As I mentioned earlier, the Airstream was completely gutted and refitted with a wonderful blending of 50s and Fallout 3 era knick knacks. The center piece to the whole thing wasn't the working mini-fridge packed with Nuka Cola, but the flat-screen television installed in the back wall, complete with faux woodgrain framing and a mammoth wall mounted speaker.

Now you should be getting enthused about the Nuclear Airstream too. Turns out that Bethesda plans to donate the amazing piece of schwag to Child's Play following the launch of the game. Can you imagine winning this bad boy and parking it in your front yard for late night gaming sessions. The whole thing, I'm told, even runs on electricity.

The PAX 2008 Collection, due out in early September, will include tracks from nerd-folk artist Jonathan Coulton, nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot, and lovecraftian doomsayers The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets - all of whom performed at the show.

The three song pack will include Coulton's Skullcrusher Mountain, MC Frontalot's Livin’ on the Corner of Dude and Catastrophe” and Darkest of the Hillside Thickets' Shhh….

The pack hits the 360 on Sept. 2 and the PS3 on Sept. 4 for $3 or $1 a song. All proceeds for the sales of the songs from launch to Holiday 2008 will be donated to the Child's Play Charity.

“We’re excited that some of our favorite artists can be featured in Rock Band as a result of this pack,” said Robert Khoo, Show Director for Penny Arcade Expo. “Calling attention to PAX artists and giving back to the community at the same time show why Harmonix is truly a company focused on the music and their fans above all else.”

ROCK BAND™ DELIVERS FAN FAVORITES WITH “PAX PACK”

Proceeds from Expo Themed Downloadable Songs to Benefit Charity

Harmonix and MTV Games announced today a very special set of downloadable content to celebrate the three day Penny Arcade Expo. The “PAX 2008 Collection”, launching on September 2, 2008, contains tracks from celebrated nerd-folk artist Jonathan Coulton, nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot, and lovecraftian doomsayers The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets - all of whom will be performing at the gaming fan festival August 27th-29th. Adding to the fan-focused celebration, the Harmonix/MTV Games’ proceeds from the sale of this “PAX Pack” between launch and Holiday 2008 will be donated to the Penny Arcade run Child's Play Charity in order to help out children's hospitals around the world. “We’re excited that some of our favorite artists can be featured in Rock Band as a result of this pack,” said Robert Khoo, Show Director for Penny Arcade Expo. “Calling attention to PAX artists and giving back to the community at the same time show why Harmonix is truly a company focused on the music and their fans above all else.” The pack includes "Skullcrusher Mountain" by Jonathan Coulton, the story of a misunderstood genius and the woman he attempts to woo with monstrous creations like a half-monkey, half-pony, "Livin' on the Corner of Dude and Catastrophe" by MC Frontalot, Inspired by the award-winning webcomic "Achewood" and featuring Brad Sucks, and finally "Shhh...." by Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, a previously unreleased track that the nerd rockers have brought exclusively to Rock Band.

Release Date: Tuesday, September 2, 2008 (Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360)
Thursday, September 4, 2008 (PLAYSTATION®Store)

Tracks: Jonathan Coulton “Skullcrusher Mountain”
MC Frontalot “Livin’ on the Corner of Dude and Catastrophe”
Darkest of the Hillside Thickets “Shhh….”

Price: .99¢ (80 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track
$2.99 (240 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for 3 pack
(All three tracks utilize the original master recordings)

Locations: Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION®Network
** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change **

About Child's Play Charity:

What is Child's Play Charity? Since 2003, over 100,000 gamers worldwide have banded together through Child's Play, a community-based charity grown and nurtured from the game culture and industry. Over three million dollars in donations of toys, games, videos, books and cash for sick kids in children's hospitals across North America and the world have been collected since its inception. When gamers give back, it makes a difference!

************

With the addition of these albums there are now more than 250 tracks available to date via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at http://www.rockband.com/dlc). Rock Band continues to fly off shelves and satisfy music fans and gamers' voracious appetite for rock with more than 21 million paid downloads since its launch on November 20, 2007. The Rock Band Music Store allows players to preview and purchase downloadable individual music tracks and packs from the vast selection of offerings available to date without ever leaving the game as they build their own custom Rock Band library.

Rock Band allows online play and features that expand the boundaries of music gaming. Rock Band downloadable content is playable and integrated into setlists in all game modes including: Solo Tour, Band World Tour, head-to-head competition either locally or online, and from any Quickplay mode. In order to play downloadable content for head-to-head matches or multiplayer online, all players must own the same downloadable track. Downloadable content for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft is available for purchase via Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for Xbox 360 using Microsoft Points and is downloaded directly to the hard drive of Xbox 360. Downloadable content for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system's version of Rock Band is available for purchase on the PLAYSTATION Store through the free PLAYSTATION Network and is downloaded directly to PLAYSTATION 3 system's built in hard drive.

On June 30, Harmonix, the world's premier music video game company in the world, and MTV Games, announced the release of Rock Band 2 this coming September and will support all previously downloaded content. The groundbreaking music platform that forever changed the face of music video games is committed to taking gaming to the next level with the evolution of the franchise. Rock Band 2 will make its debut on Xbox 360 and be available for additional platforms later this year.

Rock Band is rated "T" for Teen (lyrics, mild suggestive themes) by the ESRB.

For more information on Rock Band and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.

The winner of this little Sporelebrity contest would have $15,000 donated to the charity of his or her choice. Going up against such truly famous people as Carlos Santana, Emeril Lagasse, Richard Branson and Stan Lee, I know I don't stand a snowballs chance in hell of winning. But if by some bizarre twist of fate people selected my TickleMeKotaku creature (which has a prehensile Tickleme Elmo tail) then $10,000 would be donated to Child's Play and the remaining $5,000 would be donated to Jennifer Ann's Group.

Since most of my competitors are absolutely crushing me I have no problem urging you to vote and vote often, really often, for TMK. They announce the winner on July 18, I'm told.

Spore Vote

Brian, the marathon's organizer, said the total raised shattered the original goal of $1,500. "I think our suckage worked to our advantage," he said. "Had we completed the games in say 20 hours, we would never have raised this amount of money."

All told, the trio lost well more than 500 lives over nearly 48 hours of gaming. They sped through the first three titles, and blew past the $1,500 goal in the first hour. After that they took requests from contributors and viewers (who logged more than 60,000 viewing hours, combined, on the webcam, Brian said) just to keep things interesting.

In the end, Dan brought the marathon to a close by whipping Bowser's ass in Super Mario Galaxy at 2:47 pm, Eastern time. "I was pumped right up until Dan finished Bowser in Galaxy," Brian said. Now he's just wiped out. Still, John (the guy in the overalls and cap) and Brian plan to continue their pursuit of the last 30 or so stars needed to unlock Luigi in Super Mario Galaxy, taking them to about 8 pm tonight.

"I don't think I'll play a 3D Mario again this year," Brian said. The group slept and gamed in shifts. "We must have died like 30 times on Bowser in Mario 64, mostly from fatigue. And Mario Sunshine was probably overall the worst," Brian said.

John and Dan are Purdue University alumni; Brian is a current student and employee. The nearest hospital to them participating in Child's Play is Riley Hospital of Indianapolis.

Congratulations to the marathoners. Ten thousand dollars is a prestige number, for any kind of donation, and they and all who contributed should be proud of what they've done this weekend.

The marathon unfolded on this schedule:

Friday, June 27
3 pm to 3:17 — Super Mario Brothers begun and beaten. Four lives lost in 17 minutes.
3:17 pm to 3:50 pm — Super Mario Brothers 2 begun and beaten. Four lives lost in 23 minutes.
3:50 pm to 5:27 pm — Super Mario Brothers 3 begun and beaten. "A ton" of lives lost in 1 hour, 37 minutes.
5:35 pm to 6:23 pm — Super Mario World begun and beaten. 4 lives lost in 48 minutes.
6:23 pm — Super Mario 64 begun

Saturday, June 28
5:47 am — Super Mario 64 beaten, 122 lives lost in 11 hours, 10 minutes
6:02 am to 8:41 pm — Super Mario Sunshine begun and beaten, 127 lives lost in 14 hours, 39 minutes.
9:09 pm — Super Mario Galaxy begun.

Sunday, June 29
2:42 pm — Super Mario Galaxy beaten, 232 lives lost in 17 hours, 31 minutes.
Combined: 47 hours, 42 minutes, 524 plus "a lot" of lives lost.

Super Mario Marathon [Official Page]

The bidding is already over $600 and there are over 4 days left in the auction. Given that there's charity involved, it might just be time to start planning your 2008 tax deductions.

Nintendo Wii ONE OF A KIND Super Mario Galaxy Mod [eBay via Gizmodo]

UPDATE: Apparently the item has been pulled. Sorry charity, no money for you because eBay is a douchebag.

UPDATE PART II: New link up!

The four friends have been going since 5pm Friday and according to their latest update, they have completed Ocarina, but hit a snag at the end of Majora's Mask due to multiple console freezes right on the last dungeon. They decided to skip the end of MM and moved on to Wind Waker in which they are currently immersed. The plan is to finish WW, complete Twilight Princess and then loop back around to complete the end of Majora's Mask.

With less than 12 hours to go, will they be able to make their goal? Whether they make it or not, it was a herculean effort that will be rewarded by a nice donation to Child's Play. So far they have raised over a thousand dollars for the charity. You can catch up on all their antics as they race to the finish at 5pm tonight at cameronbanga.com. Good luck, guys. The eyes of the internets are upon you!

What is suspect, however, is whether you actually get the signed copy of the game for your four large, seemingly the entire point of dropping this much cash on a used PS2 game. The eBay listing comes with the unclear note "Please note: I do not actually want to sell this. I am just listing it for show and to hopefully win a contest. However, if you want to spend $4000 on this then I will donate 100% of the proceeds to Child's Play Charity." The seller does have a 99.9% positive rating, so I wager you'll be satisfied. If you do decide to give up the cash, let us know when (and if) you get it.

Grand Theft Auto III Signed By Jack Thompson (PS2) [eBay - thanks, Rick!]

The folks over at NCSoft have amassed quite an interesting collection of eBay auctions for Child's Play this year. The auctions, which will donate 100 percent of the proceeds to Child's Play, includes signed copies of games and posters, rare finds and, the best one, having a Tabula Rasa NPC named after you.

City of Heroes Poster Signed by Dev Team Signed City of Villains Collectors Edition City of Villains Lord Recluse Statue Tabula Rasa Signed Game & Bonuses Tabula Rasa Signed Game & Bonuses Tabula Rasa NPC Named After You!

So far the auctions are up to more than $2500, but NCSoft is hopping to hit twice that figure, so get to the link below to find the auction of your choice and get to bidding/donating.

Help Child's Play [NCSoft]

Two years ago Joel Johnson emailed me to tell me he was going to start a local fund raiser in Brooklyn for Child's Play. It was going to be at Barcade and he was, among other things, bringing along a copy of Guitar Hero for people to play. I tried to help by promoting the event on Kotaku. He ended up raising about $1,500.

The next year I was able to pitch in about 50 pounds of schwag for Joel to give away at what had become an annual event in Brooklyn. This year, finally, I was able to ask Joel if I could host my own Fünde Razor here in Denver. I won't say it wasn't frustrating at times to arrange, or stressful to kick-off, but the tremendous showing made it more than worth it and we managed to raise a spectacular $1,839, almost twice what I had expected from a first-time event.

Meanwhile Joel's Brooklyn Fünde Razor hit an all time hight raising $5,161 (including the eBay auction), bringing the grand total raised for Child's Play to $7,000. Wow... just wow. (I dropped in a little cash to make it an even $7,000 because I apparently have OCD)

A very special thanks to NetDevil, LEGO, Bond Street, Dawdle and Neuros for their donations as well as Scott Alexander, Mark Wilson, Robert Workman and all the people who showed up to have fun for charity.

So, what do you think? Should I host another Denver Funde Razor next year?

Fünde Razor

Charity Gives Children Something To Play [CBS 46]

More pics after the jump

Even more pices here: Funde Razor 2007 @ Brooklyn Barcade [Game Grump]

There's no way you're going to wrest that Companion Cube free from the clutches of its owner, but that doesn't mean you can't buy your own. Joel Johnson, besides launching and organizing Funde Razor, managed to deliver unto the charity-attending masses not one, not two, but three of these giant plushies. One was given away at Joel's Brooklyn event, one was given away at the Denver event and the third has been placed on eBay with all the proceeds going to Child's Play.

If you missed out on the events, or weren't lucky enough to win one, now's your chance to buy one for charity. We'll post the total money raised at Funde Razor (Brooklyn and Denver) once this auction wraps up.

Portal's Weighted Companion Cube Life-Sized Plush [eBay]

Wow, just wow. Yesterday's local Child's Play fund raiser was truly a humbling experience. I drove down to Denver about 2ish to unload all of the schwag (including donations from Mark and Joel) and then figure out how exactly to split the signal from an Xbox 360 so it could go into a house sound system, a ceiling mounted video projector and an off-stage television.

We finally got the whole thing figured out and tested about ten minutes before doors were set to open at 6 p.m. Five minutes after six I was still standing in an open room, starting to think that perhaps I had over estimated the interest in a local Child's Play fund raiser... but then the booking manager came up and asked if she should start letting people in.

"People? You mean there are people?"

Turns out there was a line, a line that didn't really dissipate until closer to when the event ended at 10 p.m. In fact at one point they had to stop letting people in because we had exceeded the 142 fire code capacity for the back room... by a lot I suspect.

Attendees included members of the local Game Developers Association, people from the local studios (I talked to people from SOE Denver and NetDevil and suspect Idol Minds was in the house as well) and a lot more readers then I had thought would make it. One couple drove the 100 miles or so from Pueblo to attend, even getting a room for the night in Denver. Wow.

The entire night was spent watching people up on stage playing Rock Band, something that never seems to get old, especially when a light system and concert sound is involved. There were some amazing singers, guitarists and drummers there last night, including not a few expert level players.

I ended up giving out the schwag over the course of the event, and even got a few on-site donations of stuff from Game Daily and Dave Thomas (who snuck a free copy of the Videogame Style Guide into his donation). About 9 p.m. I gave away that amazingly cuddly Companion Cube, but not before giving it a big hug. (For the record Luke, I did not have sex with that Companion Cube.)

The winner, Mike Kappus, of Broomfield, took to the stage and admitted he had no idea what a Companion Cube was, and then shouted out to the audience that he would sell it to the first taker for $50, which he wanted to go to the fund raiser. The first-taker, Erik Rieger, of Denver, ended up giving $80 to Child's Play and then hoisted it above his head with a bit of a maniacal look in his eyes... I told him that the cake was in the other room and we all had a good laugh.

It was a good time for a good cause and I can't thank the people who came enough for helping to make this happen. Thanks again to Robert Workman for the donations, taking pictures for me and helping out on the stage and to the NetDevil folks for donating a ton of LEGOs, which were shipped direct to Brooklyn for Joel's Funde Razor.

I'll be posting an update later today with the final amount raised from the Denver event and more photos, but we definitely topped $1000. Joel tells me his Brooklyn event blew away past Funde Razors.

Ps. Send any pics you may have taken at the event and we'll add them to our gallery.

Big, big thanks to Phillip, Robert and others for the snaps!

Funde Razor

OK, I'm outta here. I have to run down to Denver to pick up some bits and pieces for the big event tonight at the Walnut Room, then hop by the Rocky Mountain News, where they've been "holding" one of my Rock Band guitars, and then finally get over to the bar to set stuff up and test out the game.

Hope to see some of you there. For those of you planning on attending in Denver, it runs from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and you'll need to be 21 or older to get in. The cover is a $10 minimum donation.

The ticket gets you, besides a warm fuzzy feeling inside, a door prize ticket. I'm bringing a mountain of swag with me to the fund raiser to give away including the Manhunt 2 straitjacket, one of those Wii bags from E3 06, a Metal Gear Solid multi-tool knife, a Lair lighter, a Valut Boy Fallout 3 bobble head, Zelda hourglass and more shirts than I want to even think about. We will also have a Limited Edition copy of Rock Band for the 360 on hand to giveaway and, of course, that life-sized companion cube.

If you're planning to attend the Brooklyn Funde Razor hit up the official site for the details.

Just a reminder that Funde Razor, the annual Child's Play rock-off in Brooklyn and now Denver, kicks off this coming Wednesday night. I should, by then, be totally over my jet-lag.

Door prizes for the Denver event will include tons of gaming schwag (things like the Manhunt 2 straitjacket, the Ninja Gaiden DS stylus and a Zelda hourglass), a copy of Rock Band for the 360 and a life-sized Companion Cube plushie.

The party kicks off here in Denver at The Walnut Room at 6 p.m. and runs through 10 p.m. I'm told a lot of the local development crowd will be there, which is very cool of them. We will, if I have figured out the technical aspects correctly, be playing Rock Band on the stage. If I haven't, we will be trying to get Rock Band to work for most of the evening.

In Brooklyn the event kicks off at 8 p.m. at Barcade and runs through midnight. It sounds like Joel will have Rock Band and might also have Guitar Hero III on hand at his event.

Are any readers planning on coming to the Denver event or hitting up the event in Brooklyn?

Funde Razor

Donations are taken at the door and many coveted things will be given away to lucky raffle ticket holders. For more details on the event that puts the fun back into fund raiser, hit up the official site. Keep in mind, it's limited to those 21 and over. This may be your only chance to see Brian Crecente in a bird shirt or Joel Johnson in frilly scarf in person.

Funde Razor

What you see before you aren't just the coolest damn game-related plushies on the planet. They're not just life-sized, and very huggable Companion Cubes, no they're also the grand prizes for the Brooklyn and Denver Funde Razor events happening on Dec. 12 to raise money for Penny Arcade's Child's Play Charity.

That's right, not only can you hang-out with fellow gamers in Brooklyn and Denver and play a little Rock Band or Guitar Hero on a big-screen, but you have a chance at winning one of these Companion Cubes created by Diane Koss with the help of a grant from the Bond Street Group. Each of the two cubes, seen here sandwiching one standard-issue human female, will be awarded to one test subject in each Fünde Razor facility.

Also: We'll be giving away some LEGO, courtesy of Lego and Net Devil, co-creators of the upcoming LEGO Universe massively multiplay online videogame. More prizes to be announced as we get closer to the event.

Joel Johnson will be on hand at the FR in Brooklyn to make sure people get the goodies and I'll be on hand in Denver to rock out.

Hit the link to check out the complete details for the upcoming, and hopefully soon to be, annual event.

Funde Razor

If you haven't cursed the fate of the already long-suffering bus driving team members shackled to their computers, go on and drop 'em a couple bucks in the name of Child's Play. They'll hate you for it!

The Support Has Been Amazing! [Desert Bus For Hope]

Ultima Keyblade from Kingdom Hearts [eBay]

The Desert Bus For Hope web site is taking donations which will increase the number of hours the team is supposed to play, giving all funds to Penny Arcade's Child's Play charity. Feel good by doing a little bit of evil to someone this holiday season. Thanks for bugging us, Dave!

Desert Bus For Hope

Folks living outside the States may want to research their regional options at the Child's Play charity site or simply make a donation online. Other helpful charitable options are certainly welcome and encouraged in the comments.

TOYS FOR TOTS SAN DIEGO ANNOUNCES 2007 HOLIDAY TOY DRIVE EVENTS

San Diego, CA November 19, 2007 - The San Diego chapter of the United States Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program today announced the 2007 Holiday Toy Drive schedule of events. The organization has teamed up with a variety of local companies this year including the Chargers, Wal-Mart and Sony Online Entertainment. Collection events will kick-off in November and conclude with the 18th Annual Chargers Toy Drive at their home game on December 16th.

The Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is a nonprofit charity which collects new, unwrapped toys and distributes them to needy children in the community as Christmas presents. The toys are collected by Reserve Marines at various community fundraisers and civic functions, sorted according to age and gender, and then distributed to local social and welfare agencies, churches and civic organizations. In 2006, the Toys for Tots program in the San Diego area collected 171,125 toys reaching more than 49,000 children.

This year, the Marine Corps Reserves has set a goal of collecting more than 185,000 toys to reach at least 53,000 underprivileged children in the San Diego community. While the Marine Reserves organize, coordinate and manage the nonprofit charity program, the ultimate success depends on the support of the local community and the generosity of the people who donate toys.

2007 Calendar of Events:

* November 23-December 16: Wal-Mart Charity Toy Drives Every weekend at Santee, Shawline, Poway and Murphy Canyon stores from 9am-7pm.
* November 28: NBC 7/39 Toys for Tots Charity Kickoff Celebration at the NBC Studios San Diego. Toy collection and Live Coverage. www.nbcsandiego.com 619 231-3939 5pm-9pm
* December 2: Del Mar Village Association Holiday Wonderland Camino Del Mar and 15th Street. Toy collection. www.delmarmainstreet.com 858 755-1179 10am-6pm.
* December 7 & 8: NBC 7/39 Charity Toy Drive at the NBC Studios San Diego. Toy collection and Live Coverage. www.nbcsandiego.com 619 231-3939. Dec 7th; 5am-7pm / Dec 8th; 6am-5pm.
* December 16: 18th Annual Chargers Toys for Tots Drive at Qualcomm Stadium. Chargers vs. Lions game. Toy collection. www.chargers.com 11am-2pm.

New, unwrapped toys may be dropped off at any Toys for Tots collection box or may be brought to the events listed above. Furthermore, financial donations may be made to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation www.toysfortots.org.

Check out the Lionhead community blog for more information. For those unable to attend, make sure to visit the Child's Play charity web site to learn how you can make a contribution.

childsplaycharity.org [Lionhead Community]

The Brooklyn competition will take place at Barcade (home of the World Famous Kotaku Party 2007) and in Denver, rockers will attend at the glamorous and exciting Walnut Room. In both locations, a donation of ten dollars (either at the door or through raffle tickets depending on the location) could net you a host of currently unannounced fabulous door prizes. All proceeds from bothe events will go to benefit Penny Arcade's Child's Play Charity. Last year's Brooklyn event raised over $4,200. This year, let's totally kick the shit outta that total and raise moar.

Joel, who heads up Boing Boing Gadgets, will be handling the Brooklyn bash, while Crecente will be heading up the Denver one. Likewise, Crecente's hair will help with the Denver event. (That, and drink too much beer.) Read more about all this in the link below and help a good cause rock out.
Funde Razor '07 [Official Site]

* Tycho and Gabe
* Wil Wheaton
* Jonathan Coulton
* Caitlin Glass (Winry from FMA)
* Gus Sorola, Geoff Ramsey, and Burnie Burns (Simmons, Grif, and Church from RvB)
* Harmonix Employees (Makers of Guitar Hero): Alex Rigopulos (Co Founder), Sean Baptiste (Community Director), Dan Teasdale (Senior Programmer)
* Dave Grossman (Co-Creator of Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, and the new Sam and Max)
* Ron Gilbert (Co-Creator of Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion)
* Members of Optimus Rhyme
* Members of The MiniBosses
* Liz Excitement from Freezepop
* MC Frontalot

The item just went up and bidding starts at a modest $25. There are nearly ten days left to bid and I'm sure this is an item that will fetch a nice high price. 100% of the proceeds will go to Child's Play. Just think, if you win it, you can use it to raise even more money for Child's Play at Funde Razor!

PAX07 Signed Guitar Hero Guitar [eBay]

The Brooklyn competition will take place at Barcade (home of the World Famous Kotaku Party 2007) and in Denver, rockers will attend at the glamorous and exciting Walnut Room. In both locations, a donation of ten dollars (either at the door or through raffle tickets depending on the location) could net you a host of currently unannounced fabulous door prizes. All proceeds from bothe events will go to benefit Penny Arcade's Child's Play Charity. Last year's event raised over $4,200 so let's all get out there and double, nay TRIPLE that number this year.

The charming Joel Johnson will be on hand to host the NY event so Crecente doesn't have to go through the troublesome process of growing a clone in a jar. for all the details, check out the FÜNDE RAZOR website.

"For the first ten months of the year, our community makes, plays and breathes games." said Kristin Lindsay at Child's Play. "Our holiday drive is not only an opportunity to share that joy with those that need it, but it's also a great way to show the strength of our culture."

I couldn't have said it better myself (hence the press release quoting). Every year the gaming community grows, and it has shown in the growing amount of donations the Penny Arcade-spawned charity has drummed up. Gamers love topping their high score, so this year is sure to be the biggest one yet.

Child's Play has also announced the date for their annual charity dinner, an amazing event that features live and silent auctions of unique gaming items as well as food, which is a pretty nifty combination, especially for a charity dinner. Last year's event raised over $200,000, and this year I've heard rumors that Tycho and Gabe will be auctioning off internal organs from their actual bodies, which may or may not be a complete lie.

Kotaku is going to do our part. Make sure you do yours, or we will find you.

World's Largest Game Community Charity Launches Dates for Seattle Charity Auction Dinner Announced

Seattle, WA - November 2, 2007 - Child's Play (www.childsplaycharity.org) is proud to announce the opening of its charity drive. The organization, which started as a fundraiser for the Seattle Children's Hospital, has since raised over two million dollars in toys, games and cash through its online toy drive and annual charity auction to over 45 hospitals worldwide.

"For the first ten months of the year, our community makes, plays and breathes games." said Kristin Lindsay at Child's Play. "Our holiday drive is not only an opportunity to share that joy with those that need it, but it's also a great way to show the strength of our culture."

Now in its fifth year, Child's Play has expanded its network of beneficiary hospitals to over 25 states and five countries across the globe with additional partner hospitals being added each month. Child's Play works in conjunction with Amazon.com to create wish lists for participating hospitals. Individual donors can choose to give new items ranging from toddler toys to music CDs, videogames, game consoles and accessories. Gifts are delivered directly to hospitals in need and are tax deductible as denoted by law.

The annual Child's Play Fundraiser Dinner Auction will be held Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, Washington. The semi-formal evening features a silent auction, dinner and live auction. In 2006 the dinner raised over $200,000 in one night, with all fundraising proceeds going directly to the Child's Play network of hospitals.

Child's Play is seeking corporate donations for giveaway at Children's Hospitals as well as auction items for the fundraising dinner. For information on how to become a corporate or individual donor or how hospitals can become involved please contact Kristin Lindsay at klindsay@penny-arcade.com or 206.274.0024.

Mr. Pulsar (pictured, above) arrived at PAX this year wanting to compete in the Guitar Hero II Tourneys and with the help of a new found friend ended up taking first place in the GH II team competition. In an amazing feat he turned around the next day and took home first place in the GH II singles tourney as well. Using the prize points he had won in the tournaments, he then purchased a Wii which he took around the conference and had various internet gaming celebs sign. Signers included VG Cats' Scott Ramsoomair and the masters of PAX themselves, Gabe and Tycho. Once the Wii was autographed to the teeth, he promptly donated it to Child's Play, Penny Arcade's charity for hospitalized children, to be auctioned off.

It really gives me renewed faith in the gaming populace to hear stories like this and I hope that other gamers will read this story and be inspired to similar acts. A tip of the hat to you, Mr. Pulsar, you are truly a Guitar Hero in more ways than one.

Apparently inspired by yesterday's post about the autographed GBA, Kotakuite Travis decided to put his autographed DS up for auction. It may not be gold or a limited edition, but this DS has a little something the GBA doesn't have. Not only is this DS autographed by Miyamoto, but by Iwata and the voice of Mario himself, Charles Martinet as well! The bidding starts at $200 and the auction lasts for the next six days. And as an added bonus, Travis has generously offered 25% of the total sale to Child's Play. So, if you have some spare cash, you can own a lovely Nintendo collectible and help out sick kiddies at the same time. Now, doesn't that make you all warm and fuzzy inside? Flynn De Marco

Nintendo DS signed Shigeru Miyamoto, Satoru Iwata [eBay]

Not only that, but 15% of the proceeds will go to charity. That's right, you can own this and win some Brownie points in the process. The money will benefit Child's Play, a gamer community organization that typically donates toys and games to childrens' hospitals around the world as well as fund pediatric health research. You might remember them as being the recipients to a mountain of goodness from Nintendo not too long ago, so this is a legit charity with a worthy cause.

I can't see any downside to this buy. The shield rotates for gravy's sake! Kim Phu

Pretty Much the Best DS Lite Mod Ever [DS Fanboy]

Pardon me while I pick my jaw up off the floor...

I have seen some case mods in my time here at Kotaku that were the envy of every gamer on the block. These mods are usually done with PS2s, Xboxes and 360s with the 360 seeming to be the most popular medium, but I haven't really seen any Wii mods that particularly impressed me. But this baby takes the cake! (much like Luke stole our precious game cakes away from us!)

This Zelda Wii was created by Ramon J. Stokes on whom I am now bestowing the title of "The King of Wii Mods" and is in full working condition. It is up for auction on eBay (yes this could be yours) and at the time of the writing of this article, the current bid is up to $1,125. With six days to go, I can only imagine the price will continue to climb as well it should for this masterpiece. What makes the deal even sweeter is that a portion of the proceeds from the sale will go to Penny Arcade's Child's Play Charity. So not only would you be the owner of possibly the greatest case mod ever, but you'd be donating to a worthy cause.

For all you gadget heads out there, Ramon has a full explanation of how he put this beauty together on his auction page along with a bunch of other pictures. And in case you were wondering, the sword and shield are the self same ones that came with the Limited Edition Twilight Princess soundtrack.

I bow to you Ramon, the King of Wii Mods. We are but your humble servants. Flynn De Marco

Nintendo Wii ONE OF A KIND Legend of Zelda Console Mod [eBay]
[via Gizmodo]

Penny Arcade's Child's Play Charity drive exploded this year, surpassing all expectations completely. Gamers and game companies opened up their hearts and their wallets to collect over a million dollars in toys and monetary donations to children's hospitals around the world. From the update posted today on the Child's Play website:

You guys did it. You broke a million dollars in just over two months. Child's Play started as a way to show how good our community can be, but it's turned into something greater than we could have ever imagined. We're making an impact on lives. See you next year.

Special thanks to all the Kotaku readers who did their part this year, and to those who didn't...we're watching you. Michael Fahey

Child's Play Tops $1 Million [Slashdot]

James from RB! assures me the odds are very good right now, as his core readership is less Live Arcade, more MAME. You've got until midnight on the 25th, and all it takes is a picture. Hit the link for full details, and good luck! Michael Fahey

Win a Custom Xbox 360 Arcade Controller from Arcade-in-a-Box! [RetroBlast!]

The event, held at Barcade in Brooklyn, is an official fund-raiser for Child's Play. Don't forget, if you've got some cash and a big heart, there's still time to donate to the charity. Brian Crecente

Funde Razor II Grand Total: $4, 216 [Funde Razor]

That sweet custom crafted Guitar Hero controller that Joel Johnsn was selling on eBay for his Child's Play Funde Razor wrapped up recently, bringing in another $1,026 to the charity. That pushes the charity drive to more than three times what it made last year. Brian Crecente

Penny Arcade reports that their annual Child's Play Charity Auction and Dinner, which was held on Wednesday in or near Seattle, helped to raise more than $760,000.

If the crew manages to raise $800,000 this year they will have raised two million dollars since the idea's inception. An amount, that Tycho points out, is exactly two million dollars. I hear the Red Vs. Blue guys won the chance to get one line of their voice in Halo 3. Too bad they can't write that line. Brian Crecente

Child's Play Dinner [Flickr]

Scott Ramsoomair's VG Cats is probably my favorite web comic, combining my love for video games with my secret desire to be a furry. Scott has offered up some wonderful original VG Cats artwork for auction on eBay, with proceeds benefiting the Child's Play Charity. It features Aeris and Leo from his Phoenix Wright piece, and includes both a colored print and a special hacked inked sketch outtake.

If that doesn't strike your fancy, Scott has teamed up with the folks from Applegeeks, Staccato, and Angry Zen Master to create a web comic holiday postcard pack, featuring tactical holiday action! Seeing as the auction is up past $500, I opted to buy the cards. A box of 16 is $12, and all proceeds help the lil' chillins.

Now all we need to do is get Scott to update more than once every two weeks, and it will be the best Christmas evar! Michael Fahey

VG Cats Phoenix Wright - Child's Play [eBay - Thanks Fiddle Sticks!]
A Webcomic Holiday Postcard Fundraiser!

The December Charity Drive will culminate with a special treat for two children's hospitals in the United States. One children's hospital will receive an Arcade-In-A-Box Home Arcade Console and a second children's hospital will receive a complete Dream Arcades Home Arcade system.

December Charity Drive to Benefit the Child's Play Charity [RetroBlast!]

Just because they are cheap, doesn't mean they don't care. CheapyD and his band of penny pinchers at CheapAssGamer.com are having a charity raffle for a good cause. He writes:

With the help of Play-Asia.com, I am pleased to announce this year's Child's Play Charity fundraiser. A $5 donation will purchase an entry into a raffle for a chance at winning the grand prize, a $1,000 credit to Play-Asia's online store.

Raffle entries are sold through PayPal and there is no limit to the number of entries one may purchase. A single winner will be chosen at random and obviously, the more entries one purchases, the greater their odds of winning. 100% of the money raised will go directly to Child's Play. We are even covering the PayPal fees.

The raffle ends December 19th and no more entries will be accepted. A new winner will be announced shortly thereafter. Cheapy tells us that US $4,695 has been raised and hopes to bump that number up. No reason to be cheap for a good cause. Brian Ashcraft

Cheapy's Child's Play Raffle [CAG]