If you remember the Legend of Zelda marathon that took place a while back, the same folks are back with another one. On July 10 at 6pm EDT (3pm PDT), The Returners will be holding a RPG marathon, consisting of 72 hours of role-playing games from the Nintendo 64 era and earlier; the current list of games includes Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy IX, though the list may grow as the date approaches. The marathon will be raising money for Child’s Play, a charity founded by webcomic Penny Arcade that seeks to provide entertainment to children’s hospitals in the form of video games for the patients, among other things. Donations will run from July 6 to July 20 and will go entirely to the charity; donators will need either a PayPal account or a credit card. The marathon will be streamed live at their website.
According to the Returners, "we exist as a fundraising group dedicated to raising money for various organizations through the medium of video game marathons streamed live over the Internet. We provide entertainment for our viewers, including a live commentary feed so that they can interact with the members of our group and a method to actively donate. We strive to provide a suitable and courteous environment in which to show that video games are not always as bad as the media might otherwise suggest and to provide people with a place they can come together to watch something they might enjoy while being able to donate to worthy causes and help out the community while enjoying themselves."
Child’s Play has always seemed like a worthy cause to me, and besides that, I like watching people play games over the internet. Here’s hoping they decide to add Earthbound to the list.
