REDMOND, Wash. — April 23, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. today announced a new partnership with the Companions in Courage Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting children and families who are overcoming life-threatening obstacles. As part of its commitment to providing fun, interactive entertainment for children, Microsoft is supplying hundreds of Xbox 360 game kiosks to playrooms in children's hospitals across the United States, intended to provide a respite for young patients and be a catalyst for fun. In addition to select games, movies and television content, the Xbox 360 kiosks will provide access to a private network that allows hospitalized children across the country to play games and chat in a safety-enhanced environment over Xbox LIVE, the world's largest social network connected to television.
Microsoft is celebrating this partnership and the installation of the first wave of kiosks with three simultaneous events today at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian, Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center of Seattle and the Children's Hospital of Orange County in California. Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft, will attend the Seattle event to commemorate the first group of Xbox 360 kiosks and the launch of the special Xbox LIVE network.
"Microsoft is committed to keeping kids entertained in a variety of ways within a safer gaming environment, so partnering with Companions in Courage to offer children in hospitals a way to connect through something as universal as games is a natural fit for the work we do," Bach said. "The goal for this program is to give these kids a chance to have some fun and just be kids."
Companions in Courage founder and National Hockey League Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine said, "Entertainment, creativity and personal connections can be important factors in alleviating some of the isolation and discomfort these children experience each day. Xbox 360 offers young patients a fun escape through games, TV shows, movies and positive interactions with others over the Xbox LIVE network. These gaming stations are a perfect complement to the interactive playrooms."
The customized and hospital-friendly Xbox 360 kiosks are pre-loaded with a variety of Y-rated TV programs, G-rated movies, games rated E and E10+, as well as Xbox 360 Headset and Xbox LIVE Vision Camera capabilities, which enable patients to communicate over a dedicated Xbox LIVE network. This network, created just for Xbox 360 kiosks and consoles in children's hospitals, allows patients to play games over Xbox LIVE, but limits chat via voice, text and video to only those children playing from select hospitals across the country. The industry-leading parental controls on Xbox 360, known as Family Settings, will be used to help restrict access to content outside ratings parameters, as well as the times during which patients can use the kiosks or consoles.
"It's extremely gratifying to witness the joy and excitement of these children and teens when they have a chance to break away from the normal hospital routine, and make new friends while playing video games," said Cynthia Sparer, executive director of Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian. "We are grateful that our partnership with Companions in Courage helps us meet the needs of our patients and allows kids to be kids even when they're sick."
To help bring even more Xbox 360 kiosks to children's hospitals across the country, individuals can visit the Companions in Courage Web site at http://cic16.org to make a donation.
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21 comments + 95764 views
Trying to think of somthing smart arsed but y'now this is quite nice.
I can think of something.. Hope those power cords dont burn down the hospital! [Sets off for hell..] This is really nice though.
wow, this is..bizarre.
Theres something up with this. Im sure its to monitor children that are terminally ill but have a good set of kidneys or lungs that Gates can use to replace his own withered internal organs.
that HAS to be it..
They could at least let them have Halo or something. Good ol' shoot em to pass the time, you know.
This is a pretty cool thing though.
Giving the gift of LIVE to the terminally ill heheh... Still, finally a non dick move is good to see from a big company. Then again it's gloss like this that makes people forget terrible things companies do (Wal-Mart anyone?)
I feel sorry for the kids that have a console red-ring on them the moment they arrive.
that's really cool
now when i'm on live and i'm trash talking some kids, i guess i can't say stop dying without feeling bad...
or the occasional :cough cough i can't cough:
response. :(
i came
Fanboys rejoice
I hope they don't get the red ring of death.
now sick kids can be called fags AND have cancer!
That was pretty low Velcro.
"Video games will turn these children uncontrollably violent, and if they're already dying they'll have nothing to lose. Microsoft is purposely creating suicide bombers." - Jack Thompson
Now they can see some ballsacks on UNO!!
I guess it's good, especially for their PR, but the cynic in me sees this "The industry-leading parental controls on Xbox 360..." and wants to tell M$ to stop creating facts from thin air.
i like to make sick kids happy...it makes me wonder though about how much these kids family's are paying for them to stay in the hospital...such a broken health care system...it makes me sad.
sony also doing there parts for sick childrens
http://kotaku.com/357416/sony-donates-to-new-orleans-childrens-hospital
not a fanboy comment ... just happy to see both M$ and sony helping childrens
@ Hells_666
don't post at the same moment as me ... people will think your my friend because we both have a PS3 lolll
just kidding ... would you be my friend ... im_ok will be happy :))))) lollll
I too hate hospitals. I only go get a check up when it's required for something I need to do, like starting at a new school.
I don't even like taking ibuprofen or anything like that.
Way to go, MS.
"The best part is that, aside from games and movies, these Xbox 360 kiosks will link up to a private network that allows kids everywhere play games and chat in a "safety-enhanced environment" over Xbox LIVE."
Yes this is the best part. I was fearing that they would be on regular live being subjected to racist egotistical antagonistic moronic RETARDS that infest live.
Bravo MS.
PS I hope these kiosks are EXTREMELY well ventilated. How sucky would it be if these kids get on to play banjo 3 or something and boom, RRoD :(
I played an NES when I visited the hospital a couple of times as a kid.
Nice. MS is doing something good for the kids and keeping them off my XBL until they are old enough.
makes you want to get ill :-)
I remember being in the hospital and my mom bringing my SEGA Master System II to keep me entertained... it was fucking brilliant, me and my roommates would play all day long and just totally forget about the shit we were suffering from :-D
Classy move
Nice move microsoft
http://www.tv.com/uservideos/?action=video_player&id=dXVnkDL85b0OvzY&om_act=convert&om_clk=viduservids
Not enough RROD jokes in here.
But yeah, good job Microsoft. Hey I think I'm coming down with something... *cough*
Free 360?
I would love to see this type of thing in the children hospitals in my country (south america, uruguay). But is not going to happend, money is needed in medicines and equipment, I know this because I study there.
When Im around in the kids ward I let them play with my DS, I carry them in my pocket all the time... is easier to take a blood sample of a kid if you promise him you will let him play with the videogame if he stays still... of course, they are very poor and some of them very sick, so is hard to know if Iam going to see the DS again.
Also im having some issues with the nurses saying "there goes the med student disturbing the patients". Of course, nurses just whine about everything.
So, good move microsoft, when you are done with the thousand hospitals in the US maybe you can come here... or maybe Nintendo will.
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