Topic: Speed Demos Archive Plans Charity Marathon

[NWR_Lindy]

SDA members will congregate at MAGfest to raise money for CARE.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=20641

 This weekend's MAGfest video game and music festival will host a charity gaming marathon conducted by Speed Demos Archive.  All proceeds will be donated to CARE, an organization dedictated to combating global poverty.    

What makes a Speed Demos Archive marathon different is how the games themselves are played.  Each SDA member performs a speed run through each title, showcasing their well-honed skills for a good cause.  This year's event is entitled "Classic Games Done Quick", and includes many classic Nintendo titles in its lineup:    

 
• Super Mario Bros. 1-3
 
• Super Mario World and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
 
• Contra
 
• Mega Man 1-3
 
• Mega Man X, X2, and X3
 
• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
 
• Gunstar Heroes
 
• Sonic 1, 2, 3 & Knuckles
 
• Donkey Kong Country 1-3
 
• Final Fantasy VI (Final Fantasy III in North America)
 
• The Legend of Zelda
 

   

A total of 72 games will be speed run during the event.  The marathon will be streamed live on the MAGfest website, allowing fans to follow along at home.    

MAGfest runs from Friday, January 1, 2010 to Monday, January 4, 2010 at the Hilton Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia.  The marathon itself starts on Friday, January 1 at 6PM EST.    

This New Year's, prepare to see some classic games played like you've never seen before.    

Starting January 1st, Speed Demos Archive (http://speeddemosarchive.com), the premiere website for speedruns, will be hosting Classic Games Done Quick, a video game marathon at MAGfest 8 (http://magfest.org) ) consisting of 72 classic titles on the NES, SNES and Genesis consoles.  Our goal is simple:  beat every game as quickly as we possibly can.  All games will be played on the orginal consoles, no emulators or turbo fire.  We will be taking donations for our sponsor charity, CARE, during the entire marathon.    

Speed Demos Archive is home to some of the highest quality speedruns you'll find, offering runs of over 500 different titles produced by hundreds of skilled gamers from across the globe.  Twenty of our most dedicated runners will be making the trip to Alexandria, Virginia to showcase their skills live at MAGfest 8.  The marathon will begin at 6 P.M. (EST) on January 1st and run non-stop until the evening of January 3rd.  Those attending the event will be able to watch the action live and in person, while those who can't make the trip can follow along from the comfort of their own home via streaming video on SDA.  In addition to the gameplay, we will also have commentators offering insight into the tricks and tactics employed by the runners as they demolish one game after another.    

Games to be played include:    

- Super Mario Bros. 1-3
 - Super Mario World and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
 - Contra
 - Mega Man 1-3
 - Mega Man X, X2, and X3
 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
 - Gunstar Heroes
 - Sonic 1, 2, 3 & Knuckles
 - Donkey Kong Country 1-3
 - Final Fantasy VI (US: III)
 - The Legend of Zelda
   

In addition, during the marathon viewers can look forward to guest commentary from Phil and Baltes from The Speed Gamers (http://www.thespeedgamers.com), famed video game theme singer, BrentalFloss (http://www.youtube.com/user/BrentalFloss), Stuttering Craig and Chad from ScrewAttack (http://www.screwattack.com) and the gang from PBC Productions (http://www.pbc-productions.com).  We will also be giving away prizes over the course of the event to both live and online donors.    

So this New Year's weekend be sure to come watch some high quality gameplay and help us here at SDA raise some money for a good cause!    

For information, updates and a full schedule of the games to played visit:  http://speeddemosarchive.com/marathon    

About CARE: CARE (http://www.care.org) is a humanitarian organization dedicated to eliminating global poverty. CARE accomplishes this goal through community-oriented efforts to improve education, provide access to clean water, and expand economic opportunity. CARE also delivers emergency aid to war and natural disaster survivors in times of need.