[effigies]

I doubt it, but we're talking about gamers here. They are being inspired to give because it fits in with their hobby and there's a giant progress bar that they can do their part to bump a little higher every year. This is not to say that their charitable impulses are so narrow in scope and that they don't care about medicine and the like -- and I would wager that many donate to multiple charities, some of which might even do what you say -- but rather that this is a particularly inspiring charity that caters to community tendencies.

Child's Play started quite small, and to be frank, $3M is still a relatively small sum of money, particularly when you consider the number of hospitals over which it is distributed. However, it is consistently growing, and it might make sense to widen its scope, at some point. I would personally organize it like an RPG, and you can dump points (Earth monies) into games, medicine, etc. It would be consistent with the leveling impulse which I think Child's Play is harnessing, as well as giving people the option to decide among games and medicine and whatever other goals might be presented. I think you would see a fair bit redirected toward medicine, as people who are given the choice are obviously going to recognize that it is an important goal as well, but it wouldn't drive away people attracted to Child's Play for what it is now.