Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta - Kotaku Comments

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

JamieA — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:29:30 MST

hmm, hope that fast paced game doesn't excite his heart too much...

JamieA

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

corranthrn — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:21:18 MST

@Terrorsaur: Yah, seriously, how can they confuse Naruto with Dragonball Z? Does Naruto have tails and stuff on random characters? Does Naruto suck like Dragonball Z?

... no, in case you don't know, naruto doesn't suck.

corranthrn

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

SwimOdin — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 13:50:34 MST

@levarien: It's so true, CBS 46 is the lamesauce of Atlanta news. I usually watch Channel 2 or sometimes Fox 5.

SwimOdin

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

geekgrrl — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 09:43:39 MST

i donated last night.. hard to believe they don't have a hospital in the entire state of illinois. if they did, rest assured they'd do a newspiece as half-cocked as this one. just another indication that we are not of the mainstream.. any niche market, they're not going to dig very deep.

geekgrrl

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Micgo — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 07:32:04 MST

Here's the problem with the mainstream television media and in-depth research:

They don't have time to do the kind of in-depth research that newspapers, magazines or blogs have.

Every day each reporter has to put together an entirely new story from usually little to no information. Most stations have less than a dozen reporters while most daily newspapers have dozens of reporters and researchers.

TV news is fast, short news bites that are designed for quick turnaround and a broad look. Sure, sometimes there are longer, more in-depth stories, but that's a rarity simply because of the nature of the business.

Also, for those of you that are upset about the "glossing over" of Gabe and Tycho, take a second to read the article posted along with this video on the website. The origins and at least a little more background is given there. When you only have 1 minute and 30 seconds to tell a story, some things have to be told through a different medium.

The point is that the mainstream media has no idea that some of these things exist. It's great to see at least some stations are starting to figure some of it out. Like that Boston station that did the story on 38 studios. Sure they glossed over some details, but at least they're paying attention now.

Micgo

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

natchez801 — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 03:34:18 MST

all video games should be thrown away, his heart probably would have been fine had he gotten off the couch before the hospital (regardless I hope the guy gets better).

Burn your video games, take up jogging or drawing or something of worth.

natchez801

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Wolfkin — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 01:23:58 MST

i thought it was ok. they highlighted the charity. I think the news was more on target about the origins than Kotaku was on the game played. I would expect a gaming blog to know the difference b/w Naruto and Dragonball.

Wolfkin

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

majsheppard — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 01:06:23 MST

I hate local news for reasons apparent in this piece.

1. They do research like an 8th grader would for a project, at the last minute and without backing any of it up or giving any further explanation.

2. They only care about things when they can attach a local spin on it. Notice it was all about Atlanta and their 50k wishlist, with no word of the million dollar global campain. This is kinda like when a shooting takes place and your local news focuses on the one person who once lived in the saate and downplays the other 12 victims.

3. A gamer who wanted to change opinion about gamers?
First off I do not like how they make it seem like a sinister motive behind the movement, as if gamers are incapable of compassion.

4. Although I bet Gabe and Tycho could care less about not being not being given credit (in fact I know they don't, they believe the credit belongs with the community), you know if Oprah gave or organized something even a fraction as successful free advertisement and praise would be showered down upon her. Even though she could do so much more and get less credit. Tangent

Anyways I hope Atlanta donates more, though I doubt it.

majsheppard

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Gort23 — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 21:42:55 MST

I wish they'd point out one of the best parts of Child's Play: when you give, you know that every damn penny you spend turns into a toy that goes to a kid. Too many charities spend most of their money on marketing and "administration" and end up with only pennies on the dollar for the cause.

I also wish they'd pointed out that it isn't *just* video games. This year, I did all lego because, you know, kids need lego!

Anyway, the important thing is that the kids get the toys not who gets credit, and the fact that the Penny Arcade guys seem to agree does them as much or more credit as starting the thing in the first place.

Gort23

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

hikkifan1986 — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 20:51:06 MST

God, local news media is schlock. Unfortunately, it doesn't get much better at the national level.

But yeah, Child's Play Charity is awesome. Giving is always great, but being able to simultaneously raise awareness of video gaming culture is a great bonus.

hikkifan1986

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

JimmyPageJun1or — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 20:46:11 MST

"A few GOOD gamers are trying to change that."

Like most are bad?

How come they don't give any props to Penny Arcade?

JimmyPageJun1or

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

amped602 — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 20:31:07 MST

@Khoo: Well people are always afraid of the truth :) but as a gamer i am happy to see news like this

amped602

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

7ucky — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 20:26:38 MST

Ha! I love how the reporter says "click on 'consumer'" at the end.

7ucky

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Khoo — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 20:26:36 MST

The first year we did Child's Play we were running into resistance from some hospitals about the charity being organized by guys that created "adult" content, so Mike and Jerry made the decision pretty early on to not make a big stink about the connection on the Child's Play site. (so as a rule of thumb you'll always see PA linking CP but never the other way around)

Sure, the news got some of the details wrong, but that's fine- At the end of the day, all we're trying to do is raise as much money for the hospitals as we possibly can, and the coverage can only help.

Khoo

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

amped602 — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 20:24:45 MST

Naruto for president :)

amped602

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

syl1985 — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 20:11:56 MST

YAY FOR CHILDS PLAY!

syl1985

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Qbanboi — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 20:01:57 MST

@CHRISTOPH: Yes he can brother, yes he can.

Qbanboi

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

MURDERFACE — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:58:17 MST

Awesome!!! Chid's Play needs all the free publicity it can get. but once again i know that my local news is never going to cover stuff like this. The only video game related news that they talk about is the shortage of Wii's @ a best Buy or the violence in games or any other BS that gets them though a slow news day.

MURDERFACE

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Silent Predator — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:56:28 MST

Considering how incompetent the media is when it comes to covering anything that doesn't involve us blowing up a foreign nation, I think this is the best we can hope for. Be thankful.

Silent Predator

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

HawaiianActor — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:34:29 MST

was it just me, or did they make it seem like there were just a small handful of "good gamers"? like, an odd minority that don't want to shoot everyone they see...

HawaiianActor

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

taftsearlobe23 — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:14:01 MST

@Christoph: BELIEVE IT!

taftsearlobe23

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Christoph — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:10:26 MST

Oh Naruto, you can't cure all the world's problems with kunai knives.

Christoph

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

eleventeen — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:08:43 MST

@DaiMacculate: I was thinking the same thing. Gabe and Tycho would prefer to be a nameless unified entity than seem like they were televangelists.

eleventeen

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

That Girl Hates You — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:07:10 MST

that made me go /cute awwww. Its always good to hear something like that.

That Girl Hates You

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Bando — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:00:51 MST

what's with the "few GOOD gamers" thing? Are we all some sort of sick and twisted evil sadists or something and no one, oh, oh ho ho, OK! You got me America! Now can we all go back to using our brains and being awesomer then Europe? I mean, you DID get me, isn't that the reason why you've been... your joking? Then WHY?

Bando

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

taftsearlobe23 — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:59:25 MST

2 things 1 I don't like how they say "a few good gamers" it makes us sound like we are all selfish jerks and
2. I hate how the station won't give you the link directly to the childs play site they make you goto their crappy site first.

taftsearlobe23

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

DaiMacculate — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:41:47 MST

I'm actually...well not "glad" that Gabe and Tycho (Jerry and Mike) don't get their personal recognition, but glad that PA hasn't gone to any lengths to turn it into a big, media whoring charity. It has grown in a very grass roots manner, and I think thats the best way for gamers to operate when we want to accomplish something important.

DaiMacculate

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Dedendre — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:38:06 MST

@Terrorsaur:

/clap /clap /clap
Made me chuckle.

Oh well, they messed up a lot. At least it's better than 'Guns don't kill people, video games make people kill people' that I've been hearing a lot recently. Plus hey, more publicity for Child's Play!

Dedendre

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Insomnia Bob — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:29:45 MST

I do like how they just casually gloss over the PA guys. It's just "a video gamer" who started the program.

Even when we do something really good as a community, we can't seem to catch a break.

Insomnia Bob

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Baboon — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:24:00 MST

Who wants to tell Gabe and Tycho that they are actually just a single, nameless entity?

Aside from the normal low quality of news research exhibited here, it is nice to see Childs Play getting more attention. Hopefully it will help get more people to donate.

Baboon

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Grahamunculus — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:22:55 MST

I've been giving what little I can every year since it started and I'm glad to see that it is doing someone a lot of good.

Grahamunculus

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Natpalm — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:19:56 MST

CBS 46 does suck, but this is a step in the right direction. Wait, since when can Atlanta be called "tiny"? I mean its no New York, but its pretty huge(and dirty)

Natpalm

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

setuzoku — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:19:47 MST

Bad aspects of game are exaggerated too much. It could take some time to be recognized as composite art. When PacMan-Mario generaion men go into their 40-50s, game can be art. 10-15 years to wait.

setuzoku

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Erwin — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:13:20 MST

Child's Play is great and any media exposure is a good thing, even if they screw up the details or run a backhanded news segment. Gamers need all the good rep we can get and this is more than welcome. Jack Thompson thinks I'm an impulsively violent slob, as do a lot of people and that needs to change, not game content.
In short: Judge me not by the content of my Game Pak, but by the content of my character.
End of grandstanding.

Erwin

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

WasabiJoe — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:10:40 MST

Child's play need more press, it deserves all the recognition it can handle.

WasabiJoe

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

amog — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:06:57 MST

@MasterOfPastures: This year's is still going on - it pretty much happens every winter. You still have time to participate. Check out [www.childsplaycharity.org]

amog

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

MasterOfPastures — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:03:32 MST

@amog: Yes, I was about to add that. It is good to know that people know.
I may sound like an intertube-noob, but when is the next CP?

MasterOfPastures

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

captronj — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:03:11 MST

Hooray for good people. Woohoo!

And that's all I got...

captronj

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

MasterOfPastures — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:02:15 MST

"Good Gamers"?
They did NOT just...
Ok.

*Storms CBS Atlanta HQ*

ALLRIGHT, BUTHOLES! WHO WANTS TO SEE A 'BAD GAMER'?

MasterOfPastures

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

amog — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:00:11 MST

Hey guys, I have a great idea! Let's all nitpick on minor details and miss the point entirely!

It's good to see Child's Play getting the recognition it deserves, and it's even better to see a real example of it making life more comfortable for young people who need to use the hospitals that benefit from the charity.

amog

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Maldron — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:58:03 MST

@Molbork: Good luck to him with that, I lost my mother to cancer and it has to be one of the absolute worst diseases to watch a family member suffer through. I'm glad games can help him out.

Maldron

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Terrorsaur — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:56:25 MST

Agh, you're right.

AHHH. My world has been turned downside up!

Brief article skimming ftl.

Terrorsaur

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Molbork — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:51:49 MST

My younger brother(20yrs old) found out he had cancer 4 months ago. I really think that gaming has helped him through the required seclusion that chemo puts you through(no white blood cells = easy to get sick). Even though he has to be secluded the online communtiy is a place where he can still connect with me, friends and society.

Molbork

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

BtownDesignGuy — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:50:00 MST

It's not just weird to me that they have to filter the story through the frame of, "we always give videogames a bad wrap, but here's something good about videogames."

No, I say what's worse about the way they framed the story is that they're implying gamers get involved with charity because they want to defend videogames.

So, what, just because we're gamers, we're not prone to just feeling a little compassionate and helping people out?

BtownDesignGuy

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

levarien — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:49:25 MST

CBS 46 is the weakest of Atlanta's local news affiliates. They're not even Wes Mantooth, they're the Frank Vitchard of Atlanta.

Nice to see some recognition in the media though. The PA guys deserve bigger and better press.

levarien

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:46:42 MST

@Terrorsaur:
His favorite game that he challenges his mom in is DBZ, but he also played Naruto in the video. Both games were played.

But Jack Thompson said that Tycho and Gabe were murder-sellers. I don't know who to believe!

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

D00mM4r1n3 — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:42:55 MST

He has a heart problem and he's playing a fighting game? Give that kid a picture puzzle or something, but not a fighter.

D00mM4r1n3

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Terrorsaur — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:41:30 MST

@Terrorsaur:
To follow up on #3

the writer strike is being felt hard.

Terrorsaur

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Terrorsaur — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:40:37 MST

3 things:

1. Its Naruto, not DBZ. HOW DARE YOUZZZZ!!!111

2.SO, whats the reputation gamers currently hold that needs to be changed?

3. Cheesiest line ever " He is currently on his hardest battle, the battle for his life."

Terrorsaur

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Grahamunculus — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:39:16 MST

Do local news affiliates ever do any research? The local news here in Omaha is absolutely wretched.

Grahamunculus