Microsoft Wants To Help Sick Kids, Too
A lot has been written about Nintendo helping the infirm and aged get active again using the Wii, but Microsoft isn't about to let Nintendo steal all the thunder. Microsoft Corp. has announced a new partnership with the Companions in Courage Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting children and families who are overcoming life-threatening obstacles. To that end, Microsoft is supplying hundreds of Xbox 360 game kiosks to children hospital playrooms across the United States.
"Microsoft is committed to keeping kids entertained in a variety of ways within a safer gaming environment, so partnering with Companions in Courage to offer children in hospitals a way to connect through something as universal as games is a natural fit for the work we do," said Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. "The goal for this program is to give these kids a chance to have some fun and just be kids."
The kiosks will come pre-loaded with a variety of Y-rated TV episodes, G-rated movies and E to E10+ rated games. The kids will also be able to communicate and play against each other via Xbox LIVE, but a limited version that only allows connections to other children hospitals. Which is good, because I have no doubt that these kids would kick my ass if I ever played against them online!
Wootini
Posted to Video Games on 24 April 2008
· Comments (6)
Other stuff like this: charity, children's hospitals, companions in courage foundation, microsoft, xbox 360
Name: Dave
Hundreds? What, three or four per state? Or maybe, in their generosity, they provide the majority to hospitals in the larger metropolitan regions, because sick children in hospitals in the middle states don't really want to play video games anyway.
And exactly how many are you donating, hyppolytusus...?
It's hilarious that people get on their high horses about companies donating to charity, OMGNOT ENOUGH
Then donate nothing themselves.
The arguments put forward by such people are worthless.
I'm with Hyppolytusus here, this is a rather cheap, obvious PR move. Why not drop the prices of Windows licences for ALL CHILDRENS HOSPITALS & CHARITIES for a year or two? because this is a cheap newspaper stunt to further Xbox.
Goddess bless the children, keep the sick ones away from M$ photo-opportunities.
BTW I do donate... of course, charity works on a sliding scale so for every book or dvd or audio cd that I donate, M$ could be donating millions... not just a few gimped RRoD boxes.
I'm anxious to hear your specious reasoning as to why charity is on a "sliding scale", I was under the impression anything given in an act of charity is better than nothing, so are you saying M$$$ LOL should be donating millions of units, and are morally inferior to someone in the street who donates $5 once a year? because they haven't as you think donated said amount of items..
I don't feel charity is a "sliding scale" I think that's arrogant, ignorant and churlish reasoning and unjustifable in it's processes to think in such a manner.
Charity is charity, large acts or small acts, it's still giving.
I applaud M$ for this move, blatant PR though it is.
Who are you to judge what's adequate?.
Well of course charity works on a sliding scale. How can it not?
You understand the concept of Haves and Have-Nots, right? That means that while I do not have a lot, I still share it with those who have less.. so my contribution (you guessed $5 but you're wrong) is worth a lot more to me than a handful of xbox advertising booths will ever be worth to M$. Sliding-scale.
That is neither childish nor ignorant... can the same be said for defending demo-booths masquerading as ''Toys For Teh Sick Kiddies''.(sounds of press flashbulbs going off) Blatant PR, you yourself called it.
Defending a multinational corporation who have been nothing but fascist and monopolistic in their business practices is far closer to ignorance, I think. I did notice you steered well away from the question I posed though - why not free Windups licences, if they're so bothered about teh little sick chillenz hospitals?
'Cos it's bull.