ESA Foundation Raises $900,000 At “Nite To Unite – For Kids”

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Funds Raised for Children’s Charities and College Scholarships

NOVEMBER3, 2011 – WASHINGTON, DC – The Entertainment Software Association (ESA)Foundation today announced its 14^thannual “Nite to Unite – forKids” gala raised $900,000 to support the Foundation’s work on behalf ofAmerica’s youth. The proceeds from the annual dinner, auction and charitycasino night will enable the ESA Foundation, the video game industry’s philanthropicarm, to improve the lives of children through grants to a wide variety oforganizations, as well as a college scholarship program.

“Thanks to the video game industry’s generosity, the ESAFoundation has raised more than $12 million since its founding, demonstrating thecommitment of our industry’s leadership to creating opportunities for childrenacross the country,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA, thetrade association that represents U.S. computer and video game publishers. “Thistremendous generosity allows the ESA Foundation to support outstandingcharitable organizations that make creative use of video games to educate our children,and to help tomorrow’s innovators receive the training they need to succeed.”

Thesold-out gala, which took place October 25 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel inSan Francisco, honored Mike Morhaime, president, CEO and co-founder of BlizzardEntertainment, Inc. Over the past two decades, Morhaime transformed Blizzardfrom a third-party developer into a global enterprise while working to improvethe quality of life of children with life-threatening conditions through his supportfor the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In recognition of his work, Mr. Morhaimereceived the 2011 ESA Champion Award and joins Microsoft Corporation’s Robbie Bach,Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, Sony Computer Entertainment’s Ken Kutaragi and fameddirector George Lucas, among other honorees.

Theco-chairs for the 2011 event were Laurent Detoc, president of UbisoftEntertainment, Inc.; Shinji Hirano, president of Konami Digital Entertainment,Inc.; and Mike Fischer, president and CEO of Square Enix, Inc. InternationalData Group (IDG) and GamePro sponsored the casino night portion of the evening.

The2011 ESA Foundation beneficiaries are:

• Ball State UniversityFoundationis creating video games to enrich social studies instruction that are availableat no cost to schools and libraries.

• Brown UniversityDepartment of Computer Scienceis creating an afterschool program to teachalgebraic and geometric concepts through game design.  

• The ColonialWilliamsburg Foundationis expanding its portfolio of games and activities toteach children about American colonial history.

• Federation ofAmerican Scientistsis creating a game to deepen students’ understanding of biology.  

• Games for Changeadvocates for makingand supporting video games for social good.  

• HopeLab Foundationdevelops video gamesto educate children about cancer.  

• iCivics, which promotescivic participation and leadership through computer games.  

• Inspire USAFoundationdesigns and delivers games to promote mental health and prevent teen suicide.  

• Institute of Playseeks to activatethe next generation of engaged citizens and learners by leveraging the power ofcomputer and video games.

• RensselaerPolytechnic Instituteis investigating new types of education and learning behaviors utilizing videogames.

• Smithsonian AmericanArt Museumwill premiere its “The Art of Video Games” exhibition in 2012.

• ThanksUSAis a non-partisan,charitable organization that provides scholarships and education to children ofthe serving in the U.S. armed forces. 

• Tiger Woods LearningCenter Foundation,which delivers youth education opportunities and scholarships.

• Web Wise Kidsis expanding itssuite of computer games that educates children and caregivers on Internetsafety topics, including cyber bullying.

• World Wide Workshopharnesses thepotential of computer games to improve learning, leadership and livelihoodskills of underserved children and youth.

TheESA Foundation was created by the American entertainment software industry toprovide opportunities that can make a difference in the lives of America’syouth. The Foundation is fully supported by proceeds from their limited editioncharity game pack’s sales and "Nite to Unite - for Kids," its annualfundraiser. For more information about the ESA Foundation, please visitwww.theESA.com/foundation.

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