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Join Massively's Seraphina Brennan for a 24-hour Extra Life gaming marathon
The Extra Life charity gaming marathon is always a source of excitement for the Massively staff. We love the event and are thrilled to see gamers reaching out to help the Children's Miracle Network. Are you interested in the event, but not sponsoring or watching anyone in particular? Our very own Seraphina Brennan will be gaming for 24 hours on behalf of Extra Life and the Children's Miracle Network. You can keep an eye on events, participate in the chat, and offer tips, all through our Livestream feed. Check it out below and on Massively TV at Livestream!
Extra Life extravaganza: Donate to (and watch) our 24 hours of live marathon MMO gaming
Hey Massively readers! We need you guys to rally up and help us help an awesome cause! As we reported on earlier, the Extra Life charity video game marathon is going on this weekend, and we're participating in it! Beau Hindman and I (Seraphina Brennan) will be stepping up to our keyboards for 24 hours of non-stop grinding this weekend, and we'd love it if you could support us! Extra Life is asking for donations of $24 (but you can donate whatever amount you wish), and this year the money is going to Children's Miracle Network. Beau is supporting the Texas Children's Hospital, while I will be supporting the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Every dollar donated is 100% tax deductible and will go towards helping out these two fine hospitals and the many kids who depend on them. So please click on this link to support Beau, or click on this link to support me (Seraphina). If you're participating, you can also join our site's team and lend your fundraising efforts to the Massively.com Mob! For more information on participating, check out the Extra Life homepage here. Even if you can't spare the money, you can still join us this weekend and cheer us on as we livestream our gaming to the masses! I will be livestreaming my gaming on Massively TV, while Beau will be streaming on his own channel, Beau Turkey TV. The madness begins at 9:00 a.m EDT for Beau and me, but you can drop by at any time that day to watch us and cheer us on! Please contribute if you can. Every amount helps, and your donations will help give kids an extra life in their fight!
It's time to play games and heal kids with Extra Life
It's time once again to start registering for Extra Life. If you've been a member of the gaming community for a while, you're probably aware of this great charity event started by the Sarcastic Gamer blog. If you're unfamiliar with it, Extra Life is a 24-hour gaming marathon to benefit your local children's hospital through the Children's Miracle Network. Players sign up individually or as a team, gain sponsors willing to pledge $1 per hour, and play for 24 hours straight. Last year the organization raised over $150,000, and the organizers would love to see that number exceeded this year. Hundreds of gamers, including our very own Beau, have signed up to participate in this event, which begins October 16th. You can sign up as a participant through the site, or as a sponsor through the individual gamer pages.
Extra Life raises over $150,000
A little over a week ago, we told you about Beau Turkey (from Spouse Aggro) and his participation in Extra Life, the gaming marathon created by Sarcastic Gamer and the Texas Children's Hospital to raise money for the Texas Children's Cancer Center. He easily achieved his goal of $192 -- raising $270 -- but he was one of many, many people who pitched in their time and money to help out. Thanks to Beau and all the others who helped out, Extra Life hit quite a milestone. Yesterday they announced that they had raised over $150,000 -- an amount well over last year's total which will see 100% going to the Cancer center (Check out the header for a running total). Extra Life has designated this Saturday as "make up day," when participants can finish up their full 24 hours, if they couldn't make it before. Of course, the site will remain open for donations until then as well. We applaud Beau, Sarcastic Gamer, and all of you who participated. Thank you!
Blogger to play 24 hours of MMOs for charity
Beau Turkey, the guy-half of the Spouse Aggro blog and podcast -- and a regular guest on our own Massively Speaking podcast -- is participating in a very special charity event all day today. The charity is called Extra Life, and it is a 24-hour gaming marathon with the slogan "Play games, heal kids", created to raise money for the Texas Children's Cancer Center. Beau has chosen his games -- twelve games for two hours each -- and posted his list here. He's included in-game names and servers for each game to make it easier for those who'd like to join him. If you're more of a voyeur, Beau has been kind enough to set up live streaming video of the event as well. We're predicting that it's going to be pretty fun to watch, especially around hour eighteen or so, when he starts to lose feeling in his right hand.Of course, it's good if you want to watch; better if you log in and play with Beau, and best if you donate. Beau's goal is a pretty reasonable $192.00, and you can help him reach it here. Good luck Beau, we think you're doing a great thing. Hope you have plenty of coffee on-hand!
Extra Life helping sick kids ... again
Wow, talk about milking a franchise. Just a year after they and 1300 other gamers helped raise $120,000 to fund pediatric cancer research and treatment, Sarcastic Gamer is gearing up to hold the Extra Life charity gaming marathon again. (Really guys? Annualizing? Maybe they should get Madden as a spokesperson, AMIRITE?)If you, for some reason, want to support a sequel instead of an original IP, you can sign up to take part right here. Then, find a few people to sponsor you to play games all day Oct. 17. Here's hoping that next time Sarcastic Gamer can find a cure for sequelitis.
Microsoft Future: hallucinating icons will be an everyday occurrence
There's nothing like a cheesy tech company promo video to make us all feel all warm and fuzzy with the promise of amazing sci-fi tech to come, and Microsoft's Future vids are a pinnacle of the form, what with their vision of a pervasive natural computing interface. Of course, strident idealism is a ripe target for mockery, and the kids at Sarcastic Gamer are at it again, taking the piss out of the last Future spot with their own dysfunctional narration. Grins after the break![Thanks, Sean]
Reminder: Extra Life charity marathon taking place today
We've all had gaming sessions so lengthy that a thin layer of film formed between our posteriors and our furniture -- but rarely have we ever had a worthwhile reason for doing so. However, as of 9 a.m. today, gaggles of stick-to-it-ive gamers set off on a 24-hour gaming marathon to raise money for the Texas Children's Cancer Center, as part of Sarcastic Gamer's Extra Life charity event. While it's too late to join in today's festivities, a "Rain Date", scheduled for next Saturday, will allow latecomers to garner donations and participate in the marathon. Not interested in developing bedsores? You could always donate directly to the cause -- or offer participants in your area a tall cup of coffee (or a much appreciated hand massage).
Sign up for Extra Life, help fight cancer
Our friends at Sarcastic Gamer are putting together a very special gaming marathon to benefit the Texas Children's Cancer Center. Set to begin October 18, 2008, Extra Life asks gamers to help raise money during a mass 24 hour gaming marathon. The concept is simple, sign up on the Extra Life website, find four sponsors willing to pay one dollar per every hour played, and start playing on October 18. All of the money earned during the marathon will go to the Texas Children's Cancer Center at Texas Children's Hospital. To find out how you can become part of Extra Life, head over to the official website.
Extra Life charity lets gamers battle cancer
With billions of loyal fans visiting our site each hour, we have a considerable, almost daunting amount of power. It's a power we occasionally use for evil or just for stupid, but we decided this morning that we'd do something good with it for a change and direct your attention to Extra Life.Fresh from the victory of their non-boycott, Sarcastic Gamer is once again rallying the troops, this time asking them to set aside Oct. 18 for an all-day gaming marathon. All you have to do is get friends and loved ones to sponsor your decadence with money that goes straight to the Texas Children's Cancer Center. It's like a charity fun run, but for fat people.It's a great effort, but do us a favor and take at least a couple of breaks, will you? The last thing you want to do is fight cancer while you die of dehydration.
'Boycott' of Battlefield: Bad Company spreads through internet
Many gamers have called e-mailed in about Sarcastic Gamer's "boycott" of the upcoming FPS game, Battlefield: Bad Company. Many are furious about the game's questionable DLC practices. Gamers will need to pay extra money to unlock five additional weapons, which can be used in online games. Although EA promises that it will not unbalance the game, it is a distressing misuse of DLC. We always thought that DLC extended the life of a product after it releases. For example, EA's own Rock Band serves terrific DLC long after the original's release. Unreal Tournament III adds tons of maps and does so at a terrific price: free. Heck, even Kane & Lynch is offering free post-release DLC. So, undoubtedly it's angering to a lot of gamers when they know that certain features are simply being locked out for gamers who don't want to pay an extra premium. Considering the game already costs $60 for the consumer, shouldn't they get everything the developers have made, instead of being forced to receive an intentionally-gimped product? You decide. [Via Joystiq]
Yes, there's a boycott of Battlefield: Bad Company
We've gotten tips from a lot of you about the Sarcastic Gamer-fronted effort to boycott Battlefield: Bad Company, and we haven't posted about it until now for one simple reason: We don't get it. If you want to boycott a retail product, if you think that Battlefield: Bad Company isn't worth your $60 because content has been removed, there's a very easy way of dealing with that problem. Don't buy it. They're called market forces, and they work. If you need proof: How many times have you seen horse armor for sale since Oblivion tried it?Do we like EA's idea of charging for individual weapons in an FPS, creating a gap (and it does despite what EA says) between the haves and have-nots? Of course not. But if you think the game is worth your money regardless, you should buy it and play it. If you don't want the extra guns, don't buy them. If that makes it less fun for you, don't buy their next game. It's as simple as that.Sarcastic Gamer asked, "How, in good conscience, can EA take more money out of fan's pockets, who have already spent 60 bucks on the game?" Here's the answer: They don't have a conscience, they're a multibillion-dollar corporation that cares nothing for you. And it's not their job to care, it's their job to make money. It's your job to decide how to spend yours.
Weapon purchases result in Bad Company boycott
We're a bit late on the call to arms, but the movement is still alive and in full force. Sarcastic Gamer has spear-headed a Battlefield: Bad Company boycott that has gathered a bunch of followers who are united in a retail boycott of EA and DICE's upcoming shooter. Why the need for a boycott? Well, it's those oh so controversial weapons that EA confirmed would have to be purchased separately off the XBLM when the game hits retail. If you agree with and refuse to purchase Bad Company unless EA gets rid of their weapon purchase business plan then join Sarcastic Gamer's boycott by signing their petition, plastering web banners across the internets and watching their resistance video on loop at twelve hour intervals. The call to arms has already started, are you signing up? [Thanks, Saccia]
Hey Mr. Thompson now in video form
Hey, remember that wacky "Hey Mr. Thompson" song we mentioned a while ago? We posted it as a respite from our constant torrent of timely and poignantly written 360 news. Well, Sarcastic Gamer has created a video now, and we think you should watch it right now. Go ahead, take a break from all this 360 nonsense. Seriously, the video has something for everyone. If your idea of a good time is watching someone in a crazy white wig pretending to be Jack Thompson, then this video is right up your alley. If not ... perhaps you fancy guitar playing men that serenade the camera? The point, if this rambling post has one, is that the video is hilarious, and we all like making fun of Jack Thompson, right? Good, then that's settled. Now, watch and enjoy.
Sarcastic Gamer takes on Jack Thompson
This isn't specifically 360 related, but it's an issue that strikes at the heart of all gamers. Or, rather, it's a person that strikes at the heart of all gamers: Jack Thompson. Our friends at Sarcastic Gamer (see Fancast 034) have taken it upon themselves to create a parody song about none other that our old buddy, John Bruce Thompson. The song is based on the Plain White T's hit, "Hey There Delilah" and, as you might expect, is hilarious. We've got the first minute of the song right here:"Hey Mr. Thompson" If you like what you hear, you can listen to the rest in the latest episode of the Sarcastic Gamer podcast (the song is about 35 seconds in). If you really like what you hear, we suggest you get to work making a music video, as the song is just begging for one.
We don't hate this Wii song parody
Sarcastic Gamer is up to their usual antics and released the song parody of Eminem's "Hi! My Name Is" entitled "I Hate This Wii". Yes, we find it hilarious and think you shall download it for a good laugh too. But before a flame war surfaces and the whole state of California goes up in flames we should say this; We've previously mentioned Sarcastic Gamer's "The Ring of Fire" song which makes fun of the Xbox 360, their "No Frickin' Games" song mocking the PS3 and even a parody of Microsoft's Surface. So, it's only right that the Nintendo Wii get its feelings hurt a little too. Come on guys, fanboys can laugh at eachother especially when it's in musical form and the production is this top notch. Ahh screw it, flame away![Thanks, COV3RT SN1P3R]
Wake me up when the PS3 has games ...
Previously, we've posted about Sarcastic Gamer's various work, because we find it A: very well done and B: very entertaining. And his latest song parody doesn't let us down. Sarcastic Gamer's "No Frickin' Games!" is a musical parody of Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends" that talks about the Playstation 3 having ... well, no frickin' games. And, as you know, we're not all about PS3 bashing here at X3F, but this song is too funny-good-times not to share with you guys. Heck, we've laughed at our 360 too with the "Ring of Fire" parody, because it's also greatness on a bun. So, give the song a download, have a good laugh, and thank the lord that we don't have to deal with a lack of games on our 360.
Microsoft Surface: that big table computer
Our friends at Sarcastic Gamer are at it again. Last week we got the parody of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," and this week we get a nice (and surprisingly sarcastic) look at Microsoft Surface. While many of us watched the first videos of Surface and said, "cool," Sarcastic Gamer -- like any good satirist -- saw the same video and said, "why?" If you weren't wowed by Microsoft's multi-touch, object recognizing table computer, then this video is for you. If, on the other hand, you love Surface ... well, you should still watch because the video is funny.
