Gamers' Exhibit Philanthropy Skill +5, Child's Play Charity 2005 Concludes; Over $310,000 in Toys, Games and Money Raised for Children's Hospitals

Gamers' Exhibit Philanthropy Skill +5, Child's Play Charity 2005 Concludes; Over $310,000 in Toys, Games and Money Raised for Children's Hospitals SEATTLE, Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- This Holiday Season was a little bit brighter for kids at several Children's Hospitals nationwide as the Child's Play Charity concluded its second annual drive. Started by Penny-Arcade, the premier web comic focusing on the video game industry, Child's Play Charity has made news proving that video game enthusiasts are philanthropic, socially aware and very generous. Once again the readership of Penny-Arcade.com and its partner sites showed incredible altruism with over $310,000 in video games, video game machines, toys and cash donated to the five participating children's hospitals. In addition to individual contributors, over 35 electronic entertainment-related corporations contributed with several companies donating portions of holiday revenues to the charity. Because Child's Play is made possible through tireless volunteer work, 100% of all donations received were passed along to the participating hospitals. This year's drive also marked the first Child's Play Benefit Dinner. This fund-raising event held in early December in Bellevue, Washington, attracted over 175 attendees. Highlights of the night included a raucous live auction for items such as signed video games, original artwork, fine Washington wines, tours of Nintendo and other notable video game developers' facilities, and more. The evening generated over $14,000 in donations and was a fabulous time for all who attended. "We're gamers, so our goal for this year was to try and beat last year's score of $250,000 [in donations]," commented Jerry Holkins of Penny Arcade. "Through the incredible munificence of our readers and the gamer/geek online community we were able to attain that goal. Next year we're going for $500 thousand!" About Penny-Arcade Equal parts online comic and commentary, Penny-Arcade (http://www.penny-arcade.com/) covers videogames in a way that is genuine, insightful, and respected. What started as a hobby for Jerry "Tycho" Holkins and Mike "Gabe" Krahulik has over five years grown into an online phenomenon that serves tens of millions of page views a month to millions of readers worldwide. In addition to Child's Play, they also host the Penny Arcade Exposition, an annual celebration of gaming culture drawing thousands of hardcore gamers to Seattle every fall. Source: Child's Play CONTACT: Carl Gersh, BeSeen Communications, +1-856-857-0120 x811, E-mail: carl@beseennow.com, for Child's Play ------- Profile: International Entertainment