Donations for Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

Hey everyone,

I'm a meteorologist working for the National Science Foundation at Amundsen-Scott Station, South Pole. I've been talking to Drew lately about working down here, and lamented about our exceptionally poor gaming library. I thought that setting up a donation drive for old games you might be wanting to give away to the polies down here would be a good idea.

We do have a pretty impressive setup for gaming here (720p projector, surround sound, lots of couches, Wii, 360, PS3), but have almost no games. In fact, we only have Halo 3, Halo 4, Black Ops 2, and Assassins Creed for the 360 and a four others like Injustice: Gods Among Us for the PS3. As for the Wii, well lets just say I've never seen a more complete collection of bargain bin games in my like (Wii Fit - minus the board, TWO copies of Carnival games, and other bits of greatness in those lines). We could also use a couple of controllers for the systems as well.

I've been in contact with Drew and he has offered to consolidate any games donated and forward them to me. The Giant Bomb address is below. Please send them BEFORE January 2nd! (edit to bring the date forward so we can get the games out in time for the winter no-fly)

Giant Bomb

C/O Games for Pole

235 2nd St.

San Francisco, CA 94105

I think that this would be a great way for the community to come together and help out some gamers in need. Winter (which is 8 months here from March til November) can get boring, and I would love to see this care package waiting for them before they get here. Its going to take a while for it to get down here, so please send in the games BEFORE January 2nd, so it can be consolidated and mailed out.

Also, please post what you are sending, so we can avoid duplicates. If you can, game of the year editions or editions that have DLC included would be most appreciated. Our internet connection down here is circa early 90's dialup, so downloads do not work (30mb file took me about an hour to download). Heck, I can't even download the Bombcast...

And now, PICTURES (ignore the beard, its a harsh continent)...

I'd be happy to donate some games, but I'm pretty sure that the consoles you have down there don't support PAL games. If you have a PC set up I could send some Steam codes. How's the internet down there by the way?

@isomeri: The PS3 is region-free.

I have to look through the "Collecshun" to see if I have some dupes or games I no longer need. If you're a Norwegian you get more games out of me ;)

STOP FUCKING AROUND AND STOP GLOBAL WARMING

Darn, I just donated many of my old games to a library. Wait...I do have a few games...I hope you like Karaoke.

Hmm. I'd like to donate something. Would be easier to just drop it off at the GB office though than send it, since I walk past their office on my way into work. Idk if that's kosher though. I'll have to see what I can donate, regardless.

@isomeri - Indeed, our Xbox is NTSC, and as@nekroskop noted, the PS3 is region free. Thanks for the thought though. Our internet here is essentially late 90's dial up and only works when certain satellites are in view. Anything that requires to be downloaded will not work down here. I had to order Assassins Creed 4: Black Flag from Amazon as a PC DVD copy, then wait 3 weeks for it to show up. Then I find out Uplay requires an online activation, which doesn't work down here. I managed to get it working though.

@nekroskop - I'm not Norwegian, but there are a couple here. I know one works on ICECUBE (Really big neutrino detector in the ice).

@ch3burashka - Sorry, must be the Nazi's in the sub-base under the pole. Those old weather modifications devices get all screwy because of the cold and the vacuum tubes.

@monkeyking1969 - Its gotta be better than the Wii games we have...Honestly, who needs two copies of Carnival Games?

@riboflavin - Well, I'm sure if you work something out with them, it should be cool. Maybe just drop it off at reception and say its for Giant Bomb (while not sounding and looking like a terrorist at the same time)?

Yeah that's what I was thinking.

Also can people post what they are donating to avoid duplicates?

@riboflavin - That's a good idea. I'll adjust the main post. I wonder how we could get this stickied so it doesn't vanish off the page...

I'm sure I have at least a few 360 and Wii games that I'll never play again. I'll take a look tonight and post up anything I have that hasn't already been claimed.

I'll send some stuff for sure.

This is amazing. I bet your angle of space is gorgeous!

Can we just get these guys a PS4 and an XONE?

Someone send them Dead Space 3 and Lost Planet.

@tcsajax:

As long as you don't mind some OLD 360 games, I've got probably 10+ games I can donate.

Question: I have a Wii-Fit board that'll never get used again as well as Guitar Hero stuff. Are items like that too old/bulky for shipping down south? Should we just stick to software?

@brewmaster_andy: Not sure an X-One would do much good with their Internet connection.

I can contribute a 360 controller, Far Cry 2 (Idle Thumbs represent) and AC3. I'll see what others games are gathering dust and update this post. I'll put them in my car tonight and mail it out tomorrow.

@tcsajax Hit up @funranium on twitter if you're on there, he's wintered down there previously and was the bartender as well. He's got some good stories about being there.

Edit: Final tally

Bioshock 1

Far Cry 2

Saints Row 3

AC 3

New 360 Controller (No batteries or cable though)

I have a stack of games I'd be willing to part with

Wii:

• Marvel Ultimate Alliance
• Smash Bros Brawl
• Trauma Center Second Opinion

360:

• Pure
• Table Tennis
• Tiger Woods 06
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Chronicles of Riddick
• Bioshock
• Arkham Asylum GOTY
• Arkham City
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
• Fallout: New Vegas
• Portal 2
• Borderlands
• Saints Row 2
• Ace Combat 6

Want 'em?

Dang I've got a big chunk of games I'd be happy to donate but it's pretty much all PAL 360 games, Lucky someone in this thread mentioned that as being a problem as it didn't occur to me.

This reminds me of the stories that bearded guy who brought Black Blood of the Earth to the OktoberKast told.

Godspeed, duder!

Damn, can I come down and visit?!

Right, so PS3 is region free isn't it?

Assuming it is I'll happily clear out the stuff CEX want to give me nothing for.

So... Anarchy Reigns, Lair, Gran Turismo 5 and Yakuza 4

Realise that ain't the most sterling collection you'll ever see but if you fancy 'em I'll stick them in the post by tomorrow.

Fuck me, sending something to Giant Bomb from the UK with my beard - I'm gonna get Guantanamo'd to fuck here...

@tcsajax: I have to ask: Do you guys keep a copy of John Carpenter's The Thing laying around?

@esrever: someone send them Cryostasis.

Serious question; how often does the plot to John Carpenter's The Thing play out up there? Once a year or more often than that? Remember, when the Norweigian guys shoot at that dog, just follow their lead or things get complicated.

Can someone send them a copy of Dark Souls?

Pretty much everything I had gaming wise was stolen. But I still have a copy of The Sims 3 Pets for PS3 and Red Dead Redemption for the 360, if you are interested!

@tcsajax: Don't take this the wrong way, but how are you guys gamers in "need"? Is this a matter of money or just access?

Is that a plane with skiis?

Shouldn't these guys be digging through the ice looking for alien spacecraft and/or Thor's hammer?

@mb: Well, both kinda, but mostly access. There are communal systems, but like I said, almost no games. I'm hoping to get a public collection going down here.

But you're right, probably not the best term to use, but it is one that everyone understands.

@humanity: Indeed it is. C-130 from the New York Air National Guard specially modified to work in Antarctica.

So it can land on the snow, cut the engines and just cruise?

This is a good cause. I saw no mention of video games on this.

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/frozen-planet/videos/journey-to-the-south-pole.htm

For some reason, it is really hard for me to imagine people and things being at the very bottom of the planet, like they would just fall off, or everything would be upside down. I have no idea why.

You're at the bottom of a planet as we speak!

I traded games for pole once. It was a dark time.

Cool pictures though! We've had about the same temperature as you here in Regina before it finally warmed up today.

don't forget Penumbra. And The Thing game, although that might be too old, I dunno.

Do not let the husky into the camp!

Want me to send you a dvd with all the Bombcasts you missed on it?

I have mostly PC stuff and after listening to Phil Broughton talk about living at the station through a winter I'd agree there's a need for a donation like this. Also glad you guys survived the government shutdown period!

Anyway I have these discs...

-Supreme Commander
-Mirror's Edge
-Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (like THAT game will ever spin off anything)
-Freedom Fighters
-Red Faction: Guerrilla
-Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness
-Homeworld 2
-Your choice of Halo 1 for PC or the Anniversary Edition for Xbox 360
and finally, if only cause this would be a fine moment in video games
-Quake 1 (assuming Jeff or Brad doesn't steal it)

Also someone should burn a few dvd's of bombcasts and features for these guys.

Here's the segment of the Tested's Octoberkast with Phil talking about his time at the Amundsen-Scott Station (They start at around 01:55:00 but the video starts with Alexis and Drew!)
The short version I took away from the video; no matter how good their internet is, scientific data takes priority on the bandwidth!

Lemme know if any interest you and keep doing awesome science Eli!

So this is good timing, I just boxed up my 360 game collection as I wanted it off my living room shelves to make room for new consoles.

Its over 100 games in all and I was probably going to have them sit in a closet. I will probably pull a couple games that I want to keep, but I can probably get a bigger box and ship these off if you want them.

How do you put up with the cold? My worst nightmare right there.

@daggon55 said:

So this is good timing, I just boxed up my 360 game collection as I wanted it off my living room shelves to make room for new consoles.

Its over 100 games in all and I was probably going to have them sit in a closet. I will probably pull a couple games that I want to keep, but I can probably get a bigger box and ship these off if you want them.

Don't do it man! You could get like, 12 bucks, if you traded those in at Gamestop.

Will send you this

PS3 - Stranglehold

Can you answer a few questions for us?

1. How often do yall come across ancient alien ships and/or living aliens who then attempt to save or destroy the world?
2. What's the frequency of murder mysteries you solve?
3. How are the guys who work on the TACAN beacons? I'm interested in a job opportunity down there.

Who doesn't visit GB and the Bombcast. I feel like the guys could have a conversation about like Finnish assassins and a guy would email RE: "I am an assassin in Finland."

Also going to dump my virtual Bart into a box and ship it to the South Pole. ENJOY THIS BITTER GIFT YOU DIRTY POLIES

Is there a weight or size limit when mailing things out to the south pole?

Do you guys ever spend time discussing John Carpenter's The Thing? Like, how you'd handle the situation or any factual inaccuracies.