Crispy Gamer News

Child’s Play, a wonderful charity created by Penny Arcade creators Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, has hit a major milestone in 2008, raising $1,070,000 for 60 children’s hospitals around the world. Absolutely incredible news and a testament to the good and generous spirit of gamers worldwide. In 2007 Child’s Play hit $1 million dollar mark, but this year’s milestone was reached a month earlier, which means that by the end of 2008 the it should obliterate last year’s number by leaps and bounds.

Child’s Play is a community-based charity which is deeply rooted in gaming culture. The charity gives toys, games, books and cash to sick kids in children’s hospitals across the world to help them get through whatever difficult illnesses they are facing. You can do your part (and you should, folks) by visiting www.childsplaycharity.org, choosing to purchase requested items from partner hospital wish list items or make a cash donation.

Let’s show the world why gamers are the most powerful demographic in the universe by taking 2008’s donations to awe inspiring heights!

Never let it be said that we at Crispy Gamer don’t love a good cause. And in the world of video gaming, it’s hard to find a better cause than Child’s Play. Child’s Play is a non-profit organization begun in 2003 by Mike “Gabe” Krahulik and Jerry “Tycho” Holkins, the creators of the Penny Arcade comic strip, as a way to help sick children and while showing the rest of the world the positive side of gaming. Thanks to the generosity of the video game industry, as well as gamers themselves, Child’s Play has raised nearly four million dollars in toys, games, and cash for sick children to date. Now in its sixth year, Child’s Play has developed a worldwide network of beneficiary Children’s Hospitals in order to brighten hospital stays for children internationally.

One of Child’s Play’s big draws each year is its annual charity dinner auction. The 2008 Child’s Play Charity dinner auction will be held on Dec. 9th in the Washington State Convention and Trade Center’s skybridge. Tickets for the event are currently on sale through this Friday (Dec. 5th), unless sold out beforehand. The event annually hosts over 400 industry professionals and community members for an evening of drinks and silent bidding, followed by a plated banquet and live auction to benefit sick children in over 50 hospitals around the world. Contributions to the charity already exceed $450,000, passing the halfway mark for this year’s goal of $750,000.

Notable silent and live auction items will include:

• A microwave from Harmonix
• A Halo 3 Master Chief helmet signed by Bungie, Rooster Teeth, and Penny Arcade staff
• A bronze-cast World of Warcraft statue of an orc and wolf mount, given exclusively to Blizzard Entertainment employees
• A mint-condition, limited edition Black Dreamcast autographed by former Sega President Peter Moore

Dinner auction tickets may be purchased at http://www.childsplaycharity.org/cpdinner.php for $125 per person, $60 of which is tax deductible.

According to an article on Paste Magazine, there are five essential web sites for those that crave a little intelligence injected into the conversation about their favorite past time. Obviously there are certainly more than just five great sites to choose across the vast and endless interwebs, but seating at this table is limited. So what are the top 5 publications? Find out after the break. (more…)

Gabe, Tycho and a robot that enjoys intercourse with fruit return in Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode Two. The second RPG featuring the dark humor of the Penny Arcade team is available on Xbox Live Arcade, Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Developed by Hothead Games and the team behind the Penny Arcade web comic, Episode Two of the RPG-adventure game series lets players jump right back into a fresh character and new customization options or carry over their look and stats from Episode One. Episode Two offers more puzzles, new areas to explore, levels to gain and new difficulty settings.

The Xbox Live Arcade version is rated “M” and retails for 1200 MS Points. The PC and Mac-based version are available from www.hotheadgames.com.

If you fancy ordering the new Prince of Persia game a little bit early, then you may want to hear what Ubisoft plans to give you for your trouble. This week the company announced that those who pre-order the game at select retailers, will receive a free upgraded Limited Edition version of the game.
The FREE Limited Edition Upgrade is only available by pre-ordering and will include the game in collectable limited edition packaging, an exclusive look at the making of Prince of Persia, a Prima digital mini-strategy guide, a digital art book that chronicles the game’s journey from concept to full fledged retail product, the original soundtrack scored by master composer Inon Zur and a few other extra bells and whistles to make POP fans happy.

Ubisoft also revealed a partnership with Penny Arcade for the creation of a comic book based on the new Prince of Persia title. The 32-page comic book will span roughly four times longer than the usual Penny Arcade comic and will allow the Prince’s story to be creatively told in a robust, illustrative format. The comic book will also give readers a unique knowledge of the new Prince of Persia game as well as an enhanced understanding as to the relationship between Elika and the Prince.

Prince of Persia will be available Holiday 2008 for the Xbox 360, the PS3 and PC. Also available this holiday for the Nintendo DS is Prince of Persia: The Fallen King. Look for both at the end of this year.

The organizers of the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) today sent a reminder that this year’s gaming festival will begin later this week. PAX 2008 is being held August 29-31 and the group expects to draw over 45,000 gamers, industry professionals and media to the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle for the 3-day event.

Attendee badges may be purchased at the door at $30 for a one-day badge or $60 for all three days of the show. Is it any wonder that they expect so many to attend this event, given that most of our industry’s biggest shows are a shut-out for regular gamers? Highlights after the jump:

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