Activision is to unveil a £1 million backed non-profit corporation designed to help soldiers back into civilian careers.
The Call of Duty Endowment (CODE) will be officially unveiled tomorrow morning by Activision Blizzard CEO, Bobby Kotick.
The unveiling comes on Veterans Day in North America and the worldwide launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Kotick told the Washington 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?"
Eighteen percent of veterans who left the military in the past one to three years were unemployed, according to a 2008 Department of Veterans Affairs employment survey.
Thumbs up to Activision for endorsing a good cause, even if it is suspicious timing.
Ahh now the timing makes perfect sense. I thought it was in bad taste that near enough exactly to the hour the last fatal shot of WW1 was fired by a German sniper. All hell was to break loose on the net. abit like how some parents dont like buying toy guns for xmas i mean. But this makes me feel alot better. Well done this is the best thing ive heard about this game so far.
This has got to be the first good thing Activision have done this past year. I can't help thinking its simply a stunt to make them look better in the public's eye after the disgraceful way they have been acting recently, but I do support this because regardless of the true intentions of how it may have come about it is a generally good cause.
Goosee Activision splash out cash for a good cause! More relevant games should do similar things in their area of expertise (I.E Guitar Hero - getting kids playing music but that would be Activision again).
I can't help thinking its simply a stunt to make them look better
Of course it is.
but I do support this because regardless of the true intentions...
And that's what Activision are counting on.
I can imagine the board meeting... "Hmm, according to market research, the public are on to us - they've realised we're megalomaniacal moneygrabbing fatcats. What should we do about this?" "Give some money to charity?" "Yeah ok... like how much?" "How about $1m? It'll sound like a lot to them but it'll be a drop in the ocean of our MW2 profits." "Good call. But won't the public realise we're just doing it to make ourselves look good?" "That's the best part - charity is still charity despite ulterior motives, and they won't be able to stop themselves thinking a little better of us even though they know what we're up to." "Brilliant."
Of course it's nothing to do with charity donations giving tax relieve in the US never mind making the announcement just as your big game is released. I wonder how many times he will mention MW2 in his speech.
He probably won't the trailer will just be playing on a loop on a 20 foot screen behind him. Then at the end he'll call some poor vet that had his legs blown away and give him a free copy of MW2.
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