Play For Japan, a fundraising campaign formed by game industry professionals, announced today that it has raised more than $100,000 for relief efforts in Japan. The campaign has been promoting online auctions of rare and collectible gaming paraphernalia ranging from a Shigeru Miyamoto-signed Game Boy Advance to a life-size Modern Warfare 2 Ghost statue.
Auctions still continue. Check out http://playforjapan.org to see the latest items.
The campaign has also partnered with video game music composer Akira Yamaoka to create a benefit album. See the press release below for additional details.
PLAY FOR JAPAN CAMPAIGN SURPASSES $100,000 FOR JAPAN RELIEF EFFORTS
Unprecedented Response from Gamers; Global Relief Campaign Continues
LOS ANGELES (May 2, 2011) – Play For Japan (PFJ), a global campaign designed to raise funds for the victims of the recent tragedies in Japan, announced today that the campaign has raised over $100,000 in less than one month of its launch on March 16.
Corporate contributions from EA Sports, Sega America, IGDA Finland and auction items including the Lara Croft X360 arcade unit, life-size Modern Warfare 2 Ghost statue and the Xbox 360 XBLA bundle were major supporters in reaching $100,000 in contributions.
“When we launched Play For Japan we knew the support from our peers would be there,” said the Play For Japan committee. “We are blown away with how quickly individuals and corporations contributed, and to the degree in which they did. It’s impossible to express our gratitude enough. What we hope now is that the awareness continues. With any tragedy like this, the hardest thing is to sustain support once the event is out of the news. It will take a lot of hard work and possibly a decade to rebuild the country.”
Play For Japan has also partnered with famed composer Akira Yamaoka (Shadows of the Damned, Silent Hill series) to create “Play For Japan: The Album”.
“In the videogame industry, composers like myself are responsible for engaging the player through music. Music, too, creates bonds, inspiring listeners to share their passion with others,” said Akira Yamaoka. “In this spirit, many gifted composers, musicians and artists — from East and West — have come together to record a benefit album. For creators whose role is to inspire, it’s only fitting we come together, across borderlines, for those in need.”
Confirmed participants to date include: Jason Graves (Command & Conquer 4, Dead Space series, Prey 2), Woody Jackson (Red Dead Redemption), Penka Kouneva (Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, additional music), Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica, SOCOM 4, The Walking Dead), Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger, Luminous Arc, Xenoblade), Nobuo Uematsu (Blue Dragon, Final Fantasy series, Lost Odyssey, Inon Zur (Crysis, Dragon Age, Prince of Persia).
About Play For Japan
In the wake of recent disasters that have struck the island nation, a collective of gaming industry professionals and members of the gaming media have combined their resources to create Play For Japan. The global campaign will raise funds for donation to various organizations devoted to relief efforts, including American Red Cross, Global Giving, International Medical Corps, Save the Children, UNICEF.
The goal of Play For Japan is to aggregate and promote online auctions of items culled from the resources of its members– videogame rarities, art, signed games, etc.–in order to generate donations for disaster relief.
Play For Japan is not an auction house. Rather, it is a movement designed to endorse and promote the gaming industry’s efforts to help. Members of the gaming community can brand their individual auction as part of the Play For Japan campaign as they initiate them. 100% of all proceeds will go toward charitable organizations to benefit earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan.