While most gamers' first inclination, if presented with an early copy of Mass Effect 3, would be to pop the game into their respective console, two gamers who actually secured a copy took a completely different direction with this opportunity. Instead of getting to experience Commander Shepard's adventure before anyone else, Michael Davis and Miguel Droz decided to raffle off their copy of Mass Effect 3 and donate 30% of their proceeds to Child's Play charity. It was a noble gesture to say the least — giving up a head start at the game's 30-hour campaign — but it may just have put Davis and Droz in some legal trouble.

See, by not donating 100% of their proceeds to charity, Droz and Davis's raffle is actually an illegal activity in the state of New Mexico, where they are based. Hoping simply to generate a small Kickstarter-esque fund for their media venture this raffle seemed harmless enough, but it has generated some unexpected backlash.

Since launching the raffle, Droz and Davis made a few changes to their raffle, including a promise to donate 100% to Child's Play, before eventually cancelling the offer altogether. Child's Play hadn't even been given a chance to approve the raffle before it was taken down.

Besides being the envy of millions of Mass Effect fans who were vying for the chance to secure one of the many Mass Effect 3 copies BioWare launched into space, Droz and Diaz were just two guys trying to get their product out there through a little cross promotion. It was just unfortunate that how they went about getting that promotion ended up being illegal.

As the days events unfolded, all participants in the raffle were refunded, but Droz and Diaz have yet to say what they plan on doing with the Mass Effect 3 copy they procured. My guess is that this sobering experience has convinced them they should probably just play it.

What do you think the two should do with their copy of Mass Effect 3? What might have been a better way to "give away" their copy of the game?

Mass Effect 3 launches March 6, 2012 for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Source: Kotaku