It stands at around 30cm high, and you should be able to import it for around USD$80-90. You want buttons, you gotta buy them yourself, so that's extra.
You ready to talk? I'm ready to talk. Let's talk.
Here's how it works: We ask a question, you answer it. Simple and no strings attached! This isn't some marketing survey or whatever. It's an emotional investment in you. Yes, we're interested in knowing you, Kotaku reader person.
You probably know oodles about us - more than you even want to, we're sure. But, hey, we'd like to know about you. That way you won't be some faceless blob - and we might feel a tinge of guilt when we ban. Or not, because really we're incapable of human emotion.
Question: Sure, we know people eat a lot during the holidays. But how much do you game during the holidays?
You know, this is the first time I stopped thinking of this as "some game due next year" and "oh, another Aliens game", and started thinking "oh man, it's an AvP game made by Rebellion, that's so great".
I then started thinking "what are these writers doing in an advertisement for an unreleased game?", but then got tired, and went and had a lie down instead.
Why Mario Is In So Many Darn Games... Explained!
Comment by: Karth is Ego Tripping
Nominated by: (Human) Gyaruson
Dial M For Mario"
Danish Group Asks You To "Hit The Bitch"
Comment by: omgwtflolbbqbye
Nominated by: Showmeyomoves!
I think the game is glitched.
I beat (tee hee) the game last night and my dinner still hasn't arrived...
Swiss Study Documents War Crimes Committed in 19 Games
Comment by: dd528
Nominated by: (Starman) Starman
I just finished reading the full paper. I guess I have a few comments.
First is that it has clearly been written by someone who is almost entirely unfamiliar, not just with violent shooters, but with videogames in general. Obviously there is nothing wrong with that per se, but in this specific case, I think the obvious ignorance about the directorial intent behind a game, or the way in which certain in-game situations are supposed to function, harms the credibility of the report.
Second is that the tone taken is somewhat peculiar inasmuch as that it seems to be taking on some kind of reformist or censorial mantle. Statements such as: "it would be recommendable to avoid putting these kinds of scenes
in video games as they could mislead players in terms of what is allowed to be done" seem to me to assume a pretty low level of capability on the part of the gamer to distinguish between reality and fiction. This is a trap that the mainstream media often fall into and it's disappointing to see that level of ignorance on display in what presents itself as a piece of academic research.I think that the way that Rainbow Six punishes the player for inflicting civilian casualties is a good thing, but that is because of it being good game design, not because I think games have some kind of moral duty to be presented in that way. The report reads as if it assumes that the role games should be playing is educating gamers about international law, and that other gameplay or narrative concerns should be secondary. To me, that is bizarre.
But, whatever I think about the (substantial) failings of this particular report, it is attempting to address some important issues. A lot of games are violent. Few of those come anywhere near situating that violence in a realistic context, even when they might claim to be pursuing realism. We live in a world where gratuitous violence is exploited for entertainment potential all the time, but that that doesn't mean that, once in every ten (or even hundred) titles, a game can't come along with something more intelligent to say about war or about crime.
In the real world, rules of international law, and the pressures of perceived moral imperatives, act as influences on the behaviour of combatants in a manner that is often lazily caricatured, if not completely absent, in videogames. I think it is well worth asking why that is, and whether some games might be improved if efforts were made to better incorporate those kinds of themes and constraints.
Industry Types Confess the Evil Deeds They've Done (in Games)
Comment by: Terrorsaur - Five Six
Nominated by: IchiShinigami
Me and Dogmeat were tied at the hip the moment we laid eyes on each other in the Scrapyard. His barks warmed my Boogeyman soul and we were soon on our way to being the stuff of Legend. We tackled the wasteland together; raiders feared the mere sight of Me and Dogmeat. I even taught him a few tricks, such as play dead ("Dogmeat is unconscious"), and fetch.
There were nights where me and dogmeat would sleep in the blistering cold nights of the wasteland in nothing but a mattress laid carelessly under a broken bridge or in a forgotten home. I would stare into his brown and blue eyes and feet him RadRoach meat as we both dozed off into the night.
But a distance began to grow between us. Sometimes I would send him to find ammo or chems and he would not return for days on end, leaving me alone to fight the Super Mutants and the Raiders who envied my ravishing good looks and weapons.
On other days, he began to intentionally screw up my plan of attacks and decide to run straight in into the fight while I was trying to sneak around, or would give away our position by making huge amounts of noise with the Wazer Wifle he dragged around like a piece of armor..
He began to grow vicious and careless. He would bark for no apparent reason and then leave in the middle of fights, leaving me to recruit a new partner, Jericho, in order to continue fighting. My once
Paragon heart became the Stuff of Nightmares. I grew angry. I later came to find he had gone on his own and had Puppies! of his own. I was crushed.One day in the Citadel Tunnels, Dogmeat, Jericho and I were scavenging around for ammo and loot, as I continued the search for my father. Jericho had whispered to me "So do you want me to do it?" I said "No Jericho. Hes my pup. Ill do it." I told jericho to wait here as I took dogmeat with me into an abandoned train cart.
I grabbed my plasma rifle, and looked deep into his different colored eyes. His love for me, now absent from his eyes.
DOGMEAT HAS DIED.
Want to nominate comments? Send to tips any insightful or funny comments you read from other commenters. (Read: NOT YOURSELF). Be sure to include the post's URL, the commenter's page, the actual comment and your commenter page.
Here's a handy guide to commenting. Read it, learn it, live it, love it.
With all that hair-twirling, face-kicking and PVC-wearing, Bayonetta would be a perfect fit for a traditional fighting game. Hence these dream (emphasis on the dream) scenarios.
The first, above, is from a recently-released Bayonetta theme for the 360, which has a Virtua Fighter arcade cabinet lurking in the background. And on its screen? Yup, Bayonetta in Virtua Fighter.
The second, below, is a little more exciting. A piece of fan art by BouncekDeLemos, it shows Platinum Games' leading lady popping into BlazBlue for a spot of 2D combat.
Xbox 360 Bayonetta Theme Pokes Fun At Virtua Fighter [Siliconera]
[BouncekDeLemos @ DeviantArt]
It seems The King of Fighters now has lots of sword fighting. In another dimension. There's something about destroying the universe, too.
The King of Fighters Promo Trailer, Starring Ray Park and Maggie Q [/Film]
Jon Van Caneghem, EA's new head of all things Command & Conquer, has grand plans for the future direction of the series. Plans die-hard fans of C&C; may be interested/horrified to hear.
See, Van Caneghem is a big supporter of things like "games as service", and online delivery. Which makes him a good fit for EA, since that's exactly what EA are moving towards, with games like Battlefield Heroes and their acquisition of online gaming company Playfish.
So what does this mean for the future of Command & Conquer? Well, we knew he was going to "transform" the series, but didn't think it'd be this drastic. Chew over these quotes from an interview with Van Caneghem over on Gamasutra. The first regarding strategy games taking a leaf out of Battlefield Heroes' book.
"Look what online has done for RPGs over the last 10 years. All the other categories are following suit... we're looking forward to building something to be a leader in that space."
On where he sees C&C; fitting in with this shift, he says ""It allows you to do everything you would have expected from a boxed game, but it adds a lot more to it... being connected and connected with players, and persistence, the social elements of playing against each other with other friends."
And, perhaps most distressingly, this:
"What you're seeing with all the social gamers on Facebook... they are actually already playing strategy games whether they know it or not. Taking a franchise like Command and Conquer and expanding it to a wider audience is part of the strategy."
Tiberiumville, coming to Facebook, 2010.
Interview: Van Caneghem Talks EALA's Vision, Command & Conquer [Gamasutra]
What? What?! That's what "eau de toilet toilette," means, right? Oh, fine, it's perfume, specifically a fragrant homage to Final Fantasy XIII, and it'll be available a month after the game's release in North America.
The 50 ml bottle of "Lightning," inspired by the character of the same name, will cost 7,140 yen or about $83. It's described as having notes of "yellow peach," citrus, "lily of the valley," and bunch of other herbs and spices that Google translate could not parse out for me. The bottle of smell-nice will be ready in April.
Also, for you French majors out there, I'm aware of the difference between "eau de toilet toilette" and "parfum." The latter is more concentrated. The former you splash on after toileting toiletteing yourself. See, I'm not an uncultured lout.
Spray Yourself With The Scent Of Final Fantasy XIII [Siliconera via Ripten]
Ubisoft won't let Splinter Cell fans fond of cooperative multiplayer down with Sam Fisher's upcoming adventure. Splinter Cell Conviction is reported to have some form of co-op as well as a "new mode" that should be revealed shortly.
CVG cites PC Zone as the source of that cooperative multiplayer reveal, also pointing out that Conviction won't be the first Splinter Cell title to feature the option. But what Ubisoft Montreal has planned for the Xbox 360 and PC game we won't know until the feature is officially unveiled.
Splinter Cell Conviction has co-op, "new mode" [CVG]
When I first got a look at Dead to Rights: Retribution, I had to ditch a whole plate of food lest I upchuck in front of the producer at a Namco Bandai event.
If the level of violence I witnessed back then has been "toned down" in this developer diary hosted by Character Art Manager Dan Calvert, I might still abandon all foodstuffs to save my stomach. Sure, it looks like there's less blood — and I can see what they mean when they say the "stylized" art sort of subtracts a layer of disconcerting realism — but people's necks are still getting snapped.
See for yourself:
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Pikachu balloon, floating through Manhattan yesterday. [Pic: AP Photo. This post inspired by SVGL]
Black Friday still has a few hours left to go, but here's a look at how it's going in several California GameStop and Best Buy locations. You'll notice a lack of insanity and mobbing in the check-out lines.
We'll wait 'til the numbers come in before declaring it a tame Black Friday, though, and maybe blame it on the Bay Area rain. Feel free to share any of your own Black Friday shopping photos in the comments — especially if it was a madhouse in your area.
Call me cautiously optimistic about the new Splatterhouse, despite the developer switcheroo and year-long delay for the re-imagining of the arcade and Turbografx classic. New screens from Namco Bandai keep me cautiously optimistic.
Despite some of the character design choices—that Terror Mask isn't doing anything for me and, Rick, please pull up your shorts—I've long been a fan of bloody beat 'em ups. With the right mechanics, Splatterhouse may be the kind of disposable single-player experience I'm looking for.
Since the game's not out until Q3 2010 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Namco Bandai has plenty of time to convince me to get excited.
The Nintendo DSi LL, having officially launched in Japan this past week, has outsold everything else to the tune of 100,000-plus units, adding a "wine red" slice to the weekly Japanese hardware chart. Welcome, wine red.
After giving up pie chart real estate to Sony for the past few weeks, the ninth hardware platform on the Media Create weekly sales chart pushes Nintendo back into the leadership position in a major way. The DSi LL's closest competitor was the PlayStation 3, which commands a second place spot this week, outselling—but not by a whole lot—the Wii, PSP and regular sized Nintendo DSi. It's a fairly close race for second these days, with four platforms running neck and neck on the hardware sales front.
Not much of a competitor this week is the PSPgo, which settles for a spot between the DS Lite and Xbox 360.
The full list of hardware numbers is after this, along with a less colorful chart that may paint a better picture of how the general platform content is working out.
The Xbox 360's hands-free motion controller, due to hit sometime next year, could be more than just a new way to gyrate frantically or befriend boys in front of your television screen. It could also replace your TV remote.
Xbox Live GM Marc Whitten has designs on replacing the traditional TV remote with voice and gesture recognition, courtesy of Project Natal. According to a report from Yahoo! Tech, Whitten believes that Natal "will be the largest leap of TV experience since the remote control," providing better input options than the increasingly complex remote.
How? By recognizing common, button-less input via Natal.
"Laughter is an input," Whitten said at the Streaming Media West show last week. "Yelling at the TV when I know an answer on 'Jeopardy' is an input. Attention is an input. The number of people in the room at one time is an input." And, you know, that's a fairly interesting concept.
Microsoft Sees 'Natal' as Your Next TV Remote [Yahoo! Tech]
PixelJunk and Art Style game creators Q-Games have a new, original project heading to the DSiWare shop next week. Reflect Missile looks to combine Arkanoid-style brick smashing with missile management strategy, which sounds potentially fascinating.
The official Nintendo of Europe web site has details and first screens on the Nintendo DSi downloadable title, promising 200 stages of action-puzzle-strategy in the Q-Games fashion. With the developer's recently released Art Style: Digidrive making DSiWare a better place, we're looking forward to giving Reflect Missile a shot.
Reflect Missile [Nintendo UK]
Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Fats Domino, James Brown – Denver's historic Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom has seen them all since its inception as a ex-servicemen's club in the 20s.
On a night earlier this month, the people packing into the club didn't come to listen to the famous sing. They came instead to stand on a stage, face the crowds and play popular video game and karaoke replacement Rock Band.
The real draw, though, wasn't the chance at a moment in a spotlight once used by jazz men and musicians from the 20s to today, it was the chance to play video games and raise money for children.
Call it gaming for good or child's play for charity: At least once a year video game enthusiasts around the world find interesting and eclectic ways to raise cash for those in need.
Likely the largest gaming group raising money for charity is Washington State-based Child's Play which has, with the help of more than 100,000 gamers worldwide, managed to raise more than $5 million in donations of toys, games, books and cash for children's hospitals around the world.
"Child's Play is the grass-roots gamers' charity: created by gamers, for gamers," said Kristin Lindsay, Child's Play Project Manager. "I believe that we receive the support of the gaming community because we represent the charitable voice that gamers want to have. We are sharing our love of gaming with kids in need, and giving back through play. It really does make a big difference in our partner hospitals."
And it's not just video games and recreation equipment that Child's Play funds. Recently the group started a grant program through which they offer one-tome support to smaller facilities including pediatric hospices, crisis centers, school and group homes.
While many people donate directly to Child's Play, other groups create their own community fund-raisers to help raise money for the organization. The largest by far, Lindsay said, is the Desert Bus for Hope drive, which brought in more than $70,000 in donations last year.
Two years ago British Columbia sketch comedy group LoadingReadyRun decided to start raising money for Child's Play. One of their members came up with the Desert Bus concept.
While the fund-raiser is actually a sort of an Internet telethon, it gets it's name from a mini-game found on unreleased video game Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors.
The object of the game is to drive from Tucson, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada in real time in a bus that constantly pulls to the side of the road and won't go faster than 45 mph. Completely the mini-game takes 8 continuous hours of play. Desert Bus can't be paused and if you crash or drive off the road you get towed back to Tucson and have to start over.
While the LoadingReadyRun accepts challenges to do silly things for donations during their telethon, the mainstay of the fund-raiser is the group playing the game non-stop. This year the group played the game in shifts for five days and 16 hours non-stop, raising more than $132,000.
"We all love to play video games, and we love the idea that we play a game (even a bad one like Desert Bus) and make a child's quality of life so much better," said LoadingReadyRun member Kathleen De Vere. "Child's Play is a very inspiring charity that does absolutely amazing things all over the world, and we are honored to help them with
their work."
And fund-raising isn't limited to the United States.
David Abrams, editor and owner of Tokyo-based Cheapassgamer.com, has raised more than $75,000 for Child's Play over the past five years.
"I decided to start to help collect funds for Child's Play simply because I was very impressed with the initiative Penny Arcade's founders had taken in creating the charity," Abrams said. "Child's Play was started partly as a response to the negative portrayal in the media of gaming and gamers and I wanted to help be a part of that response. Of course helping children is reason enough on it's own."
While some events, like Desert Bus for Hope and Abrams' online drive, bring in staggering donations, more than half of the cash comes to Child's Play through individual donations or smaller community fund-raisers like the one held in Denver earlier this month.
The Kotaku.com-sponsored fund-raiser brought in about 400 people from as far away as Florida and raised more than $6,500, a bulk of which came from people showing up at the worn doors of the club, cash in hand.
Once inside, gamers and developers crowded onto the decades-old dance floor, donating cash and dancing under an over-sized disco ball.
As the event's hesitant emcee, I split my time overseeing the door prizes we handed and threw out to the crowds between songs and talking to the many folks on hand about why they were there.
Plenty came to party, to have fun, to game on stage, but many more came for the cause.
As the event wrapped up, a young man approached me to shake my hand.
"I wish they had something like this when I was a kid," he said.
"Why?"
"I'm a cancer survivor," he said, "You have no idea what difference a few games would have made to me when I was in the hospital."
Well Played is a weekly news and opinion column about the big stories of the week in the gaming industry and its bigger impact on things to come. Feel free to join in the discussion.
