Tag: Charity

Blizzard Offers Charity To Hurricane Sandy Relief


Blizzard is my favorite company when it comes to charity. In 2009, Blizzard released the Pandaran Monk pet, raising $1.1 million for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In 2010, the Moonkin hatchling raised over $800 grand for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In 2011, the Cenarion Hatchling raised nearly $2 million in support of disaster relief following the tsunami in Japan. With the recent Hurricane Sandy that tore up the eastern coast of the United States, Blizzard has announced that a special Cinder Kitten pet will be released on the Blizzard Store.

The pet will cost $10 and 100% of proceeds will go toward the Red Cross relief effort.

(Source: World of Warcraft)

Save COH Plays For Charity


The community of City of Heroes weren’t just virtual superheroes this weekend. A team of forty nine battle ready players took to the streets this weekend to fight crime (and cause it) in a 24 hour marathon for the name of freedom, honor, and charity. The marathon raised over $8,500 for Children’s Miracle Network Hospital, a facility that treats children regardless of their family’s ability to pay.

One participant, DrakeGrimm, had the following to say:

“It is events like this that make me honored to stand up and be a part of this community. We are heroes, and this is what we do.”

At the end of the marathon, players grouped together outside City Hall in Paragon City to raise their torches in support of the game and its community. City of Heroes is scheduled to shut down on November 30th, although the community has still not given up hope of saving the MMO. You can find the SaveCOH campaign here: http://www.savecoh.com/

(Source: Press Release)

Mass Effect 3: The Right Way To Protest


Here at MMO Fallout, I’ve devised a sport known as “competitive charity,” a corporate sport where the rules are simple: Donate more than anyone else to a respectable charity and you win the prize. What is the prize? We haven’t figured that out yet, but it is in progress. So far, competitive charity has been extremely successful, with a majority of the companies listed here at MMO Fallout participating on an occasional basis.

Over at Bioware, the Mass Effect community decided to express its outrage at the ending of Mass Effect 3 in the only way it knows how: Throwing the rules of competitive charity right out the window and starting up a charity fund. So far, over two thousand contributors have donated more than fifty three thousand dollars to Child’s Play. Sure, it’s an odd marriage: The joy of charity and the general useless endeavor that is an internet protest.

This is my kind of protest, and I’m sure Child’s Play is just as happy as I am to see the money rolling. The charity drive runs until April 11th. If you want to chip in, or just want to donate to Child’s Play, click below. I will also have a counter running on the side of MMO Fallout until the charity ends.

(Source: Child’s Play)

Eve Online: Running The $40k for Charity


Back in March, I talked about Eve Online’s PLEX for Good campaign, a long running series of events that has seen a sizable chunk donated to various charities over the past few years. In the latest, CCP had asked players to contract their PLEX to a specific character, who would then convert the PLEX into cash and donate it to the Red Cross.

In the latest CCP blog, the final tally for the charity has been released: $44,607.50 or 2549 PLEX. Since 2004, Eve Online has donated $155,000 to charity, according to CCP. The blog notes the following exceptional players.

  • Viaris has spent over 50 billion ISK on purchasing PLEX in-game and donating it to the drive.
  • Vehrokh’s RL Emergencies Charity was formed by Vaerah Vahrokha, who created her in-game charity foundation to aid players who wish to donate but do not have the means to purchase a full PLEX in-game.
  • EVE Radio deejay DJ Wiggles continues his support for the PLEX for Good program by holding drives during his radio show live on the air.

More on charity results as they appear.

Perfect World Entertainment: This Is How You Charity


You may have thought that the charity articles were over, and you would be wrong. Following all of our other articles, we’ve got an update from Perfect World Entertainment. For the next two weeks, until April 13th, players of Perfect World International (by Perfect World Entertainment) will be able to purchase the Super Inventory Stone, which upgrades your inventory to 64 slots.

The item is one per character, and lasts forever. 50% of the proceeds are sent to charity. The charity of choice is the American Red Cross.

For more information, check out the web post: http://www.perfectworld.com/blog/?p=218551&style=pwi

Hello Kitty Online: Save The Children


I love Hello Kitty Online. Not in the sense that I love the game itself, but the knowledge that any time some major disaster occurs, the team at Sanrio Digital will be there with an in-game event to generate donations. To top it off, the team has always managed to present the charity drives in a way that costs the player nothing, yet still manages to donate a notable amount.

In the wake of the earthquake in Japan, the Hello Kitty Online team has put together the HKO Japan Earthquake Aid event, which follows a pattern similar to the previous charity drives. Players are tasked with obtaining a certain set of items, and bringing them to a specific NPC, which will accumulate donations that will be sent to the Save the Children foundation.

The list of items are as follows:

  • 50 Cherry Tree Wood
  • 100 White Bread
  • 50 Green Tea Leaf
  • 50 Veggie Tempura

The items must be given to a GM outside Sanrio Harbor during set times, and the event will only last until March 21st.

Nexon: $1.2 Million and All Proceeds


I’ve said it already, and I will continue saying it: The outpour of support from MMO developers and the community toward Japan has been absolutely overwhelming. Already we have seen support from Square Enix, Sony Online Entertainment, CCP, Hi-Rez, and NCsoft, and the list just keeps on growing.

Nexon today announced a two-tiered plan to send aid to Japan, via select relief agencies including the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. On the first tier, the company has donated $1.2 million USD in initial corporate contributions. But that’s not all. Players can have a direct effect on the second tier of contributions via the game’s cash shop:

In addition to Nexon’s donation, from March 14 through March 20, Nexon America will be donating 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of many of our in-game items to the Red Cross for the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami disaster relief efforts.

The following games are included in the charity movement:

 

NCSoft: No, This Is How You Charity


Money is a powerful tool that can buy many things. In the wake of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, we’ve seen an outpour of support from MMO developers and their players. Square Enix has shut down Japanese Final Fantasy servers, while Sony Online Entertainment has announced the suspension of billing for Japanese players. Global Agenda has pledged 100% of sales for the next ten days to the Red Cross, while CCP is offering players the option to convert their PLEX into cash to donate.

NCsoft is next on the list, with a substantial donation to the relief effort, particularly the restoration projects. In a recent announcement on the Aion forums, NCsoft announced:

NCsoft sends its most heart-felt condolences to the victims and people of Japan. As such, NCsoft will donate 500 million Yen (approx 4.5 million Euros/3.9 million GBP/6.3 million USD) to restoration of damages in the region. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan.

More on the charity drive as it appears.

Global Agenda: 100% Sales Donated To Japan


Pitting companies in competition with each other over who can donate the most money to charity is a cruel, rude, and disgusting way to advocate for more donations by offering publicity as a reward. But hey, where there’s smoke there is fire, right? With news of CCP reigniting the PLEX for Good campaign to aid the Red Cross in their mission to help the Japanese, Hi-Rez has joined in to offer their own contribution:

Anyone who purchases Global Agenda between now and the 28th will be able to get their hands on the game for $10, but also knowing that 100% of the proceeds will go to the Red Cross. Yes, a 66% discount and a charitable contribution to show for it. If I didn’t already own Global Agenda, I’m sure I would have bought it during this sale.

Again, the sale lasts until the 28th. The $10 sale lasts until Sunday. More on Global Agenda as it appears.

Eve Online: PLEX For Japan


Since the 8.9 magnitude earthquake the hit Japan this month, the outpour of support has been intense not only from gamers, but from the not-so-soulless entities that operate them. Already, we’ve seen responses from Square Enix (who are shutting down servers to consolidate energy), and Sony Online Entertainment, both companies of which will not be billing Japanes players through April.

CCP is the next company to join the list, with the PLEX for Good initiative. Players are encouraged to donate PLEX, which will be converted into cash, and donated to the Red Cross. Players have until April 1st to make their donation.

To make your PLEX donation:

  • Contract your PLEX to the “CCP PLEX for Good” character, and please make sure the character is in the “C C P” corporation and that the name is spelled correctly to avoid scams.
  • Contracts will be accepted within 24 hours of submission, though usually sooner than that.

And I should point out for emphasis:

CCP regards any scamming attempts surrounding this effort to be morally reprehensible and they will be met with swiftest action.