Nintendo donates an obscene amount of Lites/games to Child's Play

[botticus]

That's a lot of shit.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/2007/03/21/#1174501140

[Crash55118]

Wow, that is just Fantastic!

[slidecage]

That's a lot of shit.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/2007/03/21/#1174501140


they probally waited to now to give it all to them so they can write it all off on their taxes.

i sort of find it funny they can give all this stuff away but dont have enough systems to send to stores so people could buy them.... At least they did give stuff away unlike sony

[maigoyume]

they probally waited to now to give it all to them so they can write it all off on their taxes.

i sort of find it funny they can give all this stuff away but dont have enough systems to send to stores so people could buy them.... At least they did give stuff away unlike sonyman i could use a few of those ds lites :)

[nyprimus4]

Awesome.

[help1]

If someone at Penny Arcade were to just take one...

[UncleBob]

they probally waited to now to give it all to them so they can write it all off on their taxes.

i sort of find it funny they can give all this stuff away but dont have enough systems to send to stores so people could buy them.... At least they did give stuff away unlike sony

Believe it or not, only the mentally challanged would donate perfectly good items "just" for a tax write off. Nintendo will get, maybe, if they're really, really lucky, 15% of the value of these systems for a write off.

Meanwhile, as was said, Nintendo cannot keep these systems in stores.

So, should Nintendo sell these systems at full price or give them away for 15% of the cost (meanwhile, not only are they losing the money on these systems, but they're losing possible sales - for example, money donated to Child's Play could have went to buy a DS Lite. Now that money could go toward other items, thus Nintendo just lost out on selling two systems at full price.)

[hiccupleftovers]

Holy moly! Beautiful! Go Nintendo! Now let's see Sony match this gesture with the same amount of PSPs.

[rodeojones903]

I wonder if they ever cashed Cheapy's check.

[Vegan]

So THAT'S why you can't find a DS Lite anywhere.

[botticus]

So THAT'S why you can't find a DS Lite anywhere.At least now you won't be competing with the sick children.

[TahoeMax]

I volunteer at Oakland Children's Hospital and it's kinda wild seeing how much GBA/DS stuff they have just laying around there. I found a little box in the corner of the playroom with 3 DS units, 2 GBA SPs, and around 30 various games...good ones, too :) Good for Nintendo. I think this is totally awesome regardless of the motive.

[VanillaGorilla]

Pfffph, where was Child's Play when I was in the hospital as a kid? I couldn't play Tiny Toons on NES because some other sick kid had it. I hope he died.

[johnnypark]

Holy moly! Beautiful! Go Nintendo! Now let's see Sony match this gesture with the same amount of PSPs.

But I thought the purpose of a charity was to give these kids things that they'll enjoy and want to play with?

...Couldn't help it. To be honest if they were cheaper, I *might* consider getting one.

[yukine]

I see some Mario Kart DS, Tetris, and I think Elite Beat Agents. If I was ill in the hospital, having some LAN gaming sessions would definitely make me feel better.

[slidecage]

Believe it or not, only the mentally challanged would donate perfectly good items "just" for a tax write off. Nintendo will get, maybe, if they're really, really lucky, 15% of the value of these systems for a write off.

Meanwhile, as was said, Nintendo cannot keep these systems in stores.

So, should Nintendo sell these systems at full price or give them away for 15% of the cost (meanwhile, not only are they losing the money on these systems, but they're losing possible sales - for example, money donated to Child's Play could have went to buy a DS Lite. Now that money could go toward other items, thus Nintendo just lost out on selling two systems at full price.)


my tax man must had no clue what they were doing back in the 90s then cause when i gave games to goodwill They wrote out the full vaule of the games. I was able to take the full vaule of the games i gave away

[RAMSTORIA]

wow thats a shit load of stuff. very nice of them.

[R1V3R5]

Pfffph, where was Child's Play when I was in the hospital as a kid? I couldn't play Tiny Toons on NES because some other sick kid had it. I hope he died.

That's the meanest and funniest thing I've ever read hear at CAG. Wow!

[soonersfan60]

my tax man must had no clue what they were doing back in the 90s then cause when i gave games to goodwill They wrote out the full vaule of the games. I was able to take the full vaule of the games i gave away

You get to subtract the entire fair value of the item, but I guess the poster was assuming Nintendo was paying a corporate tax rate of 15%, hence they would save 15% of the value in taxes. It's not a tax credit (which is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your tax liability), but it is a deduction (meaning you don't pay tax on that amount of income). For example, if Nintendo made $200, and had a tax rate of 15%, they would pay $30 in tax. However, if they donate a DS Lite valued at $100, they subtract that from the $200 and only now pay tax on $100, so at a 15% tax rate they now pay only $15 instead of $30. The $100 deduction saved them $15 (15%) on their taxes.

[nyprimus4]

I see some Mario Kart DS, Tetris, and I think Elite Beat Agents. If I was ill in the hospital, having some LAN gaming sessions would definitely make me feel better. I had my DS Lite with me when I had appendisitis in September 06, it was almost impossible to play though because when the IV tube was in my arm it was really uncomfortable to bend.

EBA, MK DS, Big Brain Academy, and Tetris 4 person lan sessions though would definitely cheer these kids up.

[Thunderscope]

Thats just awesome of them, Nintendo has always donated to hospitals btw, I remember growing up seeing SNES and Gameboys in hospitals. I have a friend who was in and out of the childrens hospital when we were growing up...

[David85]

i sort of find it funny they can give all this stuff away but dont have enough systems to send to stores so people could buy them....

I agree, give away some GBA and GCs with shitload of games and not the system everyone wants and no one can find.

[soonersfan60]

I agree, give away some GBA and GCs with shitload of games and not the system everyone wants and no one can find.

That's like donating food for the poor that you don't like and you wouldn't want to eat it anyway... bad karma.

EDIT: I actually love and still play my GBA and GC, but you know what I mean.

[VanillaGorilla]

That's like donating food for the poor that you don't like and you wouldn't want to eat it anyway... bad karma.

EDIT: I actually love and still play my GBA and GC, but you know what I mean.Poor people have no business being picky eaters. Back in elementary school, we would have food drives, and whoever brought in the most items got some lame kid prize, so me and my mom would go to the store and buy about 100 packs of ramen and 50 boxes of generic mac and cheese, and it probably cost us about $20.

[Scorch]

Nintendo is such a generous, fantastic company.

[CheapyD]

I wonder if they ever cashed Cheapy's check. They did.

Meanwhile, I could take over Tokyo if I had that many DS lites!

[sonicfreak5]

Pfffph, where was Child's Play when I was in the hospital as a kid? I couldn't play Tiny Toons on NES because some other sick kid had it. I hope he died.

lmao

[yukine]

Poor people have no business being picky eaters. Back in elementary school, we would have food drives, and whoever brought in the most items got some lame kid prize, so me and my mom would go to the store and buy about 100 packs of ramen and 50 boxes of generic mac and cheese, and it probably cost us about $20.
Ramen and macaroni & cheese is probably the best food they received, people tend to donate canned cream corn and such.

[jer7583]

To be fair, these were NOT donated, but sold to Child's Play at a generous discount.

Still a gracious move from Nintendo, but not a freebie to CP. Especially generous if you consider just how in demand DS Lites are, and how quickly they could sell those units at full retail.

Where's MS and Sony's contribution here?

[magiic]

Ramen and macaroni & cheese is probably the best food they received, people tend to donate canned cream corn and such.

haha Im sorry, I fucking love canned cream corn :D

[yukine]

haha Im sorry, I fucking love canned cream corn :D

Hmm... alright, how about canned lima beans? :lol:

[spiwak]

That makes me so happy. Now I remember why I've always liked Nintendo over the other console companies. At the very least that's pretty sound PR strategy, if their motive wasn't goodwill, but I hope it was at least to some extent generosity on Nintendo's part.

[botticus]

Ramen and macaroni & cheese is probably the best food they received, people tend to donate canned cream corn and such.Actually, it's the worst... no nutrional value. Peanut butter and beans are the best things, lots of protein, lots of uses. But that's neither here nor there. :D

[yukine]

Actually, it's the worst... no nutrional value. Peanut butter and beans are the best things, lots of protein, lots of uses. But that's neither here nor there. :D
But of course, I just mean better in terms of likability. People of low income tend not to care about the nutritional value of their food anyway, hell people with money don't care either.

[Rasen]

To be fair, these were NOT donated, but sold to Child's Play at a generous discount.

Still a gracious move from Nintendo, but not a freebie to CP. Especially generous if you consider just how in demand DS Lites are, and how quickly they could sell those units at full retail.

Where's MS and Sony's contribution here?

That's what I heard. On a side note, does that mean they can't write it off as a tax-break, since they sold them?

[mykevermin]

That's what I heard. On a side note, does that mean they can't write it off as a tax-break, since they sold them?

If they sold them below cost, they can.

[spiwak]

I agree, give away some GBA and GCs with shitload of games and not the system everyone wants and no one can find.
Damn dude, we're talking about sick and injured children here.

[foltzie]

they probally waited to now to give it all to them so they can write it all off on their taxes.

i sort of find it funny they can give all this stuff away but dont have enough systems to send to stores so people could buy them.... At least they did give stuff away unlike sony


Umm... They can write them off during whatever quater they donate them... Of course its probably prudent to sell during Christmas when you have shortages and make a product donation during the slower months*.

*Slower months being relative considering the popularity of the DS and Wii right now.