Let’s talk about kindness, shall we? It might seem like an odd thing to discuss, but there are plenty of things going on in our world today, including the gaming world, where you might wonder if anyone has any kindness left. After all, we’re seeing people lie their way through situations, blame people and communities for things they never had any true influence over, and others being in denial about what’s happening right in front of them. Oh, and we’re not just talking about Ubisoft here, okay? We need kindness in our world, and The Pokemon Company seemed to remember that.
We say that because on their official Twitter channel, The Pokemon Company revealed that they were donating $500,000 to help with the recovery of California after the devastating wildfires that have been happening in recent months. They also noted in the statement that Niantic had also donated $500,000 to help with the relief fund, bringing the total to a cool one million dollars:
Now, one would be very fair in pointing out that $1 million is just “a drop in the bucket” for all the damage that’s been happening in California, not just over the past few months but the past few years! The wildfires that have ravaged that area have been devastating in all the ways that matter, with people losing their lives, their homes, their communities, and the various habitats and ecosystems that help make California beautiful. It will take a lot of time, effort, and money to get everything to what it was before. So, yes, one million dollars isn’t enough…but…that’s not the point. The point is that The Pokemon Company and Niantic are stepping up to make this donation, which is almost like a “call to arms” for others to step up and do the same.
We covered the wildfires previously when multiple gaming companies sent out messages to their employees to not come to work and to stay safe while the wildfires raged near the areas of their work. Multiple gaming companies were affected by the closeness of the fires, so it was nice to see the company heads prioritize safety over simply “making a video game.”
If the gaming community as a whole were to pull together and give like these companies did, it would help a lot of lives and help with California’s overall recovery. We’ll keep an eye on things to see what others do in this time of need.
