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Well at least Activision is trying to not be evil anymore. (Also, is that an ARMY DOG?) | |
Activision! We salute you! OT: This has restored some of my faith in major corporations...Even if they are faceless evil spawns. | |
*commends activision* Well done. | |
I'm glad ActiBlizz found something good to put some of their extra money towards. Perhaps the angry populous will let them rest, perhaps even that guy at the Christian Science Journal who freaked out at the burning whitehouse but not the biblical narrative. | |
*standing ovation* As an army kid, this brings a smile to my face. Well played Activision, well played. | |
Well Activision you did good. Remember those that have served and are serving tomorrow, thank a vet if you get the chance. | |
This was the crux of a rather heated argument in the other thread about this particular bit of news. It seems absurd to me to say "They're only doing it because it's good press for them!" Just because they will likely see a quick return on their investment doesn't mean they haven't done a "good deed." ...Alright, now that I've used up my allotment of seriousness for the month... [sixteen paragraphs of absurd silliness goes here] | |
yes, that is. why doesnt he have his bullet proof vest on? god damnit, who cut the funding again! but OT, way to go Activision, now you will give the PC fanboys more ammo with "They could of used that money to put in dedicated servers!!111!!11oneoneoneeleven!" | |
Very nice of Activision to actually give something back to :-P | |
It's not going to sway me on the PC issue (It wasn't meant to anyway, I hope) but good job to them for any charitable contribution. | |
*Gives Activision a cookie* that'll do pig...that'll do. | |
Look like all the accusations that Activision was evil promoted to company to try to make it's image better by donating to a few places... I say we keep calling them evil so that they do this more often. | |
That still doesn't excuse what they did to the PC | |
Considering that Activision has made MILLIONS off of the Call of Duty series giving 1 mil to the Veteran's Foundation seems like a really low number. | |
Aww that's very nice of them. More bug companies should do this stuff too | |
Good for them, this doesn't mean I am going to get on my knees and blow them, but it is a cool deed. (Even if it is all for PR). | |
I really, really, really hope this is a poor attempt at making a joke and/or trolling. Because I cannot grok the idea that someone would have a PC tower so big in a very uncomfortable place. | |
The mob does the same when the collection plate passes by at church, doesn't make them any less dicks than what they are. PS. That dog knows 15 ways to kill you with his food bowl. | |
How nice of them. I still hate the company though. | |
Pretty much this. Good PR won't fix all of the anger going around. | |
I think the appropriate phrase is Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. They didn't have to donate anything. They also didn't give one million to a Veterans' foundation they created one, which would indicate that they would continue to donate to it. | |
Much as I can commend the person who suggested and gave the money, I think the major backlash here should be against the fact that ActiBlizz are having to set this up in the first place. If the Army (and by rights, the Government who called them out) can't support veterans, it's a poor show when it's gaming companies, maligned by all and sundry, are the ones stepping into support those who have fought for our freedom. I'll not deny that it's a great thing for servicemen, but the cynic hats will be going on over the timing. And double over the men they're recruiting to their side. | |
Well, I never thought any game publisher as evil. It is a profit business, after all. So, I didn't blame companies for canceling promising titles. This reaffirms my faith in big game companies even more. | |
Theyd better do something for Education, but well, better than nothing | |
hear hear. when you donate to charities, do you put half your pay slip in? no. is it still worth doing? yes absoloutely. well done Activision. Double well done for putting money towards a aim we can all support, troops need and deserve jobs having been through all the shit they do. double double well done for doing it without really waiting for the real storm to kick off. the bad media has only just started for MW2, and if it takes off it makes me feel slightly warmer inside that Activison made this donation before it seemed like they were doing it just for a political gimmick. hell i can actually belive they did it out of the warmness of their cold, dead hearts. in fact $1,000,000 coming from a company which had no need to give anything away is a absoloute miracle. standing ovation to Activision. (now fix the sodding steam issues and activate dedicated servers so we can shut these whiney PC ****ers up!) | |
1 million isnt that much, WoW makes 195 times that a month. then again blizzard is almost its entire own company, with an entire "Fuck off or we will fuck you up" clause in the contract to buy activision | |
i... really have no idea wtf yer talking about there haha..... | |
That post is full of win sir! | |
Indeed. Its just enough money to get them press without being enough money to harm their profit margin too much. | |
Pretty much my thoughts on this, this is a great thing that they're doing, but Activision itself (more specifically, Bobby Kotick) still pisses me off. Though now I'm debating at whether or not to buy Modern Warfare 2. Probably borrow it from a friend. | |
if my extra 10 dollars on MW2 is going to a vet fund, It will more than justify the increase. | |
I really appreciate what Activision is doing. I know a lot of guys who want to get out but can't because of the economy, so they stay on another 4-6 years. While I still dont fully trust Activision, I think this a step in the right direction for their immage. | |
Oh, THEY made one. Ok, I didn't see that. I thought they donated to the Foundation of American Veterans or a group like that. | |
yes, because a video game is more important than helping people that really need help. I hope they add a way for regular people to donate soon, I would gladly put some money to a good cause. also, let me quote this guy real quick:
Im not sure what your trying to say, helping people doesn't matter because they supposedly muffed up a game? That by making a charitable organization that more than likely will file for 501c, that is a non-profit organization for those less legally inclined, means they shouldn't help people during a time where unemployment is on the rise? let me get this right, because they 'messed', I use these ' because I have yet to see how exactly the game is bad, your game up, they shouldnt do something good. let me re-post this:
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Activision Donates $1 Million to Veterans' Foundation
To celebrate the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Activision will be helping out real-life veterans by establishing a $1m foundation that helps veteran soldiers find jobs.
Unemployment everywhere is on the rise thanks to this blasted "recession" thing that everyone's talking about, but here in the States - and presumably elsewhere as well - it's particularly difficult for veterans to find work, reports the Washington Post, citing the Bureau of Labor Statistics' numbers: "The unemployment rate among people who served in the military since 2001 was 11.6 percent in October," which is a bit higher than the national norm.
So, as the biggest war game of all time - of all time (thanks, Kanye) - hits shelves, industry giant Activision-Blizzard is trying to give a bit back to the people who know actual Modern Warfare. "The joblessness rate that [veterans] should have should be far less than the national average, not more," said ActiBlizz CEO (and gamer nemesis) Bobby Kotick. "How do you expect people to actually join the military if when they leave the military they can't integrate back into the free market they're supposed to be protecting?"
With that in mind, the publisher has established the Call of Duty Endowment (CODE), a $1m foundation meant to "support other groups that assist veterans with their careers." The CODE board of directors will feature several prominent retired military figures chosen by Kotick & Co., including Army Gen. James "Spider" Marks, who was thankful for the assistance. "The fact that industry can complement the efforts of the government to really provide assistance is wonderful."
Now, to put on my cynicism hat for a moment, the benefits to Activision-Blizzard are obvious. The army is largely composed of 18-to-35-year-old males, which also happens to be the publisher's largest target demographic. Gaming and the military are becoming more and more closely intertwined, as military services use games to recruit and train, and off-duty soldiers are as likely to spend their time playing a round of Halo as they are to do just about anything else.
Taking off the cynicism hat, though... does the fact that there are benefits for Activision (not the least of which is good PR) detract from the act itself? It's still a non-insignificant sum that could have otherwise gone to, say, Modern Warfare 2's advertising budget, and it's being used to help people. Furthermore, the fact that it's establishing a foundation rather than just making a donation means that it would be easy for the company - and others - to donate more when needed. I know we as gamers (and sometimes we in the press) love to demonize Kotick and his company and make them out to be reprobates and villains that would make Darth Vader blush, but I don't think that that means we shouldn't recognize them when they've done something positive for a genuinely good cause.
So good job on this one, Activision. It's worth a bit of a salute all on its own.
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