(Editor's Note: Happy new year! Time to serve this year's first ever QuickJump QuickPeek; now let's party like it's nineteen seventy-ni.. err... 2008!)

Had fun with our barrage of QuickPeek special edition fireworks? Last week sure capped the year on a good note, and this week, the gaming industry welcomes 2008 with its own dazzling display of pyrokinetics - including some pre-CES goodies on the side!

* Article originally posted on Jan 05, 2008 at 02:38 PM.

Nothing like a bit of good news to end the year with a bang, eh? The Child's Play charity movement run by Penny Arcade has reportedly exceeded its projected million-dollar mark for this December. Details on this big news are available in the full article.

Fans of the PlayStation Portable game Daxter who want to help change children's lives may want to look at the auction started by Ready At Dawn over at eBay.

The item up for grabs is a Daxter PSP Entertainment Pack. The product itself was signed by members of Ready At Dawn and 100% of the final sale will be given to the Child's Play charity organization. Check out the full article for more details!

Penny Arcade's Child's Play, a five-year-old fundraising outfit that started out dedicated only to the Seattle Children's Hospital, has now evolved into a full-time charity drive.

Child's Play is now extending its reach throughout North America and five countries. Major online retailer Amazon is also giving Child's Play a boost-up by letting participating hospitals create wishlists of items to give to children.

Read more about Child's Play at the full article link below!

Remember the God of War-style PSP kit Ramon Stokes was auctioning several weeks ago? We're happy to report that the said handheld has been bought, bagged, and hand-delivered by Mr. Stokes himself to its new owner(s) - Ready at Dawn Studios.

Yes, you read that right - the very same devs behind the GoW series of games decided to step into eBay to make their offering bid of US$ 1,725.00. And as previously announced, 15% of the proceeds are going to the Child's Play foundation; That's US$ 262.3 going to charity.

And the good news didn't end for Mr. Stokes with the eBay transaction. Upon arriving at RaD's Southern California office, he got to meet the dev team, and even managed to play the Chain of Olympus demo during his visit. The GoW-PSP is expected to be put on display in the company's new offices for 2008, alongside other "trophies" they've picked up in the past. Wait, they're just going to display the PSP and not gonna use it? Awww, man...

When was the last time you played with crayons? Or wooden blocks? While some of you might think that it's all child's play, Echochrome from Sony Computer Entertainment Japan (SCEJ) might just change your mind.

We've got another video tutorial for OLE or Object Locative Environment from the upcoming video game for the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3. Honestly, after watching the video, this writer thought that Echochrome is all about perspective. Why? In the video, we see just black and white blocks. Then we are shown just how players would be able to manipulate the blocks and how to put a splash of color on them. In the end, the blocks tumble down on the floor quite unceremoniously.

We don't get it either, but it sure is relaxing to watch. Stay tuned for more news and info about Echochrome. In the meantime, check out the video.

 

There was certainly no way in Hades we couldn't cover this specially made PSP. For the most part, it's because we got a couple of tips on it. Also, there's the lovely little bit about it being for charity, so we couldn't help but say, "Yes, we'll cover it!"

What are we talking about, folks? Well, there's a special PSP auction being held right now, with the prize of the auction being a specially modded God of War-styled PSP. As you can see from the above pictures, the entire thing has been decked out in Kratosian awesomeness with hand-sculpted war dogs and omega symbol on the back, and an interchangeable custom faceplate for the front.

The best part of this darling PSP is the auction itself. Fifteen percent of the final sale price will end up getting donated to Child's Play, a nonprofit organization that specializes in donating toys and video games to children's hospitals worldwide.

Currently, the auction is at US$ 1,225, so you can definitely say that it's getting a lot of buzz. In any case, if you want to see a full description, as well as more pictures of the actual PlayStation Portable, feel free to visit the Via link below.

Thanks to Jeremy, PSP Nikos, Keith and psphackman for the tips!

Amidst the bad PR we gamers usually get, Child's Play trudges on to get the world to think otherwise. This year, it has raised around US$ 963,000 for sick children in hospitals around the world.

Child's Play is a Seattle-based charitable organization founded in 2003 by gamers Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, aka Gabe and Tycho of Penny Arcade. The organization donates games, DVDs, books, and other toys to sick kids around the globe, including hospitals in Canada, Britain, Egypt, and Australia. Gamers, or people who simply wish to help, can see the wish lists at Amazon.com or donate cash through PayPal.

This helps a lot of sick kids go through uncomfortable treatments and gives them some sort of relief that they would be able to play while in therapy. And some people think gamers are mindless zombies with cash to burn. Think about it, hitting the one million mark would be a great milestone for all of us.