Now here is something which makes us smile. A games company with a social conscience.
Budget Britsoft publisher Xplosiv are gearing up for the release of their forthcoming motorcycle combat game, Jacked, the game pits where you get to race and fight with an array of mad bikers through city streets, urban wastelands and mountain peaked highways.
Whilst the irreverent content of the game itself may not be hugely appealing to concerned game-buying parents or motorcycle safety groups – i.e. knocking your opponents off their motorbikes at high speeds – Xplosiv have at least launched an interesting charity initiative to mark the launch. SPOnG is also assured by the publisher that the game with carry an PEGI age rating fit for its content.
The publisher has pledged to donate 30p to the Everyman Male Cancer campaign for every copy of Jacked sold, with the aim of raising £10,000 for the charity. And what with Sony recently revealing that they have sold over 100 million PS2 consoles worldwide, to a predominantly male audience, it does actually seem to make some kind of sense that Everyman should team up with a games company to deliver its important health message to men.
Sure this is a blatant PR exercise designed to generate press coverage about Jacked. But what the hell? If it’s also going to raise some funds for a vitally important charity then we’re more than happy to oblige with the coverage.
99% of cases of testicular cancer are curable if caught early enough, so encouraging men to look out for the signs and symptoms can literally save lives. With prostate cancer, one man dies of the disease every hour in the UK, making it the most common cancer in men.
SPOnG collared James Spice, General Manager of Xplosiv, who had the following to say about the initiative: "Xplosiv are excited to be supporting and raising valuable funds for the male cancer campaign, Everyman. With the release of Jacked, we are not only bringing to the marketplace an exciting, adrenaline filled motorbike-racing game, but with it's huge appeal to the male computer gaming audience Jacked will allow Everyman to target the young male gaming audience for the first time, to deliver their important message"
We also spoke to Philip Black from The Everyman Campaign, who commented: "We are delighted to be working in partnership with Xplosiv through their new Jacked game. It is a new and important way for Everyman to raise awareness of male cancer within one of our target audiences - young males. It will also provide us with vital funds that are needed in order for our scientists to continue their important research at The Everyman Centre - Europe's first and only centre dedicated to male cancer research."
Right, SPOnG is off to the bathroom to play around with our balls. Then we intend to get on our high-powered Japanese motorbike and get out on the roads to cause some carnage. Not really. Well, the second bit, anyway.
We'll bring you a full review of Jacked as soon as we get a hold of the review code.
Jacked will be available from February 10, 2006 at an RRP £19.99 and on XBox, Playstation 2 and PC.
Budget Britsoft publisher Xplosiv are gearing up for the release of their forthcoming motorcycle combat game, Jacked, the game pits where you get to race and fight with an array of mad bikers through city streets, urban wastelands and mountain peaked highways.
Whilst the irreverent content of the game itself may not be hugely appealing to concerned game-buying parents or motorcycle safety groups – i.e. knocking your opponents off their motorbikes at high speeds – Xplosiv have at least launched an interesting charity initiative to mark the launch. SPOnG is also assured by the publisher that the game with carry an PEGI age rating fit for its content.
The publisher has pledged to donate 30p to the Everyman Male Cancer campaign for every copy of Jacked sold, with the aim of raising £10,000 for the charity. And what with Sony recently revealing that they have sold over 100 million PS2 consoles worldwide, to a predominantly male audience, it does actually seem to make some kind of sense that Everyman should team up with a games company to deliver its important health message to men.
Sure this is a blatant PR exercise designed to generate press coverage about Jacked. But what the hell? If it’s also going to raise some funds for a vitally important charity then we’re more than happy to oblige with the coverage.
99% of cases of testicular cancer are curable if caught early enough, so encouraging men to look out for the signs and symptoms can literally save lives. With prostate cancer, one man dies of the disease every hour in the UK, making it the most common cancer in men.
SPOnG collared James Spice, General Manager of Xplosiv, who had the following to say about the initiative: "Xplosiv are excited to be supporting and raising valuable funds for the male cancer campaign, Everyman. With the release of Jacked, we are not only bringing to the marketplace an exciting, adrenaline filled motorbike-racing game, but with it's huge appeal to the male computer gaming audience Jacked will allow Everyman to target the young male gaming audience for the first time, to deliver their important message"
We also spoke to Philip Black from The Everyman Campaign, who commented: "We are delighted to be working in partnership with Xplosiv through their new Jacked game. It is a new and important way for Everyman to raise awareness of male cancer within one of our target audiences - young males. It will also provide us with vital funds that are needed in order for our scientists to continue their important research at The Everyman Centre - Europe's first and only centre dedicated to male cancer research."
Right, SPOnG is off to the bathroom to play around with our balls. Then we intend to get on our high-powered Japanese motorbike and get out on the roads to cause some carnage. Not really. Well, the second bit, anyway.
We'll bring you a full review of Jacked as soon as we get a hold of the review code.
Jacked will be available from February 10, 2006 at an RRP £19.99 and on XBox, Playstation 2 and PC.
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