Activision Starts Non-Profit Organization To Help Veterans
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2You gotta love irony. Minutes after hearing that Infinity Ward has nothing bad to say about Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, we learn the publisher in question is being all generous.
As reported by The Washington Post, Activision plans to lift the lid on a non-profit organization tomorrow - the official launch day of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - that will "help soldiers transition to civilian careers." This endeavor, which will require $1 million of Activision's cash, will be dubbed "CODE" ("Call of Duty Endowment") and the advisory council members include a number of military veterans; Kotick clearly believes that some worldly good should come out of the game's guaranteed immense success. As he told the Post:
"The joblessness rate that [veterans] should have should be far less than the national average, not more. 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?"
The percentage of unemployed veterans is indeed too high; 18% of those who left the military in the past three years were unemployed according to a 2008 Department of Veterans Affairs employment survey. We're not entirely sure how they plan to combat this problem but at the very least, it's not a bad idea and charity is something that other big publishers may wish to consider. Heck, they're makin' a ton of cash; how's about tossing a bit of it around for the benefit of others?
Related Game(s): Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
11/9/2009 10:36:54 AM Ben Dutka
Put this on your webpage or blog:
Email this to a friend
Follow PSX Extreme on Twitter
Comments (33 posts)
Snaaaake
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 10:58:06 AM
Reply
3 up, 0 down
Highlander
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 10:59:29 AM
Reply
4 up, 1 down
Hezzron
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 2:38:41 PM
3 up, 1 down
Wage SLAVES
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 6:53:47 PM
@Hezz
My wife is in the Army and her cousin's husband is in the Marines (and lives here in HI) and almost everyone plays COD in the military here. Movies have 'exploited' the military far longer if that is your view.
2 up, 3 down
SvenMD
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 @ 8:53:12 AM
I think its great that they are helping Vets out. I don't care if its less than 1% of how much money this game is going to make. At least it's SOMETHING! Which is alot more than the rest of these multi-million dollar businesses are doing.
0 up, 2 down
bridgera
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 @ 11:15:52 AM
It leads towards statements such as this
"C'mon guys at least they're doing SOMETHING."
Oh really, how much is it going to do? Is it really going to help a lot of people, or is it a political action so that people can say "well they're TRYING to do something".
No, they are not doing anything, accept attempting to enhance their PR. Screw you Activision for using my civial service as your PR agenda.
3 up, 0 down
Streets_74
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 11:03:11 AM
Reply
2 up, 1 down
Perry Katy
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 11:33:26 AM
Reply
3 up, 1 down
Zorigo
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 12:09:43 PM
Reply
1 up, 1 down
Zorigo
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 12:10:47 PM
2 up, 1 down
Highlander
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 12:21:52 PM
3 up, 1 down
JofaMang
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 12:37:40 PM
1 up, 1 down
Imagi
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 1:10:28 PM
Reply
5 up, 1 down
frylock25
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 1:46:29 PM
3 up, 1 down
Fane1024
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 7:31:09 PM
I bet Veteran's/Remembrance Day played some part in the timing (not to mention the release date).
1 million dollars is less than 0.1% of their expected revenue from the game. Sounds like a relatively cheap marketing stunt to me. At least the money's going for something useful and not to Madison Avenue.
Last edited by Fane1024 on 11/9/2009 7:38:01 PM
2 up, 1 down
frostface
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 2:15:10 PM
Reply
1 up, 2 down
Wage SLAVES
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 8:11:34 PM
How many of US can pitch in that 'miniscule' 1mil to match?
Last edited by Wage SLAVES on 11/9/2009 8:13:01 PM
1 up, 2 down
Xplicit
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 2:58:24 PM
Reply
0 up, 0 down
Gregory Freeman
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 3:30:45 PM
Reply
well, my house could use a new roof, eh?
lol in all seriousness, i think it'sa really good thing, however, if you put into perspective how much the first modern warfare made alone, then add the potential profit from the 2nd one, 1 million dollars is pretty small in comparison...
there's the ability to help, and then theres the will to help... if they wanted to do the latter, then they prolly woulda dished out more coin, cuz god knows they have it...
4 up, 1 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 4:35:58 PM
4 up, 1 down
Bugzbunny109
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 4:03:49 PM
Reply
2 up, 0 down
Nick Maim
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 4:06:29 PM
Reply
This is a political rescue package, that will benefit Activision more than the war vets.
Although, I guess $1 million is better than no million. In which case keep spewing the drivel Kotick. See if we can bump that up to $10 mil.
3 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 4:33:03 PM
Reply
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 11/9/2009 4:38:12 PM
4 up, 1 down
Banky A
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 10:11:48 PM
Reply
As long as they don't force people to PLAY in 'Veteran'...
0 up, 0 down
Banky A
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 @ 2:58:59 AM
0 up, 0 down
just2skillf00l
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 11:49:18 PM
Reply
0 up, 1 down
SvenMD
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 @ 9:07:58 AM
Reply
And I'm sorry, but if ONE of you can create a foundation to help ANYONE that is greater than ONE MILLION DOLLARS - then, and only then can you say that this is a cheap amount of money.
I don't hear anyone complaining about the fact that NO OTHER company/game has created a non-profit foundation for anything else, but the second Activision creates one for jobless Vets you all cry foul!
No one is getting mad at the fact that Naughty Dog and Uncharted 2 didn't create a foundation for the Archaelogical Society of America. But when Activision gives $1 Million to unemployed vets - the hell with them!!
Anyway - we should support anything that helps out the less fortunate, especially when it doesnt cost YOU a dime (except for the $59.99 you were going to spend anyway. So grow up - and have fun while it lasts, cause I am so gonna blow your azz up in MW2!!
2 up, 0 down
bridgera
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 @ 11:23:10 AM
You mean the cause of giving Activision good PR?
"And I'm sorry, but if ONE of you can create a foundation..."
Well I only served my country in the Army, so of course I should have no say about how companies use my civial service for their PR agenda.
ONE MILLION DOLLARS is nothing to Activision, the money they contributed wasn't even worth holding a press conference over.
3 up, 0 down
bridgera
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 @ 11:28:22 AM
Reply
(Far better than making threats to Sony, trying to jack up the price of games, and pulling this type of stunt that turns my civil service into their PR ploy.)
2 up, 0 down
SvenMD
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 @ 1:13:59 PM
Should we pull the plug on the robotic arm development at Vanderbilt University originally developed for vets who had lost a limb in war?? Because that must be a PR stunt by Vandy!
My question to you (since no company can help veterans without your approval) - "Well I only served my country in the Army, so of course I should have no say about how companies use my civial service for their PR agenda. - What should be done? What should multi-million dollar companies do to help the unemployment of veterans? What's your grand scheme for this situation, since obviously a million dollars from Activision is the worst thing to ever happen to veterans.
1 up, 0 down
bridgera
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 @ 6:04:13 PM
That is not what I said at all, I said I take offense to transparent PR ploys involving other people's civial service.
So let's look at a million dollars for a foundation. Let's say you get a building in a major city. What's that cost? $300,000? Let's say they hire 10 employees for 1 year. What's that, another $300,000+.
That million, gets chomped away pretty quickly, Activision knows this (I'm assuming they are legit businessmen).
Rather than try and setup a new foundation, they could donate to one of the existing foundations that help vets in this manner. There are organizations already in existance helping vets that do exactly what activision's foundation does, I don't remember what they're called, but I know they're around.
"What's your grand scheme for this situation"
So that's my answer for you. It means less PR for Activision, but it'll actually do more good than trying to start a new foundation.
1 up, 0 down
BikerSaint
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 @ 10:31:33 PM
Reply
If they really wanted to do something, they should have done what Bridgera above suggested by donating to already existing "Veterans help & support organizations.
Or they could actually go & donate a few hours weekly/monthly of their own time to help out, and that would certainly go much, much further in helping our Veterans than any 1 million dollar publicity stunt will.
0 up, 0 down
laxpro2001
Reply
Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 10:51:39 AM