GDL 2.0 - GDL Gives Back

Regardless of the reference of the title I was in now way influenced to write this article based on the recent actions of Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell, or Randy Jackson. Paula is just too drunk all the time to consider her as a possibility.

I would like to start out just by saying I am very proud of our group and what it has become. In truth I have been proud since I first joined the original thread on Xbox.com. OGD, Original (somewhat) Gamerdad...anyways, I am proud of being associated with this group of men. What we do to help make Xbox Live a better place is commendable, and a core part of the group. To be above the fray and to make it a better place is a part of our mission statement. I believe that while we maintain that mission online we can expand that mission into the real world as a group. And that mission can start out small, with things such as the ideas below, and grow and expand as it is dictated by involvement and passion for this concept...if there is any.


That is it in terms of arcane references, well maybe not, but this will truly be one of my drier blog entries ever. It is something I have been thinking about for a while but never got around to addressing either on the website, or my own personal blog (Xeno Like plug, minus link). It stems from a thread on the gamerdad website and the subsequent friendly and agreeable as always discourse between "the Cho"* and myself. You can view that here.


* The Cho being the a$$ end of team Kokocho, coming to multiplayer of some ilk soon. BTW guys, best viral marketing since "What is the Matrix", lets hope you are more "The Matrix" and a lot less "Reloaded or "Revolutions".

For those who do not feel like they should have to "Let me explain---no there is too much, let me sum up". There was a thread about Circuit City and what it became was a brief debate, that turned into an agreement (between me and 'the Cho", say it is not so!!) that we should organize and let these corporate giants that we do not appreciate a lot of their labor or business practices. We will not just sit idly by and simply complain about what they do and let them know that we will not patronize their stores as long as they continue on said path, and let them know how much it cost them in the past year, and the projected loss of potential revenue from our group in the coming year.

I chose Circuit City due to this practice. It turns out that they are feeling the effects of that, see here. So I am open to suggestions if there are other more current practices by a company that merit our consumer wrath. I for one would not mind helping put the final nail in the coffin of Circuit City, but I am open to suggestions. I would ask only one thing; only join in this if you are committed to following through. I completely understand getting caught up in the moment, but you should only join in this crusade if you intend on backing the concept of a boycott. I want these numbers that I submit to mean something. This is not always easy. Since I first emailed Circuit City about my concern over the issue I have received a weekly discount email coupon. I have not and will not use it. I need to ask for the same stiff upper lip from anyone who would like to get involved in this project.

To accomplish this I would ask you send me:

Money spent on Video games in 2007.

Projected money that will be spent on Video games in 2008.

I will not post or give any information on who submitted what number. What I may do is give a report with $ per state to give the report more context. At that point I will draft multiple letters to the CEO, Members of the board and Regional Managers that fall within the parameters of the group who submit data telling them that we will not patronize them as long as they continue with the practice that we take umbrage with. I will be sure to post the letter on here in advance to get feedback.

I plan on letting them know that the "hard number" is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of impact as we will be sure to have a grass roots campaign to inform people of their practices and join us in our quest. Rather than simply grumbling on a website I think that we can make a difference in the way these companies do business, both with their employees and with us the consumer.

I have had another itch to scratch for a time, and this one may be a bit out there for some of you, but give it some time to sink in.

Have you ever taken in an old sports game or platformer and had the trade value come back, and have it be something that may not cover Chips and a Pepsi? I know I have, and I rationalized it and said, “well this will defray the tax", or "It's better than nothing, I guess". Well I am tired of that I have put a boycott of trade ins. There must be something better that we can do with these games besides send them to the "Island of Misfit Toys". Well I have an early concept, but I need help in fleshing it out.

My thought is that we can develop a program to send underused and unloved games to places where they might be needed. While this pales to a food program, I think it fits with who we are as a community and allows for things we have, and could do without and does something good with it. I am thinking after school programs, Big Brother/Big Sister houses, and long term care wards at Children's hospitals. Again, any other ideas you have would be great to add either here in comments, or in the forum post on GDL.

I think that we should choose one location where we have multiple dads, as a place to get started; Indy and Columbus come to mind. What I would like is to have one person head the project from that location. They would locate and contact potential places that would need donations, and take donations that the community sends them. While I appreciate that some people are collectors and like keeping their games, this gives and opportunity for those of us who aren't to get real value from our old games. If you are in my boat I urge you to think this over. I have about 3 360 games that I would be happy to contribute. Keep in mind we are looking for Teen and below.

I would think that we could at some point expand this to buying new games on the cheap and perhaps getting into sending those as well, but for now, let’s focus on putting our used games to good use. I will look into older consoles when I am visiting my parents next weekend. Nostalgia says keep them, you love them. The man in me says, maybe this could be put to better use...they are in your parent's basement right now, after all.