Man Plays Asteroids for 27 Hours

posted in Video Game News by mfc on Mar 29th, 2004

Walter Day of Twin Galaxies writes to us:
    Marathon Video Gaming Makes Comeback as Portland Man Plays Asteroids for 27 hours

    Fairfield, Iowa- March 29, 2004 – It’s been nearly 20 years since a video gamer has played an arcade game for more than a day on a single quarter. In fact, not since Twin Galaxies conducted the 1st Annual Iron Man Contest for the Guinness Book back in July,1985, has a video gamer stepped to the plate intent on breaking a long-standing video game marathon world record.

    But, with the Asteroids world record in his sights, Bill Carlton, of Portland, Oregon, lasted 27 hours before his trusty Asteroids machine malfunctioned, ending his run for glory at the Ground Kontrol Arcade – a Portland video game center specializing in classic arcade games from the early 80s.

    With 60 classic games to choose from at Ground Kontrol Arcade, Carlton chose Asteroids for his ordeal, with other gamers also signing up for future marathons on other game titles -- a sign that players are ready once again to tackle big ticket records; ones that take days of playing to eclipse, demanding tremendous stamina as much as playing skill.

    “Carlton’s 12.7 million points put him in 5th place in the all-time Asteroids rankings,” explains Walter Day, editor of Twin Galaxies’ Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records, the industry’s record book. “Still, he would have had to play for more than 2 more days to match the 41 million-point record established by Scott Safran back in November, 1982.”
You can find more on this story at Twin Galaxies!