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EVE Online's PLEX for GOOD drive raised over $190K to aid The Philippines
EVE Online players aren't all about intrigues and blowing each other up in New Eden, they are about helping others in this world. The community banded together in the recent Plex for GOOD drive and raised $190,890, all of which goes to the Icelandic Red Cross to help The Philippines recover from Typhoon Haiyan. CCP's development staff offers a very heartfelt thanks to its players for their generosity. The drive, which included dozens of unique player-run efforts and culminated in a CCP telethon that lasted over eight hours, brought in 12,726 PLEX (equaling approximately 1060 years of playtime). The livestreamed telethon featured EVE Online devs who pledged things like head-shaving and sparring with a Tae Kwon Do champion when certain fundraising milestones were hit. Perhaps the most painful dev pledge was getting shot with one paintball for every $2,000 donated! Sprinkled throughout the telethon were other tidbits including a dev cooking competition, Q&A sessions, and more. You can watch the follow through with the paintball pledge below, and catch the telethon in its entirety on YouTube. [Source: CCP press release]
EVE Evolved: Donate your old spaceships to charity
The Philippines recently suffered its worst natural disaster in living memory when typhoon Haiyan made landfall on November 8th, leaving over half a million people displaced and millions without food and basic supplies. Countries and organisations around the world have been sending relief aid into the region, and gamers have once again proven to be a generous bunch. Several livestreamers have been running donation drives; the developers behind Luvinia Online even promised to donate 100% of the income from three new in-game items to the Philippine Red Cross. EVE Online has now also joined in the fundraising by reactivating its popular PLEX for Good scheme. CCP started the PLEX for Good scheme back in January of 2010 as a way for players to donate in-game assets and ISK to help people in the real world. EVE Online players have collectively donated over $150,000 US in aid following 2010's Haitian earthquake, tsunami devastation in Japan, flooding in Pakistan, and tornadoes in the US two years ago. Players hope to smash all fundraising records this time around with dedicated fundraising auctions, events, and liquidation firesales happening across the game. There are even ways for ex-players without active subscriptions to donate their idle in-game assets to charity. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at the PLEX for Good scheme, the fundraising efforts players are using to help out a country in need, and how you can donate your ISK to charity even if you've long since quit EVE.
CCP turns PLEX for Good program toward typhoon relief
CCP announced today that EVE Online players who wish to help relief efforts in the wake of the typhoon that devastated parts of the Philippines can do so through the company's PLEX for Good program. For every PLEX donated between today and December 17th, CCP will contribute $15 to the Icelandic Red Cross. CCP will also award donating players with one in-game Sisters of EVE shirt as a thank-you gesture. In the world of EVE, PLEX is a tradeable item worth 30 days of game time. PLEX can be purchased with real money directly from CCP or with ISK inside EVE's incredibly complex marketplace. CCP has fired up PLEX for Good in the past; EVE players using the program have raised over $150,000 for disaster relief since it was debuted in the wake of the 2004 tsunami that struck Indonesia. To donate PLEX, contract the item/s directly to the CCP PLEX For GOOD character on a 14-day item exchange contract.
CCP converting EVE PLEX to currency for storm relief
CCP has a long history of lending a helping hand during times of crisis. Whether it's the Haiti earthquake, the Japan tsunami, flooding in Pakistan, or most recently, the severe storms in the southeastern United States, the developer of EVE Online and World of Darkness is usually at the forefront of gamemaker disaster relief efforts. Today, CCP Fallout outlines the latest such drive on the EVE Insider dev blog. Plex for Good: Storm Relief is designed to provide aid to those devastated by the tornados that ripped through portions of Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee last week. The drive starts today and runs through May 16th, and each player-made PLEX donation "will be converted into cash currency and donated to the Red Cross." Players should contract their PLEX to the "CCP PLEX for Good" character, and because it's EVE, the dev blog mentions that any scams relating to the relief effort will be met with swift and harsh punishments. Head to official EVE website to learn more.
EVE players able to donate in-game ISK to Pakistan flood relief
Back in January, the Republic of Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake. Several MMO development studios responded by coming up with ways to help their players donate to the aid relief campaign. EVE Online developers CCP Games came up with an innovative scheme that allowed players to donate in-game ISK to help the people of Haiti. Players bought PLEX in-game with ISK and donated them to CCP's sponsored relief fund. As PLEX are worth 30 days of game time each, every one donated represented 30 days of EVE game time that someone somewhere purchased. Although CCP had to absorb all tax and administration costs, the company managed to donate the full value of donated game time to charity without taking a significant loss. In total, players donated over $40,000 worth of PLEX to the fund, which was given to the Red Cross to help the people of Haiti. With the recent flooding in Pakistan, a huge need for donations has arisen and CCP is once again allowing players to donate in-game PLEX to charity. In a new devblog, CCP Fallout has urged players to contract unused PLEX to the EVE character "CCP PLEX for Good." The full cash value of each donated PLEX will be passed on to the Pakistan Red Crescent Society, regardless of whether you bought the PLEX for cash or ISK. If you want to donate, the deadline for sending your PLEX is the 6th of October. As with the previous fundraiser, any players perpetrating scams around this donation drive will receive harsh punishment. Perhaps this would be a good opportunity for Bad Bobby, the player who recently confirmed that he'd made over 850 billion ISK with investment scams, to do something worthwhile with his accumulated wealth.
