Never let it be said that gamers aren't a caring lot.

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  • Fight For Relief

Last night my pal (and true arcade aficionado) Jared Rea tipped me off about a charity fighting game tournament he and a group of like-minded virtual pugilism fanatics are organizing in California on April 3. I could write a thousand words and not explain it as well as the tourney's site does, so hit the jump for a verbatim explanation of why you've just found your good deed for the year.

Direct from the Fight For Relief site:

On April 3, Northern and Southern California, along with the greater fighting game community, will gather for a day of charity fighting game tournaments called “Fight for Relief” to benefit relief efforts in Japan. Our hope is to support not only our fighting game compatriots and enthusiast in Japan but also everyone who was affected by the devastating earthquake and ensuing Tsunami.

For the first time, two of the fighting game community’s premier streaming groups, iPLAYWINNER and Level | Up Series, in cooperation with Etrium Gaming District and the Fighting Gamers @ UCI, will be collaborating to broadcast an entertaining online show featuring giveaways, special guest interviews and top-level play in Super Street Fighter 4 and Marvel vs Capcom 3 from the likes of EG Justin Wong, Alex Valle and other competitive legends — all with the intention of raising awareness and donations along the way.

All proceeds and donations raised from Fight for Relief will go towards a collective fundraiser on GlobalGiving.org, a website dedicated to social change and helping victims of natural disasters. More specifically, donations and proceeds will go towards a direct fund dedicated to Japan Earthquake and Tsunami relief efforts.

Through this event fighting game competitors and gamers alike will come together through our favorite hobby to help our fellow man in need. For more information on how to help us spread the word and maximize the impact of our donations, please visit the Connect page. If you’re located near our events in Union City or Irvine, California, please read the information located on this website and come out to support this amazing cause. For everyone else, we look forward to seeing you live via justin.tv/fightforrelief on April 3.

Let's recap: On April 3, from 1PM until 11PM Pacific Time, a group of the best virtual fighters in the world are going to be putting on a show live via Internet, with all proceeds going to help the victims of the recent disaster in Japan.

Witnessing Justin Wong's Wolverine utterly murder people (seriously, the dude is like some kind of horrifying video game death machine) is reason enough to make sure you tune in, but being able to simultaneously aid earthquake and tsunami victims should just about burn this thing indelibly into your schedule.

Still need more info? Have a look at this or check out the event's Facebook page.