Gaming for Good

            People playing video games are already a very prominent part of the internet, and its popularity is only rising. From esports to individuals playing games as a hobby, it is true that people like to watch other people play video games on the internet. Esports bring in hundreds of thousands of viewers around the world to watch people play video games competitively. People record themselves playing video games and post the videos to YouTube. People use game streaming websites like Twitch.tv to interact with a crowd of people while they play games live. Its popularity is undeniable, and people do this as a very unconventional job. With such a large audience, some people wonder what kinds of impacts they can make.

            That is where things like Extra Life come into play. Extra Life raises money for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. They have started hosting marathons for gamers to help raise money for their local CMNH’s. Gamers are told to register to be a part of the marathon, where they then get their own fundraising page to customize to support whichever CMNH they want. Then you can set goals for your own personal event, which will be a part of the entire Extra Life marathon. This year the marathon is on November 7^th where everyone who registers will be playing games for 24 hours.

If you are interested in participating, or have any more questions here is a link to the Extra Life website. Extra Life

Extra Life is not the only organization that does things like this; there are plenty of other organizations that do a similar thing. One of the other more popular organizations that plays games on the internet is Games Done Quick. They host multiple events every year in which a community of gamers that focus on beating games at world record pace stream themselves playing games for a week straight. They ask viewers to donate in order to reach special incentives that the organization sets up. All of the money that they raise from these events goes to Doctors Without Borders and the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Their most recent event, “Summer Games Done Quick 2015 is all over, and the final total, as of August 5th, is $1,233,844.10 for Doctors Without Borders.” This is an amazing amount of money to be raised by normal people like me and you.

This is proof that the internet is a powerful place for people to come together and do great things, even if they are doing something that many people may frown upon. And with the popularity of gamers on the internet increasing, this impact will only grow larger and larger.