Video Games Charity Raises Over $10 Million

jones_supa writes "Gaming for Good, a charity established and fronted by celebrity gamer Bachir 'Athene' Boumaaza, has this week passed the significant milestone. At time of writing the group's tally stands at a tame $10 million. It works like this: game publishers donate games to the charity, without asking for profit. Regular folks buy points, which can then be exchanged to games on the website. Finally the money used to buy the points goes to charity. So in one way they're really just buying games, but instead of the money going to publishers, it's going to a good cause. Money raised is going to the international charity Save The Children, where it can be used on health programs in Malawi, Indonesia and Bangladesh."

Comments

Well..

[Nrrqshrr]

In this case, it's the publishers who are being generous, and not the players. Did EA participate?

Re:Well..

[gl4ss]

it looks like indies & older titles mostly.

but yeah, it's the publishers donating the money.. unless "profit" means just that they're giving their "profit margin" on it away, the blurb wasn't really clear about that, but should just say "donating games" if they're donating the games totally(since hey, the profit margin % is pulled out of the ass with products like this, it's not like it's milk or something they have a definite buy in value on..).

(OK OK, I read it, "Games are donated by supporting developers and publishers. " on the site, so yeah, they're donating the games/money. however, some of are using it as an advertising venue as well, duh, like fuck I wanna buy 2XP time for a deathmatch game..).

give away more than we keep will raise our spirits

[Anonymous Coward]

same player shoots again a winner every time

What about SDA and SRL?

[Anonymous Coward]

They've been holding two charity events each year for the past few years. Awesome Games Done Quick 2014 is coming soon.

What's in it for me?

[rodrigoandrade]

OK, it's Friday and I got karma to burn.

Is buying games this way any cheaper than retail?

If not, where's the incentive to help this charity?

Sorry if capitalism is out of style these days, but that's what keeps the world going and the bills paid.

Re:What's in it for me?

[ctid]

I don't know the price but if it's more, your decision to buy from this charity is based on how much spare cash you have. Capitalism has been kind to lots of people so they might want to go for it. You shouldn't sweat it if you prefer not to. It's a charity; you donate if you want to and can afford to. If not, buy your stuff elsewhere.

Re:What's in it for me?

[Heed00]

Seriously? You're joking, right?

Even if it's no cheaper, you would have paid that amount anyway if you purchased the game through more usual means, so channeling the same amount of funds to an entity that does something good with the money is the incentive. You get the product at the same price you would have paid and the money goes to a good cause -- how is that not an incentive?

Re:What's in it for me?

[Anonymous Coward]

Is buying games this way any cheaper than retail?

The site seems to be using an ambiguous points system for prices. Hell if I am going to delve further if they cannot be upfront about cost.

Re:What's in it for me?

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you making some morally convoluted argument that giving to publishers like EA is "the right thing to do", but giving to charities is "a waste of money"?

Since you can get most of the games you want for free (Piratebay), your question comes across as poorly calculated flame-bait.

Re:What's in it for me?

[Charliemopps]

It's simple. The games of no value to the publisher anymore. It would cost them time and money to make it open source or otherwise available for free. By giving it to the charity they get a tax deduction which will cover all the legal costs. The charity gets a bit of cash, the Game doesn't disappear from history and you get to play a game you otherwise would have had to pirate.

Re:What's in it for me?

[hairyfeet]

But the fact that the guy even has to ask? Just shows the site be fucked up dude.

I mean a fricking points system? That is what the cigarette companies use so you don't realize how many packs of smokes you went through to get that windbreaker. Having a charity use a points system which lets be honest folks, all those points systems are designed to fuck you by making sure your points versus what you want never add up thus making you buy more points, just makes the whole thing look and sound shady.

I have NO problem with gaming for charity, in fact my Steam is overloaded with games thanks to all the Humble Bundles I've bought in the last 6 months, but sleazy tactics like point systems really shouldn't be involved. There is no reason why they couldn't set a minimum like the Humble or Indie Royale, but points systems? That's just tacky.

Re:What's in it for me?

[Anonymous Coward]

You don't even understand the concept of this, it is as you cannot understand that some people want to donate without getting anything in return.

The point system on GamingForGood.net is ONLY a bonus. Normally you shouldn't get anything in return when you donate, the fact that you gave your money to a good cause should be enough. Athene made it very clear that you don't BUY points on G4G, you get them them as a bonus when you donate. There is a big difference, go figure.

Also you can't really compare this with humble bundle. The humble bundle only gives away a small portion of the money to charity. On G4G all donations go directly to save the children's paypal, they don't take any cut.

Nothing shady about the points, its just a bonus. Your comment just tells something about how fucked up the world is, that you think this way. Either that or you are very immature or possibly very young.

Re:What's in it for me?

[Heed00]

The site? I didn't even read TFA and I can see what the incentive would be sans a price break. People who can't see that and have to ask are fucked up. Seriously.

The specifics are another matter -- as I said, I didn't read TFA so maybe this particular example has lots of faults. But the general principle should be clear to anyone who is capable basic rational thought and empathy -- somebody that doesn't think capitalism is the sole arbiter of all value(s).

Re:What's in it for me?

[hairyfeet]

Do you HAVE a point, or did you just feel like mumbling a bunch of gibberish for some reason?

Please do explain to me what EXACTLY your post has to do with mine, or how it in ANY way addresses my post which was about how using credits/points instead of simply taking money is fucked up? Because i honestly can't even see any kind of thought in your post, just a rambling "its charity so you suck" without any kind of explanation or thought to go along with it.

As I said I have no problem with games for charity and have both my Steam account and the accounts of my friends overflowing with games thanks to all the Humble Bundles but this site adds complexity for no reason and from what I've seen the "ur doin it wrong" meme fits them to a T as it just makes things more complex for no discernible benefit. As i pointed out there is a reason why points/credits systems went out of style, they were mostly used to scam or hide the true cost and were a big PITA with no advantages to the end user. Tell me what EXACTLY this points systems does that makes it in ANY way, shape, or form better than what the Humble Bundles do now? After all with the HBs you can decide how much each charity gets, you can see quickly and easily what the minimum donation is, its simply a better setup than this one. Even the one "advantage" someone tried to claim, that it gives 100% to charity? All you have to do with HBs is slide the slider all the way to the right for whatever charity and they get 100%, only with HBs you can also divide that among multiple charities.

So sorry but charity or no stupid design is still stupid.

Re:What's in it for me?

[Heed00]

Hey, look at the thread -- you replied to me on some tangent about the site and points. I was responding to the general idea of what the incentive would be to use a site where the money went to charity, but the product was no cheaper. Why you chose my post to go off in that direction is a mystery to me, but since you began with, "But the fact that the guy even has to ask? Just shows the site be fucked up dude." I chose to use that to make the point the quality of the site, qua fucked up, is of much less concern than the quality of one's intellect and character who would need to ask the original question -- one who wouldn't see the good in providing an extra benefit to someone else at no further expense to themselves.

That's me done here.

Mixed signals

[skovnymfe]

At time of writing the group's tally stands at a tame $10 million.

Is a tame 10 million a good or a bad number? Were they expecting more, since it's only tame? Or is tame a good word when talking numbers?

Re:Mixed signals

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not just good, it's good enough!

I'd rather donate to Child's Play

[ElectricTurtle]

I don't know that I would trust this guy. At least Child's Play has an established record, and they've raised $17 million since inception.

Also this guy's s/o is way out there... she tried to trade BJs for votes to get elected to the Belgian senate, and offered to take the virginity of any neckbeard who 'defended net neutrality'.

I think the only reason this has gained any significant traction is the "reward" people get for "donating". Though really all that means is that it's the game publishers who are donating, and the people buying games are just buying games. So... congrats? I guess it's better to buy from a charity than Walmart, but still, given the background of these people I wouldn't be surprised if some scandal emerged eventually.

Re:I'd rather donate to Child's Play

[Anonymous Coward]

You don't trust him because you don't know anything about him. Let me be the first to inform you that it's pretty easy to look someone up on the internet these days. I'm going to assume you just stopped reading when you saw he had an arab name and concluded he must be scamming people.
He raised over a million last year, he went to Africa to film what they did with the money, his charity is approved by USAID (which means it gets checked by the government). He works for Razer, he campaigns for Net Neutrality, he makes money based on his popularity,.... He's not some shady guy who tries to scam people because that would destroy his career, income and get him sued by quite a lot of people.

I don't really care that someone prefers Childs Play (who also do great work) but spouting bullshit about another charity is just pathetic.

Re:I'd rather donate to Child's Play

[ElectricTurtle]

What I say is not bullshit. The guy's s/o is Tania Derveaux and her 'antics' are well recorded. I have a hard time trusting somebody who gets into a serious relationship with a person on record as trying to buy votes with blowjobs. (Even if that's potentially more honest and ethical than most political behavior.)

Re:I'd rather donate to Child's Play

[Anonymous Coward]

That's great.

What's their expense ratio - I can't find it.

Like those police "charities" that telemarket, for every $1.00 they collect, they keep $0.98 for "expenses".

Re:I'd rather donate to Child's Play

[Registered Coward v2]

What I say is not bullshit. The guy's s/o is Tania Derveaux and her 'antics' are well recorded. I have a hard time trusting somebody who gets into a serious relationship with a person on record as trying to buy votes with blowjobs. (Even if that's potentially more honest and ethical than most political behavior.)

I'm do think it's fair to judge someone by the s/o. As long as he is transparent with the organization's financials what they do elsewhere is generally irrelevant. Who know, maybe Tania's ability to "get out the vote" is what he found attractive.

Re:I'd rather donate to Child's Play

[Mashiki]

You don't trust him because you don't know anything about him. Let me be the first to inform you that it's pretty easy to look someone up on the internet these days.

We also knew plenty about Bernie Madoff now didn't we. And really it matters squat whether or not something is approved by USAID, since USAID has also "supported" various charities that funneled money to islamic terrorist groups.

Well you're free to donate money to whoever you want, but I wouldn't to this group. And it's similar to reasons why I don't support groups like Greenpeace, Sierra Club, United Way or the Red Cross.

Re:I'd rather donate to Child's Play

[ElectricTurtle]

Somebody who is a bad judge of character where it is most important is most likely either a) deficient of character themselves or b) dangerously/irresponsibly naive/gullible. Neither is a quality I want in somebody acting as an intermediary for millions of dollars. Quite frankly it's only the responsibility factor that makes it even important to me. If I was just casually interacting with somebody who had a crazy s/o, I wouldn't even give it a second thought. However I wouldn't want them to be, for instance, my business partner for the reason outlined above.

Re:I'd rather donate to Child's Play

[Registered Coward v2]

Somebody who is a bad judge of character where it is most important is most likely either a) deficient of character themselves or b) dangerously/irresponsibly naive/gullible. Neither is a quality I want in somebody acting as an intermediary for millions of dollars. Quite frankly it's only the responsibility factor that makes it even important to me. If I was just casually interacting with somebody who had a crazy s/o, I wouldn't even give it a second thought. However I wouldn't want them to be, for instance, my business partner for the reason outlined above.

While I understand your POV I think a s/o is different from a business partner. I know a lot of people with a s/o whom I consider crazy or unstable, but whom I still think are decent and trustworthy. I wouldn't chose their s/o as a business partner but that is a separate issue form working with them. Again, if the org is making their financials available and audited by an independent party than the s/o antics are a non-issue to me. YMMV.

In this specific case it appears the s/o's offer was made in satire and part of an effort to draw attention to Parliament rather than a serious offer; as evidenced by the nature of the campaign and how it came to closure.

Re:I'd rather donate to Child's Play

[ElectricTurtle]

You misunderstood my antecedent, I'm talking about evaluating character by proxy, how people evaluate others is itself a dimension for how they themselves can and should be judged.

And joke or not, it's a pattern (i.e. done more than once) of very irresponsible and tasteless behavior to pretend to offer bulk sexual favors in exchange for political action.

Re:I'd rather donate to Child's Play

[Rhys]

You must be talking about this random charity, since many child's play dontaions go straight to the hospital?

Or maybe you're too RTFA to catch FAQ #1 which says historically under 6% overhead? A couple quick web searches, hitting both the Washington Sec of State and one of the various charity rating places both point to similarly good numbers.

Re:I'd rather donate to Child's Play

[rockout]

You're not only a bad judge of character - apparently your reading comprehension isn't so great. I see you've backed off your original statement of "she tried to trade BJs for votes to get elected to the Belgian senate" - let's look at the actual story behind your claim that his s/o actually offered blowjobs for votes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEE

Seems to me the satirical nature of that poster and the associated campaign is pretty clear. But hey, let's just smear a guy because of something that you claim his s/o did, which she didn't actually do, shall we? So much more fun that way.

Re:I'd rather donate to Child's Play

[ElectricTurtle]

Apparently YOUR reading comprehension isn't so great, since you were replying to where I had just already addressed it in the context of a joke, and you're making claims about me without demonstrating any basis even abstractly.

Nor was I "backing off" of anything, I merely dealt with how the possibility of it being a joke did not ultimately make the scenarios (plural) redeemable, and furthermore we'll never know what would have happened if the conditions had been met, eh?

Re:I'd rather donate to Child's Play

[Anonymous Coward]

That's great.

What's their expense ratio - I can't find it.

Like those police "charities" that telemarket, for every $1.00 they collect, they keep $0.98 for "expenses".

They take NO CUT! Because he actually cares for the charity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqlTxyKXiCw and also they are such a small team that they don't need to pay employes to help them make a budget an stuff like that.

He "Athene" makes all his money of his youtube channel: http://www.Youtube.com/Athenewins

Re:I'd rather donate to Child's Play

[Registered Coward v2]

You misunderstood my antecedent, I'm talking about evaluating character by proxy, how people evaluate others is itself a dimension for how they themselves can and should be judged.

Certainly, but I would put far much more stock in whom they chose as business partners than their s/o. There is a far broader emotional component to an s//o than a business partner and a business partner impacts your reputation and dealings in a more direct manner. In short, people do crazy things for love which does not by any means make them crazy. In this specific case, his s/o was making a point about politician's promises in a very unorthodox manner; and not intending to be taken literally. Or, in politico speak, I know what you thought you heard me say but what I said was not what I meant.

And joke or not, it's a pattern (i.e. done more than once) of very irresponsible and tasteless behavior to pretend to offer bulk sexual favors in exchange for political action.

I believe it's called satire in her case.

Re:I'd rather donate to Child's Play

[idji]

You can say what you like about his past, but you don't know what credibility he has been building in 2013. Tanja did not give anyone anything - it was just a stunt to show the absurdedness of the election process. I think we can say "Whoosh" to you.
Here is Athene's credibility for the 10M$. www.savethechildren.org
Now go to his AtheneWins channel and watch his interviews on Bloomberg TV Fox CNN CNBC Wall Street Journal
It would be great if Steam and others took over the idea and donated many millions to charity as a default. Props to Athene for tirelessly kickstarting something great.

Re:I'd rather donate to Child's Play

[rockout]

Actually we do know what happened. They put up a video on YouTube which was a friend of the woman in question simulating giving a blowjob. I'm sure you have a problem with that woman too. "I don't trust this guy because his significant other is a political activist who has a friend that made a video of herself simulating a blowjob on the viewer of the video." You're a fucking tool, plain and simple.

pr.gov storm typer hired goons holiday lament

[Anonymous Coward]

we still work for slashdot. we want to help slashdot & they (pretend they don't) know it. the hobbyist whiners must be deleted for our message to flow without impedance. a brave new world for sure?

Mod parent Funny

[Anonymous Coward]

Ha ha ha!

Imagine a shit company like EA actually trying to do something good! I'm still chuckling at the idea ... thank you for making me laugh.

Re:Mod parent Funny

[Anonymous Coward]

Ha ha ha!

Imagine a shit company like EA actually trying to do something good! I'm still chuckling at the idea ... thank you for making me laugh.

Well they did the Humble Bundle thing, with 100% to charity.

Re:Mod parent Funny

[Forbo]

If they can catch a tax break for it, then yeah. It would be in their financial interests to do so.

Re:Mod parent Funny

[Anonymous Coward]

Ha ha ha!

Imagine a shit company like EA actually trying to do something good! I'm still chuckling at the idea ... thank you for making me laugh.

Well they did the Humble Bundle thing, with 100% to charity.

Stop fucking up my agenda, jerk.

but instead of the money going to publishers, ...

[behrooz0az]

You make it sound like publishers are evil. You insensitive clod.

How BF4 should of been released

[Trax3001BBS]

Having people pay say $10 for it, half going to charity. EA and Dice would of done something nice and for $10 you can't really complain about it being a POS.

Financial Information

[psnyder]

Here is financial info for Save the Children if anyone is interested. 2012 operating revenue was $597mil.

Congratulations to everyone involved. The few Athene videos I saw when he started were lowest common denominator attempts at shock value, but I'm glad something good is coming out of it.

I bet it must bother him

[Anonymous Coward]

His charity isn't setting any records.

its more like fappingforgood!

[Anonymous Coward]

its more like fappingforgood!

For Dem Kids!

[Anonymous Coward]

Ssssslick!

I'm Famous

[Anonymous Coward]

Cuz you read it on stream.