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It’s a bizarre and humorous tradition for a good cause. World of Warcraft’s Running of the Gnomes calls upon gamers to create level one gnome characters and make a dangerous expedition to support charity. While this was previously just a community run event, Blizzard has come out and supported Running of the Gnomes with a fun (and official) event.

Gnomes start in New Tinkertown, run to Ironforge, and progress to Stormwind via the Deeprun Tram. The rag-tag group of gnomes then makes their way south through Stranglethorn Vale, eventually ending their journey (with many deaths along the way) at Booty Bay.

Running of the Gnomes supports Cleveland Clinic’s Tuohy Vaccine, and the accompanying Running of the Trolls event supports the Trevor Project, an important 24 hour suicide hotline for LGBT Youth.

As mentioned above, Blizzard has officially supported Running of the Gnomes by including an achievement for running through 40 gates and crossing the finish line. Accompanying the race will be accompanying decorations and other regalia befitting the epic trek of World of Warcraft’s gnomes.

In an interview with PVP Live, the event’s founder Dravvie expressed her appreciation and shock and how big the event as grown.

“Some people donate what they want to the run, but some people pledge to donate a certain amount per person who shows up. When we first started out, we pledged to donate ‘small change’ as a joke about Gnomes, where people would say that they’d donate a penny/nickle/dime/quarter per gnome that was there. Some still do! That’s why you see odd donation numbers sometimes!…I feel really honored that that this small, fun charity event that I started years ago with some friends has turned into such an installation in the community that Blizzard saw fit to make it a holiday. It’s neat to think that so many people that wouldn’t have otherwise known about the event will get to experience it! Looking at the PTR, they didn’t even change the route. I’m so touched to know that the staff at Blizzard have come to love the event like I and the community do. Honestly, I just feel humbled and grateful.”

World of Warcraft’s Running of the Gnomes has grown from an initial population of 144 gnomes to over 2,860 gnomes last year. This number is only guaranteed to grow as Blizzard gives the event official support and a significant cosmetic update.

Will you guys be running a gnome for a good cause? Sound off in the comments below!

As Editor here at GeekReply, I'm a big fan of all things Geeky. Most of my contributions to the site are technology related, but I'm also a big fan of video games. My genres of choice include RPGs, MMOs, Grand Strategy, and Simulation. If I'm not chasing after the latest gear on my MMO of choice, I'm here at GeekReply reporting on the latest in Geek culture.

Gaming

Sony Has a “Monopoly” on the High-End Japanese Gaming Market, According to a US Senator

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The never-ending saga surrounding Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard has a new participant.  Today, Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from the state of Washington, said some things about the subject that were hard to understand.

The senator, whose remarks were reported on by ResetEra, spoke at a Senate finance committee hearing on “the president’s 2023 Trade Policy Plan,” which we are sure was quite interesting.

Senator Cantwell said that she had been told that Sony “controls a monopoly of 98% of the high-end game market” despite the fact that “Japan’s government has allowed Sony to engage in blatant anti-competitive conduct through exclusive deals and payments to game publishers, establishing games that are among the most popular in Japan.”

This 98% statistic is highly deceptive because it ignores PC, Nintendo, and mobile games and instead refers to Sony’s adoption rate over Microsoft in Sony’s native country of Japan, a fact that shouldn’t surprise anyone who is even somewhat familiar with the video game business.

What can we do to rectify these problems and create a level playing field, she said of US Trade Representative Katherine Tai after charging Japan’s Federal Trade Commission with improperly failing to look into this purported “exclusionary conduct”?

It is absurd to claim that Sony has a monopoly on the Japanese video game market, as Luke Plunkett of Kotaku correctly points out, “because Sony doesn’t even have a 98% share of the market for the God of War series, a title they own, as Steam is getting 30% of every sale on PC.”

It goes without saying that we can’t expect elected officials to be experts in every field, but this is a visible step at a time when the ongoing attempt to buy the company is at a very important point.

Is it significant that Microsoft, along with Nintendo, maintains its headquarters in Redmond, Washington—Senator Cantwell’s district—or that Microsoft has given Cantwell more than $500,000 over the past two decades?  Let us leave that up to you.

 

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Consoles

Eating trash, Pizza Possum destroys the PS5

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Pizza Possum is an arcade action game in which you, a possum, attempt to consume as much trash as you can without being discovered.  It is a web-based sequel to the anarchy simulator Untitled Goose Game.It will eventually be available on the PS5.

We couldn’t help but notice that the possum in the title doesn’t look like the cute Australian possum that comes out at night to visit people.On the other hand, it looks like the horrible North American opossums are the ones that will attack trash cans and cause general chaos.Even though we think the second choice was better in terms of theme, we prefer the first one and are happy to explain why.

Your thoughts on Pizza Possum?  Does it possess the necessary mass appeal to successfully skitter along the back fenceline while setting the dog off in the process?

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Consoles

The Mercenaries, a free piece of DLC for Resident Evil 4 Remake, launches on April 7

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Resident Evil 4 is now out, and the excellent remake can be bought right away.Even though you probably plan to play it all this weekend, you can take comfort in the fact that The Mercenaries, Resident Evil’s almost-required challenge mode, will be available as free DLC on April 7.

The mode’s exact details are still unknown, but if it’s anything like previous versions, you can expect some pretty hard tasks to test your skills.

You’re stumped about something? If you are still debating whether to purchase Resident Evil 4 Remake, be sure to look at our exhaustive guide for the answer or our in-depth review. Are you spending this weekend playing Resident Evil 4? Are you anticipating The Mercenaries?

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