The latest and greatest gaming achievements achieved in the last 12 months are featured in the new Guinness World Records 2014 Gamer’s Edition, which is out now.
New feats recognised in the latest edition of the best-selling book series include the Largest Collection of Videogames; Longest Marathon on a Dance Game; Fastest Game to Gross $1 Billion; and a 24 year-old Brit who has recorded record-breaking high scores on PAC-man and Angry Birds.
Michael Thomasson, pictured above, is recognised as the owner of the Largest Videogame Collection in the world. The 43 year-old, who teaches videogame history and design at Canisius College in Buffalo, USA, has 10,607 games in his collection. This is made even more astonishing by the fact Michael has had to restart his collection from scratch—twice! Thomasson began collecting at age 12 when he received “Cosmic Avengers” for the Colecovision. He sold off his entire collection in 1989 in order to buy a Sega Genesis. He then rebuilt his stash, only to sell it off again in 1998 to pay for his wedding. He started collecting again shortly after marrying, on an average of buying two games per day, with a $3,000-a-year budget. His current collection ranges from mainstream titles on the PlayStation to titles on obscure systems, such as the ‘Casio Loopy’ (a specialist Japanese system). The collection is estimated to be worth around $700,000.
Another American, 37 year-old Carrie Swidecki, makes it into the iconic book for an incredible feat of physical endurance. The teacher from Bakersfield, California, played popular rhythm game ‘Just Dance 4’ for 49 hours, 3 minutes, 22 seconds earning herself the record for Longest Marathon on a Dance Game. Carrie who considers herself an ambassador for ‘exergaming’ says: “I never want to wake up from this dream! 13 years ago I was 210 pounds, and then I discovered how easy it was to exercise using videogames. I lost 75 pounds, went down 10 sizes, set 5 World Records. I have become an advocate to fight childhood obesity in schools!”
On the other end of the spectrum is an entry from one of the most popular licensed games in history – Batman: Arkham City. Sean “DarthKnight” Grayson completed the game in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 19 seconds, earning himself a record for the Fastest Completion of Batman: Arkham City. Sean said: “Some of the fights did not go well,” he said, “but I think that’s expected. I’m not actually Batman.”
As well as incredible marathons, high scores and record-breaking collections, Gamer’s Edition 2014 naturally recognises the biggest moment in the last 12 months of gaming; the launch of Grand Theft Auto V. Upon its release, the fifteenth title in the series sold 11.21 million units in its first 24 hours, and generated revenue of $815.7 million (£511.8 million), going on to reach $1 billion (£624.45 million) in sales after just three days on September 20 2013 ( Fastest Game to Gross $1 Billion). The figure smashes records previously held by the Call of Duty videogame series and blockbuster movies including The Avengers and Avatar.
Guinness World Records Managing Editor, Stephen Fall, said: “For this year’s Gamer’s Edition, we decided to deliver the solid facts and fundamentals of gaming that enthusiasts demand to know. What are the best-selling games ever? The most popular games of each genre? The highest scores ever? All these facts and more are at your fingertips with the new Guinness World Records 2014 Gamer’s Edition book.”
Spreads on the most influential figures in the industry, voice acting, motion capture, production and design are also included in the latest edition, along with in-depth interviews with some of the biggest names in the industry. The book also names the Top 50 games according to fan votes.
More Records from Guinness World Records 2014 Gamer’s Edition include:
Fastest videogame to gross $1 billion
Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games, 2013) was released worldwide on 17 September 2013 and reached $1 billion (£624.45 million) in sales after just three days on 20 September 2013, making it also the fastest entertainment property of any kind to reach the $1 billion landmark.
Most expensive videogame
The most expensive videogame that is commercially available is GRID 2: Mono Edition (Codemasters, 2013), which retails in the UK for £125,000 ($190,100).
Most prolific videogame voice actor
The most prolific videogame voice actor is Steve Blum (USA), who has made 333 credited appearances as of 2 August 2013.
First in-game pizza delivery system
The earliest video game pizza delivery system appeared in EverQuest ll. In February 2005, game developers added a pizza delivery system for its players. By typing /pizza, players would be linked directly to the Pizza Hut ordering site. This was the first time that an MMORPG could accept orders for real world items.
First videogame to become a licensed bank
The Swedish MMORPG Entropia Universe became the first video game with a built-in bank in March 2009 when its application for a banking license was approved by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. As a result, the game's currency, Project Entropia Dollars, has a real-world value on the stock exchange, currently fixed to the US dollar at a rate of 10 PED per $1US.
Most fish in a videogame
More than 8 billion fish were caught by RuneScape players in 2012. Game creator Jagex claims that, laid head to tail, these 8 billion fish would encircle the circumference of the world 20 times.
First scientific study of a chemical compound in a videogame
As part of the development of Command & Conquer 3, publisher EA commissioned scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, to come up with a plausible analysis of the game's main resource, Tiberium. In the resultant paper, issued in 2006, the game's executive producer Mike Verdu described Tiberium as a dense "dynamic proton lattice" held together by exotic heavy particles.
Largest playable area in a videogame
Minecraft holds the record for the largest land-based videogame area, as of 26 June 2013. Although Minecraft's map is technically infinite – the further you go, the more land is generated – a hard limit on chunks (groupings of blocks) means a maximum possible world size of 4,722,366,482,869,645 km².
First videogame in space
Tetris for Game Boy (Nintendo, 1989) became the first videogame in space when Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr A. Serebrov (b. 15 February 1944) packed for his 1993 mission aboard the Mir space station. The cartridge left Earth on the Soyuz TM-17 rocket on 1 July 1993 and returned 196 days 17 hours later, having orbited the Earth more than 3,000 times. Invented in the Soviet Union, Tetris was regarded as an apt game for the cosmonaut. Serebrov's game was later auctioned off in Bonham's 2011 Space History sale for the sum of $1,220.
Best-selling gaming heroine
With lifetime series sales swelling to 35 million following the release of the 2013 reboot, Tomb Raider remains the best-selling videogame franchise with a female lead.
To find out more about Guinness World Records™ 2014 Gamer’s Edition, and where to buy a copy, click here.
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