Xbox 360 Kiosks in Children’s Hospitals Provide Joy, Comfort
In what can only be considered a great move, Microsoft has announced that it has partnered with Companions in Courage Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting children and families who are overcoming life-threatening obstacles, to provide hundreds of Xbox 360 game kiosks to playrooms in children’s hospitals across the United States, intending to provide a respite for young patients. These kiosks will be modified for children, featuring select games, movies and television content as well as access to a private network that allows hospitalized children across the country to play games and chat in a safety-enhanced environment over Xbox Live.
The first wave of these kiosks has already been installed 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.
“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,” Bach said. “The goal for this program is to give these kids a chance to have some fun and just be kids.”
Certain other companies *coughSonyNintendocough* could take a cue from this great move.
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Actually, Nintendo has been doing this since 1992. They teamed up with Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation and through them, have placed more than 5,000 mobile gaming units called “Fun Centers” in more than 1,200 hospitals across America. The newest design, rolling out right now, feature the Wii. They are able to roll right up to the kids’ beds so that it doesn’t matter how sick the child is or even if they are in isolation. Pretty cool. http://www.starlight.org/funcenter