Mass Effect 3: Space Edition Stunt Will Also Help Actual Space Research

You get to see a lot of wacky PR stunts as a joystick journalist, but I've gotta hand it to EA for this whole Mass Effect 3: Space Edition thing. It's... ahem... out of this world. Seriously. Six copies Mass Effect 3 will be shot into space to get you amped about the March 6 release. Who does that?!

EA does, and bravo to whomever thought up the idea. You'll also be pleased to know that more good things will come of this effort than six fans getting an early crack at the game. EA confirms in a press release that the launches will be overseen by students in the High Altitude Balloon Club at Texas A&M University.

Once ME3 has been successfully launched, the students will take all of the equipment, donated by EA, along to Alaska where they will use it to study the Aurora Borealis phenomenon. The data they gather will be helpful for predicting weather patterns and keeping communication satellites safe from those dastardly solar flares.

The first of six launches is set for this morning at 7am in San Francisco. The rest will follow on subsequent days in Las Vegas (2/24), New York (2/25), London (2/27), Paris (2/28) and Berlin (2/29, because it's a Leap Year!).