TheSpeedGamers

Last updated
TheSpeedGamers
TSG logo 2016.png
GenreGaming Marathon Group
Date(s)2008-present
FrequencyQuarterly Each Year
Location(s) Arlington, Texas
Years active11
InauguratedMarch 14, 2008 (2008-03-14)
FoundersBritt LaRiviere & Chase LaRiviere
Most recentJuly 2019
Website www.tsg.tv

TheSpeedGamers (also abbreviated as TSG or TSG.TV) is a group of video gamers based out of Arlington, Texas, who raise money for various charities. They accomplish this by streaming live marathons of video games on Twitch (formerly Justin.tv). The group was founded by Britt LaRiviere in early 2008 and still hosts marathons regularly through the year. Viewers can interact with the commentators and other viewers via chat on Twitch. The group has raised over $940,000.00 for more than 20 different charities.

Contents

History

Britt LaRiviere founded the group in March 2008. LaRiviere originally imagined the site as a source for gaming reviews, but over time, the idea evolved into forming a marathon group. Finally, they decided that if they ran marathons, then they should do it for a worthy cause. They adopted a Speedrun mentality and ran their first marathon, with a Zelda theme. [1] Since then, the group has continued on for over nine years, hosting multiple marathons and still going strong . [2]

On January 24, 2014, TheSpeedGamers re-branded themselves as TSG.TV with an ongoing overhaul of their website, forums, and other features. To mark the re-branding, the group did an unannounced 24-hour marathon of Sonic and Mario games, raising money for Mercy Corps. Donors had the option to apply their donation toward a total for Mario or a total for Sonic. At the end of the 24 hours, the respective totals were applied as a handicap system for a 40-minute computer-controlled Super Smash Brothers match between Mario and Sonic. The winner of that match would be the franchise for the December 2014 72-hour marathon, raising money for the Rocking H Ranch. Sonic won both the significant majority of the donations and the match, and the December marathon was for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.

TSG 24/7 and Streams

Starting in February 2011, TheSpeedGamers started a 24/7 stream. Unlike marathons, no money was being raised. Also unlike marathons, games weren't continually being played. Instead, various music was played while the TheSpeedGamers' fans can chat in the chat room on Justin.tv. For a couple hours each day, Britt or Chase played games as part of an ongoing Let's Play. For the 7 days of the week, they usually played a different game each day. Then, the next week they picked up where they left off the previous week, thus making it a once a week Let's Play update. As of the end of the Metroid Marathon 2011, TheSpeedGamers stopped the 24/7 streams until further notice.

On Labor Day 2011, TheSpeedGamers once again started TSG 24/7. In the fall of 2011, TSG 24/7 became TSG Present!, a more occasional stream than the previous continuous efforts.

Notable Marathons

Marathon and Special Event List

MarathonDateLengthCharityMoney Raised
1The Legend of Zelda Marathon IMarch 14–17, 200872 Hours St. Jude Children's Research Hospital $1,090.00 [3]
2The Legend of Zelda Marathon IIJune 13–16, 200872 HoursGiggles Therapy$1,450.75
3Mario Marathon 2008July 11–13, 200848 HoursNoneN/A
4Metroid Marathon 2008August 15–18, 200872 Hours St. Jude Children's Research Hospital $6,123.79
5Mother/Earthbound Marathon 2008August 28–31, 200855 HoursNone; support of American localization (PK Siege)N/A
6Halo MarathonSeptember 26–27, 200824 HoursNoneN/A
7Halloween Marathon 2008October 31-November 2, 200848 Hours Lupus Foundation of America $1,060.00
8Pokémon Marathon 2008December 19–22, 200872 HoursACT Today!$5,923.69 [11]
9The Legend of Zelda Marathon 2009March 13–16, 200972 HoursAlly's House$6,235.39 [12]
10Mother/Earthbound Marathon 2009May 15–18, 200972 Hours Susan G. Komen for the Cure $10,586.00 [13]
11Metal Gear MarathonJune 19–22, 200972 HoursNoneN/A
12Final Fantasy Marathon 2009July 17–24, 2009168 HoursACT Today!$50,734.63 [5] [6] [14] [15]
13Mega Man Marathon 2009August 14–17, 200972 Hours Earth Day Network $7,188.06[ citation needed ]
14Resident Evil Marathon 2009October 30-November 1, 200949 Hours (due to Daylight Saving Time)Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation$16,349.54 [16]
15Pokémon Marathon 2009December 18–21, 200972 HoursAlly's House$18,395.96
16Metroid Marathon 2010March 12–15, 201072 HoursHalton Autistic Family Support Group (HAFS)$11,616.50
17Mother/Earthbound Marathon 2010May 7–10, 201048 Hours Susan G. Komen for the Cure $10,749.32
18Mario Marathon 2010June 11–19, 2010189 Hours (due to 21-hour extension)ACT Today!$57,399.00 [10] [17]
The Summer of ZeldaJuly 1-August 1, 201027 Nightly StreamsACT Today!$20,000.00 *
19Assassin's Creed/Prince of Persia MarathonAugust 20–23, 201072 HoursGulf Restoration Network$10,550.04
Community Stream Month 2010October 2010N/AACT Today!$2,075.00
20Castlevania Marathon 2010October 29–31, 201048 HoursRocking H Ranch$6,926.50
21Kingdom Hearts MarathonDecember 17–20, 201072 HoursBestFriends.org$10,624.65
22Retro Pokémon Marathon 2011March 11–14, 201172 Hours ALS Association $15,394.03
23Metroid Marathon 2011May 6–9, 201172 HoursCivic Force$8,251.85
24Star Wars MarathonJuly 8–15, 2011168 Hours Direct Relief $11,254.09
25The Legend of Zelda Marathon 2011December 16–20, 2011 [18] 96 Hours (24-hour extension)Rocking H Ranch$20,016.00 [8]
26Pokémon Marathon 2012June 15–22, 2012168 HoursACT Today! [10] $59,324.36
27Mario Marathon 2012December 14–17, 201272 Hours Make-A-Wish Foundation [10] $12,056.00
28Mega Man Marathon 2013March 8–12, 201396 Hours (24-hour extension)Rocking H Ranch$11,880.50
29Final Fantasy Marathon 2013June 24-July 1, 2013 [2] 168 HoursACT Today! [10] $32,753.00
30Halloween Marathon 2013October 18–21, 2013 [2] 72 Hours Heifer International $14,598.50
31The Legend of Zelda Marathon 2013December 13–16, 2013 [2] 72 HoursMercy Corps$17,852.00
Mario vs. Sonic MinithonJanuary 24–25, 201424 HoursMercy Corps$1,257.00
Donkey Kong MinithonMarch 7–8, 201424 hoursHeifer International$1,128.00
32IndiethonApril 25–28, 201472 Hours Direct Relief $122,607.88
33Pokémon Marathon 2014June 20–27, 2014168 Hours St. Jude Children's Research Hospital $32,073.33
Minithon SeriesJuly–November, 2014VariesACT Today~$3,000 ***
34Sonic MarathonDecember 12–15, 201472 HoursRocking H Ranch$4,321.00
35Mario Marathon 2015July 17–24, 2015168 HoursSt. Jude's Children Research Hospital$29,027.00
36Retro Pokémon Marathon 2015December 17–21, 201596 Hours (24-hour extension)Rocking H Ranch$16,300.00
37The Legend of Zelda Marathon 2016: Hyrule vs. LoruleJune 24-July 1, 2016168 HoursSt. Jude Children Research Hospital$40,180.00
38Trick 'r' Treat Marathon 2016October 14–17, 201672 HoursSt. Jude Children Research Hospital$4,553.27
39Pokémon Sun & Moon MarathonDecember 16–20, 201696 Hours (24-hour extension) buildOn $9,226.13
40The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild MarathonMarch 3–6, 201790 Hours (started at midnight CST)buildOn$2,000.01
41Final Fantasy Marathon 2017: Pixels vs. PolygonsJuly 14–20, 2017144 Hours (24-hour extension)St. Jude Children's Research Hospital$33,580.00
42Resident Evil Marathon 2017October 13–16, 201772 HoursDirect Relief$7,042.69
43Mario Marathon 2017December 15–18, 201796 Hours (24-hour extension)ACT Today! [10] $6,518.00
44The Legend of Zelda Marathon 2018March 9–13, 201896 HoursSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital$10,624.00
45Pokémon Marathon 2018June 8–15, 2018168 HoursSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital$17,260.00
46Soulsborne Marathon 2018October 12–15, 201872 HoursDirect Relief$8,286.00
47Nintendo All-Stars Marathon 2018December 14–18, 201896 Hours (24-hour extension)St. Jude Children's Research Hospital$9,105.00
48The Legend of Zelda Marathon 2019: Hyrule vs. Lorule IIJuly 12–19, 2019168 HoursSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital$28,496.00 (Includes May 2019 PLAYLIVE Total)
49Castlevania Marathon 2019October 18–21, 201972 HoursDirect Relief$6,000.00
50Retro Pokémon Marathon 2019December 13–16, 201972 HoursSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital$10,230.00
TSG Generations! 2020May 1–31, 2020Daily StreamsSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital$8,800.00
51Mario Marathon 2020July 17–20, 202072 HoursSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital$7,200.00
52Resident Evil Marathon 2020October 16–19, 202072 HoursDirect Relief$3,000.00
53Nintendo All-Stars Marathon 2020December 18–21, 202072 HoursSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital$5,028.51
54The Legend of Zelda Marathon 2021: Return to HyruleJuly 15–19, 202196 HoursSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital$12,345.00
55Resident Evil Marathon 2021October 29 - November 1, 202172 HoursDirect Relief$4,245.69
56Pokémon Gen 4 & More! MarathonDecember 17–20, 202172 HoursSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital$5,007.00
57Metroid Marathon 2022March 11–13, 202248 HoursZERO Prostate Cancer$3,195.00
58Mario + Donkey Kong MarathonJuly 8-13, 2022120 HoursSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital$10,041.00
59The Legend of Zelda Marathon 2023July 12-18, 2023144 HoursSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital$12,280.42
60Castlevania Marathon 2023October 13-15, 202348 HoursZERO Prostate Cancer$3,000.00
61Pokémon Marathon 2023: Rocket's RevengeDecember 15-18, 202372 HoursSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital$3,122.00
62Mega Man Remote Marathon 2024March 2024charity: water$640.00
63Final Fantasy Marathon 2024July 8-14, 2024120 HoursSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital$5,700.00
64NES Champs: Live from GCXAugust 16-17, 2024St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
65Sonic Remote Marathon 2024September 2024
66Soulsborne Marathon 2024October 11-14, 202472 Hours
67The Legend of Zelda Marathon 2024December 13-16, 202472 Hours
68Cozy Remote Marathon 2025March 2025
69Pokémon Marathon 2025: Rocket's Revenge 2July 2025168 Hours
Total$944,879.06

*: The Summer of Zelda, a month-long effort of nightly streams, [19] was originally designed to raise money for ACT Today! through the Pepsi Refresh Project in place at the time. The second weekend of the month, a user notified TheSpeedGamers that ACT Today! was also in the running with Chase Community Giving on Facebook, a similar project by Chase Bank. [20] With only three days to do it, the community was able to garner enough votes to gain the charity a $20,000 donation for placing in the top 200 charities at the event.
***: During a few months in mid-2014, there were several minithons which all aimed to raise money for ACT Today. About $3,000 was raised in total. Exact total still needs to be added.

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References

  1. McGee, Maxwell High Scores for Hope 2009-2-24. Retrieved on 2010-1-28
  2. 1 2 3 4 TheSpeedGamers (24 November 2012). "2013 Marathon Schedule". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  3. 1 2 Marlo Thomas Thank you letter from St. Jude Retrieved 2010-1-26
  4. Gaming For a Cause ACT Today
  5. 1 2 Video Gamers Hold Marathon Session For Charity CBS 11/TXA21 2009-7-21. Retrieved on 2010-1-26
  6. 1 2 Wilcox, Lindsay Would You Play 168 Hours Of Video Games? NBC Dallas-Fort Worth 2009-7-25. Retrieved on 2010-1-26
  7. "An Interview with Charity Streamers TheSpeedGamers". TechRaptor. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  8. 1 2 TheSpeedGamers (28 December 2011). "It looks like some e-checks cleared. :D I think our grand total for the Zelda Marathon is $20,016.00. ~Local". Twitter . Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  9. "Members of the Movement: TheSpeedGamers" . Retrieved 2017-03-08.
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  11. 2008 November/December issue of GEE Magazine, Germany
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  16. TheSpeedGamers' Resident Evil Marathon Will Be Starting Shortly! Official Capcom Website
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  18. "thespeedgamers [TheSpeedGamers' Wiki]". wiki.thespeedgamers.com. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  19. "Summer of Zelda Schedule | TheSpeedGamers". Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  20. "TheSpeedGamers' Community • View topic - Another opporunity [sic] for the Summer of Zelda". Archived from the original on 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2011-07-23.