Seattle, WA - Jan 05, 2007 With the success of its online toy drive and dinner auction, the gamer-supported Child’s Play Charity (www.childsplaycharity.org) reached an all-time high of $1,024,400.31 in its fourth year of bringing games and other entertainment to sick children around the world. The auction dinner held in Seattle in December raised a total of $210,000. Highlights include an appearance in a Penny Arcade comic strip that went for $10,000 and a voiceover line in the upcoming Halo 3 videogame that raised $9,000.
“The game community has just been so amazing in its support,” said Penny Arcade’s Robert Khoo. “What started as a challenge to our community has grown into something that impacts the lives of children, and that’s something we can all be proud of.”
Through the Amazon wish lists of over 30 participating children’s hospitals more than $1 million in new items were purchased by donors to be used at hospitals on an ongoing basis or given as gifts to those spending their holiday sick in bed. Items ranged from books, Legos and Play Doh to full Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS game systems and included game titles such as Viva Piñata, Pac Man World Rally, and Madden NFL ’07, plus many popular DVD movies and much, much more. One hundred percent of proceeds from the purchase of Child’s Play t-shirts and cards through www.thinkgeek.com/pennyarcade also went towards the purchase of new games and other forms of entertainment for children.
The sold out $125 per plate fundraising dinner was emceed by the creators of Penny Arcade, Gabe and Tycho. More than 300 attendees bid on game- related auction items, secure in the knowledge that their contributions would go to bring smiles to the faces of children in hospitals across the globe. Other auction highlights included:
* $4,000 for a trip for two to Iceland, including a tour of CCP Games
* $3,700 for a Nintendo Wii and DS combo pack signed by “Reggie” Fils-Aime
* $2,700 for a tour of the Penny Arcade studios
* $1,200 for a Microsoft Xbox 360 signed by J Allard
About Child’s Play
Child’s Play is a non-profit organization begun in 2003 by Gabe and Tycho, the creators of the Penny Arcade comic strip, as a way to help sick children and show the world the softer side of people who play videogames. Through the generosity of gamers and the videogame industry, Child’s Play has raised millions of dollars in toys, games and cash for sick children through an ongoing online toy drive and annual charity auction. Now in its fourth year, Child’s Play is developing a worldwide network of beneficiary Children’s Hospitals in order to brighten hospital stays for children internationally. For more information go to www.childsplaycharity.org.
www.xcmlive.com presents to the gaming media a first view at the upcoming XCM multi-component cable which will support Xbox 360, Wii, PS3 and PS2 formats. At the flick of a switch gamers can toggle between their console displays, a great set-up if PS2 owners can’t bear to completely part with the ‘old generation’ and also ideal for those with a mixture of ‘next generation’ systems. The sheer quality of this versatile cable will optimize any textures and gaming visuals, making it a must-have for all gamers.
For now the media and gamers are welcomed to view the ‘in action’ video of this product. Stay tuned for a news follow-up relatively soon, with complete specifications, pricing and availability!
Ever wonder why Microsoft hasn't released an HDMI cable for the Xbox 360, or whether the AV port was really capable of digital out? Well, here's your answer: engadget landed pictures of what appears to be the second Xbox 360 -- the Xbox 360 v2, if you will -- codenamed Zephyr. (The original Xbox 360, if you recall, was codenamed Xenon.)
The long rumored about and awaited update to the console won't just feature a new, cooler 65nm processor, it's also finally added an HDMI port for full digital 1080p pleasure, as well as a 120GB drive, just what the doctor ordered. The 120GB drive may or may not come bundled with the kit, we don't yet know, just as we also don't yet know how much a Zephyr 360 is going to run (we imagine it'll go for the same price as currently so they can keep up a little on their expanding margin). But our very kind Xbox insider seemed happy to let us know we'd be able to get them "soon."
Seeing Doom on the Xbox 360 with online play was a pleasant surprise and it looks like there are going to be more Doom games coming to Xbox Live Arcade in the future. The ESRB has ratings up for Ultimate Doom and Final Doom, which is a strong suggestion that we’re going to see both of these later. Since Ultimate Doom only had one extra episode (Thy Flesh Consumed) it may be an additional content pack for Doom instead of a standalone game. Final Doom is based off of Doom II, but it has an entirely new set of 64 maps. Since Final Doom has significantly more content it is likely to be a separate release when it comes out.
The site does say that the current 360 version of of Doom is Ultimate Doom as it contains "Thy Flesh Consumed".
Nyko announced today that it will unveil its Zero line of controllers for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 at next week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Zero controller features 2.4 GHz wireless technology, heat-dissipating aluminum panels, backlit buttons, and "a unique ergonomic design." The Zero runs on a rechargeable battery pack. Perhaps most importantly, for PS3 owners angry that additional Sony controllers don't come with one anyway, the Zero also comes with a USB cable to charge it with.
“The Zero for the PlayStation 2 was a hit with gamers and we’re extremely excited to bring the line to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360,” said Chris Arbogast, marketing manager at Nyko Technologies, Inc. “Next-generation gaming is all about performance and the Zero line of controllers has been built specifically with that in mind. No matter what platform you use, the Zero line of controllers will have you gaming at a higher level.”
LG's on again / off again combo HD DVD + Blu-ray player is -- at least for this week -- on again. To recap: After showing the BD199 Blu-ray player at last year's CES, the company abruptly shelved it and promised a combo player to end the high definition format war. Then this fall the company backed off those plans, reaffirmed its status in the Blu-ray camp and even showed off the BD100 Blu-ray player in London as recently as November.
Now, LG promises that not only is the dual format player coming, we'll be able to see it next week at CES. No word on if it contains any of the hybrid hardware we've heard so much about in recent months, but the company has promised details on pricing and availability in Las Vegas. With neither format projected to make a large dent in declining DVD sales this year, perhaps an end to the format war is just what they need to get things rolling... or cause more confusion and hesitation amongst potential customers.
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Now, LG promises that not only is the dual format player coming, we'll be able to see it next week at CES. No word on if it contains any of the 
