Line #75 Website/TheSpeedGamers


1	[[http://www.thespeedgamers.com/ The Speed Gamers]] are a group of people based out of Texas, who run marathons of video games to raise money for charity. As the name implies, these gamers don't just play the games, they try to complete them as quickly as possible, and on a live feed without tool assistance. The site also includes {{podcast}}s, a Website/{{Twitter}} feed, and a massive fan-art section. They have grown an amazingly active community that rallies behind them, advertising on news sites and forums across the Internet. Notably, TSG has been featured in an article at [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_190/5788-High-Scores-for-Hope The Escapist]], as well as covered on [[http://cbs11tv.com/technology/gaming.marathon.video.2.1095700.html CBS]] and [[http://www.nbcdfw.com/around-town/archive/Video-Game-Rock-Stars.html NBC]]. In the past few months, they have started to produce original content, including Vlogs, artwork, and reviews.
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3	So far, they have raised over $920,000 (USD) for various charities with the following marathons:
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5	[[folder: List of Marathons]]
6	* Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda - March 2008 - $1,090.00 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
7	* Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda - June 2008 - $1,450.75 for Giggles Therapy
8	* Franchise/{{Metroid}} - July 2008 - $6,123.79 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
9	* Horror Marathon - Halloween 2008 - $1,060.00 for Lupus Foundation of America
10	* Franchise/{{Pokemon}} - December 2008 - $5,923.69 for ACT Today
11	* Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda - March 2009 - $6,235.39 for Ally's House
12	* VideoGame/{{Mother}} - Mother's Day Weekend 2009 - $10,450 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure
13	* Franchise/FinalFantasy - July 2009 - $50,734.63 for ACT Today
14	* Franchise/MegaMan - August 2009 - $7,188.06 for Earthday.net
15	* Franchise/ResidentEvil - Halloween 2009 - $8,349.54 for Diabetes Research and Wellness
16	* Franchise/{{Pokemon}} - December 2009 - $18,358.96 for Ally's House
17	* Franchise/{{Metroid}} - March 2010 - $11,465 for Halton Autistic Family Support Group
18	* VideoGame/{{Mother}} - Mother's Day Weekend 2010 - $10,749.32 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure
19	* Franchise/SuperMarioBros - June 2010 - $57,399 for ACT Today
20	* Franchise/AssassinsCreed[=/=]Franchise/PrinceOfPersia - August 2010 - $10,550.04 for Gulf Restoration Network
21	* Franchise/Castlevania - Halloween 2010 - $6,926.50 for Rocking H Ranch
22	* Franchise/KingdomHearts - December 2010 - $10,207 for Best Friends Animal Society
23	* Franchise/{{Pokemon}} (first two generations) - March 2011 - $15,394.03 for ALS research
24	* Franchise/{{Metroid}} - Mother's Day Weekend 2011 - $8,251.85 for Japan earthquake relief
25	* Franchise/{{StarWars}} - July 2011 - $11,254.09 for Direct Relief International
26	* Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda - December 2011 - $20,001.00 for Rocking H Ranch
27	* Franchise/{{Pokemon}} - June 2012 - $59,324.36 for ACT Today
28	* Franchise/SuperMarioBros - December 2012 - $12,056 for Make-a-Wish Foundation
29	* Franchise/MegaMan - March 2013 - $11,880.50 for Rocking H Ranch
30	* Franchise/FinalFantasy - June 2013 - $32,753 for ACT Today
31	* Halloween Marathon - Halloween 2013 - $14,598.50 for Heifer International
32	* Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda - December 2013 - $17,852.00 for Mercy Corps
33	* Indie Games Marathon (in collaboration with Humble Bundle) - April 2014 - $122,607.88 for Direct Relief International
34	* Franchise/{{Pokemon}} - June 2014 - $32,073.33 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
35	* Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog - December 2014 - $4,321 for Rocking H Ranch
36	* Franchise/SuperMarioBros - July 2015 - $29,027 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
37	* Franchise/{{Pokemon}} (first two generations) - December 2015 - $16,300 for Rocking H Ranch
38	* Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda (Hyrule VS. Lorule) - June 2016 - $40,180 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
39	* Trick 'r' Treat Marathon - Halloween 2016 - $4,553.27 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
40	* VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon - December 2016 - $9,226.13 for [=buildON=]
41	* VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild (Blind) - March 2017 - $2,000.01 for [=buildON=]
42	* Franchise/FinalFantasy (Pixels VS. Polygons) - July 2017 - $33,580 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
43	* Franchise/ResidentEvil - October 2017 - $7,042.69 for Direct Relief
44	* Franchise/SuperMarioBros - December 2017 - $6,518 for ACT Today
45	* Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda - March 2018 - $10,624 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
46	* Franchise/{{Pokemon}} - June 2018 - $17,260 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
47	* [[SoulsLikeRPG Soulsborne Marathon]] - October 2018 - $8,286 for Direct Relief
48	* [[Creator/{{Nintendo}} Nintendo All Stars]] - December 2018 - $9,105.99 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
49	* Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda (Hyrule VS. Lorule II) - July 2019 - $40,180 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
50	* VideoGame/{{Castlevania}} Marathon - October 2019 - $6,000 for Direct Relief
51	* Franchise/{{Pokemon}} (first three generations) - December 2019 - $10,230 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
52	* Franchise/SuperMarioBros - July 2020 - $16,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
53	* Franchise/ResidentEvil - October 2020 - $3,000 for Direct Relief
54	* [[Creator/{{Nintendo}} Nintendo All Stars 2]] - December 2020 - $5028.51 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
55	* Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda - July 2021 - $12345 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
56	* Franchise/ResidentEvil - Halloween 2021 - $4,245.69 for Direct Relief
57	* [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Pokémon Gen 4 & More!]] - December 2021 - $5007 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
58	* Franchise/{{Metroid}} - March 2022 - $3,195 for Zero Prostate Cancer
59	* [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] + Franchise/DonkeyKong - $10,041 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
60	[[/folder]]
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62	They have also ran several marathons for other causes or to thank the community for their continued support. These include:
63	* Franchise/SuperMarioBros - July 2008
64	* VideoGame/{{Mother}} - August 2008 - Lobbying for Mother 3's release in America
65	* Franchise/{{Halo}} - September 2008
66	* VideoGame/MetalGearSolid - June 2009
67	* Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda - July 2010 - To support ACT Today in the Pepsi Refresh Project
68	* VideoGame/EarthBound1994 auction - For The Michael J Fox Foundation
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70	Pending marathons:
71	* Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda - Summer 2023
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73	----
74	!! Provides examples of the following:
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76	* AndYourRewardIsClothes: Prizes are given out to fanartists and top donators, including t-shirts and hats in the past.
77	* AnnouncerChatter: One of the main attractions is the commentators, who'll do almost anything for a donation.
78	** And when we mean anything, we do mean anything. One stunt they're going to to be doing soon as a reward for reaching a goal for their HQ is to carry Oscar (Who, to be honest, isn't the lightest guy in the world, although he's still awesome) on their back and walk a mile.
79	* ArtifactTitle: While they're among the first speedrun livestreamers of the Internet, [[FollowTheLeader live speedrunners have grown a lot in popularity since 2008,]] [[WebVideo/GamesDoneQuick many of them faster than TSG.]] Subverted, however, as according to an unofficial slogan in TSG's community, [[ExactWords "Slow is a speed."]]
80	* AscendedExtra: Phil volunteered to play Twilight Princess when their scheduled player couldn't do it. He's been a core member ever since.
81	* CombinedEnergyAttack: Commentators will often call for the viewers to lend their energy to the player in difficult situations.
82	* DeepFriedWhatever: This trope managed to possess the IRC chat for a good half day.
83	* EatThat: Scorpion suckers, vegemite, hair sandwiches, incredibly spicy peppers...
84	* ElectricTorture: Introduced in Mario Marathon 2012, thanks to an electronic massage machine.
85	* FanArt: Gwellin suffers from terminal fanartitis. If you don't draw, he'll die!
86	* HurricaneOfPuns: During collaborative Skype commentaries, Toast (and to a lesser extent, Tyler Worth) have a lot of fun bombarding Anatotitan with puns.
87	** During the Metroid 2011 Marathon, Tyler initiated "Operation Van Der Tweet", where the community members flooded actor James Van Der Beek's twitter with puns of his last name. It was a [[https://twitter.com/vanderjames/status/67810107681026048 huge success.]]
88	* MundaneMadeAwesome: There was a massive debate about Gravy during the Pokemon Marathon of Summer 2014.
89	* MustHaveCaffeine: Well, when you're playing games for a dozen hours at a time...
90	* PungeonMaster: Toast
91	* QuipToBlack: Mostly imitating ''Series/{{CSI}}'' (Caruso variety.)
92	* RunningGag: Every time a person asks how old they have to be to join The Speed Gamers, the age requirement goes up.
93	* SignatureHeadgear: Phil's hat is a community meme unto itself. Also, Gwellin and his Canada hat.
94	* SpeedySnail: Starting with the Soulsborne marathon of October 2018, they have obtained a snail as a mascot to represent their speed (or lack thereof). Thanks to a donation-funded poll, the snail was named "Molasses".

Context Website / TheSpeedGamers