‘Modern Warfare 2′ could help unemployed veterans find jobs
Activision Blizzard this week is answering another kind of call to duty — one worth about $1 million.
That’s how much the gaming corporation plans to donate when it sets up a foundation to help out-of-work veterans find jobs, according to an article in the Washington Post. The Call of Duty Endowment debuts Tuesday, the same day Activision introduces “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2″ to the marketplace.
The Post’s report cites labor statistics and research by the Department of Veterans Affairs underpinning Activision’s plan. Unemployment among veterans just out of the service tends to be higher than the public at large — almost twice as high sometimes. And with civilian unemployment now pushing double digits, the state of work for our men and women in uniform looks even more bleak.
Meanwhile, veterans between ages 18 and 35 are among the targeted audience for most games, and the military has been incorporating gaming technology to train recruits and fight in combat. The Post points also out that Activision has donated games and game hardware to the military through the USO, and doing that has helped identify people with skills valuable to the gaming industry.
The foundation is a nice move on Activision’s part, and the company’s other work with the military is laudable. Game Guy is guessing though that $1 million is a drop in the bucket for our unemployed veterans. “Modern Warfare 2,” which steps out of the World War II scenario this time and pits Special Forces soldiers against terrorists in contemporary fighting environments, could bring much more.
Gaming analysts predict the highly anticipated title will be worth about 12 million copies in advance of the holiday season and bring Activision about $800 million in gross sales before the end of December, even with the swoon in game sales still hanging over the industry.
Game Guy suggests that such numbers could mean many more jobs for America’s veterans should Activision decide it can go without pocketing all that profit.
“Anybody who calls themselves a gamer, if they buy one game this year, this is the one they’re going to buy,” market analyst Michael Pachter was quoted as saying in the Los Angeles Business Journal.
And maybe, when gamers buy “Modern Warfare 2,” they’ll help put a veteran back to work — if Activision answers the call.
So let me get this straight: You are saying the company should be giving more money to the cause? They don’t have to give anything to any cause–they are a private company. The only reason you would even think they should give more is because they are actually giving in the first place…and not a paulty ammount, they are giving $1 million dollars.
Just because the game generates $800 million in sales does not mean their profit margins are going to be sizeable. I’m sure the guys creating the game who have been slaving away working 18 hour days would like to see some of those profits as well.
The company itself has no obligation to give anything to any veterans group, but is choosing to do so out of the goodness of their hearts. They are not responsible for putting veterans to work but they are actually doing something about it, whereas Game Guy makes remarks about how they could do more.
I take it the Veterans Affairs office will be getting their check from Game Guy shortly?
OK, let me clarify: $1 million is a lot of money to spend on video games, or bubble gum, or shoelaces. It’s not much to spend on an entire demographic needing employment — at best, it’s a symbolic amount. And what’s wrong with doing a little more for our veterans? Because even if the $800 million estimate is pie in the sky, we’re talking enough bucks that I’m sure Activision can afford to bless its employees with nice Christmas bonuses as well as give vets a bigger boost.
Again, would you be complaining if they chose to give nothing instead? Take it for what it is: an act of kindness with no obligation. This is where we get the saying “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
Also, keep in mind they aren’t actually paying the wages of the veterans, they’re putting money towards programs to help them find jobs. That money could be used to improve the processes involved, whether that be the recruitment, training, or onboarding of job candidates.
You call it a symbolic amount. Well, so what? Again, they could have chosen not to give anything and I’m sure whoever receives the money will be grateful to have it. When you get a call from those veterans groups asking for donations, do you donate $10? After all, that won’t really help anyone, but it is a symbolic amount and you do so in the faith that others will as well. If you don’t donate, then you probably shouldn’t be complaining.
Yeah David you are right. $1 million is nothing when you compare it to the amount that all the other studios donate upon the release of their new games…errr what’s that? No one else has?
Words like greedy and inconsiderate come to mind when i hear people complain about what they perceive to be a lack of money donated.
Dude, really? Who do you think you are? This private company has generously donated $1 Mil to a good cause and you manage to find fault in the fact that they did not give more. I’m disgusted that you and I share the commonality of liking video games.
David,
As an Army veteran I wanted to personally thank you for the advocacy that you show to homeless veterans in this article. Far too many people believe that the military takes care of all things Veterans after we get out of the service. I am afraid that is far from the truth.
In a perfect world, those who do not have to serve because the few in this society who do keep them from being drafted, would gladly open their pockets to ensure our warriors do not find themselves homeless or hungry. They would understand that while Uncle Sam spends millions turning them into warriors willing to die for America’s freedoms, they spend next to nothing to help them return to the civilian population. They would see the ridiculousness and feel shame that so many Active Duty military members are receiving welfare let alone what happens to them once they leave Uncle Sam’s family if they have not been properly prepared.
I applaud Activision’s donation and hope that other private organizations who are profiting from the glorification of war (as if it is so simple) and those reading this blog who get off “playing soldier” in the comfort of their homes follow suit.
BTW, those $10 donations do help if given to a legitimate organization and so would a “hey thanks for volunteering so that my REMF self did not have to.”
Signed, Army Veteran glad to have volunteered so you can whine about not having enough money, cry about your TVs not being big enough and complain because someone asked you to think about someone other than yourselves for a minute.