Used Games Will Help New Charity Fight Rare Diseases

Used Games Will Help New Charity Fight Rare Diseases

March 1, 2009

A start-up charitable foundation is seeking your used games.

Donate Games is focusing its efforts on orphan diseases - debilitating, often fatal, but frequently overlooked because they affect only a small slice (less than .05%) of the global population.

How can used games help? A press release explains that Donate Games will re-sell the games it takes in:

Are you tired of trading in your used games at retail stores for pennies on the dollar? Are you looking for a new site to purchase used games at low prices? Do you want to help change the lives of people around the world?...

 

Donate Games is a new charity dedicated to funding research for orphan diseases and supporting those affected by them through the donation and resale of used video games. In addition to raising funds for research on these rare disorders, Donate Games will promote awareness and provide advisory services to the general public.

Donate Games was created by Jim Carol, described as a veteran of the IT industry, and his wife Cynthia. In 2006 their son was diagnosed with Philadelphia Chromosome, a rare form of leukemia. Although their son's disease is now in remission, the Carols were moved by the suffering they saw:

We were lucky. “Treatments and community support really made a difference for [our son]. But, we met others at the treatment centers that had little hope, suffering from even rarer life-threatening conditions, without research funding, effective treatments or support networks. By launching Donate Games and connecting with the vibrant gaming community so near and dear to my own professional background, now we can help them, too.”

The organization is currently accepting game donations but has not yet begun to re-sell. Penny Arcade's Child's Play and publisher Electronic Arts are listed as partner organizations.

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Re: Your Used Games Will Help New Charity Target Rare Diseases

Ooooh, lets see the industry whine about this one.

---You are likely to be eaten by a Grue.

Re: Used Games Will Help New Charity Fight Rare Diseases

What a second? Electronic Arts are supporting this? What the hell? After all their swipes at the used game market?

--------------------------------------------------

I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.

Re: Used Games Will Help New Charity Fight Rare Diseases

Perhaps they just don't like the way that Gamestop does business; a charity doing this to fight diseases and a company that gets all it's revenue from screwing everyone else in the industry are two entirely different entities with two different rulesets.

Gamestop is well known for giving absolute shit for what you trade in; the most you will EVER get at gamestop is about a quarter of the stuff's original worth.

They take your used games, give you $20 at most for them, and then sell them 2 dollars off new price, and do the same to consoles. I once traded in a game, and they resold it for SIXTEEN TIMES what I got for it.

Gamestop is a despicable upscale pawnshop that hurts developer, publisher, and consumer. The only reason they're even slightly put up with is because of consumer rights and first sale.

I think that EA is fine with used games being resold to fight diseases; I think that they'd rather the revenue goes to fighting diseases than fattening the pockets of a company that hurts everyone else in the business.

When digital distribution takes a true hold, then Gamestop's screwing of everyone else in the game industry will finally come to an end.

 

 

Re: Used Games Will Help New Charity Fight Rare Diseases

I wouldn't be surprised if EA is thinking that they can claim these on their taxes as a Loss/Donation

~Weatherlight~

Re: Used Games Will Help New Charity Fight Rare Diseases

Quote FTW. Gamestop has some really nasty business practices. I bought a game (For 17 dollars), tried to sell it back to them a day later and they offered me 1 cent. I told them I think I can get more enjoyment by throwing the disc around than selling it back to them (The game was Jeremy McGrath Supercross World if anyone is interested). A charity is much better because than they are not reaping in the profits.

www.katamaridemocracy.com http://twitter.com/PushDustIn

Re: Used Games Will Help New Charity Fight Rare Diseases

More likely.. no company in their right mind would actually argue against a charity doing something like this... if they were approached and asked to be a partner in it, their choices were Yes or No. Saying No would have been very bad press.

"We never paid any heed to the ancient prophecies... Like fools we clung to the old hatreds, and fought as we had for generations"

Re: Used Games Will Help New Charity Fight Rare Diseases

Frankly this is very different then gamestop. One it's not going to profit anyone, it's going to charity. Two they seem to want to generally not screw over the people donating. Three they aren't buying new copies to sell so their second hand sales are less likely to be along the same lines as gamestop (Don't buy it new, buy this used copy for $5 less!!!)

Finally, maybe EA is partnering with them because while they de represent used game sales they are a more positive face of it and EA might be hoping they really take off and hurt gamestops market.

Re: Used Games Will Help New Charity Fight Rare Diseases

I got $27 for a game in crappy condition from them. I don't know what they were smoking, and I don't care to find out. But when I bring in games in great condition, they want to offer me like 1/4 of what I paid for it.

- Stand back! I have an opinion, and I'm not afraid to use it.

Re: Used Games Will Help New Charity Fight Rare Diseases

Yeah, selling back a used game = very little money. Giving a used game to charity, while it technically gives you even less money, makes giving it up actually worth something.

Re: Used Games Will Help New Charity Fight Rare Diseases

Well, there's always the potential tax write off, heh.

Re: Used Games Will Help New Charity Fight Rare Diseases

Definitely seems worth it. Considering the pittance you typically get at Gamestop for anything but the newest and rarest games, donating it to charity is easily a better option.


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GamePolitics ShoutBox

Posted 03/16/10 at 04:14pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:Ya but the organ grinder got tired of all the "fluffing"...
Posted 03/16/10 at 11:45am
JDKJ: Have you tried partnering with an organ grinder? If you do a good job, passerbys will fawn over you and throw change in your tin cup.
Posted 03/16/10 at 10:59am
ZippyDSMlee: JD is jsut pissy cuse he is not getting enough attnetion...hey neither am I damnit!!!!
Posted 03/16/10 at 10:18am
Valdearg: @Cminer: LMAO. I was about to say the same thing. The typical Youtube comment implies they've been at it for years.
Posted 03/16/10 at 10:17am
CMiner: JDKJ: That happened years ago. Look at your average forum poster/youtube commentor/etc for proof.
Posted 03/16/10 at 10:16am
JDKJ: BREAKING: Goodall Institute for Primate Research teaches chimpazee how to type and post to the Internet.
Posted 03/16/10 at 08:39am
ZippyDSMlee: Afirejar:Left you a warm pile in the Venezuela/censorship article. :P
Posted 03/15/10 at 04:05pm
Andrew Eisen: I'm still here and I'm doing a lot of behind the scenes work (as time permits me). But it's true, I've only written one piece under the new GP but if that Facebook/JT bit is the last thing I write for the site, I’d be okay with that.
Posted 03/15/10 at 04:01pm
ZippyDSMlee: I suppose its not inane enough for petes muses*giggles*
Posted 03/15/10 at 03:55pm
PHX Corp: It had the Video Games tag on it, I thought that it had been a video game law that was concerning it
Posted 03/15/10 at 03:54pm
JDKJ: And what happened to "Senior GP Correspondent, Andrew Eisen, reporting from San Diego [and who has a better finger on the pulse of GP's readership than some others]?" Huh? Did he fall victim to the Night of the Long Knives?
Posted 03/15/10 at 03:53pm
Andrew Eisen: No, but my one example was not meant to cover the entire spectrum. Besides, multiplayer is a big part of video games.
Posted 03/15/10 at 03:50pm
Andrew Eisen: PHX Corp - Are you referring to AB 847? I haven't read the bill but the summary doesn't appear to apply to video games.
Posted 03/15/10 at 03:49pm
DarkSaber: 2 mediocre games do not "a big part of video games" make.
Posted 03/15/10 at 03:49pm
JDKJ: I suspect that'll fall victim to the "pass." Wrong side of the fence. It's North Korea we aren't supposed to like.
Posted 03/15/10 at 03:48pm
DarkSaber: Although, following the "MW2 Made Lots of Money" excuse for a story, GP would be hard pressed to justify WHY they passed on it.
Posted 03/15/10 at 03:47pm
Andrew Eisen: DS - Not necessarily. See recent Ubisoft stories.
Posted 03/15/10 at 03:47pm
Andrew Eisen: Zip - Or it will and GP hasn't had a chance in the last couple hours to get to it yet. Or yeah, maybe he’ll pass on it.
Posted 03/15/10 at 03:46pm
DarkSaber: Only if you play multiplayer AE.
Posted 03/15/10 at 03:45pm
Andrew Eisen: Except, aside from following up on an earlier story, GP frequently reports on internet censorship and net neutrality issues (the internet being a big part of video games and all).
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