In the past few days I have seen many discussions regarding the disaster in Japan and how SE (and the player base) can get involved to help. I also been following the news fairly closely and stumbled upon this article written by Winda Benedetti. Obviously, being a gamer, I found this article very interesting and encouraging and thought that many of you may enjoy it as well.
Quote:
Japan is home to some of the biggest gaming companies in the world. And with reports that last week's earthquake killed thousands of people in the country, the gaming community has begun to respond with some big donations.
Nintendo, which is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, has announced it will donate 300 million yen ($3.6 million) to the relief effort.
Sony Corporation also has announced that it will be giving 300 million yen in earthquake relief along with 30,000 radios to help those working in the recovery effort.
Sega is giving 200 million yen while Tecmo Koei will be donating 10 million yen. Namco Bandai is donating 100 million yen and has announced it is suspending operation of some Japanese arcades to help with power conservation needs.
But it isn't just Japanese game-related companies that are donating to the effort. Microsoft has announced that it's giving an initial $2 million to help with relief efforts. Meanwhile, social gaming community Gaia Online has designed a series of virtual goods and will send the proceeds from those goods to the Red Cross.
And the "EVE Online" community has begun a PLEX for Good: Japan fundraising effort. PLEX for Good is a charitable program started by the game's players which allows them to donate in-game currency to be "reverse redeemed" into real-world currency. Each donation through this program will be converted into cash currency and donated to the Red Cross.
Past drives have assisted the victims of the Haiti earthquake and flooding in Pakistan and, to date, "EVE Online" players have donated over $63,000 using this program. "EVE" players can follow this link for more information on how to give.
Meanwhile, Apple has set up this iTunes app to help its customers quicky and easily donate to the cause. You can also donate to the Red Cross online here.
UPDATE: Zynga — maker of "FarmVille" and "CityVille" — has partnered with Save the Children to raise money for its Japan Earthquake Tsunami Children Emergency Fund.You can donate directly here. Zynga also is donating 100 percent of the purchase price of some new specially-created virtual items that can be picked up in some of their games. "YoVille" players can purchase homes and furniture inspired by Japanese architecture and "FarmVille" players can plant a limited edition daikon radish crop among other things.
Zynga says players have already raised more than $1 million through the program.
Meanwhile, Japan-based company Konami has just announced that it is going to donate 100 million yen along with funds raised from employees.
And Capcom has announced that it has cut the price of its "Street Fighter IV" game in Apple's App Store to 99 cents and will be donating 100 percent of its purchase price to charity.
Their App Store plea reads: "People from all over the world, please unite with us to help people in the disaster-struck area."
Video Game Giants Give Big For Quake Relief
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03-17-2011, 04:58 AMHarmlessVideo Game Giants Give Big For Quake Relief
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03-17-2011, 06:18 AMEzikiel
See this is why i was talking about charging us for April and donating all proceeds or just putting that button up there where can choose to be charged for April and have it all donated. great advertisement and attention to a game we likr to play
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03-17-2011, 07:40 AMXeth
Square-Enix to donate 100 Million Yen
It's in Japanese, but I'm sure if you use a translator website, you can see it translated as saying they are donating 100 million yen :) -
03-17-2011, 08:37 AMChasorinI too was about to suggest that SE charge us for April, but use the money for the relief efforts. But then I realized that this is nothing more than SE making a donation, which Xeth is saying they are already doing. If SE allowed us to chose to donate or not be charged, this would be more of a donation on the players' part. But, for this to happen, at least the POL server would need to be up and running. Given the energy situation in Japan at the moment, this is unlikely to happen for us players to occur in the immediate future.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ezikiel
I like the idea of creating an in-game item or something in-game mechanism to facilitate donations, like the main article says other games are doing. While FF players wouldn't begin to donate until after the servers come back online under this system, this is OK imo because donations will be just as needed a few weeks from now, just as they are needed today.
For a donation, maybe we could get a "Red Cross" equipment piece, with a small boost to say, "Cure" potency and healing magic skill. SE could even connect it to lore, having a connection to the San d'Oria cathedral and to Narcheral in the cathedral (the NPC that is involved with the WHM AF quests).
Should you want to donate now, however, I would suggest that you chose a reputable relief organization to donate to, and donate an amount of your choice. -
03-17-2011, 08:51 AMGlobalVariable
Rather than SE's billing system transferring 12.95 out of my account into theirs and then into a charity to get there, I'd rather directly donate 50 bucks. POL may not be back for awhile, its just faster. When POL is up and running though I'd definitely like to see a donation button on the ffxi top page though, where they usually put the advert for the latest mini expansion.