The $1 PS3 and the concept of charity

Come gather round, children, and let me tell you a heartwarming story of Christmas charity. This is the story of On Ouchs, a Cambodian immigrant living in British Columbia, Canada. Ouchs decided to spend $1500 on a PlayStation 3 and games and then give it all away. But he didn't decide to give it away the normal way, by shipping it off to Child's Play or Toys for Tots or something. No, Ouchs had something different in mind.

He set up an eBay auction for the PS3 for an amazingly low $1 "Buy it Now" price and then (and this is key) didn't let anyone bid on it. Instead, he set up a special web site, OneDollarPlaystation3.com, where people all over the world could "write to Santa and explain to him why you think you should be on the Good List."

The deserving people that Ouchs -- I mean Santa -- deemed deserving of the coveted system would then be allowed to bid on the auction at some random, unannounced time in the future. Just picture it: hundreds of needy hopefuls trapped in front of their computers, compulsively checking for the magic auction to open just for a slim chance at the coveted system. It's beautiful, isn't it?

What spurred Ouchs to such generosity? Many point to Ouchs claim that he's "a nice guy and [who wants] to make someone's Christmas a little brighter this year," as justification enough. Others point to his admission that he "want[s] to make history and, in the process, maybe make an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and other television talk shows." So great was Ouchs' selflessness that he only posted the press release about his generous offer to six different web sites.

Yes, in all seriousness, Ouchs' auction will truly be a blessing to one lucky gamer this season, even if his unique method of charity smacks a little of vain opportunism. With any luck, we at Joystiq won't be put on Santa's Bad List just for poking a little fun.

[Thanks Kathy]