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Web site raises funds to buy kid a PSP

Nine-year-old who dreamed of owning a PSP gets financial help from the kindness of strangers.

Using a nine-year-old's example, gamers strapped for cash looking to own the latest piece of high-tech equipment shouldn't ask their parents. Instead, they should look for a little help from strangers. The Web blog Hoopyrides tells the story of "Jose Luis Junior," a kid who wanted a PSP so badly that he drew life-size pictures of the system (along with his ideas for some pretty wicked games) and sold them to friends for a quarter. He is such a fan of gaming that he studiously reads strategy guides for games he doesn't even own. Christmastime came and went, and no PSP was left under the tree. Hooptyride's author began a fund to make the boy's dream come true, and within two days, people donated enough money for a PSP. Remember kids, the PlayStation 3 is scheduled to come out this year.

62 Comments

  • Montyalbo

    Posted Jan 24, 2006 6:13 pm GMT

    a kid that poor shouldnt be worrying about videogames

    shouldve gotten him a book instead

  • ATMAJ

    Posted Jan 24, 2006 6:58 am GMT

    Well i cant afford a ps3 , high tech gaming pc, revolotion, (do have a 360). and a hdtv. SO????? i have been studying games all my life. and i dont get a psp for free. why dont we just send a whole tanker boat all the way to irak for all the poor kids there huh? i don hate the kid . i like him. but this is just like : heY! lets do a good deed. heY! look at this kid! im happy for the kid , but what if it misses pixels , breaks , what about games and power . i think if you give one kid in you class a skittle you give everybody who wants one a skittle . ( well they make you with there cute puppy eyes).

  • revolution2k6

    Posted Jan 23, 2006 2:31 pm GMT

    hes a noob... walkthrouth guides...teh

  • darknferno12

    Posted Jan 23, 2006 12:29 pm GMT

    Wow some people will believe anything

  • helluvagood

    Posted Jan 22, 2006 9:24 pm GMT

    lol bs

  • Maquis_UK

    Posted Jan 20, 2006 7:11 pm GMT

    pfft. wow ken kethingy of sony must be beaming from ear to ear. how many copycats so far ?

  • ULTIMATEZWARRIO

    Posted Jan 19, 2006 5:27 pm GMT

    i no a lot of not well off people that have psp's but they payed for them themselves

  • Ankaara

    Posted Jan 19, 2006 6:17 am GMT

    I think it's nice that the person was so helpful and generous, but it seems to me that it's just promoting how spoiled children are these days.

  • FusionCam

    Posted Jan 19, 2006 5:03 am GMT

    I agree with chidochido. He got a PSP through charity, which is respectable, I guess. Now who's gonna cough up the money for the games? Headphones? Carrying case? An internet connection?

    Personally, if I was getting that kind of charity, I'd want power of attorney.

  • chidochido

    Posted Jan 18, 2006 8:17 pm GMT

    WHO WILL BUY THE GAME ?

  • Shtinky

    Posted Jan 18, 2006 6:33 pm GMT

    Did anyone else notice all the guns and violence in those images?

  • m33nstr33k

    Posted Jan 17, 2006 6:32 am GMT

    If people have disposable income to get this kid a psp, so be it. Don't hate on the kid.

  • lazlodude7

    Posted Jan 17, 2006 4:54 am GMT

    i wonder.....

  • one-ring

    Posted Jan 16, 2006 7:36 pm GMT

    you see, he is 9 years old and that's obsession beyond reason. that's really FUBAR that they did that for him. really. i mowed lawns, shovelled snow, cleaned garages, etc. and i have about 500$ saved up right now (it was pretty damn hard work) and heck yeah i complained from the stress but i worked for it and that teaches value because money does come off trees because the trees make the paper for the 5-20 dollar bills to printed on them but the point is to actually DO something for it. he was literally begging. whoever donated money to that should be smacked with a rotten fish in front of a large crowd for that. for everyone who WORKED for their games/game systems...etc. should be given a pat on the back because they learned something from it, not obsessed until people got annoyed of their stupidity to just get them one. by the way, even with 500$ saved i'm still going to wait for the price to come down and more of an available selection of games because it's just not worth it at the moment. as a last note, how's he doing in school? what's the point of a psp if he's a retard, not that he isn't one already.

  • nick582003

    Posted Jan 16, 2006 5:51 pm GMT

    That is dumb

  • 1p0d3r

    Posted Jan 16, 2006 9:50 am GMT

    For a nine year old that kid got some killer imagination. Sad that he didn't get what he wanted under the tree this Christmas.

  • gotgame_nz

    Posted Jan 16, 2006 2:09 am GMT

    should have worked him on the grindstone as a cartoonist to pay for a new psp

  • vi3tdynasty

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 11:52 am GMT

    At least some people in this world still cares about kids.

  • cplusrun

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 7:55 am GMT

    Ok, first... reading strat guides for games you dont own is not that weird. It's not like he's trying to figure out what to do in the game, he's probably just interested in the pictures and what not. Second, it doesnt seem like this kid asked for this site to gather donations for a psp, someone just felt like doing it for him, so to say that he is spoiled is pretty absurd, just cause you didnt get yours that way doesnt mean any who does doesnt deserve it. I do think its a little weird how obsessed with psp he is (although im pretty obsessive too, but to do so at that age seems unhealthy), but it's peoples choice to send him cash for his soon-to-be-addiction.

  • Halo2tou2

    Posted Jan 14, 2006 9:35 pm GMT

    if thats the case they might as well do the same for all non psp having kids its nice and all but come on the kid is strange reading stragety guides for games that he does not have and where are the parents its that type ok kid that will commit a crime and the stupid parents will try to blame it ona video game they purchased marked mature when the kid is like 8 GET REAL PEOPLE .BUT that seams to be the new fad for parents of that type its always the video game that made him do right blame the gae for you negligence.

  • killa-k

    Posted Jan 14, 2006 9:03 pm GMT

    it shows how hard work can pay off. good job kid keep it up.

  • Kattleox

    Posted Jan 14, 2006 7:17 pm GMT

    I did that and wheres my PSP? Charging, but I got it the hard way!!

  • Svovlmunk

    Posted Jan 14, 2006 2:56 pm GMT

    Oh yes, that was the days. I really can remember how much i wanted a SNES when i was younger, and how popular some other kids were at school because they had one. Having a SNES was a GREAT way to make some "friends"

  • Eszrial

    Posted Jan 14, 2006 12:40 pm GMT

    Some of you guys are being kinda harsh i mean the kid is overly obsessed with it yah but some don't think that people raising money to make someone out there happy at all is not a good thing at all? I feal that he is obsessed with it and stuff but still just the fact that people would donate for something like that shows kindness is still out there.

  • ajac

    Posted Jan 14, 2006 11:06 am GMT

    Pathetic if he needed some food or cloths I'd say GOOD JOB. But he dont NEED a damn PSP. What about all the other kids whose parents cant afford one and their good people to? Waiste of time. Should have spend that 250 bucks on some family to give them a good christmas not to give a spoiled brat a psp.

  • DarthUltima

    Posted Jan 14, 2006 8:03 am GMT

    I wouldn't be suprised if thats a scam.

  • nemes1s3000

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 10:28 pm GMT

    Glad to see there's still some good left in people. God I hope this isn't a sleazy scam.

  • Xanog1

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 8:59 pm GMT

    Well, apparently getting a kid his own videogame system is more important than giving some other kid in a third world country 1-2 years of food, water, and shelter.

    I can't wait for this kid to turn 21 and draw life size bottles of beer and ask internet forums to raise money for him.

  • Jer_Stryker

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 7:55 pm GMT

    I really don't think it's realistic to expect a 9-year-old (2nd or 3rd grade) to be mowing lawns. About all you have at that age is birthday money (and maybe some kids get allowance). He was selling drawings he probably spent hours on for only a quarter each. It was not his idea to beg for money, the blog site did it because they wanted to. I'd call him lucky rather than spoiled. Spoiled is a kid who's parents just buy him one.

  • Disillusioned01

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 7:11 pm GMT

    While I think the whole thing is stupid and it was a waste of money to give the kid a PSP, I would like to point out that nothing says he BOUGHT the strategy guides he "studiously reads" for games he doesn't own. You can go to the local Barnes & Noble or Borders and read strat guides for HOURS while sitting in comfy chairs.

  • mrbiggy

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 4:54 pm GMT

    wow, thats funny. he supposedly wants a psp badly but spends his hard-earned cash on strategy guides. this sounds like a scam to me, a badly made one. its also hard to believe that hundreds of dollars where donated in 2 days for a cause that is obviously bogus.

  • Lt_Death100

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 4:47 pm GMT

    I think frankeyser is going a bit insane himself

  • 247k

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 4:39 pm GMT

    Hey so what buy me a PS3 when it comes out, I will draw life size pictures of it and have many pictures of it in folders to prove I'm poor and that I definitely need a PS3 cause I'm so infatuated with it...... Come on man you really believe the lenghts that people will go through to get a game console, what happen to the good old days when people and children actually worked hard to get the things they want in life. Try to become an "A" student and let your parents feel the need to really get something you want based on your success!!!!!

  • reaver11

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 4:35 pm GMT

    Man. Talk about a spoiled kid. No, don't ask your parents, who are probably strapped for cash. No, ask strangers for some dough instead. I always do that, but they always laugh at me. I could understand if he was poor or something, but by the sounds of it, he wasn't. Atleast he got a PSP though. Must have been tough to convince everyone to pitch in.

  • Ronin_87

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 4:21 pm GMT

    Whats an encycapetia? lol I am definitely a hardcore gamer by your definition I check Gamespot and Eurogamer every couple of hours. This story is just weird. It's kinda nice but kinda dumb at the same time.

  • d-suhiti

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 4:14 pm GMT

    Now where is he gonna get the money to buy a game(s) LOL. Thats funny.

  • NorthsideBlaza8

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 4:06 pm GMT

    LOL HAIHAHAHAHAHA HES DETERMINE TO GET AN PSP LOL
    THIS STUFF IS SO FUNNY

  • xKrnBoI24x

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 4:02 pm GMT

    Not to be mean, but I saved up for like 4 years for a N64, and 5 years for a Ps2... I am poor and Idk about this kid but its not like he NEEEDS the PSP... if he does save up, do chores, get a job cleaning leaves/snow or something.

  • kmilo_rws

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 3:40 pm GMT

    what a crazy kid! at least he got a PSP in the end.

  • Cartman86

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 3:35 pm GMT

    On one hand its cool that people would be nice enough to do something like that. On the other hand the if he bought these strategy guides then thats pretty stupid. If he didn't there are many many ways to get money. Now if for some wierd reason there is no way then ok, but i wonder about this. Mainly because I know that I would be lazy and not work to get a system sometimes. Still if this kid is that obsessed and is a hardcore gamer then ok. And by hardcore gamer I don't mean that he plays everything or something. I define hardcore as a fan of the art. Just like someone who goes on imdb and just randomly will start playing their own little 6 six of Kevin Bacon with movies. A hardcore gamer will do that on gamespot or ign or something. At least half of a week he/she will be checking out all the latest news. They will retain that information and be a basic encycapetia. They don't have to know everything about every game. Like for me RTS games are just boring. Yet I try and know as much as I can about them. Because I get a good feeling about knowing the history of the industry. I guess since I am starting to work in the industry makes me feel that way.

    Oh man did I go off on a tangant.

  • Khimarhi

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 3:29 pm GMT

    i want an hdtv anyone want to help me save for one?

  • Gekko101

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 3:19 pm GMT

    lol psp
    They should get him a DS

  • snyper16

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 3:12 pm GMT

    MrSelf_Destruct, I totally agree

  • darkheart73

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 3:11 pm GMT

    ...thats cheap....

  • Shinwei

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 2:59 pm GMT

    So... what non M-rated games are out for the PSP for this kid to play?

  • MrSelf_Destruct

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 2:59 pm GMT

    WTF, a kid that reads strategy guides for games he doesn't own and draws pictures of PSPs needs professional help, not a PSP.

  • D4rThx_xR3Lik

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 2:56 pm GMT

    Dedication wow, I won't be surprised if he gets a car or a house when he is older.

  • NeoJedi

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 2:54 pm GMT

    I'm happy for the kid, it proves that there are still some caring people out there today.

  • dwmorrow

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 2:53 pm GMT

    Nice scam.

  • RiderGino

    Posted Jan 13, 2006 2:52 pm GMT

    good for that kid hope he enjoys it as much as he thought he would

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