Operation: Supply Drop

Electronic Arts Rockets Operation Supply Drop Past $50,000 in Donations!

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May 16, 2012

Not to be outdone by GLU Mobile’s insane $3000 record-setting donation of games and gear for Operation Supply Drop (building video game care packages for troops deployed to Afghanistan), Electronic Arts sent a little care package of their own to see if they could beat the standing donation record for our little charity organization.

When I first cracked open the box, I didn’t actually expect anything from first glance at the contents: some older PC titles and a few loose copies of games. Only when I started unloading the box did I see just what Electronic Arts had sent:

Each one of those is a STACK of unboxed Playstation 3 titles (guess that tells you which system is selling better), of which some of them came on those large blank DVD holder cases that hold 50 blank DVDs at a time. I literally had that feeling as I was counting through them that I felt like it would be easier to weigh them as opposed to counting them.

Here’s the final tally of what was in the box:

Battlefield 3 (PS3): 48 copies
Need for Speed: The Run (PS3): 40 copies
Dead Space 2 (PS3): 1 copy (??)
Skate 3 (PS3): 22 copies
Shadows of the Damned (PS3): 16 copies
Alice: Madness Returns (PS3): 21 copies
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (PS3): 23 copies
Battlefield 3 (360): 3 copies
Command and Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath (PC): 2 copies
Alice Madness Returns (PC): 3 copies
Mercenaries 2 (PC): 3 copies
Battlefield Bad Company 2 (PC): 2 copies
Battlefield 2 Collection (PC): 1 copy
Dragon Age: Origins (PC): 3 copies
Dragon Age: Awakenings (PC): 3 copies
The Saboteur (PC): 2 copies
Battlefield 2 Special Forces (PC): 2 copies
Battlefield 2 Booster (PC): 1 copy
Dark Age of Camelot 5th Anniversary (PC): 1 copy

Grand total based on Amazon pricing: $6369.24

Well, that should sufficiently set the bar for future corporate donations for awhile, methinks! Big thanks to our friends at Electronic Arts for helping the troops out with all this gear; we’re going to be awash is Playstation titles for a long time to come!

As of writing this on May 17th, 2012, Operation Supply Drop has raised: $52,064 of games and gear for troops deployed to Afghanistan.

We’re currently in the middle of our LITTLE GERONIMO care package fundraiser,a care package going to Ruiz and his Fort Bragg aviation unit in Afghanistan!

As our incentive to open your wallets if devout patriotism and love of ‘Merica isn’t enough, we’ve got some lovely Mass Effect 2 signed swag to raffle off. From now until our charity raffle/gamernight on the last weekend of May, for every $3 you donate to Operation Supply Drop, you earn a raffle ticket to get yourself some primo Bioware gear (example: you donate $15, you get five tickets, and so on).

A Mass Effect 2 artbook, signed by the creative staff behind the Mass Effect series
2 signed prints of Dragon Age 2 signed by (GASP) Miss Felicia Day (The Guild, also a part of the Dragon Age 2: Redemption live action series)
2 Mass Effect 2 Miranda t-shirts

It’s fairly painless to make a donation. Here’s how, four simple ways to donate:

1) Use the Chipin link on the front of Front Towards Gamer.com. OR
2) Use the Chipin link on the front page of Operation Supply Drop.org. OR
3) Make a Paypal donation to donations@operationsupplydrop.org.
4) If you don’t want to send cash, you can simply send your used games or gear to the following address to make the next care package:

Operation Supply Drop
9301 Alvyn Lake Circle
Bristow VA, 20136

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Permanent link to this article: http://fronttowardsgamer.com/osd/2012/05/16/electronic-arts-rockets-operation-supply-drop-past-50000-in-donations/

Operation Supply Drop’s BLACK JACK Arrives in Afghanistan!

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BLACK JACK, Uncategorized

May 10, 2012

by Shanghai Six

May 10, 2012

How in the…what in the…???

Apparently, the US Army has mastered the art of care package teleportation, because there should be no way that a care package I sent out two weeks ago has already arrived to Afghanistan, but it did! We got pictures back from Cowboy and his sappers from Kabul yesterday. I’m not sure how the US postal service is bending the laws of time and space to get our care packages to these guys so quickly, but I’m not going to complain!

(Meanwhile, still no sign of our care package, code name BIRTHDAY CAKE...hmmm….)

Anyway, here’s what we got from Cowboy:

IT ARRIVED !!!!! I got you a few pics and will take more tomorrow. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!!! My 1SG was very impressed and grateful as were we all. Keep up the great work and I cant wait to get home so I can get on with you guys and contribute as well!

Another day, another care package to put out. We’ve got our May care package, code name LITTLE GERONIMO, is being built as we speak, but it needs your help to make it a success!

From now until our charity raffle/gamernight on the last weekend of May, for every $3 you donate to Operation Supply Drop, you earn a raffle ticket to get yourself some primo Bioware gear (example: you donate $15, you get five tickets, and so on).

battlefield 3, Chaos Eater, Charity Raffle, Darksiders, FTG Gamer Night, Gears of War 3, gotham city impostors, Mass Effect 3, modern warfare 3, operation supply drop, THQ

A Mass Effect 2 artbook, signed by the creative staff behind the Mass Effect series
2 signed prints of Dragon Age 2 signed by (GASP) Miss Felicia Day (The Guild, also a part of the Dragon Age 2: Redemption live action series)
2 Mass Effect 2 Miranda t-shirts

It’s fairly painless to make a donation. Here’s how, four simple ways to donate:

Operation Supply Drop
9301 Alvyn Lake Circle
Bristow VA, 20136

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Permanent link to this article: http://fronttowardsgamer.com/osd/2012/05/10/operation-supply-drops-black-jack-arrives-in-afghanistan/

Record Breaking Donation to the Troops Sent in from GLU Mobile for Operation Supply Drop!

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Little Geronimo

May 2, 2012

by Shanghai Six

May 2, 2012

Typically, it’s a scramble to fill up Operation Supply Drop’s video game stuffed care packages with quality video games. Outside of third party developers like Activision and Electronic Arts, we get a donation of a game here or a piece of swag there from concerned citizens trying to make a difference.

We were contacted months ago during our Veteran’s Month charity drive for the troops by Leah from mobile game company GLU Mobile. They were asking what they could do to help out. Of course, I responded with the usual “anything you can do or send is a help”, thinking that would be the end of it and I might see a little box of random games.

GLU Mobile decided to have a donation drive at their office, where folks were encouraged to donate any old games they had laying around the house. Again, when you hear “donation drive” you think of a box of dented cans of peas and yams going to the homeless. Not too many folks are going to drop a honey glazed ham in that box, and usually, it’s just folks getting rid of old junk from their pantry.

However, the crate of games that landed on my doorstep a week back was a sight to behold. It’s not too often that someone is sending US a care package, but the donation was large enough that I thought it at least merited a mention on the front page.

Based on Amazon pricing, Leah and her crew donated $2838 worth of games to the Operation Supply Drop cause, shattering all one-time in-kind donation records to date for the charity. A great number of the games they donated were included in the BLACK JACK care package that was just sent out over this weekend.

I just wanted to take a second to thank them for all their hard work putting that package together, and encourage others out there to hold drives similar to what GLU Mobile did. Their donation made the BLACK JACK care package a real breeze to get out the door without costing us an arm and a leg, and for that, we thank them!

Interested in helping us build these care packages? Right now, for every $3 you donate to Operation Supply Drop’s LITTLE GERONIMO care package, you earn a raffle ticket to get yourself some primo Bioware gear, raffled off on our May 26th gamernight (example: you donate $15, you get five tickets, and so on).

A Mass Effect 2 artbook, signed by the creative staff behind the Mass Effect series
2 signed prints of Dragon Age 2 signed by (GASP) Miss Felicia Day (The Guild, also a part of the Dragon Age 2: Redemption live action series)
2 Mass Effect 2 Miranda t-shirts

It’s fairly painless to make a donation. Here’s how, four simple ways to donate:

Operation Supply Drop
9301 Alvyn Lake Circle
Bristow VA, 20136

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Permanent link to this article: http://fronttowardsgamer.com/osd/2012/05/02/record-breaking-donation-to-the-troops-sent-in-from-glu-mobile-for-operation-supply-drop/

Operation Supply Drop BLACK JACK Video Game Care Package Enroute to Afghanistan!

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BLACK JACK

April 28, 2012

by Shanghai Six

April 28, 2012

All right, it’s that time of the month! And that time of the month is “video-game-care-package-to-Afghanistan” time! Care package code name BLACK JACK is finally ready to head down range, going to “Cowboy” and his platoon of beleaguered engineers in Kabul.

Big thanks to Epic Games for all the swanky Gears of War 3 swag, THQ for all the Darksiders gear including the $400 Chaos Eater sword we raffled off last week, Ranger Coffee (because HOOAH RANGER), our good friends at Plantronics for always providing headsets without me even asking, and a major contributor who held a donation drive at their office and provided a lot of the games for this package, but cannot be named at this time (ooh, drama)!

: Donated to us by Capcom, Double Fine, Runic and Behemoth. Not pictured here, Orcs Must Die by Robot Entertainment!

You may also scratch your head at the inclusion of a copy of Allure magazine and an US Weekly. Based on Cowboy’s write up last month, there are some lady engineers in his platoon, so my wife added some girly mags to take down the testosterone level of this care package a bit (Don’t worry, boys, it’s still pretty eXTrEmE!!!1!!)

Anyway, on with the inventory! All games listed are Xbox 360 unless noted and are listed by the organization that donated them:

Random Donations/Purchases:
1 x Xbox 360 4GB
1 x Sandisk 16GB Thumbdrive (acting as 360 memory)
1 x wireless 360 controller
The Simpsons Game
Dante’s Inferno
Marvel Super Hero Squad: Infinity Gauntlet
Viva Pinata: Party Animals
Transformers: War for Cybertron
Crackdown
Flatout: Ultimate Carnage
Project Gotham Racing 3
Stuntman: Ignition
Battlefield Bad Company
Tiger Woods 07
Madden 09
Army of Two
Forza 2
The Club
Dead Space 2
Batman Arkham City
Fable 2
Star Wars The Force Unleashed
Halo Reach
Halo ODST
Halo 3
Modern Warfare 2
Scene It: Bright Lights Big Screen
Red Dead Redemption
Saints Row
Lost Planet
Tony Hawk’s Project 8
Street Fighter 4
Red Faction Armageddon
Soul Calibur 4
Big Bumpin
Frontlines: Fuel of War
1 x copy of Game Informer
1 x Those Who Dare by Phil Ward (@raidingforces)
1 x Victoria Secret (ahem)
1 x Allure magazine
1 x US Weekly

Reverb Communications:
Naughty Bear (PS3)
Peavy Jam Remix

Plantronics:
Gamecom 777 7.1 PC Gaming Headset

Kalypso:
Tropico 4 (PC)
Tropico 4
Air Conflicts Secret Wars (PS3)

Activision:
Blur
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Ranger Coffee (@RangerCoffee)
3 x Ranger Coffee packs

Valve
The Orange Box
Left 4 Dead
Portal 2
2 x Aperture Science lanyards

Bioware:
1 x Mass Effect 3 branded Razor 360 controller

Epic Games:
Gears of War 3 (Signed by Epic Staff wow, schweet)
1 x Gears of War 3 fleece blanket
2 x Gears of War 3 t-shirts

Double Fine:
Brutal Legend
Trenched…erm, I mean…Iron Brigade (XBLA, uploaded to 360 hard drive)

THQ:
Darksiders
Darksiders (PS3)
1 x Space Marine lanyard
2 x Darksiders 2 hoodies

Electronic Arts:
NHL 11
NCAA Football 11
EA MMA

Bethesda:
Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

Runic Games
Torchlight (XBLA, uploaded to 360 hard drive)

Capcom:
Resident Evil: Code Veronica (XBLA uploaded to 360 hard drive)

Robot Entertainment:
Orcs Must Die (XBLA, uploaded to 360 hard drive)

PC Gamer:
2 x PC Gamer magazines

Total Care Package Value (Based on Amazon Pricing, Before Shipping Costs): $1969.64

Not a bad haul this month, and going to a good cause. I love this gig: sure, I don’t have time to play video games any more as this is becoming a second job for me, but it warms the cockles of my heart to still be able to help out our boys and girls deployed downrange.

Of COURSE, this just means we’re getting ready to announce our next care package…stay tuned for more details! We’ll be doing another charity raffle/gamernight in the same vein, with the swag up for grabs being a variety of Mass Effect gear donated by Bioware. We’ll make the formal announcement after this next video game care package goes out this weekend, but as you are part of our loyal following actually reading this post, here’s a sneak peek at what we’re going to be raffling off next month to raise $$ for the boys deployed overseas:

A Mass Effect 2 artbook, signed by the creative staff behind the Mass Effect series
2 signed prints of Dragon Age 2 signed by (GASP) Miss Felicia Day (The Guild, also a part of the Dragon Age 2: Redemption live action series)
2 Mass Effect 2 Miranda t-shirts

In the mean time, you want to help us put these care packages together? It’s fairly painless to make a donation. Here’s how, four simple ways to donate:

Operation Supply Drop
9301 Alvyn Lake Circle
Bristow VA, 20136

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Permanent link to this article: http://fronttowardsgamer.com/osd/2012/04/28/operation-supply-drop-black-jack-video-game-care-package-enroute-to-afghanistan/

Operation Supply Drop’s SILVER AEGIS Arrives in Afghanistan!

Categories:

Completed!, Silver Aegis

April 25, 2012

by Shanghai Six

April 25, 2012

Sodding hell, how in the hell did I not post this when we got the pictures back? LaSean and his crew got all the gear we sent them for the code name SILVER AEGIS care package and were nice enough to send us some pictures almost three weeks ago at this point!

Well, actually, I’ll tell you how, we’ve been busy as hell with both the Front Towards Gamer two year anniversary event a few weeks back and then turning around and banging out the charity gamernight last weekend for care package code name BLACK JACK. There just aren’t enough hours in the day!

Next month, we’ll be doing another charity raffle/gamernight in the same vein, only the swag up for grabs will be a variety of Mass Effect gear donated by Bioware. We’ll make the formal announcement after this next video game care package goes out this weekend, but as you are part of our loyal following actually reading this post, here’s a sneak peek at what we’re going to be raffling off next month for the boys deployed overseas:

A Mass Effect 2 artbook, signed by the creative staff behind the Mass Effect series
2 signed prints of Dragon Age 2 signed by (GASP) Miss Felicia Day (The Guild, also a part of the Dragon Age 2: Redemption live action series)
2 Mass Effect 2 Miranda t-shirts
(And before you start asking, the controller is something that the troops can actually USE with one of the care packages, so its going to them).

And finally, some capture from the “Match of the Night” (see also: the game that Shanghai did the best in), which stars Jatosin, Roid Rage Rob, StraVltg and myself pulling an amazing come from behind victory in the last few seconds of the Modern Warfare 3 Dropzone match with a surprise final kill ending. Good times, glad I caught it on tape (come on, people eight views? Really?)