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CAG giving away PlayStation Vita bundles in Child's Play raffle
CAG has been propositioning patrons for donations to its Child's Play fundraiser, and the addition of three PlayStation Vita bundles certainly has us eyeing our credit card. There are only 10 days left to donate to CAG if you want the chance to own a Vita without dropping hundreds of extra dollars on Play-Asia. In addition to the PlayStation Vita unit from Japan, CAG is tossing in an 8GB memory card, a PSN card worth ￥5,000, a copy of Uncharted: Golden Abyss ... and Japanese Chicken Pox. We're pretty sure that last one is a joke. At least, we hope it is.
Cheap Ass Gamer holding Child's Play donation drive
Our buds, bros, chums and cohorts over at Cheap Ass Gamer are hosting a pretty clever donation drive for Child's Play 2010 (alongside its annual charity drive, of course) -- for every new follower the bargain-wise site obtains on Twitter, its generous creators will give a quarter to to buy some games for sick kids in hospitals across the country . To take part in the drive, sign in on the promotion's official page, click the link to follow CAG on Twitter, and then (optionally) Tweet the message provided to you to share it with your followers. Not only will CAG donate a quarter for each of your followers who participates, but you'll also move up the leaderboards based on how much cash your endorsement rakes in (UK residents can also participate and will be automatically redirected). And if there's one thing we love, it is earning ranks on leaderboards. By which, of course, we mean "charity!" We love charity so, so much. Way more than we love bolstering our e-peen. Extra charitable folks who want a chance to win a couple thousand dollars in prizes can also enter a raffle the site is holding -- for every $5 you donate via CAG's PayPal to Child's Play, you get one entry for the raffle. Did we mention thousands of dollars in prizes?
Being cheap made easier with CAG's new price tracking
There's nothing wrong with saving a buck or two (or twenty), which is why the wallet guardians over at Cheap Ass Gamer are doing what they can to make deal hunting easy. The site has just implemented an adjustable "Price Email Alerts" feature that automatically sends a tip to your inbox once a game hits the low price you've personally set. Just make sure to set somewhat realistic price points -- or you might have an empty inbox. In the video posted after the break, CAG's CheapyD explains how to use and benefit from the new feature. Additionally, CheapyD told us that CAG is planning to roll out a game trading system that will tie in with its new "collection" and "wishlist" features. "The main goal here is to make CAG a video game shopping portal," said CheapyD. "We want to have the best of everything related to video game shopping and trading." We were also told that the new trading system will have Goozex integration -- for all those who engage in other forms of online trading.Currently, the email alerts (and other new features) only work for US and UK deals, and are only available to members. Membership is free, though, in case any of you cheapos were wondering.
Toys R Us testing the waters of the used games business
When you happen to stumble upon a $2 billion sales arena which requires almost no initial investment to enter, it makes sense to jump right into it -- regardless of the tremendous girth of said arena's reigning champion. This appears to be the modus operandi for the giraffe-fronted retailer Toys R Us, who is currently entering the used games racket for a trial period in select stores nationwide, as evidenced by an in-store advertisement snapped by Cheap Ass Gamer user phear3d.Speaking to a clerk at the store which contained the promo (embedded after the jump), phear3d learned that the trade-in program is being tested at certain stores over the next few months to see if the company wants to incorporate it on a wider and more permanent scale. We spoke with a corporate Toys R Us representative, who confirmed the program is being tested "in a couple New York stores." He informed us the used games program is not occurring at the Times Square location, but wouldn't give specific locations when asked, as the company doesn't "really give information about tests going on in [its] stores." Furthermore, he couldn't discuss the details of the program, as that also falls under the purview of "testing," which the company won't elaborate on. If you've seen a sign for the program at your local store, please feel free to let us know the location and we'll try to get the details.Hopefully, we'll see a return to the now-defunct "Geoffrey Bucks" system of the late '90s -- we've always thought the one thing missing from modern used trade practices was tangible, non-transferable paper currency.
Save the game, get Tabula Rasa on the cheap
Despite recent reports indicating that Tabula Rasa was a money pit pulling NCsoft Austin towards the brink of the abyss, you might be surprised to know that the game is actually quite a bit of fun, despite its flaws. Its fast-paced PvE gameplay has been slowed somewhat by recent patches, and the endgame still isn't entirely there, but its combat makes up for many of its shortcomings, and its CP mechanic is as wild a ride as ever. As gamers, we want to see the Tabula Rasa team live on to finish building the game they have in place and fulfill the promise the game has in spades. So when we submit the following deal to you, via Cheap Ass Gamer. Tabula Rasa's Collectors Edition is on sale at GoGamer for the strikingly low price of $14.90. That's less than the cost of a monthly fee for most other MMOs, and you get lots of little goodies like an AFS field guide, TR dog tags, an AFS challenge coin, and a "Making of" DVD on top of a month of gameplay. Before anybody accuses us of selling out, we're not getting any kick-backs here. We would just like to see the game get its fair shot, and the easiest way we can see that happening is to get the game in the greatest number of hands as possible. So vote with your wallets, and show the suits that a sci-fi MMO can succeed in this crowded market.
Readers pick best webcomic: A(ss)perture Science
Cheap Ass Gamer's first submission turned to gold and became the winner of this week's wrapup. Of course, it helps that the comic referenced Portal, which seems to consistently rank high in our webcomic polling.Second place goes to 2P Start, while Joy Of Tech takes third. As a reminder, the Weekly Webcomic Wrapup will be on hiatus this week and will return after the New Year. Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this (and next) week!
Cheap Ass Gamer raises $11,000 for Child's Play in only four days
Ever wonder what devout followers of Cheap Ass Gamer do with their saved cash? From the looks of it, they give to charity. Last year, site owner (and wonderful Tokyo tour guide, if you must know) CheapyD raised $10,000 through CAG for Tycho and Gabe's Child's Play Charity, and in this year it only took four days to beat that record.This year's fundraiser is a raffle: for every $5 you donate, you received one raffle ticket for one of 38 prizes (one grand prize and 44 runner-ups - there are some duplicates, read carefully). $11,300 has been donated as of this writing; excluding CheapyD's initial $1,000 donation, that's 701 people who have given $10,300, or an average of almost $15 per person. The fundraiser ends December 31, although CheapyD has declared he might extend the contest a week. Care to donate a few extra dollars to a good cause, and perhaps walk away with some nice gaming gear? Head over to the CAG page and use the widget to donate for eligibility. The bar has been set pretty high for next year's fundraising.
Deal of the Day: $2 games at Best Buy
Your local Best Buy is trying to get rid of its old games, and it's doing so in a big way: they're having a clearance sale, and games can be found for as low as $2. This deal's been making its way through the Internets, so your local store may have been pillaged already. Regardless, you may want to make an attempt at grabbing what you can: at $2, even a not-so-great game like Death Jr starts looking pretty sweet.[Via CAG]
Today's most held in place video: Hori Play Stand DS Lite video review
CheapyD over at CheapAssGamer.com has put together a really nice little video review about the Play Stand DS Lite from Hori. We were dubious at first, but after watching this review, we've ordered one ourselves from Play-Asia, to the tune of fifteen bucks.This little sucker will make playing games with one hand a snap, and it also looks swanky as well. Cradle your DS Lite in some goodness, and wait patiently for the SimCity DS game to come out. It has the ability to hold the DS Lite horizontally and vertically, so basically any of your games will look sweet in its plastic and foam goodness.Nice work, CheapyD. Now we'll wait patiently for this to arrive so we can pimp out Animal Crossing: Wide World as it was meant to be seen.
Cheap Ass Gamer and Play-Asia team up for Child's Play
Lest you think we're the only game (site) in town supporting the Child's Play charity, we want to direct your attention (and your bulging wallets) to our good friend CheapyD's efforts at Cheap Ass Gamer. This year, he's partnered with Play-Asia to give away $1000 in credit to the popular import gameshop ... but that's not all! His legion of "cheap ass" gamers have stood up to pitch in prizes for the runners-up (our favorite: the random box. It's "basically, a ton of older games + accessories, some sealed, some not...NES/SNES/N64/PS1/PS2/Gamecube included.")$5 buys your raffle ticket but you'd better hurry. You've only got until December 19 at 12:01AM EST to throw your hat into this virtual ring of giving (the hat does not guarantee you a place in the raffle). Check out CheapyD's post for all the rules and regulations and consider spreading your raffle love around this holiday.
Deal of the day: 4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo $90
Do you remember all those incredibly great Memory Stick deals a while back? Well, it looks like a new round may be upon us as Outpost is offering a 4GB SanDisk Memory Stick Pro Duo for a measly $90 after rebate. And to make the deal even better, there's even an offer for free shipping. Can't beat that.It's amazing how quickly the Memory Sticks are dropping in price since it was only January when the 4GB and 8GB sticks were unveiled. With this rate, the 32MB sticks Sony bundled with the PSP will be virtually worthless, if they aren't already.[Via Cheapassgamer - Registration required]
Carnival of Gamers #17: CAG on our CoG
Next stop on the Carnival of Gamers Express is to the house of D. CheapyD's got the budget-priced tents set up in his budget-priced backyard over at Cheap Ass Gamer, hawking the wares. Best part? They're all free!So what's in the freakshow this month? Lots of great stuff, like Curmudgeon Gamer's look at the PS3's public image (it ain't good), spotanime's take on the Lester Bangs thing (we weren't offended ... really!), and an insightful look at ... save games? Get in line: Carnival of (grumpy) GamersCarnival of Gamers #15: roll up, roll up!Carnival of Gamers celebrates first anniversaryCarnival of Gamers gets n3rfedCarnival of Gamers rolls on to Virgin WorldsCarnival of Gamers gathers under Slashdot's tent
Joystiq invades "a very special" CAGcast
Last night I was invited by CheapyD, founder and Cheap Executive Officer of Cheap Ass Gamer, to join him and co-host Wombat on "a very special" episode of the site's podcast. No, we didn't talk about teen pregnancy and drug abuse; we talked about boobs in video games, the demise of E3, why epobirs can't get any more stars, and the apparently inscrutable Dead Rising save system. What made the show so special? It was the 40th episode and one year anniversary of the CAGcast. Congrats guys! Listen - CAGcast #40: Happy CAGiversary!
