BioWare Auctioning Off Exclusive Goods for Japan Relief

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

meh i must be weird..i think that hoodie is but fucking ugly, but still, donations are for good causes i suppose..

too bad i just spent my entire past two paychecks on summer classes..

still, contributions are contributions.. man there are some people in here who just love to hate? regardless of how big or small it is, i dont see the point of giving them negative backlash over it.

 

[Timmibal]

Goddammit Bioware, you just went full retard.

Did that auction thingy you did last year not teach you anything? HALF YOUR EVERFUCKING FANBASE IS IN OTHER COUNTRIES!

I mean hell, signed ME hoody, I'd never wear the damn thing but it's for a good cause and it's not something I'd have the opportunity to pick up on a regular basis. E-bay is a global company! You don't even have the nebulous excuse of licensing issues this time!

Edit: I spoke before I searched. From the official forums:

IMPORTANT UPDATE
These auctions are available to everyone! No matter where you live, no matter which country, we will ship the prize to the highest winning bid. When we set up the auction, we accidentally left the setting as "US shipping only". THIS IS NOT CORRECT. We will ship to any country to whomever wins teh auction, for all available prizes.

Forgive for we are eBay n00bs.

Effectiveness aside, I'm bidding. It's does more than sitting on the internet complaining.

 

[Oroboros]

Using a disaster to get what basically amounts to free advertising? Not good Bioware. Sure, the money is going to a good cause and all, but it doesn't look like Bioware is the one that is paying, it reeks of exploitation. Hopefully they'll correct this and donate some of their own money.

 

[repeating integers]

snip

So... why doesn't Bungie get a mention here?

Yep, their money-raising wristbands were at one point one of the most popular things on Amazon.

Good article though. But seriously... 14 items? To quote Zaeed, is that all you've got? Surely you could do much more to help those poor victims.

 

[tekdeath]

IMPORTANT UPDATE
These auctions are available to everyone! No matter where you live, no matter which country, we will ship the prize to the highest winning bid. When we set up the auction, we accidentally left the setting as "US shipping only". THIS IS NOT CORRECT. We will ship to any country to whomever wins teh auction, for all available prizes.

Forgive for we are eBay n00bs.

I call BS on this too... they got called on it and are backpedaling.... they've been doing a lot of this recently.

I don't know why you have to be so negative on this. From what I can tell, you haven't done anything for Japan's current situation. I find it funny how people detached from the problem can sit back and criticize as if they know best. Until you do more than Bioware for Japan, you have no room to complain. Hey, they figured it out quick, good for them. Now everyone can get a chance at some limited edition gear and help a good cause. Are you gonna help, or are you just going to keep sitting on your high horse?

Also, why defend Valve? Is it because they raised more money. Besides that fact, they did the same thing Bioware did; made the community pay for silly hats that have no in-game effects or anything, purely aesthetic. Wasn't one of the hats like $100? At least if you buy the signed PS3 you can play TF2 with their hats AND other games and movies, and surf the web. PR or not, the Japanese people will be just as happy to receive any kind of aid, regardless of how much or who it is from (even the Yakuza chipped in extensively, but one of the main families has a large network in Sendai so it was in their best interest).

 

[Grufflenark]

As awesome as that hoody is, I will save my money for when they offer something awesome. Highest bidder gets to pick a plot twist or character death for ME3 as long as it is not canon breaking.
You give me the option to throw a bit of a mindfuck into the story and have the writers pissed off at how to work it in and I will happily pay for that.

If they did that they would have gained A LOT of money for charity.

 

[tekdeath]

How dare you make baseless accusations and assumptions.

As charity is done for charity's sake and should not be an issue with which to gather kudo I'm not going to say what I have or haven't done.

However don't you think it's a possibility that my ire over such headline grab being made over some paultry actions is based on knowledge of what CAN be done by anyone?

From the sounds of it, you haven't done much to help. Philanthropy is NEVER done just for philanthropy's sake. People may rationalize that they are doing it from the sheer good in their heart, but they either do it to make themselves feel better or as a tax write-off. I donated because I have friends who live there and it makes me feel good that I am helping them in some way to rebuild the infrastructure in their city.

It's also hardly a headline grab. Outside of the gaming community, most people don't know what Valve, or Bungie, or Bioware have done. They are like dozens of other organizations donating for a swipe at some PR and, hopefully, boosted sales in what is soon to be the slow summer season. Nintendo and Sony got a mention in the news on NHK but that's because they donated so much and are Japanese based companies (even then, it was a pretty quick mention).

If you think you can do so much better than Bioware, do it. Once you've bested them, then you have all the right to look down on them. It's like politics; you can't complain about the outcome if you didn't vote.

 

[tekdeath]

Motive doesn't necessarily have to imply a negative connotation. My motive for helping is because I have friends who live there. I would say that is a good motive. The Yakuza are essentially using money that they've been extorting from their communities for years to help and make them look good. I would classify that as a bad motive. Mother Theresa's motive for charity was that it was her duty as a child of god (I think that would be the closest example to your view of Charity as she does it for, what many people consider to be, an intangible benefit at best), I would say that's a good motive. The idea of giving something of yours that has value to someone else with no connection purely, without motive, is contradictory to our notion as living things, especially when we could use that item to help ourselves first. Perhaps Bioware's motive is more in the grey area, but I don't mind because, at some point it's going to help my friends and their families.

Perhaps you are right. But don't forget, some of us are more invested in what's happening in Japan than others. If Bioware can make a typically politically/socially apathetic demographic rise to action to help people I have a personal connection to, I'm happy.

 

[Kilgengoor]

4 consoles they'd have trouble getting rid of anyway and 10 hoodies of the type that you NEVER actually see anyone wearing.

NCsoft donated their money, not sold stuff for it.

Why don't they give their own fucking money? It's not like they don't have enough of it.

So, let me get this straight. A company, which is something founded by individuals who desire to make a living out of a specific activity, decides to raise funds for something that is actually not related to their activity, because usually donating money is something that very few companies consider is a smart financial move (especially if you're about to launch an MMO). They pick some exclusive articles from their merchandising (the ones that have the highest price tag while still being affordable) and decide to sell them to collectors (heh... "Collectors") through Ebay and in response they get the rage of gamers? I don't quite understand. I mean, it's like--

(snip)

I call BS on this too... they got called on it and are backpedaling.... they've been doing a lot of this recently.

...Wait, is this... Oh, for fuck's sake, don't tell me you're still with that "bioware has sold--

I was going to say. It couldn't possibly be their soul, they sold that to EA.

You know what? Fuck this.

 

[duchaked]

that N7 hoodie is amazing...but I couldn't wear it around