Mass Effect 3 Copies Tied To Weather Balloons And Sent Aloft

I have played both the first and second titles in the Mass Effect franchise and these are some my favorite games ever. Being a gaming geek, I even read the book that launched about the same time as the original game. Any fan of the franchise knows the third installment is coming on March 6. If you want to get your hands on the game a full week before it hits stores, you don't need to be professional game reviewer; you just need to have some spare time.

EA is using one of the coolest marketing gimmicks I have ever seen to promote Mass Effect 3. The company has taken copies of the game, attached them to weather balloons, and then sent the weather balloons way up into the Earth's atmosphere. The balloons will be launched in New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Berlin, London, and Paris.

If you're in those cities and can find the balloons once they come back to earth, you get keep the copy of the game. How bad would it suck if you found the balloons only to discover it was the wrong format for your console? Each of the games has a GPS tracking device and the fans can track where they land using the Mass Effect website and then go find a copy. I can only imagine what one of these copies could sell for on eBay. I tried to talk Chris Davies, who lives in London, into tracking the game and sending it to me but he refused. He's off my Christmas list for sure.

[via USA Today]