14 DAY TRIAL // We are really glad to see that Microsoft doesn't spend all the time thinking about the Grand Theft Auto IV war and the ways of winning it, but also cares about those kids who are less lucky than others. The company has announced a partnership with the Companions in Courage Foundation which would have as result the distribution of hundreds of Xbox 360 game kiosks to children's hospitals in order to offer them the means of forgetting for a while about their problems and have a good time playing games or watching movies. Also, the Xbox 360 kiosks will provide access to a private network for hospitalized children, which will allow them to play online games and chat in a 100% safe environment.
The first kiosks will be installed today at Morgan Stanley Children?s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian, Children?s Hospital & Regional Medical Center of Seattle and the Children?s Hospital of Orange County in California. All the Xbox 360 consoles in the kiosks are pre-loaded with games rated E and E10+, as well as Y-rated TV programs and G-rated movies.
"Microsoft is committed to keeping kids entertained in a variety of ways within a safer gaming environment, so partnering with Companions in Courage to offer children in hospitals a way to connect through something as universal as games is a natural fit for the work we do," said Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. "The goal for this program is to give these kids a chance to have some fun and just be kids."
All the Xbox consoles which will be sent to children's hospitals are also pre-loaded with headsets and Xbox Live Vision Cameras, allowing patients to communicate over the dedicated network. However, there will be lots of restrictions in order to keep the environment safe: even though kids can play over Xbox Live, the chat is limited to those playing from hospitals. Also, the Family Settings will be used to restrict access to content outside ratings parameters, as well as the times during which patients can use the kiosks or consoles.