Mass Effect 3 In Space

In an attempt to boost the hype for the new video game, Mass Effect 3, EA Games has decided to launch multiple copies of the game into space a week before the game’s release. The point of this was for fans to search for the copies when they landed back on Earth. Each of the games contained a GPS tracking device and fans were told to follow the coordinates to find the games. Once the game was found, they were able to keep it and gain a full week of play before it came out in stores. This sounds like a very nerdy version of Willy Wonka’s golden ticket scavenger hunt. And it seemed to work for the most part. Games were found in Las Vegas, New York, and London but two games were lost in a dense forest in California. What are some marketing reasons for why the company would go through such extremities for the launch of this new game?