Not too many people know about the Academy Award winner’s quirky artwork but if you visit his website, you get a little taste of it. In addition to acting and music (yes, he sings!), Bridges is an artist, having worked with photography and various art mediums over the years.

Bridges’ TRON-inspired painting is a life cycle, with the question, “What will we do with the grid?” scribbled around it. It measures 46.5″ X 70.5″, and is acrylic on plexiglas. 100% of the proceeds from the painting will go to Share Our Strength.

However, this original painting will not be the only thing up for auction. Bidders will also be able to bid on a limited number of prints based on this painting, signed by Bridges.

The auction is online-only and begin on April 20, 2011. It will end on April 29, 2011.

If you wish to donate money to the No Kid Hungry campaign, visit their website.

Site [Disney Fine Art]

Paizo Publishing is offering very limited, signed copies of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook and Pathfinder RPG Bestiary for their Pathfinder game, as well as Wayne Reynold’s original painting of Nakayama Hayato.

Hayoto is a samurai, one of the new classes that will appear in Ultimate Combat when it comes out August 2011. The new rulebook will also have more combat rules for Pathfinder. All funds raised from the auction will go to the Red Cross, which in turn will use the money to help survivors of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake.

Limited edition rulebooks, especially those signed by the authors, often make good investments. A limited edition Dungeons and Dragons boxed set signed by Gary Gygax sells for $400 at Troll and Toad, for example. Likewise, famous fantasy artwork is pricey stuff and the sky’s the limit for the value of that kind of thing. Here, check out some Magic: The Gathering artwork for nearly $200,000. Although I think that’s a bit much to ask.

If you have some money to spend, this is a rare opportunity to donate money to a good cause in a way that might even be a good investment. The books are currently going for less than $400 at Paizo Publishing’s eBay shop and the artwork for less than $1,000. I could definitely see those prices going higher before the auctions end on April 7, 2011.

Read [Paizo] Product Page [Paizo Publishing on eBay]

Looks like Sackboy is also lending a burlap-covered helping hand to the people of Japan, as developer Media Molecule has announced that they’re conducting five auctions. Four of them involve original works of art, while the fifth is an in-game item coveted by many LittleBigPlanet fans.

The auctions are being held as part of the Play for Japan campaign, a website dedicated to spreading the word of auctions, events, and other fundraisers in the gaming industry to help Japan relief efforts. All of the profits from the auctions will go towards the American Red Cross.

As mentioned, the first four auction pieces are works of art. Specifically, they are concept sketches of Sackboy done by Francis, the chief creator of Sackboy. It’s pretty cool to see the evolution of the little stuffed fella on a bunch of pencil sketches. Each sketch is framed, ready to be displayed anywhere in your home.

That’s not all. Each of the four sketches come with a copy of LittleBigPlanet 2 that’s signed by the Media Molecule team. The covers themselves are one-of-a-kind since they were originally made only for Media Molecule employees.

Now, if artwork isn’t your thing, you can instead bid on an in-game crown. This crown is an ultra-rare costume item that’s usually given as a contest prize. I have seen a lot of Cheaty McCheatersons in LittleBigPlanet 2 offer fake versions of the crown to unsuspecting players because they know how high in demand it is. And now you can get a real one, in the name of charity.

Currently (March 25, 2011), the red-framed Sackboy sketch is going for $305.00 with 12 bids, while the blue-framed Sackboy sketch is going for the same price at seven bids. The yellow-framed sketch is going for $202.50 at 12 bids while the green-framed sketch is going for $167.50 with four bids.

Amazingly, the crown is currently priced at $345.00 with 12 bids. I’m not sure what to think when I see that people are more interested in an in-game item rather than an actual piece of artwork, particularly one that comes with a signed copy of the game. But it’s all for a good cause regardless, right?

Bidding on all items will conclude on April 1st, 2011.

Site [Media Molecule]

A lot of the merchandise are clothing items such as a rare Dreamcast hoodie and a Yakuza limited edition track jacket. Those items have the potential to bring in several hundred dollars by the time their auctions have closed. There are also some games up for bids. A signed copy of Valkyria Chronicles is going for over $100 and a signed copy of Sonic Classic Collection for DS has fetched over $150 by now.

These items are necessarily cheap. Most of them are rare collectible. Where else can you get artwork from Outrun signed by Yu Suzuki?

Below you’ll find a list of all of Sega’s auction items along with their prices at the time of this writing (7:53pm EST). Most of the auctions will end in five days so bid accordingly.

• Yakuza 4 – Official Imported Model Car Kit – $56
• SEGA Dreamcast “Still Thinking” Hoodie – $335
• SEGA Dreamcast Console Bag/Backpack – $164.50
• Sonic the Hedgehog 15th Anniversary Statue – $152.50
• Yakuza 4 – Official Japanese Licensed T-Shirt – $86
• Yakuza 4 – US Promo T-Shirt – $55
• Sonic Colors Demo Kiosk Art (6 Pieces) – $102.50
• SEGA Yakuza Limited Edition Track Jacket – $200
• Virtua Tennis 4 Sweatbands (5) – $15.50
• Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll Promo Poster – $16.50
• Outrun Art Signed by Yu Suzuki – $182.50
• SEGA – NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams Pillowcase – $31
• Sonic Classic Collection for DS – Signed by Ken Balough – $152.50
• MADWORLD GameStop Employee Kit – $56
• House of the Dead OVERKILL Promo “Meat” Package – $81
• SEGA – RARE Signed Valkyria Chronicles – $101
• Sonic the Hedgehog Lanyard – $101
• Valkyria Chronicles – RARE Official Posterboard Art – $500
• Yakuza 4 – Japanese Promotional Fan – $31
• Phantasy Star Universe – RARE Signed Artwork – $375

Auction [eBay]

Rojas, co-founder of popular tech blogs Engadget and Gizmodo, and gaming blog Joystiq, is auctioning a very prized possession: a silver first-generation Nintendo DS autographed by Shigeru Miyamoto.

Marie, a writer for Game Informer, is auctioning an arguably more valuable keepsake: her red first-generation DS with not just one but FIVE signatures by Nintendo big-names. They include Miyamoto, Koji Kondo (composer of the classic Mario and Zelda themes), and Charles Martinet (the voice of Mario).

According to Rojas, he interviewed Miyamoto in 2005 for Joystiq and Engadget and brought along his DS for him to sign. Judging from the picture, it looks like it’s still in great shape and the signature has not faded. It also still works perfectly fine, according to the eBay description.

All the money made from the sale price for Rojas’ DS will go to Doctors Without Borders.

As for Marie’s story, she was presenting awards at GDC 2007 during the Game Audio Network ceremony and had the chance to meet Miyamoto, Kondo, and the others. She happened to have her DS on hand and asked them to sign it.

Marie’s DS also still works fine but is missing the charger. She did mention in her blog though, that the DS has been kept in a glass box all these years so wear and tear is minimal.

All the money made from the sale price for Marie’s DS will go to the American Red Cross.

It must be pretty hard for Rojas and Marie to give up such treasured items. Marie wrote in her blog, “Meeting Miyamoto, Kondo, and the other individuals is still one of the highlights of both my career and life as a geek. I was completely dumbstruck when I walked away from the event, cradling the DS like it was a bar of gold.”

But for both Marie and Rojas, it seemed like the right thing to do. Rojas wrote in his eBay description, “It’s not something I ever thought I’d part with (at least not voluntarily!), but after seeing the devastation in Japan it seemed like a small gesture that might actually help some people in need.” Marie wrote in her blog, “Ultimately, my memories are more than enough to hang on to and if I can raise a donation of any size to aid the people of Japan, it is unquestionably worth it.”

But then again, if Nintendo’s Japan office hears about this story, maybe they’ll send them autographed 3DSes as a note of thanks!

Bidding for Rojas’ DS will end on March 25, 2011. As of today (March 18, 2011), there are seven bids, with the price so far at $265. Rojas also mentioned that he will personally match the winning bid, up to $500, and donate to Doctors Without Borders.

Marie’s auction started a few days earlier (March 14, 2011). It’s currently at 64 bids and currently going for a whopping $2,475.00. Bidding on her DS ends on March 21, 2011.

Site [Rojas' eBay posting] [Marie's eBay Posting]

Photograph courtesy of Peter Rojas’ and Meagan Marie’s eBay postings.

Gary Gygax, the father of role playing games, passed away March 4, 2008, leaving behind a legacy that stretched from some friends playing in his basement in 1967, to millions of people paying monthly premiums for World of Warcraft today. Gygax didn’t just create games, he played them, and who wouldn’t want to take a peek in his game closet, or better yet own something from it?

the_collectors_trove on eBay is currently auctioning off a great number of toys and games from Gary Gygax’s game closet, and the selection covers a vast array of out of print products, most of them still in the shrink wrap. The games and toys all come with Certificates of Authenticity signed by Gary’s widow, making them excellent conversation pieces, even if some of the games weren’t good enough for Gary to actually play.

Looking over the available stuff, I had many memories of games I’ve played as a child, but it’s hard to say if much of this has historical significance. Some things stand out, such as a copy of the Chainmail rules (pictured) , the precursor to Dungeons and Dragons and games for computers that don’t even exist anymore.

Dwarven Forge makes the best tabletop miniature dungeons, and it’s no surprise Gygax used them. Even though the auctions all end late on December 15, 2010, I’m surprised a few pieces still haven’t been bid on—how can any real gamer resist the chance to play with the same dungeon miniatures used by the world’s first Dungeon Master?

Read [eBay]

Wow, people will try to sell anything on eBay these days.

A mom-and-pop video game store in Grand Junction, Colorado, is going out of business and has put up its store for sale on eBay with a Buy it Now price of $30,000.

The store’s owner explained that potential buyers can either buy just the inventory (worth $60,000) or take over ownership of the whole store. He also mentioned that delivery is free if the location is within 750 miles.

The store’s inventory consisted of used merchandise including video games, consoles, handhelds, controllers and other accessories. These include not only current generation consoles but previous ones such as the NES, Super NES, PlayStation 2, Gamecube, N64, Xbox, and GameBoy.

This is a great bargain if you’re also an owner of an independent video game store and want to get your hands on a huge inventory for half of what it’s worth. Or if you’re a really wealthy nerd with a passion for collecting classic games.

The store will shut down on September 1, 2010, though its eBay sale ends on September 10, 2010.

Site [eBay] Read [Kotaku]

Image courtesy of eBay

In honor of the upcoming film Tron Legacy, Parker Brothers Choppers (not to be confused with the board game and toy manufacturers) are building five custom “light cycles” with the exact specs of the ones that will be featured in the movie.

Parker Brothers Choppers is a Florida-based company that specializes in creating custom bikes. Prior to the life cycles, Parker Brothers Choppers created a (non-street legal) working replica of the Batpod featured in The Dark Knight. Unlike the life cycles, that bad boy cost a cool $100,000. In fact, they’re also selling much cheaper Batpods on eBay, which only cost $5,000.

The light cycles will all be black with different accent colors (red, blue, green, yellow, and orange). They will also come with a matching helmet (for cosmetic purposes only, as they’re not designed to protect your head). As mentioned, these will be working bikes, as in you’d be able to actually ride them on the street. Each bike will even have individual VINs. Buyers can decide to equip their bike with either a gas or electric motor.

Potential buyers have only about a day left to nab these life cycles so if you’re a rich nerd then now’s the time to act.

Site [eBay] Site [Parker Brothers Choppers]

The auction was for a 1987 NES video game cartridge but this one in particular turned out to be one of the rarest available. The video game in question is Stadium Events, which is rated one of the top ten rarest games. In addition to being a collector’s item, this particular copy was not only in mint condition, but it was still in its original package with the price sticker.

When the bidding for the video game ended, after about 115 bids, the winner got his rare video game after forking an amazing $41,300 USD.

The recent auction involving an NES console was so successful due to the fact that this same video game was part of the package so that story probably encouraged this new auction, with even more amazing results. It is of note that the original price of the video game was $29.99 USD, so that left the previous owner with a return of more than 1,300 times what she originally paid for it.

Image Source: eBay

Read [Examiner] Also Read [Gamepro]

The auction prize is a special edition Maingear Shift that features one of the last remaining AMD Phenom II X4 TWKR processors, of which only a few dozen were made. One of those processors went on eBay for charity in a previous auction and pulled in more than $10,000. Just for the CPU.

Now Maingear’s building a whole computer around it with signed hardware and software from industry partners including Microsoft, Valve and Psyko Audio.

It will come with a Radeon HD 5970 signed by AMD CEO Dirk Meyer, a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate signed by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, and a copy of Left 4 Dead 2 signed by Gabe Newell and the crew at Valve.

Also, Maingear will donate 10% of all sales of AMD-based SHIFT PCs to Save the Children for the duration of the auction.

The auction ends 09:12:25 PST, February 28, 2010.

Read [Maingear] Purchase [eBay]