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Desert Bus for Hope 2010 promises more punishment for charity
It's that time of year again -- when a profoundly boring unreleased game is played for days on end in an effort to procure other, better games for hospitalized kids. Desert Bus for Hope is a marathon in which the members of LoadingReadyRun play "Desert Bus," a minigame from the canceled Sega CD game Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors, over and over again in shifts, beginning tomorrow, November 19 at 9PM ET. This year, instead of enduring the monotony of Desert Bus (in which players drive a bus from Tucson to Las Vegas, never going faster than 45 miles per hour) for four hours at a time, the members of LoadingReadyRun plan to play in twenty-four-hour shifts. And they'll keep playing as long as donations to Child's Play continue to come in. In addition, fans will be able to donate money to throw "virtual pies" at the team in an online minigame that will be hosted by The Escapist. One lucky LoadingReadyRun cast member will even get a real pie in the face. We'd say we also look forward to the charity event that will directly follow this one. You know, the effort to raise funds for Loading Ready Run's psychiatric treatment -- but they're Canadian. Their Desert Bus-related PTSD will be treated for free.
Reach for your wallet and bid on Emile's helmet for charity
Looking for a fashion statement that says, "Hey, I'm potentially violent, but I've also got a big, sweet heart?" Look no further than this Good-Game-Media eBay auction: a replica of the Halo: Reach helmet worn by Emile; the proceeds from which go to Child's Play and the Brian Wood Memorial Trust.
Child's Play 2010 site now live, accepting donations
While you read up on Black Friday deals and pour over reviews from this year's holiday game releases, might we suggest taking a time out to donate? Each year, Penny Arcade's Child's Play charity collects donations from gamers of all walks of life -- be they Desert Bus marathon runners, major game developers, or anyone in between -- in an effort to provide "donations of toys, games, books and cash for sick kids in children's hospitals across North America and the world." Last year, CP raised over $1.7 million, and the charity's expansion in 2010 will certainly help to best that milestone and allow over 70 hospitals to be chosen and donated to directly. Head over to the Child's Play website for specifics on how to give, or text "GAMERS" to 50555 and donate $5. You totally just did it, didn't you? You're the best!
BlizzCon 2010: Day 2 round-up
Day 2 at BlizzCon 2010 saw the two most traditionally popular panels (the class Q&A and the general Q&A) go live, but there was plenty at the convention to keep you busy even if you were among the two or three people there not interested in developer panels. Liveblogs We liveblogged the World of Warcraft class Q&A and the World of Warcraft open Q&A panels and transcribed two previously unannounced DirecTV interviews with Greg Street (Ghostcrawler) and Tom Chilton. If you're looking for player complaints, developer snark or news on future game changes, you'll find 'em here. People, interviews and events Matticus caught up with Andy Salisbury for a preview the WoW magazine's third issue, and Anne Stickney interviewed both Richard Knaak and Christie Golden. Robin Torres put together a gallery of the items Blizzard auctioned off to benefit Child's Play, one of them a painting of characters in the upcoming DC Horde comic series. We also took lots of pictures of this year's art gallery. On a non-Blizzard note, someone took a nasty spill during Friday's dance contest. Friday recaps Lisa Poisso observed some happy realm meetups, we recapped an impressive costume contest, and Matticus wrote about the live raid and Paragon's ill-fated defense of Orgrimmar. Future content The Emerald Dream (or should we say Emerald Nightmare?) was confirmed as a future addition during the general Q&A. We don't know if it's going to be an expansion, a patch, a raid or something else, but developers promise that seeing it "is a matter of when, not if." New worgen cinematic The cinematic panel was a lovely peek at how the Blizzard team created the recently released Cataclysm cinematic, but it was also notable for the debut of long-missing cutscene that will power the Gilnean leveling experience forward. Revenge of the login dragon Angry about being voted out in favor of players' favorite candidate for warchief, Abesik Kampfire, the "login dragon" makes an ear-shattering return for the Cataclysm login screen. Closing ceremonies The Warcraft III and StarCraft II tournament winners were crowned (the WoW tournament was still in progress), and Paul Sams, Blizzard's chief operating officer, even started to talk a little about the company's new MMO ... or so we thought. %Gallery-105863% %Gallery-105843% %Gallery-105842% %Gallery-105858% BlizzCon 2010 is upon us! WoW Insider has all the latest news and information. We're bringing you liveblogging of the WoW panels, interviews with WoW celebrities and attendees and of course, lots of pictures of people in costumes. It's all here at WoW Insider!
BlizzCon 2010: Charity silent auction
Blizzard is holding a silent auction at BlizzCon to support Child's Play, the charity started by Penny Arcade to help sick children. Up for auction are signed artwork, a signed NOObz marine and actual WoW server hardware. See the gallery below for the items on which attendees are bidding. %Gallery-105843% BlizzCon 2010 is upon us! WoW Insider has all the latest news and information. We're bringing you liveblogging of the WoW panels, interviews with WoW celebrities and attendees and of course, lots of pictures of people in costumes. It's all here at WoW Insider!
Helpful hobbits see fundraising as Child's Play
Hobbits -- is there anything they can't do? First they're taking the One Ring into the heart of Mordor to save Middle-earth from Sauron's grip, and now they're out on another journey, this time to bring relief to hospitalized children in our world. You may be quite familiar with Child's Play, a charity started by Penny Arcade's creators and designed to raise money to buy video games and systems for children's hospitals. This year, MMO gamers are getting in on the action, as A Casual Stroll to Mordor, a LotRO blog and podcast, is attempting to raise $5,000 for Child's Play by presenting the fundraising as steps along Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin's famous journey from the Shire to Rivendell. Dubbing it "The Fellowship Walk," each milestone toward the $5,000 goal is represented by a different stage of the Fellowship's journey on their site. The Lonely Mountain Band, The Guild and other individuals are donating special items to be given away over the next month in an effort to attract more donors. Merric, one of the founders of the blog, found himself hospitalized as a child, and found out first-hand how helpful video games are in distracting kids from the pain. You can learn more about their effort -- and perhaps chip in a few bucks yourself -- by heading over to A Casual Stroll to Mordor! Oh, and happy birthday to Frodo and Bilbo!
Gears of War 3's 'Fate of Carmine' campaign raises $150K for Child's Play
The fate of Gears of War 3's Clayton Carmine is sealed. Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski and Rod Fergusson wouldn't reveal what fate would ultimately befall the latest Carmine, but announced that the "Fate of Carmine" campaign has raised $150,000 for Child's Play. Although the promotion/charity event ended September 1, it appears that the shirts are still available for purchase (SAVE CARMINE Male, Female / CARMINE MUST DIE Male, Female) on the Xbox Marketplace. We're sure that buying the apparel now won't affect Clayton's chance at survival, but it's unclear if the proceeds still go to charity -- we're following up with Microsoft. Update: The shirts should no longer be available, therefore the whole promotion is over. %Gallery-97904%
Telltale Games bundles Puzzle Agent, Sam and Max, four more for $20
Starting right now, Telltale Games is offering six adventure games for just $19.95. The initial four are The Whispered World, Jack Keane, King's Quest Collection, and Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode 1, with Telltale's own Puzzle Agent and Sam & Max: Season 2 unlocking as more people buy the bundle. Child's Play and The World Wildlife Fund are among five charities receiving 25 percent of the profits from this promotion. The deal is currently being offered only on PC, and will be available via the Telltale Games store until September 10.
Golden Charity will destroy Team Fortress 2 Golden Wrench for Child's Play
Through the destruction of a coveted item, one man is hoping to create something good for some children in need. That's the goal of Golden Charity, an initiative that will see one Team Fortress 2 player sacrifice his Golden Wrench in the name of Child's Play. If that ain't the utmost spirit of charity, then we're not sure what is. WiNG, lucky recipient number 31 of Valve's gaudy gift, is soliciting donations until August 23, with the top 20 contributors receiving a front-row seat to the wrench's demise on August 31. When you think about it that way, it almost seems barbaric; all of these folks, sitting around, watching something perish. But it's in the name of charity, so we guess it all balances out in the end. [Thanks, Anonymous]
WoWathon 2 has begun: Playing WoW for charity
They're baaaack! The intrepid WoW players who take turns playing two characters in one long marathon session for charity are at it again. Child's Play, the charity started and organized by the gang at Penny Arcade, is still the recipient of their efforts. Like last year, the WoWathoners are on camera and streaming their gameplay 24 hours a day, taking turns for sleep and hygiene. Unlike last year, they are playing Horde on a PvP realm. I'll be interviewing them again this year, but they answer questions from the chat channel so you can talk to them yourselves if you like. 100% of the donations through ChipIn go to Child's Play and they accept any amount. Every little bit helps. Their first goal to play past level 20 is $800, but they're only at $310 as of this writing. If you like the idea of watching people grind, level and take requests from viewers -- and I know you do -- head on over and hang out with them. They'd love to have you and the sick children they are helping will appreciate it too.
Mario Marathon squashing Goombas for charity once again
For the third year in a row, a small group of brave, platforming-adept gamers have holed themselves up in a room, where they'll play a vast cornucopia of Mario titles until their viewers allow them to stop. That sounds more sadistic than it actually is -- the Mario Marathon is actually a charity drive, where the players take on more difficult in-game tasks as donations for Child's Play continue to pile in. They're currently standing at a little over $20,000, but they'll need a lot more fungible encouragement if they're going to be made to tackle some of their loftier goals. Why not drop by and show your support? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Humble Indie Bundle extended, pulls in over $1 million
If you haven't gotten in on the Humble Indie Bundle, which packages five great indie games for a price of your choosing, you've still got time -- the sale (which also benefits charities like Child's Play) has been extended after making over $1.1 million in just a few days. And now, as if all but giving away their games wasn't thanks enough, the devs are giving back by making four of the games in the bundle (Aquaria, Gish, Lugaru HD and Penumbra Overture) open source. At this rate, there's no way they can legitimately call the next one the "Humble Indie Bundle 2," can they? Dudes are rolling in it. Let's just say we're eagerly anticipating the "Go Pick Up My Suit From the Dry Cleaner Semi-Indie Bundle Fueled by Dew" in 2011. [Thanks, killerrin]
One-quarter of Humble Indie Bundle downloads were pirated
Perhaps you've heard of (or purchased!) the Humble Indie Bundle -- a set of five DRM-free indie games, which you can choose your own price for, the entirety of which goes to two completely deserving charities. Despite the bundle's altruism and affordability, Wolfire Games reports that over one quarter of the total downloads of the package were pirated. You read that right -- a grip of people have stolen the choose-your-own-price indie-bundle-for-charity. Talk about sticking it to The Man. This fraction of creeps shouldn't cheapen the fact that the bundle's already brought in $716,944 for the five games, as well as the Child's Play and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, but it's still pretty disheartening. If you'll excuse us, we need to go watch Happy-Go-Lucky or perhaps a few episodes of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition until we regain our faith in humanity. [Via Ars Technica]
Humble Indie Bundle: Pay what you want for World of Goo and four others
You've commented on Joystiq posts about oppressive DRM many times before. You dutifully wear your Target-purchased indie game t-shirt every week without fail. And you read every Joystiq Indie Pitch we post. But if you want to put some money towards supporting indie games, you won't find a better way to do it than this. Wolfire Games and a few other indie developers have put together the "Humble Indie Bundle" sale, offering five terrific award-winning indie games (World of Goo, Aquaria, Gish, Lugaru and Penumbra Overture) for the low, low price of ... whatever you want. That's right -- they're asking you to pay what you feel is right for these bundled, non-DRM, developer-owned Mac, Linux or PC games. And that's not all: You can even specify part or all of your donation to go to a charity, either Child's Play or the Electronic Frontier Foundation. That's about as selfless as it gets in gaming -- pay what you think it's worth, to charity or the people who made it. The average donation so far is about $8.00, but individuals have donated as much as $500 to the effort. You get lots of chances to say you support indie gaming, but fewer great chances like this to put your money where your mouth is. And walking away with five great indie titles to play doesn't hurt, either.
Wizard101 raises over $100,000 for charity
The holidays are over -- everyone can breathe a collective sigh of relief now -- but there are some gifts that keep on giving. Charitable donations always go up during the holidays, and with the rise of microtransaction stores, games are better able to get in on the generosity. Wizard101 was one of the many offering an in-game carrot for donating to charity, the tiger-striped Meowmodon mount. Aside from having an adorable name, it inspired enough players to purchase it that raised $126,000 for charity. The total amount received will be split evenly between Child's Play and the Austin Children's Shelter, to suppport both the worldwide community and the area surrounding the KingsIsle headquarters. The company seems quite pleased with the results, and it's a testament to both the community and the game that a free-to-play game could raise such a substantial sum for two excellent causes. The offiicial announcement can be found on the official Wizard101 site, to no great surprise. Congratulations to the players who took part, and we can only hope this effort will be repeated in the coming months -- free-to-play item malls donating to charity have certainly made an impact this holiday season, certain hiccups notwithstanding.
Child's Play charity raises more than $1.7 million in 2009
Though the guys over at Penny Arcade would probably find more eloquent ways to articulate this piece of news, we'd like to simply say: Holy crap, you guys. The annual Child's Play charity drive raised over $1.7 million in donations in 2009. Despite the fact that everyone lost their jobs, and the stock market ate all our monies, you still found a way to dig deep and give games to sick kids. This is us high-fiving you. (Smack!) To learn more about the charity, check out the latest episode of PATV. Not only does it give a nice history of the foundation, it also does a great job of showing you where your donations end up.
Child's Play refuses money from Atlantica Online due to 'negative player complaints'
In a move that some Atlantica Online players found disagreeable, online game company Ndoors Interactive recently introduced a grab bag item for the holidays ("Acong's Stocking Stuffer") that promised in its original announcement to donate "a portion of the proceeds" to Penny Arcade's Child's Play charity. According to a response from the Atlantica Online Team, though, Child's Play has withdrawn support for the donation, citing "negative emails from Atlantica Online players around the nature of the donation and the box." When we asked Child's Play for its side of the story, a representative told us, "We were approached by Ndoors in November, inquiring about how to get involved with the program, so I sent along some basic info ... but we did not receive any details about the in-game item." Furthermore, after "a few weeks," CP began receiving complaints from players about the item. "So we contacted Ndoors and requested we not be involved with their fundraiser," the rep said. This is reportedly the first time such an incident has occurred with Child's Play. Our sister site Massively suggests that the anger from players may have to do with the relatively low amount of money promised by Ndoors Interactive to Child's Play -- "5% of gross revenue generated [from sales of the item]." No indication has been given yet as to where the donation will go, though NI has said, "We will continue our fund-raising efforts, and will actively look for other charitable causes." We've contacted the Atlantica Online Team for more information and printed the full statement from Child's Play after the break. [Via Massively]
Child's Play pulls out of Atlantica Online charity drive because of negative player feedback
On the list of all-time classic burns, "we don't want your money" is pretty far up there, especially when it's a charity saying it. Atlantica Online has been burned pretty badly. We reported recently on the company offering an in-game grab bag in the game's item mall that would result in donating an unstated amount to Child's Play. Unfortunately, due to negative feedback, Child's Play has requested that they be withdrawn from this charity drive. Why would players complain about donating to charity? Some facts have surfaced, chief among them the official statement that the donations would be 5% of gross revenue. For a $40 purchase, only two dollars actually wind up going to charity, which feels a bit duplicitous when one of the main selling points is a charitable donation. Atlantica Online's official announcement is almost petulant -- it boils down to the company stating that they wanted to just do something nice before complaining players ruined it for everyone. Although the announcement goes on to state that they will look for an alternative recipient of the donation, for the time being none is listed. It's sad news all around, even in light of the popular charity's record donations this year.
Atlantica Online offers a charitable donation
Admit it. At least once when you were shopping for this year's frenzied rush of consumerism, you took advantage of a "buy one get one free" deal or something similar for yourself. You got a present for the person you were shopping for and a little something extra on top of that, nothing wrong with it. Even though the holidays are thankfully receding into memory, though, you can still get a bit of that rush of something for you and something for others in Atlantica Online for a couple more days. Ndoors Interactive is offering a set of in-game stocking stuffers that also donate a portion of their profits straight to charity. The stocking stuffer randomly contains one of 30 rare item sets, all of them having various positive boosts on any Atlantica Online character. In addition, each one purchased also has a portion of the revenue from that sale donated to Child's Play, a well-known gamer-centered charity that has continue to skyrocket in donation volume over the years. The only catch for the stocking stuffer is that you have to move quickly -- the pack is disappearing from the store after December 30th, just in time for the new year. And, really, isn't it worth getting that one last rush of being kind to others while being kind to yourself?
Sony Online Entertainment launches Winter Charity Drive
It's always great when we can combine MMO gaming with the support of a good cause, and if you're a player of either Free Realms, EverQuest, or EverQuest II you have a chance to do just that with the Child's Play Winter Charity Drive. You can also get your characters some fun new items in the process. From now until January 17th, Sony Online Entertainment has earmarked a few special items to support Child's Play, a game industry charity that provides toys and games to children in over 60 hospitals worldwide. The brand new Triceratops pet in Free Realms, the Child's Play Anklebiter doll in EverQuest, and the Child's Play Bouncing Baby Panda Cub in EverQuest II are all available now for 500 Station Cash each. For every purchase of one of these items, SOE will donate $10 to Child's Play, up to $50,000. Child's Play has been around since 2003, and has donated nearly $1.4 million to the hospitals in their network this year.
