The "worst video game ever" raised $1 million for charity

This story about driving desert buses, boiled down, in 1:15 minutes.

What's the fuss?

Over $1 million was raised for children's charity thanks to a dedicated group of people willing to torture themselves by playing the most mundane video game ever made.

The situation

Penn and Teller, most famous for being incredible magicians, are less famous for creating the video game Desert Bus for the little-known 1992 console Sega CD.

• The game is essentially a real-life simulation of driving a bus for 8 hours straight from Tucson, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada.
• With no passengers, music, or reward at the end of the journey, it's no wonder why the game was created as a joke.

Since 2007, charitable organization Desert Bus For Hope has used the worst game ever made as a way to fundraise for children's charity. 

• The group publicly streams themselves playing the boring game for hundreds of hours, both attracting donations and auctioning off donated gaming-related items.
• This year, the organization raised $1.19 million USD for US-based charity Child's Play, who improves that lives of child patients by supplying toys and games to hospitals.

Boiling it down

The advent of live streaming made a lot of gamers very wealthy, but also provided gamers an opportunity to do real good in the world.

• Many individual video game streamers often host charity streams where money earned during the streams (i.e. donations) is donated to not-for-profit organizations.
• Dedicated organizations, such as Games Done Quick, have raised tens of millions for charities around the world.

Obviously charity is awesome, but let's not forget the comeback of retro gaming.

• Thanks to modern phones, computer emulators, and the power of nostalgia, gamers love playing the classics.
• Gaming companies have tried to capitalize on this resurgence by offering their own suite of retro games on their modern consoles and even re-releasing their own retro consoles.

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