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Our $200 Dante's Inferno check from EA arrives photo

You may have heard some rumblings: Yes, as a promotion for Visceral Games' forthcoming multi-platform Dante's Inferno, Electronic Arts sent out $200.00 checks to select members of the media. Why?

The idea, we're told, is to educate people about Dante Alighieri's poem. More specifically, the fourth circle of Hell, Greed. Ours arrived yesterday, after a slight layover in the tenth circle of Hell -- my previous mailing address. (Hint to aspiring gaming writers: Don't ever move or change your address. Ever.)

The decorated wooden box contains the check you see above, which I can confirm is an actual no joke legal check that I could cash at a bank (and likely get a lot of funny looks). The dilemma is such -- do I give in to greed and cash the check, and basically kiss any credibility I might have goodbye? However, if I don't cash it, that could be considered wasteful.

"He who squanders wealth allows the first fruits owed to heaven to rot on the vine," explains the words on the inside of the box.

Quite a conundrum. We're still scratching our chins over this one, but we have a few ideas, which you can find after the jump. What do you think we should do?

  • Pay some bills, give Dante's Inferno a 10 out of 10.
  • Reserve 20 copies of Dante's Inferno.
  • Reserve 20 copies of God of War III.
  • Buy $200 worth of booze, let Dale North drink it on a web cam all day long.
  • Give it a charity, maybe Child's Play.
  • Sign it over to Kotaku's Brian Crecente, who decided to burn his check. It's possible he's regretting his choice, and we'd love to give him another chance.

LAUNCH GALLERY (12 IMAGES)
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171 comments | showing # 1 to 50

D Sane's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:02
D Sane
Use it to buy prizes to give away to Dtoiders. Share the wealth, duh!
TheDirtyHobo's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:03
TheDirtyHobo
Option 1.
Spysappinmahsentry's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:03
Spysappinmahsentry
Cash it.

Free money from a games company attempting to flog their wares with a 'moral,' condundrum.

Cash it.
Spysappinmahsentry's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:04
Spysappinmahsentry
Cash it.

Free money from a games company attempting to flog their wares with a 'moral,' condundrum?

Cash it.
TheCleaningGuy's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:04
TheCleaningGuy
You could donate it to Child's Play.
Or, if you wanted to, you could send it to me...
Or just cash it, it's rather ironic that EA is trying to make a statement about greed.
Havoc Fang's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:04
Havoc Fang
Donate to Childs Play/Human Rights groups would be the innocent, nice answer...

Or, spend it on various prizes to give to the best suggestions for what to spend it on.
Scion of Mogo's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:04
Scion of Mogo
This is easy. Sign the Check over to EA's Marketing department under the stipulation that it goes to hiring someone who isn't completely incompetent.
Xzyliac's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:06
Xzyliac
I like the booze option. Yeah, that one.
Super Drybones's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:07
Super Drybones
Give it to me, more heaven points for you, more whores for me.
Niero's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:08
Niero
test
andycadaver's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:08
andycadaver
That's the most fucking brilliant self-advertising I've ever seen.
Listen and learn from Dante. Greed is responsible for any and all ethical corruption, political or nonpolitical, and is one of the greatest sins of mankind. Do you really want to be punished in the fourth circle of hell for eternity, distorted, shriveled and damaged beyond recognition?
Don't cash it, you greedy bastards!
digiwalsh's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:08
digiwalsh
Kotaku BURNT theirs.

squandering indeed.
Dexter345's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:08
Dexter345
I was going to say what D Sane said. I could use a spare $200.

If not that, give it to Child's Play.
PEICanada7's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:09
PEICanada7
"Give it a charity, maybe Child's Play."

This option gets my vote!
Death by Yeti's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:10
Death by Yeti
It's from EA
It IS from a level of Hell

There is no wrong answer here when a greedy company gives you money as viral marketing
Cyber Altair's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:10
Cyber Altair
Pre-rder 4 games coming out in the winter. Or give it to me =3
MasterBalls's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:10
MasterBalls
$200 is $200.
Catmurderer's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:11
Catmurderer
Make it into a contest on here.
PappaDukes's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:11
PappaDukes
Donate to charity. Waste not want not. Or some shit.
wardrox's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:12
wardrox
Shit on it and post it back.

This whole campaign has put me of the game and is just, well, damaging to gaming.
Dexter345's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:12
Dexter345
Did they send one to Cashwh0re?
Fake Al Gore's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:13
Fake Al Gore
Donate to Child's Play.
Sassafrass's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:13
Sassafrass
Donate!
Zero Atma's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:13
Zero Atma
My vote is for Child's Play
xplocvo's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:14
xplocvo
Hookers and blow?
rockydil's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:14
rockydil
Buy four copies of Bayonetta. Lust.
Nick Chester's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:14
Nick Chester
@ wardrox:

I seem to recall you weren't very keen on the game to start.
Bulkmailer's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:14
Bulkmailer
Buy a coat.
brainderailment's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:16
brainderailment
They just got ad space on destructoid for 200 bucks. That's cheap. Should have secretly donated it to child's play and not told us about it so they don't get what hey want.
ErbilT's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:17
ErbilT
Cash it and give it to charity. I find that to be a perfectly justifiable solution to the issue.

Or you can pull a Rickey Henderson and frame it.
Kohlstream's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:19
Kohlstream
Please please please give it to a charity. Tell EA what you did and tell them to fuck off throwing money about like its nothing.
Coafi's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:19
Coafi
Easy, cash it.
They'll probably send you some other stuff, calling you a sinner or such.
Or maybe more money??
JLanphear's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:20
JLanphear
I have to vote Child's Play.
BGFUSAB's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:20
BGFUSAB
I think the best thing to do is to give it to a charity. There's no greed or waste in helping others, just a whole lot of good.
Bubamacko's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:20
Bubamacko
spend it on booze and then ask for forgivness. Thats how the catholicism work
momo's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:21
momo
Dale North Drinkstravaganza!
atastysammich's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:21
atastysammich
Make a contest out of it! I'm sure some fellow Dtoiders will be more than happy to grab a seat on the trolley to Hell, myself included.
ejamer's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:22
ejamer
Not using the money is silly when everyone knows you've already received the check unsolicited. Deciding what to do with the money hardly matters, but you'd be a fool to give EA the free marketing these posts generate and not take their money in exchange.

My first suggestion is to cash the check, donate $100 to the charity of your choice, and then run a 7 Deadly Sins contest where you send the remaining money (in the swanky box) to the winner.

My second suggestion is to keep the cash yourself and enjoy the weekend. You've already given into the EA's demands for free publicity by posting this, and none of us thought of you as "credible" anyway.
mr moustache's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:22
mr moustache
charity.
I vote for Doctors Without Borders
Reluctant Platypus's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:22
Reluctant Platypus
The obvious way to preserve your credibility to the public at large is to donate the money to a charity. However, it's your money and I advise you to do what you think is right. As long as you're honest about how you use it, no one has any right to complain.

It's no secret you've been given the money, no one can logically think you've been paid off. So go ahead, get a great bottle of vodka, go to a strip club, pay your bills, buy a whole ton of tacos, give it all to the first hobo you see, or even burn the money. Whatever lets you sleep at night, really.
randomspirits's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:23
randomspirits
They have already gotten their promotion out of it, so it doesn't matter, to EA, what you do with it. If you burn it you are just giving more money back to the ad budget, so Child's Play would be the best solution.
JulianProxy's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:24
JulianProxy
Merely talking about the check got them what they wanted, regardless of if it's cashed: they wanted people talking about Dante's Inferno.

Not cashing the check doesn't seem particularly wasteful. It's not like the money goes where no one will ever see it. EA will still have the money. Maybe that's not who some would like to see have it, but it didn't vanish into thin air or spoil like food would. Donating the money to Child's Play would be my vote.

If there's concern about journalistic integrity for cashing the check, don't keep the money and just let us know what you did with it. I'd laugh my ass off at Dale North drunk on a web cam all day.
kitae's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:26
kitae
Childs Play!
jsutcliffe's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:26
jsutcliffe
Give it to Child's Play, let them auction it somehow. It'll probably fetch more than $200 from some gamer with more cash than sense.
mix's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:27
mix
Charity sounds good but giving away the box and pillow and what not on Dtoid sounds really good as well :)
GoldenGamerXero's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:28
GoldenGamerXero
We could look at it as a serious question about ethics if it wasn't free money!

TAKE THE MONEY BUT DO NOT CASH THE CHECK!

I don't care what you guys do with it but take the damn check and get someone else to review the game. You don't even have to cash it in! You could keep it for a while and then sell it for over $200 as a collectors item. You could then give $200 or more of that money to charatiy and keep something for destructoid. EA keeps its money, you guys get some money, a charity gets $200 richer and some nerd get a really cool check!

Everybody wins!
jsutcliffe's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:29
jsutcliffe
Of course, the burning idea makes me think of this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K_Foundation_Burn_a_Million_Quid
Tubatic's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:30
Tubatic
Childs Play that jam.

You get the scandal of having cashed the check, the even more scandalous honest review when the games comes out "ZOMG 4/10 but you cashed their check!!!!" and the satisfying retort "Yeah, but we donated it to charity, dick."

Oh yeah, and you help the kids. Bonus.
Jon B's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:30
Jon B
I second the giving it to charity bit. Or 17th, or however many people have said it already.
CtMythic's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/11/2009 15:31
CtMythic
One-up Kotaku by burning the check, entire box, and everything it came with, hope another blog tries to one-up you, thus starting another meme.
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