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Guinness World Records Limited uses both metric and imperial

measurements. The sole exceptions are for some scientific data where
metric measurements only are universally accepted, and for some
sports data. Where a specific date is given, the exchange rate
is calculated according to the currency values that were in
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FOREWORD

Hello readers, Ali-A here!

It’s a huge honour to introduce the special

10-year-anniversary edition of the GWR Gamer’s
Edition. Wow, 10 years! Record-breaking in
games has grown and grown over the last
decade, especially with the advent of streaming
platforms, and it’s been fantastic to have
GWR’s authoritative voice to attach prestige
to videogame feats.

This year’s Gamer’s Edition is packed with so many incredible records.

From the most watched broadcasters (cough cough) and the most played
online game, to the youngest millionaire eSports champion and the biggest
collections. There’s also the fastest blindfolded completion of a Pokémon
game. Like, seriously?!? Blindfolded?!? Now that’s impressive…

There’s a whole chapter dedicated to Star Wars games, too, which is an

amazing franchise that has been bringing us epic adventures for well over
30 years – from the early arcade hits of the 1980s, to modern classics such
as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and 2015’s Star Wars Battlefront.

And what about eSports, huh? That’s just exploded into this gigantic
“thing”, with thousands of tournaments popping up across the globe and
millions of fans watching superstar players dazzle with their unearthly
skills. So this year’s Gamer’s introduces its first ever chapter dedicated
to the world of pro gaming. Expect to see some very big names indeed.

Speaking personally, I am very proud to hold several GWR titles. Two are
for my YouTube channels… and one is for building a very tall staircase in
Minecraft ! So I thank everyone for their support with winning those. GWR
has created lots of thrilling world-record titles for gamers, whether they’re
skill-based challenges in Rocket League and FIFA, or endurance-testing
marathons in Halo and Mario Kart. Long may it continue!

So where next? With VR taking off and the mainstream coverage

of eSports expanding, gaming just keeps on getting more exciting.
The games are getting better, the
technology is becoming more powerful,
and the tournaments are getting bigger.

Here’s to another 10 years of Gamer’s

and lots of brilliant record-breaking.

Ali-A

3
CONTENTS
We’re celebrating the 10th edition of the Gamer’s Edition
with some truly out-of-this-world games and records. Take
a look at our in-depth features, plus a Star Wars section
so packed with facts that it could make even a Wookiee grin.

Introduction 6 Racing 86 Shooters 152

Racing Sims 88 First-Person Shooters 154
Year in Gaming 8 Arcade Racers 90 Military Shooters 156
Mario Kart 92 Call of Duty 158
Feature: Legends of Gaming 12 Third-Person Shooters 160
Feature: 25 Years of Mario Kart 94 RPG Shooters 162

Awards Round-Up 14
Hardware Round-Up 16 Rhythm & Party 96 Feature: Videogame Concerts 164

Rhythm Games 98
eSports 18 Rock Band 100 Sims & Strategy 166
Evolution of eSports 20 Guitar Hero 102 Simulation Games 168
MOBA Round-Up 22 Management Sims 170
StarCraft 26 Feature: Giant Game Worlds 104 Strategy Games 172
Fighting Games 28 Hearthstone 174
eSports Round-Up 30
Feature: Mods 176
Feature: GosuGamers 32
Sports 178
Action-Adventure 34 Soccer 180
Action-Adventure Round-Up 36 American Football 182
Sandbox Adventures 38 Basketball 184
Superhero Games 40 Extreme Sports Round-Up 186
Toys-to-Life 42 Sports Round-Up 188
Graphic Adventures 44
Horror Games 46 Feature: Machinima Films 190

Feature: Batman Cosplay 48

Star Wars 106
Twin Galaxies 192
A Long Time Ago, In a Galaxy
Far, Far Away... 108
Arcade 110 Feature: Your New
Shooters 112 Favourite Games 202
Toys & Collectables 114
Classics 50 Action-Adventure 116 Contributors 206
RPGs & MMOs 118 Index 208
Platform Games 52 Vehicles 120 Credits 213
Super Mario Bros. 54 Stop Press! 214
Retro Games 56
Puzzle Games 58 Sci-Fi 122
Space Sims 124
Feature: Blindfolded Speed-Runs 60 Halo 126
Space Shooters 128
EVE Online 130
UGC Games 62 Space Round-Up 132
UGC Round-Up 64
Minecraft 66 Feature:
Super Mario Maker 70 Awesome Anniversaries 134

Feature: Inside a LEGO® Studio 72

Role-Playing Games 136
RPG Round-Up 138
Fighting Games 74
Action RPGs 140
Fighting Round-Up 76 Dark Souls 142
Street Fighter 78 JRPGs 144
Combat Sports 80 Pokémon 146
Beat-’Em-Ups 82 Final Fantasy 148

Feature: SuperData 84 Feature: Game Jams 150

4
BE A RECORD-BREAKER
Whether you’re a speed-runner or a marathon gamer, a
pioneering developer or a collector of gaming memorabilia,
Guinness World Records wants to hear from you!

CATION
MAKE AN APPLI
The first stop for any would-be
record-breaker should always be READ THE RULES
www.guinnessworldrecords.com.
Hit “Set a record” to find out how It takes six weeks to process an
the process works and how to application. If you want to beat
register an account. Email us to an existing record, you’ll be sent
let us know which record you’d guidelines. If it’s a new record
like to attempt. we like the sound of, we’ll
compile rules for it. Many
ideas are turned down at

1 the application stage, but

we will explain why. Use
this book and the website
to see the kinds of records
we like, then try again!
2
RFECT
PR ACTICE MAKES PE
GWR record attempts are just
like a sports competition – TEMPT
you need to train hard to MAKE YOUR AT
make sure you’re in peak
Once you’re certain you can’t
condition to take them
score another point or shave
on. The more hours you
another second off your
practise, the greater your
speed-run, you’re ready to
chances of success will be.
take on the record. Make sure
you have everything in place
to meet the guidelines – you
will need a good-quality
video recorder, witnesses
3 and anything else we’ve
specified you require
for a valid claim.
4
CE
SEND YOUR EVIDEN
Preparation can
ensure your potential
new record isn’t
missed or rejected
because of technical
issues. When filming
videos, do a trial run to

5 make sure that the lighting

is right and that there are FR AME YOUR CE
RTIFICATE!
no obstructions. After
You did it! Successful record-
you’ve successfully
filmed your attempt,
simply package up
6 breakers will be sent an official
certificate to show off to their
friends. If you’re very lucky, you may
the evidence and
even be one of the fortunate few to
send it to GWR for
make it on to these pages next year.
assessment. Easy!
And if you’ve missed out, there’s no
need to despair – you can always try
again. There’s no limit to the number
of attempts you can make.

5
INTRODUCTION
Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition 2017 is the
ultimate videogame guide. Our 10th annual edition is
packed with hundreds of new and updated records from
all your favourite titles, plus incredible stories, high scores
and feature reports from across all aspects of gaming.

st popular female
“OMGitsfirefoxx” – mo
itc h (pp.152–53)
broadcaster on Tw

And there are exclusive Q&A

interviews with industry legends
such as Chris Roberts, director of
ifficult the hotly awaited, crowdfunded
ga” – most d 70–71)
“PangaeaPan Super Mario Maker (pp. space sim Star Citizen (p.124).
d in
level create
Get the lowdown on today’s Shoot to thrill
Let the games begin! critically acclaimed classics, We’ve photographed a selection
Welcome to Gamer’s Edition such as the award-laden Rocket of the most spectacular
2017! We’re celebrating our 10th League and The Witcher 3: Wild record-breakers to reveal
anniversary by packing these Hunt. Cult titles from AaAaAA!!! the personalities behind the
pages with as many records as to Zen Pinball, and blockbusters achievements. German speed-
possible. Our expert consultants from Mario to Minecraft, are all runner “Kynos” wielded a giant
have hunted high and low for the here. And on p.202, you’ll find Buster Sword as Final Fantasy’s
biggest-selling and best-rated, the games you’ll be playing and Cloud Strife (pp.136–37). Dark
the quickest and the quirkiest, the loving this time next year. Souls conqueror Benjamin
best and (occasionally) the worst. And that’s just the start. At the “bearzly” Gwin took on the
We look at titles from across heart of our book is a 16-page game in his unique way, with a
the gaming spectrum, from the Star Wars special, celebrating suit of armour and a Rock Band
blood-splattered Bloodborne to the most prolific videogame keyboard (pp.142–43). Alex
the high-energy Just Dance. franchise based on a film licence “PangaeaPanga” Tan, creator
(pp.106–21). We also take a look of diabolically difficult levels
at the star-studded world of on Super Mario Maker, donned
eSports, meeting “Suma1L”, the his hard hat and tool belt as
youngest gamer to earn $1 million Nintendo’s iconic plumber
in eSports winnings (p.22). (pp.70–71), while four

st single game ds
Darren Bland – longe ntrol metho
na ge r (pp.178–79) ly ” – m o st alternative co p.142–43)
of Football Ma “bearz
plete Dark So
uls (p
used to com
6
 ed
for a dedicat
most views
“DanTDM ” – l (p p .6 6 –6 9)
deo channe
Minecraft vi
me marathon
Australian marathon gamers digital-data gatherers SuperData The longest videoga
(pp.86–87)
lined up on a Mario Kart grid (pp.84–85) share their wisdom, on Mario Kart team
(pp.86–87). while on pp.60–61 we profile the
We took Darren Bland, player gamers who are so good that
of the longest Football Manager they can play blindfolded.
game, to a football club to put We’re not the only ones with
him in a real dugout (pp.178–79). an anniversary in 2017 – it’s
Daniel “DanTDM” Middleton also 25 years since the first
of YouTube’s record-breaking Mario Kart. Check out Awesome
“TheDiamondMinecart” channel Anniversaries (pp.134–35) to see
tried his own cart (pp.66–69), who else is blowing out candles.
although sadly our budget didn’t
stretch to real diamonds! Galactic gaming
Sonja “OMGitsfirefoxx” Reid If you still want more, our friends
kept an eye out for radscorpions at the videogame adjudicators
while cosplaying Fallout 4 Twin Galaxies have provided
(pp.152–53), and lightning- us with a host of new records,
fast “Leon Ip” was the new from old-school arcades and
kid on the block with LEGO ® Atari titles to the latest eighth-
Dimensions (pp.34–35). gen consoles (pp.192–201).
Follow our guide to being
Information overload a record-breaker (p.5) and
Our fantastic features take you to perhaps you can join them in
the heart of the gaming industry. Gamer’s Edition 2018. Here’s
Major players such as eSports site to another 10 years of fantastic
GosuGamers (pp.32–33) and gaming records!

e to build the t completion of

“Leon Ip” – fastest tim “Kynos” – fastes
Dimensions (pp.34–
35) I (pp.136–37)
Batmobile in LEGO
®
Final Fantasy VI

7
YEAR IN GAMING
MAY–NOV 2015
In late May 2015, an eBayer listed a fridge loaded with some
300 Jurassic Park SNES cartridges. The surreal bundle was
priced at $1,500 (£1,081) and was sold to a “best offer”.

On 7 Jun, Sir Christopher Lee (UK, b. 27 May 1922) passed

away, aged 93. The movie icon was the oldest videogame
voice actor, lending his austere tones to LEGO® The Hobbit
in 2014. He was aged 91 years 316 days on the game’s release.

Gamescom set a new record for largest games convention

when 345,000 people from 96 countries attended its 2015
event held in Cologne, Germany, on 5–9 Aug.

On 26 Aug, YouTube launched its dedicated gaming platform,

YouTube Gaming, to rival Twitch. Ryan Wyatt of YouTube said:
“Gaming is so big now… It’s astonishing.”

Some 20,000 people crammed into San Francisco’s Moscone

West, USA, for the inaugural TwitchCon on 25–26 Sep, an
event hailed by organizers as “unbelievable” and “epic”.

engadget confirmed the validity of the cancelled “Nintendo

PlayStation” console when it showed an early prototype JUN 2015
powered-up. The once-fabled console was mooted in 1988.
Giant cow defies Witcher III cheaters
In Nov 2015, the Pokémon franchise added a gym – in Osaka, When PC players of The Witcher III
Japan – to its network of extracurricular establishments. discovered an infinite money exploit,
achieved by repeatedly killing respawned
cows, developer CD Projekt created the
“Bovine Defense Force Initiative” to
JUN 2015 protect its bovine population. Courtesy
of patch 1.05, any player using the cheat
would be attacked by a beast resembling
a giant cow. It was called a Chort.

Final Fantasy VII breaks internet

It was the game that had been in
huge demand for the past 15 years.
So when Sony and Square Enix took
to the stage at E3 to announce a
remake of the 1997 classic Final
Fantasy VII, initially for PS4, the online response was so
fevered that gaming sites reported that the internet had
crashed. One FF enthusiast even pieced together four
hours of video showing fans’ reactions (see pp.148–49).
JUN 2015
Epic Pokémon inking quest
US tattoo artist Alicia Thomas AUG 2015
embarked on a mission to tattoo
every one of the 151 original
VR genius is the “meme” man
Pokémon on her clientele, having Oculus Rift inventor Palmer
reminisced about the series with Luckey (USA) went viral after
one of her friends. “We made a he appeared on the cover of
joke that, ‘Oh, you should tattoo TIME, striking an airborne pose
all of them’, and then we looked in his company’s virtual-reality
at each other and said, ‘No, this (VR) headset. Photoshoppers
should actually be a thing’,” she immediately went to work
told Vice magazine. When the story dropping Luckey’s image into
made the gaming news, Alicia alternative settings, including
had already tattooed around scenes from such films as
130 different Pokémon on Titanic and The Grinch. It made
130 different people. for one of the year’s most
memorable internet memes.

8
AUG 2015

Madden movie is explosive... and strange

EA went to town and back with the
promotion of Madden NFL 16. Ahead of the
game’s late-summer launch, the publisher
made a short action-film parody that SEP 2015
starred Hollywood actors Dave Franco and
YouTube legends shine in London
Christopher Mintz-Plasse as muscle-bound
action heroes. A Tyrannosaurus rex (above) London’s inaugural Legends of Gaming event
also featured. Eurogamer described it as the saw seven YouTubers battling it out in a day-long
“strangest trailer imaginable”. tournament. Syndicate and DanTDM (both UK,
above, with Gamer’s editor Stephen Daultrey)
set a record in Rocket League, while a Minecraft
record was smashed three times during the day.

OCT 2015
More animated
Resident Evil
scares in the
pipeline
It already
has the most
live-action film
adaptations based on
a game. Now Capcom’s
Resident Evil is being
treated to a third feature-
length animation too. Currently
slated for 2017, the film will star
NOV 2015
RE 2 heroes Claire Redfield and
Leon Kennedy, plus Zero’s Rebecca Donkey Kong man loses lawsuit, not head
Chambers. Fittingly, the sixth film Former Donkey Kong champ Billy Mitchell
from the live-action series was also lost a lawsuit against the Cartoon Network –
due for release in 2017. because the judge ruled that he doesn’t have
an exploding head! Mitchell had accused the
channel of stealing his persona for a fictional
gamer in its animated series Regular Show.
However, the judge observed that the alleged
likeness was a “cartoonishly evil” floating
head that explodes after losing his title.

SATORU IWATA: 1959–2015 On 11 Jul 2015, Nintendo president and CEO Satoru
Iwata of Japan passed away after a battle with cancer.
One of the most respected individuals in the world
of gaming, Iwata began as a programmer at HAL
Laboratory, and in 2000 joined Nintendo, where
he became president two years later. Iwata’s tenure
oversaw the launch of the DS and the Wii, the
latter of which revolutionized games as a result
of its motion-control system.
“The man was incredible: humble, funny
and a true leader,” tweeted Nintendo Force
upon the news of his passing. “He was a gamer,
a developer and a champion for our medium,”
said The Game Awards’ Geoff Keighley.

9
YEAR IN GAMING
DEC 2015–APR 2016 DEC 2015
In Dec 2015, a Siberian gamer announced that he was suing
Fallout 4 developer Bethesda for damages of R500k ($7,214;
£4,799). He claimed he had played the game non-stop for
three weeks, costing him both his job and his marriage.

To celebrate the release of Street Fighter V, on 15 Feb 2016

Daigo “The Beast” Umehara went up against rapper Lupe
Fiasco in an exhibition match... and lost! Daigo might have
famously won the most viewed competitive videogame
match (p.78), but this time it was Lupe who triumphed 3–2.

In Mar 2016, it was reported that Nintendo had invested

around ¥40 billion ($352 million; £247 million) in an expansion
to the Universal Studios theme park in Osaka, Japan.
Minecraft maestro
The first Oculus Rift VR headset was shipped on 24 Mar 2016. The inaugural Minecraft National
Hygiene-conscious gamers could also buy sanitary face masks Championship ended with “SuperKraft11”
to wear beneath their headsets. Developed in Japan, packs seeing off competition from 1,000 rival
of 100 masks were retailing at ¥2,980 ($26; £18). gamers to bag the top prize. Not bad
considering that SuperKraft11, aka Julien
In Apr 2016, Nintendo revealed that its NX console would Wiltshire (USA), was just 10 years old. His
be released in Mar 2017. The new Legend of Zelda game was team, Seven Arrows Elementary Team,
also confirmed as a launch title. had played a six-week season of Minecraft
action in 40 cities across the USA.
A couple in Tunisia won a live cow after achieving a high score
on the bovine-themed Bagra. The gamers were sent their prize
in Apr 2016. Apparently, a second cow was also up for grabs!

JAN 2016
Terry’s Zelda triumph
After five years of playing, blind
engineering student Terry Garrett
(USA) completed The Legend of
Zelda: Ocarina of Time – the most
critically acclaimed videogame
(see p.37). To achieve this feat, he
used an emulator that enabled save
states and speakers to provide sound cues.
On 2 Jan 2016, Terry uploaded his defeat
of final boss Ganon to his YouTube channel.

JAN 2016

FEB 2016
Gamer joins wolf gang
Even real-life soccer
teams are catching the
Blizzard coverage pro gaming bug. German
On 4 Jan 2016, Activision Blizzard confirmed side VfL Wolfsburg signed
it was snapping up US eSports organizer gamer David Bytheway (UK)
Major League Gaming for a reported to its newly formed FIFA eSports
$46 million (£31 million). The deal would team. Twenty-two-year-old David
hand the publisher control of the streaming had represented England at the FIFA
platform MLG.tv and its prestigious Interactive World Cup. A similar move
tournaments. Activision Blizzard’s Mike was made by English Premier League
Sepso told Wired that their ultimate goal club West Ham United, who signed UK
was to “build the ESPN of eSports”. gamer Sean “Dragonn” Allen in May.

10
MAR 2016

Stag party causes GTA mayhem

As if life in San Andreas wasn’t
hard enough, its citizens
were confronted with a new
and unexpected threat: an
unstoppable teleporting deer.
Programmed by artist Brent
Watanabe (USA), the antlered MAR 2016
anarchist roamed a modded Cover curse KO?
Grand Theft Auto V, creating Heard the one about the “Madden curse”, where
enough havoc to earn itself a American football stars are struck with bad luck
four-star wanted rating. The antics after appearing on the cover of a Madden game?
of the AI-controlled deer were Sports fans are now speculating whether the
streamed live on a 24-hr Twitch same issue might affect EA’s UFC franchise.
channel, “San Andreas Deer Cam”. After being unveiled as the face of UFC 2, the
formidable Ronda Rousey lost her next fight, in
Nov 2015 (above). And in Mar 2016, cover co-star
Conor McGregor suffered the same fate!

APR 2016

Showtime for Mario!

When the rebooted London Games
Festival took place in London, UK, one of
its highlights was a performance of Mario!
A Super Musical by the Ninfriendos Theatre
Company. The colourful comedy told the
tale of Bowser kidnapping Mario, leaving it
to Princess Peach and Luigi to come to the
rescue. The show had previously sold out APR 2016
at the UK’s GameCity Festival in Oct 2015.
eGames on the road to Rio
Dreams of a videogames Olympics moved a step closer to
reality with the advent of a two-day “pop-up” tournament,
to be staged during the Rio Olympics in Brazil in Aug 2016.
The competition was to be run by the new International
eGames Committee (IEGC), with backing from the British
government. Gamers from Canada, Brazil and the UK
were among the first to confirm their places.

11
 FEATURE

LEGENDS OF GAMING
The meteoric rise of YouTube and Twitch has created a
new breed of celebrity: the games broadcaster. Launched
in Jun 2014, the “Legends of Gaming” YouTube channel
unites some of the platform’s most watched stars as they
battle it out across a summer-long gaming tournament,
before eventually competing in a live final. The showdown
for the 2016 season takes place on 10–11 Sep, at Alexandra
Palace, London, UK. Here we meet four Legends who have
made mega-waves with their captivating gaming channels,
and who are serious contenders to be crowned the overall
ars,
“Legend” of 2016. Remember, there can be only one... Tom Greenwood- Me
s of Ga mi ng Live
Legend
ing?
Tube and Twitch for gam
How important are You e for info rmation and entertainme
nt.
use You Tub
About 95% of gamers You Tub e Gam ing
that YouTube created the
Ashley Gaming is so prominent ing ser vice. Twitch is seeing
a huge
h its ow n stre am orts
sub -platform, wit s vie we rs. As eSp
Mariee proliferation of eSport
rise in audiences with the itch aud ien ces gro w – 475 .5 million
Channel ir, so Tw
becomes a worldwide affa Jul–Dec 2015. Another
launch: consumed on Twitch in
hours of eSports were in a huge rise in
6 Aug 2012 gaming. That’s resulted
notable trend is mobile has ann oun ced that users can now
while Twitch
Subscribers: audiences on YouTube,
es from their PCs.
676,106 livestream Android gam
Total video
views: 46,813,144
r channel
What content does you
specialize in? Ali-A
ecraft
It’s largely based on Min 06
and I ma inly pos t min i-ga mes and Channel launch: 13 Sep 20
s. I’m sup er-a ctive Subscribe rs: 8,0 68,100
modded ser ver
I think 23,448
Total video views: 1,940,9
wit h my sub scr ibe rs and
que.
that helps me to be uni
YouTube channel?
Why did you launch a
Which video are you mo
st l gaming highlights with
I wanted to share coo
proud of? was as innocent as that.
my mates at school – it eos as a full-time job!
I released a Minecraft par
ody
t that it’d lea d to making gaming vid
urv ivin g It” –A I never dream
video cal led ““S
of Kre we lla – st proud of?
Minecraft Parody Which video are you mo down all the clips I
Kill in it” [pic tur ed bel ow] . It has
5 mo nta ge video. After writing
views! Probably my 201 wanted to use I realized
reached over 4 million
just how much stuff I’d
Tubers? crammed into the year!
Any tips for budding You
and be per sistent. The edit took several
Stay active
wth will days but it was worth it.
When you first start, gro
by that.
be slow. Don’t be put off
What games have you
that you enjoyed recently?
What’s the first game
yed ? I’m always playing Black
ever pla
GBA. Ops III – I’ll never get
Pokémon Sapphire on the
bored of Call of Dut y!
ite? I’ve also been playing
And your all-time favour
gotten The Culling on PC [lef t].
Prince of Persia: The For
y through It’s basically like The
Sands! I could easily pla
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that again and
ertaining. super-competitive. I’d
it was super-fun and ent
rec ommend it to everyone.
ers
Any tips for new YouTub
ers?
and budding broadcast
this
Enjoy making videos! To
e ma kin g the m and
day, I still lov
doing
if I ever lost that I’d be
expect to
something wrong. Don’t
scr ibe rs ove rnight,
get 1 million sub
r to get
either – it took me a yea
at it and
my first 100 – but stick
ing big.
it could turn into someth

12
 MasterOv
Channel launch:
30 Sep 2013
Subscribers:
1,623,426
Total video views:
499,677,604

Describe your channel...

s to enjoy. I play
It’s for people of all age
wers want to see,
whatever games the vie
her .io [be low ] and Hungry
such as Slit
pro at the games,
ce in Shark World. I’m no
of Gaming final took pla ut hav ing a laugh. Think
The inaugural Legends ed prominently, but it’s mo re abo
5. GW R fea tur line best mate”.
London , UK , on 10 S ep 201
rld of me as more of an “on
to smash a Guinness Wo
with visitors attempting ) and “Legends” vying st proud of?
Which video are you mo
in Min ecr aft (ab ove
Records title
in Rocket League. (at the tim e) world
for GWR titles onstage It’s got to be my
at the eve nt ord Ag ar.i o sco re vid eo. It was only
Stars rec
“OV ARMY ”
included the pace-setting achievable because the
live on the stream
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er ger cla ns. Playing
most followed broadcast and  eli min ate d big
t!
is the bes
on Twitch, with 2,4 40,130 with the vie we rs
followers as of 4 May adcasters?
201 6. Also present was
the Any tips for budding bro
t, and do wh at you love.
mighty Ali-A (below righ Just be yourse lf
as a whole
nity
receiv ing GW R cer tific ate s The UK YouTube commu
nnel st, bes t and frie ndliest by
for his Call of Dut y cha is the stro nge
g neg ative
r any thin
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Excitingly, GWR returns fro m our sid e of the
for the 201 6 event. This
t
time gamers can attemp
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Spencer FC
3
Channel launch: 4 Mar 201
Subscribe rs: 1,38 8,3 63 ed months of my life into
me. Personally, I’ve invest
Total video views: stil l hoo ked now.
playing FM and I’m
295 ,570,467 ing?
for ward to most in gam
What are you looking g, par ticu larl y with
cin atin
Describe your channel… The rise of eSports is fas r
ress my the world’s most popula
It’s a place where I exp FIFA because it’s one of the lev els of other
eogames, rea lly rea che d
eth er it’s playin g vid titles but it hasn’t en
love for soccer, wh . When it does, and wh
wing soccer stars or games such as Dota 2 yet
going to matches, intervie world rec ogn izes eSp ort s,
spo rt for rea l. Gam ing is a huge par t the mainstream soccer
playing the es like FIFA and is amazing.
oug h gam the potential for growth
of soccer now, and thr eng aging soccer
cre ate
Football Manager I try to par t of.
aud ien ce can be
stories that my
st proud of?
Which video are you mo
tch at the UK’s Wembley Stadium
I staged a big ma
[rig ht] where myself and
called the Wembley Cup
Tub ers bat tled it out in an epic real-life
23 other You
mo st wa tched video to date.
soccer match . It’s my
all-time videogame?
What’s your favourite
not a game for those with
Football Manager. It’s
it is for soccer geeks like
short attention spans, but

13
 AWARDS ROUND-UP

ING GAME:
BEST SPORTS/R AC
Rocket League
T: 3 Dec 2015, Los Angeles, USA
AUDIO ACHIEVEMEN
the Rapture Award Game
Everybody’s Gone to
Best Family Game Super Mario Maker
7 Apr 2016, London, UK Best Fighting Game Mortal Kombat X
Award Game Best Multiplayer Game Splatoon
Best Game Fallout 4 Best Shooter Splatoon
Persistent Game Prison Architect Best Mobile/Handheld Game Lara Croft GO
Story Life is Strange Most Anticipated Game No Man’s Sky
Fellowship John Carmack Trending Gamer Greg Miller
Multiplayer Rocket League Best Narrative Her Story
Family Rocket League Best Performance Viva Seifert (Hannah Smith),
Sport Rocket League Her Story

British Game Batman: Arkham Knight eSports Team of the Year OpTic Gaming

Game Design Bloodborne eSports Player of the Year Kenny “kennyS” Schrub
(Counter-Strike: Global
Performer Merle Dandridge (Kate Collins), Offensive/Team EnVyUs)
Everybody’s Gone to the eSports Game of the Year Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Rapture
Audio Achievement Everybody’s Gone to the Best Indie Game Rocket League
Rapture Best Sports/Racing Game Rocket League
Music Everybody’s Gone to the Developer of the Year CD Projekt RED (The Witcher 3:
Rapture Wild Hunt)
Mobile & Handheld Her Story Game of the Year The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Debut Game Her Story Best Role-Playing Game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Game Innovation Her Story Games for Impact Life is Strange
Artistic Achievement Ori and the Blind Forest Best Fan Creation Portal Stories: Mel
AMD eSports Audience Award Smite Best Art Direction Ori and the Blind Forest
BAFTA Ones to Watch Award Sundown Best Action/Adventure Game Metal Gear Solid V
Original Property Until Dawn Best Score/Soundtrack Metal Gear Solid V

16 Mar 2016, San Francisco, USA

Award Game
Lifetime Achievement Todd Howard
Pioneer Markus “Notch” Persson
Ambassador Tracy Fullerton
Audience Life is Strange
Game of the Year The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Best Technology The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Innovation Her Story
Best Handheld/Mobile Game Her Story
Best Narrative Her Story
Best Audio Crypt of the NecroDancer
Best Debut Ori and the Blind Forest
Best Visual Arts Ori and the Blind Forest
Best Design Rocket League
OBILE GAME:
BEST HANDHELD/M
Her Story
14
 RR ATIVE:
EXCELLENCE IN NA
itc he r 3 : W ild Hunt
The W
19 Mar 2016, Austin, USA
Award Game
Game of the Year The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Excellence in Technical The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Achievement
Excellence in Narrative The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Mobile Game of the Year Her Story
Tabletop Game of the Year Pandemic Legacy
Excellence in Gameplay Metal Gear Solid V
Excellence in Art Bloodborne
Excellence in Design Bloodborne
Most Enduring Character Lara Croft (Rise of the Tomb
Raider)
Excellence in Animation Rise of the Tomb Raider EVEMENT
OUTSTANDING ACHI
Excellence in Visual The Order: 1886 IO N: Fallout 4
Achievement IN GAME DIRECT
Excellence in SFX Star Wars Battlefront
Excellence in Musical Score Ori and the Blind Forest 18 Feb 2016, Las Vegas, USA
Excellence in Multiplayer Rocket League Award Game
Excellence in Convergence Batman: Arkham Knight Game of the Year Fallout 4
Most Valuable eSports Team Evil Geniuses Outstanding Achievement Fallout 4
Most Entertaining Online Greg Miller, Kinda Funny in Game Direction
Personality
Role-Playing/Massively Fallout 4
Most Promising New Intellectual Splatoon
Multiplayer Game of the Year
Property
Most Fulfilling Crowdfunded Undertale Adventure Game of the Year Metal Gear Solid V
Game Action Game of the Year Star Wars Battlefront
Matthew Crump Cultural Undertale
Outstanding Achievement Star Wars Battlefront
Innovation
in Sound Design
Gamer’s Voice: Single Player SUPERHOT
Gamer’s Voice: Multiplayer Gang Beasts Mobile Game of the Year Fallout Shelter
DICE Sprite Award Rocket League
Sports Game of the Year Rocket League
Outstanding Achievement Rocket League
in Online Gameplay
Outstanding Achievement Ori and the Blind Forest
in Animation
Outstanding Achievement Ori and the Blind Forest
in Art Direction

BEST XBOX GAME: Outstanding Achievement Ori and the Blind Forest
rest
Ori and the Blind Fo
in Original Music Composition
Outstanding Achievement Rise of the Tomb Raider
30 Oct 2015, London, UK in Character
Award Game Outstanding Achievement The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Best Original Game Bloodborne in Story

Best PlayStation Game Bloodborne Outstanding Technical The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Achievement
Best Storytelling The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Outstanding Achievement The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Best Visual Design The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in Game Design
Ultimate Game of the Year The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Family Game of the Year Super Mario Maker
Best Gaming Moment Bloody Baron quest, Fighting Game of the Year Mortal Kombat X
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Racing Game of the Year Forza Motorsport 6
Best Audio Ori and the Blind Forest
Strategy/Simulation Game Heroes of the Storm
Best Xbox Game Ori and the Blind Forest of the Year
Best Multiplayer Grand Theft Auto Online Handheld Game of the Year Helldivers
Playfire Most Played Grand Theft Auto V
Best PC Game Grand Theft Auto V
Best Indie Game Kerbal Space Program
Gaming Personality “PewDiePie”
eSports Icon Anders Blume, Counter-Strike:
Global Offensive
Most Wanted Game Fallout 4
Best Family Game Splatoon

15
HARDWARE ROUND-UP
Although the future may seem “virtual” with VR all the rage,
there is still plenty of time for “normal-screen” gaming. Or
even tiny-screen gaming for that matter...

Raspberry ripple Smach down but not out?

Initially given away with the official With a 5-in 1080p touchscreen
Raspberry Pi magazine, The MagPi, in display, 128 GB storage, 8 GB RAM
Nov 2015, the Raspberry Pi Zero is a and AMD APU, the portable Steam
fully working computer the size of a machine Smach Z was shaping up to
credit card. The initial magazine run of be something special. However, despite
10,000 copies sold out in days – but, as raising ¤160,984 of its ¤900,000 target
of 23 Mar 2016, the Zero was available on Kickstarter, the project was shelved in
for an appropriately modest £4 ($5), Dec 2015. The makers have indicated they
not counting the adaptor kit that will set a less ambitious goal, build a more
you’ll probably need too. advanced prototype and try again…

Small is beautiful
In 2009, Canadian engineer Mark Slevinsky (below) built the smallest
playable arcade machine, which measured just 124 x 52 x 60 mm (4.88
x 2.05 x 2.36 in). However, in 2015, a project appeared on Kickstarter
claiming to be even smaller: Tiny Arcade by Ken
Burns (USA). Made from acrylic or wood, the
fully playable cabinet (above) purportedly
measures just 75 x 40 x 32 mm (2.95 x
1.57 x 1.26 in). It features an analogue PS4 sales heaven
joystick and more than 20 “retro-type” Sony hopes that the PS4
games. By the end of its campaign, it – the biggest-selling
had raised triple its funding target. eighth-generation
console, with sales of
39.81 million units as
of 21 Apr 2016 – will
go on to become the
biggest-selling console
overall, and there’s
good reason to be
optimistic. In Nov 2015,
Famicom super save! the manufacturer
There used to be a time when saving revealed that the PS4,
games relied on battery-powered launched in Nov 2013,
cartridges. In Sep 2015, a Japanese had sold 30.2 million
gamer known as “Wanikun” tweeted units in its first two
that he had left his Super Famicom years of release. This
switched on for 20 years so that compares favourably
he didn’t lose his save data in with the PS2, the current
the 1994 game Umihara biggest-selling console
Kawase. He ended up (157.68 million units
retaining power for an sold), which shifted
estimated 180,000 hr – 26.68 million units in its
far longer than the life first two years on sale.
of a cartridge battery!

16
 A virtual future...
When it comes to hardware, 2016 was
the year of virtual reality. Kickstarted by
Oculus Rift (see below), this revolutionary
tech throws gamers inside the action,
with series such as EVE Online, Gran HTC Vive
Turismo and Minecraft already announced Developed in partnership between
with VR support. SuperData predicts HTC and Valve, the PC peripheral
that 70 million VR headsets will be sold uses “room-scale” technology to
by the end of 2017, making for a market transform rooms into sprawling 3D
worth an estimated $8.8 bn. Here are spaces. Wall-mounted lasers map
just a few of the options available. your location, which enables impressive
freedom of movement. However, you’ll need
decent space to truly reap its benefits.

Microsoft HoloLens
Microsoft’s kit mixes virtual reality tech
with augmented reality. By doing so it
projects interactive, high-definition
holograms into a user’s real-world
surroundings. It can be used for
bringing digital projects to life, as well
as for playing a new breed of games.

PlayStation VR Oculus Rift

Known as “Project
Morpheus” in its dev
period, the VR is slated
for release in Oct 2016. For
use with the PS4, it inevitably
has a raft of major supported games in
the works. However, Sony is also keen to
realize its potential for social experiences
and with non-gaming applications.

Samsung Gear VR
A collaboration with
Rift-meisters Oculus,
the Gear VR hit the
streets in Nov 2015.
It connects to recent
versions of the Galaxy smartphone
via micro-USB, and uses a custom inertial
measurement unit (IMU). Samsung claim
it “brings reality to the virtual”.

Most expensive VR acquisition

When Facebook bought Oculus VR – makers of the

Oculus Rift headset (main image) – on 25 Mar 2014,
the price tag was serious. Zuckerberg and co
paid $400 million (£242 million) in cash, plus
23.1 million Facebook shares worth $1.5 billion
(£909 million). The Rift, which began as a
Kickstarter indie, works with Android and PC.
It was released in Mar 2016, complemented by
some of the 40 or so games developed for it.
ESPORTS
With million-dollar prizes up for grabs, competitive gaming
has evolved into a lucrative spectator sport. For the elite
players, it is a demanding and all-consuming profession.

18
 Youngest gamer to earn
$1 million in eSports winnings
In 2014, “Suma1L” aka Syed Sumail
Hassan (b. 13 Feb 1999), moved from
Pakistan to Illinois, USA, to pursue
a career in professional gaming. His
decision paid off in style when, aged
just 16 years 176 days, he won The
International 2015 Dota 2 championships
as part of the legendary US eSports
team Evil Geniuses. In doing so, Suma1L
netted himself $1,326,022 (£855,426).
As of 16 Feb 2016, his total career
earnings stood at $1,753,171 (£1,210,050).

19
eSPORTS

EVOLUTION OF ESPORTS
Let the pro games commence!
Competitive gaming has come a long way since Tennis for Two was
served to the public 58 years ago. Mega sponsorship deals, online
streaming services and dedicated eSports associations mean that
the top tournaments can now offer huge sums of prize money.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of fans tune in to watch thrilling
contests in games such as League of Legends and StarCraft II.

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21
eSPORTS

MOBA ROUND-UP
MOBAs (Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas) are the dominant
Highest-earning Smite player
The eSports stars Andrew
“Andinster” Woodward, John

in a Dota 2 match is 68, achieved by Ivan

oneself isn’t necessary. The most assists

“ArtStyle” Antonov (UKR) on 20 Mar 2015.

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
Dota 2 is a team game, so securing the kill
force in pro gaming. Fast-paced matches typically involve “BaRRaCCuDDa” Salter and
two teams vying to destroy each other’s strongholds. Brett “MLCst3alth” Felley (all
USA) had each scooped a
total of $305,839 (£212,585)
Longest win streak in Dota 2 from various tournaments and
From 23 Apr to 2 Jun 2013, the competitions featuring the
Swedish team Alliance (left) MOBA Smite (Hi-Rez Studios,
won 25 Dota 2 matches without 2014), as of 14 Mar 2016.
defeat, according to GosuGamers.
Dota 2 (Valve) evolved from a
Warcraft III mod, which was first created in 2003. It’s now
a huge draw in eSports, typically pitching two teams of five on
against each other in strategic battles laced with magic. published
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ry fr
documenta ght into dota 2
Highest-earning eSports gamer a n in si
offers it follows
As of 14 Mar 2016, Peter “ppd” Dager pro gaming. competing
m er s
(USA, right) had earned $2,155,025 three ga t dota 2
(£1,497,930) from competing in in the firs in 2011.
nal
Dota 2 and Heroes of Newerth internatio
(Frostburn, 2010) matches. The
bulk of his fortune was won in
Dota 2 as part of a conquering
60
Evil Geniuses team. Pundits have Highest-earning
hailed him as one of the most
Number of pro Heroes of Newerth player
“influential strategists” in Dota 2.
Dota 2 teams active German gamer Maurice
as of Mar 2016. This “KheZu” Gutmann is the
most successful player of
included eight in
Heroes of Newerth according
Largest prize pool for a debut North America,
to e-Sportsearnings. As of
eSports world championship 14 in China and 12 in 14 Mar 2016, his prowess in
Hosted on 9–11 Jan 2015 in Atlanta, western Europe. this beast-infested MOBA had
Georgia, USA, the first Smite World won him $48,141 (£33,462).
Championship offered a prize pool
In Jan 2016, the Garnes Vidaregåande

of $2,612,260 (£1,722,520). Eight Most kills in a

from Aug 2016. The course involves
become part of its core curriculum

teams competed in the finals, with the five-man US team Dota 2 match

Cognitive Prime (inset) taking top honours. Smite is a
announced that eSports would

Based on stats from

mythological-themed MOBA that was released in 2014.
secondary school in Norway

datdota, a rampant
Ilya “Illidan”
5 hr of study per week.

Pivtsaev (RUS)
Q&A with Dota 2 star Sumail racked up 44 kills in
“Suma1L” Hassan (PAK, right) a single Dota 2 match
on 10 Dec 2014. He was
At 16 years 176 days, you
playing as the Anti-Mage
became the youngest gamer
hero and was competing
to earn $1 million in eSports.
How does it feel? at StarSeries XI Europe
Winning the Dota 2 world for Virtus.pro 2.
championships in 2015 [The much you want to improve. If
International] was all that you want to become the best FACT!
mattered. I proved that I am the you just keep playing. I played
best. The money was a bonus – for about 322 hr last month.
I got to buy my family a house!
What does training involve?
When did you start gaming? We mostly play public games
The first game I played was
the RTS Age of Empires, when
I was around seven years
against random players. And
we train as a team once a day.
This is so that we’re not just
42
old. I have only played three a bunch of skilled individuals
computer games in my life: who have no idea what to Percentage of
that, Dota 2 and Counter-Strike. do when we play together Dota 2 gamers who
How much training do you in tournaments.
are aged 15–19,
have to do in Dota 2? Do you get nervous or excited according to a
Every player in my team Evil playing in front of audiences? survey conducted
Geniuses plays for about 10 hr Neither. I would say that I am
a day. It really depends on how an emotionless guy...
by the eSports
group Team Razer.
22
Highest-earning Dota 2 player
As of 14 Mar 2016, Saahil “UNiVeRsE” Arora (USA) had earned
$2,148,114 (£1,493,120) in prize money from playing Dota 2 on
the pro circuit. The 26-year-old supremo is pictured below left,
after he pocketed more than $1.3 m (£838,639) as part of the Evil
Geniuses team that won The International 2015 in Seattle, USA.

Largest eSports prize pool

for a single tournament
Hosted on 3–8 Aug, the fifth annual Dota 2
championship, The International 2015, offered
a prize pool of $18,429,613 (£11,836,998). This
princely sum was partly raised through the sale
of the MOBA’s latest virtual compendium,
which included in-game challenges, rewards
and treasures. Evil Geniuses (USA, pictured)
beat Chinese surprise package CDEC in the
final. In doing so, they became millionaires
overnight, taking home $6,634,661
(£4,280,070) – the largest eSports
prize won by a team.

23
eSPORTS

MOBA ROUND-UP , mayor

In the eSports battle arena, League of Legends and Dota 2 in sep 2015 en-je,

In League of Legends, players kill minions for gold.

300 minion kills in a pro match, achieved in

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

21 min 52 sec during the EU LCS Summer Split.

On 1 Jul 2014, “xPeke” (ESP) made the fastest
w
are two powerful forces, but Heroes of the Storm is one new of taipei, ko ed in a
contender in town, keen to win over the baying masses... s in terv ie w
wa sed as
dcast dres pion
state broa nds ch am
ge
league of le . the mayor was
en
surgeon sh his country’s
supporting ad of the
teams ahe onship.
mpi
world cha

Longest pro
League of Legends match
Longest win streak in Heroes of the Storm A titanic tussle between the USA
On 26 Apr 2015, the eSports unit Tempo Storm HotS (above) teams compLexity and Team
beat rivals Shot and the Bullets: Reloaded (both USA) to kick- Curse lasted 1 hr 20 min 37 sec on
start a 34-match winning streak in pro Heroes of the Storm 12 Jul 2014. The match was part
contests. According to GosuGamers, the run spanned nine of the North American League
tournaments and lasted just over two months. The deadly Championship Summer Series
quintet were finally upended in the arena by Cloud9 (USA). and saw compLexity’s Robert
“ROBERTxLEE” Lee emerge from
4,949 the virtual carnage triumphant.
The US gamer chalked up a
ferocious 719 minion kills in the
Euros wagered by a process – the most minion kills in
League of Legends a pro League of Legends match.
fan on 8 Oct
Highest-earning
2015 – the most
Heroes of the Storm player
money wagered
As of 15 Mar 2016, Chinese
on a single eSports eSporter Sun “xiaOt” Li Wei had
bet at Betway. won $70,261 (£48,942) from
competing in Heroes of the
Storm. “xiaOt” previously tasted
Largest audience for an eSports tournament
match for 45 min in order to use the
On 31 May 2015, League of Legends

controversy when he stopped a pro

toilet. Rules state that matches can

moderate success competitively

only be paused for injury or illness.
pro Seon “Space” Ho-San sparked

Running for four weeks in October, Riot Games’ 2015 League playing two other Blizzard titles –
of Legends World Championship attracted 334 million unique
Warcraft III and StarCraft II.
viewers – that’s more than the entire population of the USA.
The prestigious tournament was broadcast live via online and
TV channels across the world. The UK’s BBC honed in on the Highest-earning
action, too, airing eSports for the first time in its history. Bloodline Champions player
As of 15 Mar 2016, Sweden’s
Viktor “ViktorY” Corneliusson
had earned $4,500 (£3,134)
Highest-earning playing Funcom’s multiplayer
League of Legends gamer action game, according to
As of 14 Mar 2016, Lee e-Sportsearnings.
“Faker” Sang Hyeok (KOR,
below) had pocketed more
prize money than any other FACT!
League of Legends pro.
The hotshot gamer earned
Largest audience $489,762 (£340,427)
for an eSports match from competing in
A total of 36 million fans saw 27 tournaments.
South Korea’s SKTelecom Amazingly, more than
T1 (above) defeat fellow half of those winnings
countrymen KOO Tigers were amassed by
in the final of the 2015 the time he was
League of Legends World 17 years old.
Championship. The match
was staged at the Mercedes-
Benz Arena in Berlin,
Germany, on 31 Oct 2015 and
was streamed officially on
Twitch, YouTube and Azubu.

24
Most chosen hero in Heroes of the Storm
Based on data tracked by GosuGamers, the master spellcaster
Jaina Proudmoore (inset) had been selected in 2,497 competitive
matches as of 17 Mar 2016. However, the hero with the highest hero
win rate in Heroes of the Storm, based on a minimum of 200 matches,
is Anub’arak the traitor king. He tasted victory in 54% of his pro bouts.
Both heroes originally hail from the Warcraft universe.

Most eSports tournaments

for a game before launch
When Blizzard announced that it was
developing a new MOBA called Heroes of
the Storm (originally dubbed Blizzard DOTA),
experts predicted it would become a major name
in eSports. That claim was well evidenced by the
game’s competitive popularity while it was still in beta.
Between 16 Sep 2014 and its full release on 2 Jun 2015,
HotS had been contested in at least 40 tournaments.
Pictured in the main image is a scene from Blizzard’s
first Heroes of the Dorm event on 28 Mar–26 Apr 2015.

25
eSPORTS

STARCRAFT
Publisher: Blizzard Ent.
Developer: Blizzard Ent.
Genre: Strategy
Debut: 1998
Main games: 2
Expansions: 4

Most watched
StarCraft II match
The grand final of the Intel
Extreme Masters on 1 Feb 2015
was an epic battle between
the South Korean players
Cho “Maru” Seong Ju and Lee
“Life” Seung Hyun. As of 4 Feb
2016, this match had been
watched 1,771,150 times on
YouTube. Fans and organizers
alike described the showdown
between the Terran and Zerg
races as a “dream” final.

Longest period of domination

in StarCraft II
As of 4 Feb 2016, Terran
player “Mvp”, aka Jung Jong
Hyun (KOR), had a “period-
points” score of 6,222.
This total is based on
players’ ratings across
multiple leaderboards,
as calculated by the
StarCraft II statistics
site Aligulac.
FACT!

In Dec 2015, StarCraft: Brood War legend

Number of playable races in StarCraft II :
Lee “Flash” Young Ho (KOR) announced
his retirement from pro gaming, aged just 23.
Fans had nicknamed him “God”. 3 the Terran, Protoss and Zerg.

Highest-earning StarCraft II player

Despite announcing his “retirement” last
year, 24-year-old Jang “MC” Min Chul
(KOR) had earned $503,931 (£348,124)
from competing in 107 StarCraft II
tournaments, as of 4 Feb 2016. He had
achieved 16 first-place
finishes, most recently
at the 2015 Red Bull
Battle Grounds in
Washington,
DC, USA.

Longest-running eSports game

Debuting at the PGL Season 3 on 12–14 Nov 1998, the original
StarCraft (plus its expansion Brood War) had been a regular fixture
in pro gaming for 17 years 72 days by 4 Feb 2016. The RTS game’s
most recent tournament was the VANT36.5 National Starleague,
which ran from 28 Oct 2015 to 23 Jan 2016.
 Most eSports tournaments
for a videogame
As of 4 Feb 2016, StarCraft II: Wings of
Liberty (2010) had been the subject of
3,366 eSports tournaments. According
to eSportsearnings, 1,474 players had
collectively won $18,234,791 (£12,506,072),
making the game the third most lucrative
eSports title behind Dota 2 and League
of Legends. In Nov 2015, Kim “sOs”
Yoo Jin (KOR, inset)
won the WCS Global
Finals for the second
time at BlizzCon.

Most Actions Per Minute in a videogame

Actions Per Minute (APM) refers to how many times a player clicks their
mouse or uses their keyboard during a minute of gaming action. Although
Blizzard no longer tracks the APM in pro matches, StarCraft players have
clocked peak APMs of more than 1,000 during intense battles. That’s the
equivalent of performing an action up to 17 times every second!
FACT!

Pro StarCraft players are reported to train for as many Number of official
as 10 hours a day, with players often living together in
“Team Houses” to improve their bonding and discipline.
7 pro StarCraft II teams
in South Korea.

Youngest competitive
StarCraft II player
Born on 28 Jul 1997, Terran player
Cho “Maru” Seong Ju (KOR) was
13 years 41 days old when he won his
first televised StarCraft II match,
competing in the 2010 TG Sambo
Intel Open Season 1 on 7 Sep.
He participated in the event’s
Most pro eSports tournament preliminaries from 28 Aug
victories by a female gamer 2010, just one month
after turning 13. As of
As of 9 Mar 2016, Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn
4 Feb 2016, “Maru” was
(CAN) had earned $116,185 (£81,614) from
playing for the South
competing in 64 StarCraft II tournaments,
Korean team Jin Air
winning 14 of them. The New Yorker once
Green Wings.
hailed her as “the most accomplished
woman in eSports”. In 2015, Sasha
announced plans to start playing the
MOBA Dota 2 (Valve, 2013).

27
eSPORTS

FIGHTING GAMES
While they lack the epic prize pools of
MOBAs, fighting game tournaments have
been popular since the 1990s. Fast, skill-
based gameplay is key to their appeal.

Most entrants in an eSports

fighting tournament
Since its inception in 1996, the
dedicated fighting tournament
Evolution Championship Series
(EVO) has grown in size and
stature every year. Featuring
an open-entry system, the 2015
event attracted 7,101 competitors
to Las Vegas, USA, on 17–19 Jul.
Contests were waged in nine
games including Tekken 7 (Bandai Most Capcom Pro Tour
Namco, 2015) and Killer Instinct ranking points (cumulative)
(Microsoft, 2013). The Ultra Street Across the 2014 and 2015
Fighter IV (2014) tournament seasons, Olivier “MD
was the most subscribed, with Luffy” Hay (FRA) amassed
2,227 combatants battling to 2,645 points in key Ultra
reign supreme in Capcom’s Street Fighter IV tournaments,
revered fighter. as recognized by Capcom. The
fighting ace also holds the record
Most EVO Championship Series for most Capcom Pro Tour
titles held on a single game ranking points in one season,
In his fighting game career, Justin racking up 1,921 points in 2014.
Wong (USA) won the Marvel vs.
Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes Largest screen
(Capcom, 2000) event at EVO a in a gaming tournament
record six times – in 2002, 2003, A supersized screen measuring
2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010. 35.72 x 29.57 m (117 x 97 ft) –
While Marvel vs. Capcom 2 has about half the size of a basketball
not been contested at EVO since court – was used at a qualifying
2011, Justin did manage to snare event for the Tekken European
top prize at EVO 2014 – only this Championships, staged at the
time playing Ultimate Marvel vs. Panasonic IMAX Theatre in
Capcom 3. Sydney, Australia, in Sep 2012.

Prize pool for the 2015

FACT!

The fighting community

Number of attendees website Shoryuken is named
Ultra Street Fighter IV
14,157 at the 2015 EVO
Championship Series.
after a move from the Street
Fighter series. It translates
as “Rising Dragon Fist”.
$250,000 contest, the Capcom
Cup, which was staged
on 6 Dec that year.

Most podium places

in fighting games (female)
In a career that began in 2001,
“Kayane”, aka Marie-Laure Norindr
(FRA), had achieved 57 top-three
finishes in fighting tournaments, as of
11 Feb 2016. Most of Kayane’s successes
have been for Namco’s SoulCalibur
series and Super
Street Fighter IV
(Capcom,
2010).
Largest live audience for a
competitive fighting game match
Some 248,000 Twitch viewers saw Yusuke Momochi (JPN,
right), fighting as Evil Ryu, defeat Bruce “GamerBee” Hsiang
(TPE) in the Ultra Street Fighter IV final at EVO 2015 on 19 Jul
that year. Streamed live from Las Vegas, USA, the match
provided further drama when Momochi’s fight-stick broke.

28
 Largest Super Smash Bros. tournament
An epic 1,926 gamers competed on Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (2014) at the
EVO Championship Series at the Bally’s/Paris Las Vegas Casino in Nevada,
USA, on 17–19 Jul 2015, making it the biggest contest of its kind.
Its title was won by Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios
(CHL, below right).

Longest winning streak in Super

Smash Bros. tournaments
Between Nov 2014 and Oct 2015,
Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios (CHL, below)
won an incredible 53 tournaments in
a row on Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
(Nintendo, 2014). The ace’s winning
streak ended at the MLG World Finals on
18 Oct 2015, when he was defeated by
American gamer Nairoby
FACT!“Nairo” Quezada.

A video of Kenneth “KBrad” Bradley (USA)

performing the finishing move of WWE’s Stone
Cold Steve Austin at CEO 2015 went viral. The feat
earned a shout-out from the wrestler himself!

Most eSports tournament results (single player) Most Tekken

US Super Smash Bros. supremo “Mew2King” (aka tournament championships
Jason Zimmerman) had achieved “top-placed” prize As of 28 Jan 2016, eSports player Ariel
finishes in 339 pro eSports tournaments, as of 11 Feb “FightingGM” Capellan (USA) had won
2016, amassing earnings of $141,488 (£97,656). His bio 19 major tournaments in the Tekken franchise,
at eSportsearnings reveals that his gaming style relies as recognized by the organizers of EVO. His
on an in-depth testing of game mechanics, including victories included three Winter Brawl titles, two
character weight, knockback and physics. Summer Jam titles and Absolute Battle 2015.

29
eSPORTS

ESPORTS ROUND-UP
eSports isn’t just about MOBAs: racers, sports games and –
especially – shooters have been muscling in and gaining in
stature on the high-stakes gaming circuit.

Largest prize pool for a single-

player eSports tournament
A prize pool of $510,000
(£296,805) was put up by the
CPL World Tour Finals – open to
individuals rather than teams – in
New York, USA, on 20–22 Nov
2005. The tournament saw
one-to-one duelling on the FPS
Painkiller (DreamCatcher, 2004).
Winner Johnathan “Fatal1ty”
Wendel (USA) walked away with
a $150,000 (£87,295) first prize.

Longest absence for an Longest winning streak in Counter-Strike

Swedish team Ninjas in Pyjamas (above) have twice recorded 23-match
eSports tournament
winning streaks in the FPS Counter-Strike (1999), according to data
A quarter of a century after
from GosuGamers. The first was from 21 Sep 2012 to 12 Feb 2013, when
the inaugural Nintendo World they lost during the group stage of StarLadder StarSeries’ Season 5. The
Championships took place across second began on the same day as that defeat, when they beat Russian
29 US cities in 1990, the second Roulette (DEU) in the same competition. The run ended on 7 Apr 2013,
was staged at E3 2015 in Los when they lost to Virtus.pro (RUS) in the tournament’s play-offs.
Angeles, California, USA, on
14 Jun. The comeback contest
saw gamers compete in Mario Highest-earning Splatoon team
Kart 8 (2014), Splatoon (2015) and After heats around Japan, Ikata
the then-unreleased Super Mario Tama Kids (JPN) triumphed at
Maker (2015). It was won by John the grand final of the Splatoon
“John Numbers” Goldberg (USA). Koshien in Tokyo on 30–31 Jan
2016. The team were rewarded
Highest-rated player with the lion’s share of the
on World of Tanks (PC) competition’s prize pot, reported
On World of Tanks (Wargaming, to be worth over $1,000,000
2010), “Dodoma” (USA) held (£701,828). At least 400,000
a chart-topping “PR” score of viewers watched on the Japanese
11,960 as of 11 Mar 2016. streaming site Niconico.

High schools in Sweden that, in summer 2015, announced

FACT!

On 25 Aug 2015, Betway became the first

major bookmaker to launch a dedicated global they would offer eSports classes in the coming terms, with
eSports portal. Among the first bets available
was for Hearthstone (2014) to be part of the
2030 Winter Olympics, at odds of 99 to 1.
3 subjects to include DotA and Counter-Strike. Magnus Alehed,
headmaster of a school in Karlstad, told the press: “We aim
to kill the myth that it has to be a bad thing.”

Most documented Q&A with Empire Arcadia’s Isaiah “Triforce” Johnson

tournament wins When was the team formed? 2010. More recently, we won the
for a gaming team In 2001. The first tournaments CyberBox eSports League FIFA 16
“I wanted to we entered were a mix of retro championship and represented
help develop the and arcade games like Tetris Jamaica in Hearthstone for the
videogame culture and Super Street Fighter II at Americas Tour 2015.
through competitive Chinatown Fair arcade. Now we
How do you view eSports today?
gaming,” said Isaiah try to keep it diverse: Marvel vs.
Games such as League of
“Triforce” Johnson Capcom 2, Gears of War 2, Super
Legends and Dota 2 have taken
(above left). That mission Smash Bros. Melee, Hearthstone,
eSports to the next level; much
was truly accomplished Call of Duty, FIFA, Tetris…
as StarCraft and Halo did in the
when his Empire Arcadia
What are your historic victories? first decade of the 21st century,
team (both USA) – despite
We won Injustice: Gods Among and Quake and Doom in the late
its shifting line-ups – netted
Us and Ultimate Marvel vs. 1990s. We’ve been building a
2,000 tournament victories, as
Capcom 3 at EVO 2013, Gears of League of Legends team since
recorded on 14 May 2015. Over
War 2 at the World Cyber Games 2015 and have shifted our focus
the years, the team has included
in 2009 and Super Smash Bros. from retro, fighting and shooting
stars such as Justin Wong.
Brawl at Major League Gaming in games to MOBA and RTS titles.

30
 Most watched Counter-Strike
eSports tournament
Some 27 million Twitch users tuned
in for the ESL One Cologne Counter-
Strike: Global Offensive (Valve, 2012)
tournament on 22–23 Aug 2015. The
thrilling contest was held at the Lanxess
Arena in Cologne, Germany (main
picture), and was won by the Swedish
team Fnatic (below).
Viewing figures peaked at 1.3 million
– the most concurrent viewers for a
Counter-Strike tournament.

Years between the release of the first Metal 10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

Gear (Konami) in 1987 and ESL’s launch of Founded on 10 Nov 1981 in Ottumwa, Iowa,

28 the Metal Gear Online Global Championships

in December 2015 – the longest time for
an eSports debut by a videogame series.
USA, Twin Galaxies is the first videogame
adjudicator. It sought to turn gaming
into an international sport.

Highest-earning Counter-Strike player

Winning $366,061 (£257,324) from Counter-
Strike and its sequel Counter-Strike: Global
Offensive at 170 events, as of 11 Mar 2016, has
Most eSport tournaments for a racing game
made Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg (SWE, above) Between 28 Jun 2006 and 12 Dec 2015, there were 94 major
the biggest money-winner across the series. tournaments across four incarnations of TrackMania (Digital
This success has helped make Sweden the Jesters, 2003). The most commonly played by pro gamers
highest-earning Counter-Strike country. was TrackMania Nations Forever (2008), with 40 events
Its players had won $5,436,162 (£3,821,370) between 27 Nov 2011 and 31 Mar 2013, and a total of $111,875
from all of its games, as of 11 Mar 2016. (£73,557) prize money paid out. As of 11 Mar 2016, it remained
the most common racing name on the competitive circuit.

31
FEATURE

GOSUGAMERS
The rise in popularity of eSports has been aided by a new
wave of websites dedicated to covering the phenomenon.
Such publications cover everything from the biggest and
smallest competitions to the nuances of each game’s often-
complex rules. Few have done a better job of keeping digital
sports fans informed and educated as GosuGamers. Run by
former pro player Victor Martyn (right), it’s one of the most
popular dedicated eSports websites on the planet.

Q&A with Victor Martyn, owner of GosuGamers

What are the origins of GosuGamers? with users downloading
It was built by a Swedish gamer in 2001 or 2002 replays for Warcraft III, DotA
when he was just 13 years old. At that time, and StarCraft: Brood War. Now
the site was a hub for the Swedish StarCraft everyone watches live streams
community, but it broadened into other games on Twitch and YouTube. Replays have
and countries. I bought the site in May 2010 ballooned from 1 MB to 200 MB with the
and have been involved ever since. None of inception of Dota 2, while League of Legends
the founding staff members remain today. doesn’t even have
replays at all! We’ve had
You’re a former pro gamer. What triggered the to stay mobile and meet
switch to website management? changes in consumption
I was a pro gamer in South Korea for three and audience behaviour.
years between 1999 and 2002, but I returned
to Sweden hoping to follow a more traditional How do you decide
career path. However, while I was studying I which games to cover?
launched an online business and used some Mostly, it comes down
of the money that I had made to acquire to deciding whether
GosuGamers. My decision to return to eSports a game has potential,
was driven by my passion for it. what its current quality
is, and whether or
What kind of eSports events do you cover? not our staff have
We do a mix of online and on-site coverage, an interest in it.
attending tournaments in many countries. For
that purpose, we have correspondents across In your opinion,
the world. Each game has its own section on what will be the next
the site, with its own dedicated team. big game in eSports?
I think Blizzard’s Overwatch (inset) will be a
Has GosuGamers changed much? huge eSports title. It seems to be converging
The tech and the way we consume eSports a lot of different genres that have been
has changed. In 2010 it was a big thing to overlooked, such as action-orientated FPS
download and watch replays of matches. games, namely Quake, and combining that
That was one of our most important features, brilliantly with the better elements of a MOBA.

Predicted global viewing figures for eSports Predicted growth in eSports revenue
eSports was watched by 188.3 million fans in 2015 according Industry experts estimate that eSports will
to SuperData, with figures predicted to rise further by 2017. generate more than $1 billion in revenue by
2019. This sum would be generated by media
KEY: sales, merchandising, online advertising, brand
1 = 10 million viewers 238.1 M partnerships and game-publisher investment.
SOURCE: SuperData
218.4 M (Source: Gamesindustry.biz)

2019

188.3 M
$1.072
100.6 M billion
(predicted)

2014 2015 2016 2017

32
GosuGamers’ top-ranked eSports teams
GosuGamers uses its own system to decipher which teams and
players are the world’s best. Of course, in this fast-moving sport
things can swiftly change. Here’s how they ranked as of 6 Apr 2016...

Meet some of the

GosuGamers team...

Reggie Woo, Senior Editor

1 for League of Legends
Favourite League of
Dota 2 Legends match?
That would have to be
1. Evil Geniuses Dota2 (USA, above)
Unicorns of Love vs Fnatic
2. Team Secret (Europe) during Week 8 of the 2015 EU LCS
3. Fnatic.Dota2 (MYS) Spring Split.
4. Team Liquid (Europe) Why was that?
5. EHOME (CHN) It showed how exciting a single
professional game can be. Fnatic were
so close to killing the enemy “Nexus”,
but weren’t able to. That let Unicorns of
Love bounce back and take the game.

1
Andreea Esanu, Dota 2
Editorial Section Leader
League of Legends Favourite Dota 2 match?
1. SKT T1 (KOR, above)
The International 3 –
Grand Finals.
2. G2 Esports LoL (Europe)
3. Immortals (USA) Why is eSports journalism
important to you?
4. EDward Gaming (CHN)
It’s still in its early development, and
5. ahq e-Sports Club (TPE) lacks true models and professionals
that could take this sort of job to the
next level. With all the community
commitment and dedication I truly
believe we can change the way that
the eSports press is regarded.
What’s most exciting about the
1 future of eSports?
It’s almost unbelievable how fast
and how far the eSports industry has
Counter-Strike: got with almost no support from any
Global Offensive “mainstream” media. We’re now at
1. Fnatic (SWE, above) a point where eSports are not even
dependent on this sort of attention.
2. Natus Vincere (UKR)
3. Luminosity Gaming (BRA)
4. Astralis (DNK)
5. Ninjas in Pyjamas (SWE)

Vladimir “Angel”
Kojadinovic, Counter-Strike
Section Leader
Favourite Counter-Strike match?
Fnatic vs Team LDLC during DreamHack
1 Winter 2014.
What impact did that
match have on you?
Heroes of the Storm
The joy I felt while watching it was
1. MVP Black (KOR, above) definitely comparable to the joy that
2. eStar Gaming (CHN) I always feel cheering for my favourite
3. Cloud9 HotS (USA) sports club. My memories of that match
will remain forever.
4. EDward Gaming HotS (CHN)
5. Natus Vincere HotS (Europe)

33
ACTION-ADVENTURE
The staple of any gaming diet, action-adventures have
brought us blockbuster plots, epic set-pieces and heroes
such as Link and Nathan Drake. No genre has sold better.

34
Released in 2015, LEGO Dimensions was the toy giant’s long-anticipated
debut to the toys-to-life genre. In classic brick-building style, gamers
get to collect interactive figurines, which they can then assemble and
customize before transporting into the game itself. To date, characters
have hailed from such mighty franchises as Batman and Jurassic World .

Fastest time to assemble characters

in LEGO® Dimensions’ starter pack
The figurines for Wyldstyle, Gandalf and
Batman (all pictured) were assembled in
a record 32 sec by “Leon Ip” in Solihull,
West Midlands, UK, on 9 Jan 2016.
The young gamer – whose dad, rather
helpfully, is an architect – also set the
record for the fastest time to build the
Batmobile figurine in LEGO Dimensions:
1 min 13 sec, on 4 Mar 2016.

35
 ACTION-ADVENTURE

ACTION-ADVENTURE ROUND-UP
Arguably the “granddaddies” of most modern games,
action-adventures are a mix of everything you could wish for:
gripping narratives, fiendish puzzles and explosive action!

Fastest completion of First 100% completion Fastest completion of

Rise of the Tomb Raider of Titan Souls The Last of Us: Left Behind
Tomb Raider speed-runner Acid Nerve’s indie title Titan Souls Making use of a large skip-glitch,
“TheArtisticBallistic” (CHE) was released on 14 Apr 2015. Greg “The Thrillness” Innes (UK)
completed a glitched run through “DeGarmo2” earned a Platinum raced through Naughty Dog’s
Crystal Dynamics’ 2015 instalment Trophy for completing the PS4/ 2014 DLC in just 5 min 58 sec
in just 1 hr 14 min 36 sec on PSV version three days later, on 4 Jun 2015.
the PC. The super-fast time at 1:06:40 a.m. on 17 Apr 2015 A prologue to the original
was verified by Speedrun.com – incredibly, just two seconds game, Left Behind had a
on 5 Mar 2016. ahead of the next gamer! GameRankings score of 89.94%
as of 9 Mar 2016 – the most
critically acclaimed DLC for
an action-adventure game.

Fastest completion of
lara croft Shadow of the Colossus
Japanese gamer “Shirapon” sped
tomb raider series through the PS3 version of Fumito
Ueda’s monster-inhabited classic
Shadow of the Colossus in just
1 hr 31 min 7 sec on 11 Dec 2015,
to promote
rise as verified by Speedrun.com. The
of the tomb
raider, sparse, atmospheric adventure
eight people
to
in a streamed ok part is the unofficial predecessor to
“s
billboard” ch urvival the upcoming The Last Guardian
braving simul allenge, (2016), with both titles sharing
Lara Cruz weather on ated harsh
Originally known as the a fondness for huge character
billboard in ledge of a
Archaeologist lond models. In The Last Guardian’s
Profession the winner la on, uk.
Bow and arrow sted for case, gamers can look forward to
Main weapon over 20 hr.
meeting the gigantic “pet” Trico.
ol, climbing axe
Back-up weapons Pist
s) 20
Games (inc. spin-off

In Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us, an

Number of “ghosts” – hard-to-find images
FACT!

apocalypse might have hit the USA but one

hidden within a game – for eagle-eyed gamers creature seems to be thriving – giraffes!

43 to spot in Metal Gear Solid (Konami, 1998).

The spectral images are the game’s designers.
Apparently symbols of lost innocence, the
long-necked animals can be spotted in the
shape of toys and ads, or even seen milling
around in scenes inspired by Jurassic Park.

Most uses of a cardboard

box in a videogame
Ever since Solid Snake used one to
evade his enemies in the first Metal Gear
(Konami, 1987), the humble cardboard box
has become a running joke throughout the
series. In Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom
Pain (Konami, 2015), it is put
to no less than 12 different
uses – including a
shield, toboggan and
First motion-capture animation in a videogame
a pin-up board
Using a technique known as rotoscoping, Jordan Mechner for posters.
(USA) filmed his brother performing the acrobatic moves
eventually seen in Prince of Persia (Brøderbund, 1989),
tracing over the frames to create smooth animated motions.
With $335,154,643 (£213,973,000) in box-office receipts
from May 2010, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is the
highest-grossing live-action game-to-film transfer.

36
Fastest completion of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
On 10 Jul 2015, “skater82297” stunned the gaming world with a time
of 17 min 45 sec. Using the classic Zelda tactic of running backwards
and playing the Japanese version for faster-scrolling subtitles,
he became only the second gamer to complete it in under 18 min,
beating the mark set by “Jodenstone” (SWE) on 16 Mar 2015.

Most critically acclaimed

game on Metacritic
With a Metacritic score of 99% as of
14 Mar 2016, The Legend of Zelda:
Ocarina of Time (Nintendo, 1998) is a
hair’s breadth from perfection. Link’s
classic adventure is the only title ever
to achieve that score, ahead of gaming
heavyweights Grand Theft Auto IV
(Rockstar Games, 2008), Tony Hawk’s
Pro Skater 2 (Activision, 2000) and
SoulCalibur (Namco, 1999), all on 98%.

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
The longest cutscene in a game – a non-
interactive sequence to explain the story
between levels – is 27 min, in Metal Gear
Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami, 2008).

Largest cosplay Fastest completion of

costume based Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
on a videogame On 18 Mar 2016, French speed-
(single person) runner “Erims” hared through
Ruby Taki (JPN) Naughty Dog’s 2007 action-
of US-based cosplay adventure in 42 min 29 sec.
group Pro Voltage “Really bad run,” Erims
spent eight months moaned, despite shaving
making a jaw-dropping 27 sec off his previous
Metal Gear REX from time. The run was
Metal Gear Solid achieved on the PS4
(Konami, 1998). Her version, which was
creation is 215 cm (7 ft) released as part of
tall, 190 cm (6 ft 2 in) wide The Nathan Drake
and measures 250 cm (8 ft Collection in 2015.
2 in) from front to back. The
hulking bipedal tank drew
gasps when it was unveiled
at Otakon in Aug 2014.

37
ACTION-ADVENTURE

SANDBOX ADVENTURES
The biggest evolution in the action-adventure genre is the
advent of “sandbox” environments, enabling gamers to
roam large, open worlds with new-found freedom.

Best-selling action-adventure Fastest completion of

game series Middle-earth: Shadow
With global sales of 157.5 million of Mordor
units as of 11 Feb 2016, Rockstar’s American speed-runner
open-world franchise Grand and Twitch user “FearfulFerret”
Theft Auto (GTA) is the best- completed the hugely acclaimed
selling series in its genre, Tolkien action-fest Middle-earth:
according to VGChartz. Shadow of Mordor (Warner Bros.,
The best-selling action- 2014) in 1 hr 56 min 35 sec on
adventure game is GTA V (2013), 19 Nov 2014. This any% run was
which had sold 51.96 million completed on the PC version
copies as of the same date. and is ranked at Speedrun.com.

Most critically acclaimed

open-world game
As of 11 Feb 2016, the PS3 version
of 2008 crime romp GTA IV held
a mighty GameRankings score of
97.04%, very narrowly topping
Most signatures for a videogame petition
its successor – GTA V, at 97.01%.
A petition appealing for GTA V to be released for PC had gained
728,144 signatories on Change.org by 11 Jun 2014. Targeting
Longest marathon on an developer Rockstar, it pleaded: “It’s a big shame not seeing the
action-adventure game newest iteration of the game being released on the most
Tony Desmet, Jesse Rebmann powerful platform.” GTA V finally hit PCs in Apr 2015.
and Jeffrey Gammon (all
BEL) played the periodic
thriller Assassin’s Creed:
Brotherhood (Ubisoft,
2010) for a hand-
numbing 109 hr at the
GUNKtv World Record
Gaming Event in
Antwerp, Belgium,
on 18–22 Dec 2010.
FACT!

Courtesy of a mod created by “popos1”, Voice actors in 2013’s Saints Row IV (Deep
gamers can drive the world’s smallest Silver). The over-the-top open-world game
production car in GTA V – a Peel P50,
whose real-world counterpart is just
134 cm (53 in) long and 99 cm (39 in) wide.
99 features aliens, gangsters and former
WWE legend “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.

JACOB FRYE
ate
assassin’s creed: syndic

First 3D open-world action-adventure

A military-themed third-person game,
Hunter is widely credited as the first Master Assassin
action-adventure to provide open-world Occupation
English
gameplay in 3D. Players controlled a Nationality
soldier as they executed a number of 21
Age
covert missions. The game, released ning
Skills Eagle vision, free-run
in 1991 for Atari ST and Amiga, was her
unc
designed by Paul Holmes for Activision. Tools Hidden Blade, rope-la

38
 Highest vertical range
in a land-based videogame
The highest playable point in Just Cause 3
(Square Enix, 2015) measures in at 3,015 m
(9,891 ft) above sea level, creating the
highest known vertical range of any land-
based game using an approximate real-world
scale. In it, players pilot choppers, skydive
and – most satisfyingly of all – soar around
in a wingsuit like a supercharged eagle.

D.I.C.E. awards won by 10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

Middle-earth: Shadow Assassin’s Creed II has secured

8 of Mordor in 2015,
including Outstanding
Innovation in Gaming.
the most magazine covers for a
videogame – a total of 127 between
Apr 2009 and Apr 2010.

Fastest entertainment Most money pledged

property to gross $1 billion for a videogame on Kickstarter
When GTA V was released for home Announced at E3 on 15 Jun 2015, Shenmue III
consoles on 17 Sep 2013, it smashed the (Ys Net) went on to raise $6,333,296
$1 bn-grossing record in just three (£4,066,048) on Kickstarter. It had earlier set
days. Developers Rockstar claimed the record for fastest $1 million pledged for
that $800 million (£500 m) was a videogame, reaching
made in one day alone. that milestone in just
1 hr 44 min. Shown
right is Shenmue
series director
Yu Suzuki.
ACTION-ADVENTURE

SUPERHERO GAMES
Superheroes are effectively ready-made gaming stars,

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
is Spider-Man, with 37 headline appearances,
ranging from his 1982 debut Spider-Man to
2014’s mobile title Spider-Man: Unlimited.
The most prolific videogame superhero
capable of incredible feats and embroiled in out-there plots.
Inevitably, they have fronted some epic videogame titles.

Most Marvel
Most licensed superheroes movies condensed
into a videogame
in a videogame
Action-adventure title LEGO ®
Packed with 1,718 heroes and villains
Marvel Avengers (Warner Bros.,
from the DC universe, Scribblenauts
2016) spans the epic events
Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure
(5th Cell, 2013) is home to well-known covered in no less than six
names such as Batman and Wonder feature-length films: Captain
Woman, and also to more obscure America: The First Avenger
faces such as Pantha and Mr Terrific. (2011), The Avengers (2012), Iron
Man 3 (2013), Thor: The Dark
World (2013), Captain America:
The Winter Soldier (2014) and
Most lines of dialogue Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).
in a superhero game
Brooding adventure title Batman: Fastest completion of
The Incredible Hulk
Arkham Knight (Warner Bros.,
2015) features 36,160 lines of
dialogue, amounting to more
51 Troy “Hellfire7777777” Spence
(USA) Hulk-smashed his way
through classic SNES/MegaDrive
than 60 hr of audio. Reprising the
voice of Batman from the other platformer The Incredible Hulk
games in the Arkham franchise (U.S. Gold, 1994) in 19 min 35 sec,
is US actor Kevin Conroy. Episodes of according to Speed Demos
Viewtiful Archive. The run was completed
on 21 Nov 2009 and was played
Most critically acclaimed superhero videogames Joe ’s TV on the Arcade setting, which is
the most difficult.
Game Publisher Version Score series
Batman: Arkham City (2011) Warner Bros. PS3 95.94%
Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) Eidos Xbox 360 92.34%
Viewtiful Joe (2003) Capcom GC 91.19%
on the Atari 2600 way back in 1979.
headlining his own eponymous title
first official videogame superhero,

Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Virgin DC 90.15%

Krypton’s surviving son Superman

Heroes (2000)
has the distinction of being the

Batman: Arkham Knight (2015) Warner Bros. PS4 88.45%

Freedom Force (2002) EA PC 87.88%
Spider-Man (2000) Activision PS 86.53%
Freedom Force vs The 3rd Reich Irrational PC 86.07%
(2005)
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Capcom Xbox 360 85.9%
Fate of Two Worlds (2011)
Viewtiful Joe 2 (2004) Capcom GC 85.87%
Source: GameRankings. Figures accurate as of 8 Feb 2016.

Longest-running superhero MMO FACT! SUPERMAN

City of Heroes, the first superhero
SUPERMAN SERIES
MMORPG, ran for 8 years 217 days
before closing on 30 Nov 2012.
Its developer Cryptic Studios
also released the free2play
Champions Online on 10,000
1 Sep 2009. As of
3 Mar 2016, it had run
for 6 years 184 days,
making it the longest- Buildings in the
running superhero virtual Metropolis 1979
Videogame debut
MMO still active. The Krypton/USA
that appear in Nationality
game is based on the
Champions table-top 2006 film tie-in Headline game app
earances 14

role-playing game. Superman Returns. Flight, strength, icy

breath
Powers
The city covers gs score 65.46%
Highest GameRankin
80 sq mi (207 km2).
Most Spider-Men and Spider-Women in a videogame
Set across the vast Marvel multiverse, Gameloft’s mobile outing Spider-Man:
Unlimited (2014) features a veritable army of 77 Spidey-people to battle
evil. The game is an endless runner that revolves around the Green Goblin’s
bid to overthrow Spidey’s “regular” earthly dimension by using a portal.

for fun
videos of gt
av
superhero m
ods,
head to the
“t ypical
gamer” yout
ube channel.
it features
do-gooders ro popular
m
rockstar’s ep ping around
ic crime gam
a vid of the e.
flash
has 11-million alone
-plus
views!

Most official superhero

costumes in a videogame
As of 29 Feb 2016, US-based developer
Gazillion Entertainment had released
404 superhero outfits for its MMORPG
Marvel Heroes 2016. Each is officially
adapted from either a comic-book or
movie source. They include 23 costumes
for Iron Man, 19 for Spider-Man,
14 for the Hulk and eight for
the Fantastic Four’s Thing.

41
ACTION-ADVENTURE

TOYS-TO-LIFE Most critically acclaimed

toys-to-life game
Set on the Cloudbreak Islands,
By using devices known as “hubs” or “portals”, special

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

Trigger Happy toys in packaging marked

The rarest Skylanders figures were given
away at E3 2011 – 600 Spyro, Gill Grunt and

“Bring me to life at the Activision E3 booth.”

figurines can be teleported into games. The popular Skylanders: Swap Force (2013) for
toys-to-life genre has also inspired feverish collecting. Xbox 360 had a GameRankings
rating of 84.68% as of 14 Mar
2016, more than any other game
First toys-to-life videogame requiring figurines to play.
Although Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure
(Activision, 2011) popularized the toys- Highest-altitude freefall
to-life phenomenon, it was actually videogame session
Mattel’s 2007 PC title U.B. Funkey As part of the European launch
that first used a portal to insert of Skylanders: Trap Team on
additional toy-based characters into a
10 Oct 2014, a group of skydivers
videogame. Disappointing sales led to
dubbed “Skytrappers” played
the series being discontinued in 2010.
the game in freefall at 12,500 ft
(3,810 m).

Largest collection of
Skylanders memorabilia
Most expensive Christopher Desaliza of Pace
amiibo figure in Florida, USA, has amassed
Thanks to a factory

30
a collection of 4,100 unique
defect, this ultra-rare Skylanders items,
amiibo of Super Mario’s as verified on
perennial damsel in 27 Jan 2015.
distress, Princess
Peach, appeared with
Games based on
missing legs – a flaw
that only increased her toy franchises
value. On 9 Dec 2014, developed by UK
the factory-sealed studio TT Games,
toy fetched a reported the most prolific
$25,100 (£16,091) on eBay. developer of toy
videogames.

Most actors reprising TV and

Splatoon special editions, complete

hijacked on its way from Nintendo’s

with rare Inkling Squid amiibo, was

film roles in a videogame
warehouse, leaving the company

LEGO® Dimensions (Warner Bros., 2015)

In Mar 2015, a consignment of

saw 24 actors reprising roles they had

European HQ to GAME’s UK

unable to meet its orders.

previously played. This included the 12th

Doctor Who, Peter Capaldi (left), original
Ghostbusters (1984) stars Dan Aykroyd
and Ernie Hudson, and Michael J Fox
from Back to the Future (1985). First amiibo figurine of
an indie-game character
On 27 Aug 2015, the spade-
wielding hero of Shovel
Knight (Yacht Club Games,
2014) was unveiled as a new
amiibo figurine. The figurine
FACT! unlocked a special “Co-op”
mode on the Wii and
exclusive challenge stages
on both the 3DS and Wii.

15 First game to use wearable

technology to unlock content
The MagicBand is a wristband
Most licences in a single videogame that allows visitors to Walt Disney
Minutes it took
World Resort in Florida, USA, to
Released on 27 Sep 2015, LEGO’s first foray into the toys- for the US retailer
to-life genre promised to “fuse many fan-favourite universes enter the Magic Kingdom. It also
Walmart to sell out enables users to unlock extra
together”. LEGO Dimensions lived up to the billing, featuring
of 3,000 exclusive content for the “Toy Box” mode in
characters from 11 franchises that are independent of LEGO
including The Lord of the Rings, DC Comics, Jurassic World, Gold Mario amiibo, various Disney Infinity titles when
Scooby-Doo!, Portal, The Wizard of Oz and The Simpsons. in Feb 2015. the user places the MagicBand
on the game’s Infinity Base device.

42
 Smallest dev team on a toys-to-life videogame
Combining Jenga-style tabletop stacking with
a digital strategy element, Fabulous Beasts
(Sensible Object, 2016) was the brainchild of an
indie studio of just five people. Development was
aided by crowdfunding support on Kickstarter,
which pledged $237,979 (£168,360).

he plays
skylanders.
unboxes. he he
is scared
by his dad ju
m
him at hallow ping out on
ee
11-year-old yo n. evan is an
utub
with more th e sensation
an 4 million
subscribers
to channels
“evantubehd”
an
“evantuberaw d
”.

captain falcon
amiibo figure

Largest game hardware

accessories brand (current)
Since the first Skylanders gamer
plugged Spyro the Dragon into
the “Portal of Power”, Activision’s
series has helped to establish the
toys-to-life game as a vibrant new
genre. The rewards have been amiibo number
18
remarkable: according to market Game debut
F-Zero (1990)
research by Euromonitor,
Occupation
Skylanders earned an Bounty hunter
astonishing revenue of Alias
Bart Lemming
$541,200,000 (£383,393,000) Arch-enemy
Black Shadow
in 2014 alone, ahead of Disney
Infinity’s $365,700,000
(£235,416,000).

43
ACTION-ADVENTURE

GRAPHIC ADVENTURES

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
Appearing on 13 computer platforms and
consoles across multiple generations, the

graphic adventure videogame.

original Myst (1993) is the most ported
Celebrated for their teasing puzzles and compelling Most critically
storytelling, graphic adventures are for those who like acclaimed “art” game
their gameplay cerebral, gently paced and utterly gripping. The rise of independent
gaming studios, coupled with
a wider availability of dev
tools, led to many developers
experimenting more freely
with game design.
As of 9 Feb 2016, the
most critically acclaimed
game described as “art”
was the PS4 version
Most awards won by an indie game of Journey (2015),
The PS3 original of the desert adventure which had scored 94.8%
Journey (thatgamecompany, above, 2012) on GameRankings based
bagged 118 awards in 2012–13. Highlights on 25 reviews.
included IGN’s Number One PSN Game of All
Time, GameSpot’s Overall Game of the Year,
multiple gaming BAFTAs, and CNN citing it
“MANNY” CALAVERA
among its 10 Best Video Games of 2012. grim fandango

Longest-running graphic
198
adventure protagonist
Guybrush Threepwood appeared Cups of tea in
in five Monkey Island games from Everybody’s Gone
15 Oct 1990 to 8 Dec 2009: a total
of 19 years 54 days. George and Nico
to the Rapture
of the Broken Sword series are closing 1998 (The Chinese Room,
Debut
the gap, with 17 years 199 days between Unknown 2015) – the most
Age
their first and most recent appearances. Mexican
cups of tea in a
Nationality
videogame.
deceased
Job Travel agent for the
Domino Hurley
Enemy

In 2012, fans celebrated it by creating

the hardest videogame puzzles of all.
The goat puzzle in Revolution’s 1996
title Broken Sword: The Shadow of
the Templars is regarded as one of

the “Order of the Goat” guild.

Fastest completion of Grim
Longest gap between Fandango: Remastered
an original game and its remake Gamer “Caffeinated_Fox”
Announced to nostalgic fervour in 2014, (BRA) completed Tim
Tim Schafer’s remastered remake of his Schafer’s Mexican-themed
own Day of the Tentacle (LucasArts) yarn Grim Fandango
was set for release in Mar 2016 – (2015) in 1 hr 21 min
at least 22 years 250 days after the 30 sec on 26 Jan 2016.
original’s 25 Jun 1993 debut. The
much-loved point-and-click adventure Fastest completion
saw three awkward teens fighting a of Life is Strange
purple tentacle. On 6 Feb 2016, Brazil’s
“Roxy_Rose” played FACT!
through all episodes of
psychic thriller Life is
Strange (Square Enix, 2015)
in 5 hr 31 min 53 sec.
She described it as
the longest speed-run
she’d ever done.
36
Fastest
Number of
completion
fairytale or folklore
of Maniac Mansion
Lucasfilm’s 1987 adventure characters in The
Maniac Mansion was Wolf Among Us
completed by Kyle “Mr K” (Telltale, 2013),
Halversen in just 6 min including the Big
49 sec on 13 Aug 2012. Bad Wolf.
 Most critically acclaimed “episode” of an episodic game series
The Vault of the Traveler (2015), the fifth and final episode of Tales from
the Borderlands (above), had scored 88.65% on gamerankings.com, from
20 reviews, as of 9 Feb 2016. Its acclaim narrowly pips the final episodes
of fellow Telltale hits The Wolf Among Us (below) and The Walking Dead.

Most prolific publisher

of graphic adventure games
Formed in 2004 by former employees
of LucasArts, US studio Telltale Games
had developed 23 graphic adventure
titles as of Feb 2016. The company
is revered for episodic adaptations of
major licences including The Walking
Dead, Game of Thrones (below) and
Back to the Future. In Oct 2015, the
studio kicked off Minecraft: Story Mode
(right), a five-part adventure based
on Mojang’s open-world smash hit.

45
ACTION-ADVENTURE

HORROR GAMES Most expensive

videogame package
Techland released a collector’s
Blending terror with action and adventure is a match made

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
The Xbox 360 version of Deadly
Premonition is the most critically divisive
survival horror game. It carved a 68%
review swing when released in 2010.
in gaming heaven. Jump-scares, strange locales and grisly “Spotlight Edition” of Dying
villains all bode well for unsettling gaming experiences. Light: The Following (2016)
through UK retailer GAME for
$10 m in Feb 2016. The special,
one-bundle-only package
Most game sequels offered a supporting role in
released in a year a proposed Dying Light film,
Following its initial release on acting lessons, stuntman training,
8 Aug 2014 for PC, the point-and- an off-road driving course, first-
click survival horror Five Nights class flights and accommodation,
at Freddy’s had three full-sized
the chance to voice a game
sequels released in less than a
character, and, finally, four
year, its fourth iteration arriving
signed copies of the game itself.
in Jul 2015. Making this feat even
more impressive was the fact that
these creepy indie romps were Most critically panned dialogue
the work of just one man – games in a videogame
designer Scott Cawthon (USA). The Resident Evil (1996) line
“Here’s a lockpick. It might be
handy if you, the master of

6
unlocking, take it with you”
has appeared in at least 10
“worst dialogue” features,
lists and polls, including
Largest collection of
those published by Electronic
Silent Hill memorabilia
Videogame Gaming Monthly, IGN and Audio
Since kick-starting her collection
appearances Atrocities. So infamous and
in 1999, Whitney Chavis (USA)
for the iconic ironically revered is Resident
has amassed 342 different items
Evil’s original dialogue that
of memorabilia from Konami’s Alone in the Dark
in Oct 2015 a modder
seminal survival horror series Silent investigator
Hill. The hoard includes posters, restored the game’s
Edward Carnby. original words to its
figures, dolls and movie props.
2015 remake.

Fastest completion
of SOMA
Most “cash” collected in Dying Light
Gamer “Sychotixx”
As of 1 Mar 2016, US gamer “NYPD1993”
had amassed $6,322,292 on the Xbox One
version of Techland’s open-world zombie
game. Meanwhile, Italy’s “APOGEUS12”
47 (USA) finished SOMA
(Frictional Games)
– one of 2015’s most
achieved the most kills in Dying Light acclaimed horror titles –
(console), notching up a zombie body in just 1 hr 1 min 12 sec
count of 212,449 by the same date. Unique death (without loads) on 8 Nov 2015.
animations for poor
Leon S Kennedy in
the eerie, Spain-set
classic Resident
Fastest “Nightmare” Evil 4 (Capcom, jill valentine
completion of 2005).
Alien: Isolation resident evil
German gamer
“Metzix” finished
videogame villain in Leatherface.

the PC version
Massacre (Wizard Games, 1983)

of Sega’s sci-fi
The panned Atari 2600 movie
spin-off The Texas Chainsaw

chiller Alien:
featured the first playable

Isolation (2014)
in just 2 hr 41 min
38.89 sec (with
loads), a feat ranked 1996
at Speedrun.com on Videogame debut
1974
6 Feb 2016. “I’m happy Year of birth
and unhappy at the same USA
Nationality
time,” he said of his record- , bombs
Skills Firearms, lockpicking
breaking run, complaining
Corp & “zombies”
that an android’s head had Enemies Umbrella
become “invisible”.
FACT!
 Longest script for a graphic adventure game
Screenwriters Graham Reznick and Larry Fessenden
(both USA) wrote 1,000 pages of dialogue for Until
Dawn (2015), reduced from an initial 10,000-page
outline. The script’s epic length was in part owing
to the game’s extended development period. It was
originally announced as an action title back in 2012.

Most scripted jump-scares

in a graphic adventure
PS4 chiller Until Dawn (Supermassive,
2015) features a nerve-shredding
86 scripted jump-scares, with around
five nig 35 in a single play-through. The game’s
freddy ’s hts at frights include books flying off shelves
most popu is one of the
lar video and traps springing shut. Such is the
on youtub ga mes
e
made vide , with man y fan- game’s propensity for jolts that some
os to its n 400 video compilations had been made
tribute so am
ng “five n e. the by YouTubers within one month of its
freddy ’s ights at
1s
tombston ong – the living release. Shown here is Ashley, one of
e” h a
68,908,333 d been viewed eight protagonists in the game.
times a She is played by US actress
9 mar 2016 s of
. Galadriel Stineman.

47
 FEATURE

BATMAN COSPLAY
Cosplayer Julian Checkley (UK, pictured) made a huge splash
on the gaming festival circuit by building – and wearing – a
Batman suit based on that in Arkham Origins (Warner Bros.,
2013). A special FX master by trade, Checkley spent three
months in his studio in Ireland loading up his mega-creation
with 23 working gadgets – the most functioning gadgets on a
cosplay suit. “I was wracking my brain trying to devise gadgets
that not only looked fun but would also have great visual
appeal,” he said. Some of Julian’s gizmos are shown below.

lear,
NBC- rated (nuc
ical) bat-
bacterial, chem
into cowl
respirator: fits

lti-
Bat-comms: a mu
lti-
channel and mu
way radio
frequency two-

ed , four-
Gauntlet-mount screen:
ooter: Gauntlet video
barrel fireball sh d
–16 ft) relays images an
fires at 4–5 m (13 Batman
information to
 ker:
knFind” bat-t rac can
Bluetoot h “Stic tiv ate d beacon
ca lly ac
this magneti ation and
a vehicle or loc
be attached to im e using the video
in rea l-t
then tracked t
an’s right gauntle
screen in Batm

s a lightweight
Grapnel gun: fire the
sca lin g
harpoon for
m
towers of Gotha

p: an
Ultraviolet lam
ry for
essential accesso work
tive
Batman’s detec

create a
Smoke bombs:
bla nket of obscuring
thick
e in se co nd s produces
smok EM P stun gun:
ing lig ht to stun
a blind
criminals

r:
Bat-sign projecto cts the
oje
telescopically pr surface
any
Bat symbol on

48 49
CLASSICS
Truly great games never grow old. Retro platformers, vintage
puzzlers and arcade icons are as popular as ever, with new
generations now discovering them on the move.
Largest game ported
to the Sinclair ZX81
Released in 1983, Cinematronics’
interactive movie Dragon’s Lair was a
technical marvel. Using state-of-the-art
(and incredibly expensive) LaserDisc
technology, it was able to display the
action not only in colour, but also with
smooth movie-like animation. Back
then, ordinary gamers were plugging
away on machines such as the Sinclair
ZX81, which couldn’t possibly run such
a beautiful game… or could it?
On 30 Apr 2015, programmer Jim
Bagley (UK) managed, with the aid of
add-on hardware and cunning coding,
to get the game running on his ZX81.
His port clocked in at 15,824,610 bytes
(15 MB) on a system where most games
were less than 16,384 bytes (16 KB).

Q&A with Jim Bagley

What made you port Dragon’s Lair? was more than a few
People said this couldn’t be done, which made kilobytes in size.
it a challenge.
How did you make it work?
Why couldn’t it be done before? I used an expansion module called ZXpand that
The ZX81 had no way of loading a game as big gives the machine 32 KB of RAM and lets it load
as Dragon’s Lair. It loaded its programs from files from an SD card (which gave me enough
audio tapes. They could theoretically hold storage space for Dragon’s Lair). Even with
about 120 KB of data, but in practice the ZX81’s these expansions it was a real challenge getting
tiny amount of RAM – no more than 16 KB – the game to work: I ended up having to write
meant the system struggled with anything that my own custom video converter for the ZX81.

50
Dragon’s Lair was a unique experiment in interactive
story-telling – part game, part movie. Gameplay
was limited to timed button presses, which triggered
different animations (drawn by former Disney
animator Don Bluth) to advance the story of Dirk
the Daring (below) and his quest to rescue Princess
Daphne from the dragon Singe. To adapt this game
for the ZX81, Jim Bagley had to first convert the video
from colour to black-and-white, then reduce the
resolution from 720 x 480 pixels to 128 x 96.

51
CLASSICS
the spelunker
PLATFORM GAMES spelunky
Since Mario Bros. debuted in 1983 and fully introduced pudgy

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
Playing Atari’s cancelled Garfield (1983), US

on 7 Jul 2008 as the highest game score ever.

gamer Tom Duncan earned an astonishing
23,418,862,404,272,676,864 points – verified
plumber Mario, platformers have been gaming staples. Now
independent hits such as Spelunky are carrying the torch.

Longest-running comic
based on a videogame
Archie Comics’ Sonic the Hedgehog Whipping, jumping
Attack moves
debuted in Jul 1993 and had notched
Ropes, bombs
up 279 issues by Mar 2016. Charting Basic gear
ress
battles against bad guys such as Likes Gold, damsels in dist
Doctor Eggman, the comic led to spin- Bats, yetis, ghosts
Dislikes
offs Knuckles the Echidna (1997–2000) ek
Nicknames Iowa Jack, Indie, Der
and Sonic Universe (2009–present).

Longest-running fan convention

for a videogame character
Fastest completion of The UK’s “Summer of Sonic”
became, in 2008, the first official
Ori and the Blind Forest
fan convention to celebrate
On 7 Feb 2016, Swiss gamer
“Ikewolf” braved dark forests
and ancient dangers to finish
197 Sega’s icon. Repeated for the
next five years, it helped spawn
the “Sonic Boom” event in the
Moon Studios’ 2015 fantasy
adventure in 23 min 14 sec. USA. In 2013, tickets moved faster
The game is also the most Number of than Sonic himself, reportedly
critically acclaimed indie unique weapons selling out in just 15 sec.
game on Xbox One, with a in the Ratchet &
GameRankings score of 88.52%. Fastest single-segment
Clank series as of
completion of Super Meat Boy
17 Feb 2016 (not
Ultra-hard indie Super Meat Boy
counting upgrades (Team Meat, 2010) was a hit on
and mods). PC and consoles. On 1 Jan 2015,
“Vorpal” (USA) raced through the
PC version in just 17 min 43 sec.
survey of 9,000 game developers,
man: Shigeru Miyamoto. In a 2009
Seminal platformers Donkey Kong

3,000 people hailed him as their

were both designed by the same

First commercial game

“ultimate development hero”.

developed with an
(1981) and Mario Bros. (1983)

indigenous culture
Upper One’s atmospheric Never
Alone (2014) was a collaboration
with the Alaskan non-profit
Highest score on Spelunky organization Cook Inlet Tribal
Jamie “Kinnijup” White (USA) Council. The game follows
hit $3,404,400 in 5 hr 30 min on Iñupiat girl Nuna and her arctic
10 Oct 2015. “Never anticipated fox through Alaskan folk stories.
that people would use the ball
and chain to mine out entire
levels,” creator Derek Yu tweeted.
The fastest any% completion FACT!
is by “Spelunky God”, who used
the perilous teleporter to finish
in 1 min 41 sec on 16 Aug 2015.

Fastest marathon runner

dressed as a videogame character
18 Shortest game release
The Great Giana Sisters (1987,
above left) was on sale for
one week before publisher
Neil Light (UK) finished the London
Playable cameos Rainbow Arts withdrew it,
Marathon in 3 hr 9 min 28 sec on 26 Apr 2015
owing to its resemblance
as Sonic the Hedgehog. Promising to run as from other games
to Nintendo’s Super Mario
fast as Sonic himself, Neil smashed the record in Super Meat Bros. (1985, above right). The
set by Dan McCormack and Nash Pradhan Boy (2010) – the game spread and won fans
(both UK), who finished the 2012 London
most crossover via illegal copies, but original
Marathon in 3 hr 29 min 41 sec dressed as
characters in a versions remain rare.
the blue blur’s rivals Mario and Luigi.
platform game.
Most cutscenes in a platform game
Jak II: Renegade (Sony, 2003) can lay claim
to 131 cutscenes (non-interactive sections
that break up the gameplay). With 51 in the
first act alone, they total nearly 1 hr 40 min.
Jak and Daxter games are known for their
involved stories and funny dialogue, more
in keeping with an RPG or action-adventure
game than a platformer.

Fastest any% completion

of Shovel Knight
Indie hit Shovel Knight is a 2D side-scrolling
platformer starring a spade-wielding warrior
and featuring gameplay heavily influenced
by the 1980s golden age of the NES. On
27 Jan 2016, Swedish gamer “Smaugy” raced
through the game in just 44 min 32 sec.
Smaugy also set the record for the fastest
100% completion of Shovel Knight: a time of
1 hr 7 min 29 sec, achieved on 22 Dec 2015.

53
CLASSICS

SUPER MARIO BROS.

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

including cameos (but excluding remakes

The most prolific videogame character

and rereleases), as of Mar 2016.

is Mario, who had appeared in 202 titles,
Debut: 1983 Series sales: 324.82 million
Games: 180+ Rivals: Ratchet & Clank, Sonic

Largest gathering
of people dressed as Mario
A total of 230 fans dressed as the
moustachioed plumber convened
at an event organized by the Red Highest score on Nintendo
Star Macalline Furniture Mall in Campus Challenge 1991
Chifeng City, China, on 18 Aug Chris Bidwell (USA) recorded
2010. The many folks dressed as a score of 11,765,000 in the
Luigi (Mario’s slimmer brother)
super-rare NES game Nintendo
didn’t count towards the final total.
Campus Challenge 1991, as
verified by Twin Galaxies on
26 Sep 2015. Nintendo Campus
Best-selling gaming character Challenge 1991 was a competition
Created in 1981 by Shigeru Miyamoto (JPN, cartridge containing three
left), Mario had been responsible for 555.35 m minigames of Super Mario
sales as of 16 Feb 2016, according to VGChartz.

31
Bros. 3, Pin*Bot and Dr. Mario
The total includes Mario’s core platformers,
(see below). Interestingly,
party games and sports spin-offs.
Nintendo fan Chris was also a
finalist at the Nintendo World
Championships at E3 2015.
Most critically acclaimed videogame
Different types
Set in the not-so-dark recesses of space, Rarest Super Mario game
the Wii’s Super Mario Galaxy (2007) of “Boo” (enemy
ghosts) across the In 1991, Nintendo toured US
carries a record-breaking
campuses with Nintendo Campus
GameRankings score of Mario series, from
Challenge. After this national
97.64% from 78 reviews. Atomic Boo to
tournament, all the cartridges
This also makes it the Sleepy Boo. were destroyed save one,
most critically acclaimed
platformer. “You haven’t which was retained by a
played anything like Galaxy,” Nintendo employee and
enthused Nintendo Life. sold to US collector Rob
“pannenkoek2012” offered a $1,000

Walters at a 2006 New

On 4 Aug 2015, US Mario super-fan

glitch in the Tick Tock Clock stage

to recreate and record a mystery

York garage sale. In 2009,

(£640) bounty for anyone able

the game was resold on

eBay for $20,100 (£12,350).
of Super Mario 64 (1996).

Fastest completion
of Super Mario Galaxy 2
Finnish gamer “Vallu” speed-ran
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010) on
the Wii on 26 Feb 2016, defeating
Largest collection of its princess-pilfering antagonist
Super Mario memorabilia Bowser in just 3 hr 1 min 57 sec.
Verified in Tokyo, Japan, on 15 Jul 2010,
the collection of official Super Mario
goodies owned by Mitsugu Kikai
(JPN) features 5,441 individual
FACT! WARIO
items. Included in the super- mario series
fan’s colourful haul are posters,
stationery and “cuddly” toys
of such series stalwarts
as Mario, Luigi, Yoshi,
Princess Peach
and Toad.
21
Number of bosses
to defeat in the 1992
Debut
2010 sequel Super
Antagonist
Mario Galaxy 2. Occupation
h
Special traits Evil grin , scary laug
The baddies include
Whomp King and To own a castle
Ambitions
80+
Gobblegut. Total game appearanc
es
Longest time to collect a coin in a Mario game
In 2002, gamers discovered a mystery coin in Super Mario 64 , located
beneath the ground in the Tiny-Huge Island course. In Jun 2014, some
18 years after the game’s Jun 1996 release, “pannenkoek2012” (USA)
used tool assistance to collect “The Impossible Coin” before anyone else.

Fastest completion
of Super Mario Bros.
On 14 Jan 2016, Twitch user “darbian”,
aka Brad M (USA), blasted through the
1985 NES mega-classic Super Mario Bros.
in 4 min 57.427 sec. The run pipped his
own previous record of 4 min 57.627 sec,
which he’d set some months earlier.
Speaking via his YouTube channel,
“darbian” estimates that the fastest
time a human can complete the game
(without tools) is 4 min 57 sec exactly.

55
CLASSICS

RETRO GAMES Highest score on Space Invaders

achieved by mind control
In 2006, scientists at
Decades after their first release, retro arcade classics such

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
the first person to score one billion points
in a game. He used just one quarter during
his 44-hr 45-min stint playing Nibbler.
On 15 Jan 1984, Tim McVey (USA) became
as Donkey Kong and PAC-Man retain legions of fans and Washington University in
provoke fierce and long-lasting rivalries between players. St Louis, USA, devised a
hands-free system of playing
the classic game using
Rarest game brain power alone. An
It is believed that there is only electrocorticographic
one copy in existence of Gamma- (ECoG) grid was attached
Attack (Gammation, 1983) for the to a teenager’s brain and
Atari 2600. Recent valuations of this linked to specially adapted
ultra-rare sci-fi shooter have placed Atari software. Controlling
it at $20,000–$50,000 (£13,000–£32,000). the on-screen cursor by
imagining the movements in his
head, the boy reached the third
screen of the game and amassed
Largest human PAC-Man 5,000 points in the process.
On 21 May 2015, a total of
351 participants gathered Largest Space Invaders artwork
in front of the Tokyo Dutch duo Leon Keer and
Tower in Minato, Tokyo, Remko van Schaik created an
Japan, to form a giant
anamorphic street painting
PAC-Man in an event
organized by Sony Pictures 581 themed on Space Invaders.
The artwork measured 150 m2
Entertainment Japan. Each
participant had to dress in (1,614 sq ft) and was made for
bright yellow and form the “Art on Science Project” at
the iconic open-mouthed Arcade games the EPFL campus in Lausanne,
shape of Namco’s original at Weirs Beach, Switzerland, on 17 Mar 2014.
character from 1980. New Hampshire,
USA – making
this the largest PAC-MAN
Highest score recorded
video arcade, as PAC-MAN
in an arcade game of 12 Jan 2016.
As verified on 27 Feb 2008 by Twin
Galaxies, gamer Rodrigo Lopes
(BRA) recorded an incredible score of
arcade classic. But would it have
Q*Bert (1982) is a cube-hopping

13,617,120,714,066,509,824 points playing
released under its development
been as successful had it been

Giga Wing 2 (2000), a conversion of an

arcade shooter for the Sega Dreamcast.
title Snots and Boogers?

Puck-Man
Previous name
Mazes
Residence
Pac-dots, mazes
Shortest development Likes
for a film tie-in Ghosts
Dislikes
dog
Widely derided as one Pets Chomp -Chomp the
of the worst games
ever made, Atari’s
1982 film tie-in E.T. the
Extra-Terrestrial had
to be programmed
FACT! Largest PAC-Man game
With a staggering total of
in just five weeks in
4,014,144,000 pixels across
order to release the game in time
62,721 mazes, The World’s
for the Christmas market.
Biggest PAC-Man lives up

Most awards won by

255 to its name. Developed
by Australia’s Soap
Creative agency, it went
a game documentary live on 12 Apr 2011.
Directed by Seth Gordon, The King Measured on 7 Jan 2015,
Total extra lives
of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007) the largest life-sized
Asteroids players
followed rivals Billy Mitchell and Steve PAC-Man maze was
Wiebe (both USA) as they attempted
can collect before 580.86 m² (6,252 sq ft).
to set Donkey Kong’s highest all- the number of icons It was built by Anheuser-
time score. The film won 11 “Best shown on screen Busch, Mosaic, Energy
Documentary” awards and gained will slow down BBDO, and Bandai Namco
nominations at six other ceremonies. the game. Games America (all USA).

56
Longest time to find an Easter egg in a videogame
On 1 Jul 2009, Don Hodges (USA) used an emulator and debugger to locate the
initials “LMD” buried in 25,000 lines of game code in the Atari 400 version of
Donkey Kong – 26 years after its release. The initials belonged to Landon M
Dyer, the programmer who ported the game to the 8-bit computer.

Highest score
on Donkey Kong
On 4 Jan 2016, Wes Copeland (USA)
scored an amazing 1,190,000 points
on the 1981 arcade game. The previous
time Wes had held the record, on
18 Sep 2015, it had taken his rival
Robbie Lakeman (USA) just six hours
to beat it. But this time Robbie
couldn’t repeat the feat. Both
players appear above, seated either
side of Donkey Kong legend Billy
Mitchell (Wes is on the right).

57
CLASSICS

PUZZLE GAMES
From Lemmings to Limbo, some of the most addictive and

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
Popularized by a 1989 Game Boy bundle,

were recognized by The Tetris Company.

Tetris has the most variants of a videogame.
As of 18 Mar 2015, some 218 official versions
accessible games have been puzzlers. Simple concepts meld
with intelligent design, ensuring the genre has wide appeal.

Fastest completion of The Talos Principle (all Sigils)

An innovative game with a philosophical twist, The Talos
Principle (Devolver Digital, 2014) is a big hit with speed-
runners. On 17 Jan 2016, Twitch user “Azorae” (USA) acquired
every Sigil on the PC version in 51 min 57 sec. On the same
day, Azorae achieved the Messenger ending in exactly 13 min.

Largest architectural
650
videogame display
A skyscraping version of Alexey Pajitnov’s
iconic 1984 title Tetris was played on the Approximate Largest
29-storey Cira Centre in Philadelphia, number of puzzles game of
USA, on 5 Apr 2014. Developed by game in Jonathan Blow’s Minesweeper
designer Professor Frank J Lee (USA), it The Witness (2016). Using 24 linked
measured 11,111.2 m2 (119,600 sq ft) – more HD TVs to create
Its creator said
than 1.5 times bigger than a soccer pitch. a playing board
they would take
of 718 x 262 tiles,
80 hr to solve. video company
CineMassive
Most theme parks based on a videogame (USA) unveiled
an epic game of
As of Mar 2016, there were 11 active Angry
Birds fun parks. Two can be found in Minesweeper on
the UK, while China, Malaysia, Russia 10 Aug 2015. Their
and Spain each have one. The rest creation – dubbed
are located in Finland (home of Minesweeper Super
the game’s creator Rovio), with the Challenge – featured
biggest situated at the Särkänniemi 188,116 tiles infested
adventure park. Angry Birds began life with 38,799 mines.
as a mobile puzzler in 2009 but has
since grown into a huge Fastest completion
entertainment franchise, of Kula World
with an animated movie. On 16 Jul 2015,
“adeyblue” (UK) rolled
his beach ball through
Kula World (Game Design
Sweden AB, 1998) in
In Feb 2016, Twitcher “FearfulFerret”

38 min 37 sec, as verified

by SpeedDemosArchive.
sandwich break during one of the
Witness, despite taking a 30-min

A cult puzzle game, Kula

set a speed-run record for The

Most acclaimed iOS videogame World was originally released

game’s toughest puzzles!

Utilizing simple controls with pick- for PlayStation.

up-and-play design, puzzle games
are ideal for hand-held formats. Fastest completion
As of 19 Feb 2016, the highest- of World of Goo
rated iOS game was Monument Nigel “ridd3r” Martin (UK)
Valley (ustwo, 2014), which held a completed 2D Boy’s sticky,
score of 90.05% at GameRankings. physics-based puzzler World
The arty puzzler calls on players of Goo (2008) in 53 min 41 sec.
to navigate Princess Ida through His single-segment run was
a world of optical illusions and verified by SpeedDemosArchive
fiendish architecture.
FACT! on 7 Sep 2009.
 Most played mobile game (current)
According to figures from SuperData, the mobile version of Candy Crush
Saga was the most played mobile videogame of 2015. Activision’s puzzler
enjoyed an average of 182,892,377 monthly active users (MAU) – that’s
more people than the current population of Russia.

First gamer in space Largest acquisition

In 1993, Russian cosmonaut of a game studio
Aleksandr A Serebrov (1944–
2013) became the first gamer in On 2 Nov 2015, Activision
space when he played Nintendo’s Blizzard announced that it was
1989 version of Tetris during a buying King Digital Entertainment
– creator of Candy Crush Saga (2012) – for
trip to the MIR space station.
$5.9 bn (£3.8 bn). The deal, completed on
“During flight, in rare minutes
23 Feb 2016, was heralded by a visit to the
of leisure, I enjoyed playing
New York Stock Exchange by Candy Crush-
Game Boy,” he confessed in
styled mascots (above left). The acquisition
an autographed note. In total, was more than double the sum of $2.5 bn
both he and his Game Boy spent (£1.65 bn) that Microsoft paid for Minecraft
196 days in space. The hand-held developer Mojang one year earlier.
console and the game were
auctioned by Bonhams in 2011.

59
FEATURE

BLINDFOLDED SPEED-RUNS
For some players, completing a game is just the beginning.
Can it be done again? How quickly can you do it? How
difficult can you make it? Speed-runs can take different
forms – any%, 100%, single-segment – but blindfolded
speed-runs are the quirkiest and most demanding
challenge of all. They require unbelievable timing, intense
concentration, and an astonishing knowledge of the game.

Perhaps because of their difficulty, blindfolded runs are

proving very popular on Twitch and YouTube. Charity gaming
marathons such as Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ)
provide a great platform for attempts – although audience
cheers can present a problem for blindfolded speed-runners
desperately listening out for audio cues...

Q&A with Jacob Criminski,

aka “Shenanagans”
Taking part in a race against “Keizaron” attempting it
at the Summer Games Done Quick with the blindfold three-to-four times I was
event on 1 Aug 2015, “Shenanagans” (USA, consistently getting times of 23–28 min.
inset left) romped to the end of the 1996
Game Boy title in 25 min 53 sec – the fastest How were you able to navigate the game?
blindfolded completion of Pokémon Blue Audio cues play a massive role. We need
(glitched). It was even more notable as it took exactly 16 Tackles and 36 Growls remaining
place on an RPG rather than when we leave the forest to do a major glitch.
a platformer, the preferred We use audio cues to track our Tackle and
genre for speed-runners. Growl counts during battles. Audio cues also
GWR caught up with Jacob helped us figure out our locations on the map,
to discuss his record. as a sound plays when you bonk into a wall.

How did you get into What was the biggest challenge?
speed-running? Keeping track of everything; knowing what
It was completely on a whim. your health, power points, items and location
Myself and another runner, are can be fairly overwhelming. The underflow
“eddaket”, wanted to race menu at the end is also a pretty difficult menu,
something but couldn’t think of anything fun as you can randomly get different items
to race. We decided to try the first blindfolded causing different effects.
Pokémon Blue “No Save Corruption” race. With
zero practice, it took us around 30–40 min. Any tips for others wanting to attempt
a game blindfolded?
How much training did you have for the Practise! Start out by mastering the game
record-breaking Pokémon Blue completion? normally. Learning audio cues can be very
Surprisingly, not very much. I’ve played useful when starting out. Don’t get too
through this game hundreds of thousands of frustrated. It can be really hard at first, but
times so I have most of it memorized. After after some practice you will progress.

Fastest blindfolded completion

of the “child dungeons” in
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
On 10 Jan 2015, “Runnerguy2489” (USA) successfully
navigated the first three dungeons of the N64 classic
in 1 hr 26 min 56 sec while blindfolded. The feat
was achieved in front of a live audience as part of the
2015 AGDQ event. “Runnerguy2489” used glitches,
sound cues, side-hops, backflips and his familiarity
with the levels to complete the challenge.

60
Fastest blindfolded
completion of “The
Forest” in Super Meat Boy
Dodging the spinning sawblades of the fiendish
2010 indie platformer requires flawless timing
for normal runs. But “MattyIce3131” (USA) was
able to complete the Forest levels blindfolded in
just 8 min 2 sec on 24 Jun 2014, at the Summer
Games Done Quick event.

Fastest blindfolded completion

of Super Mario World 
On 23 Jun 2015, crack SMW speed-runner
“PangaeaPanga”, aka Alex Tan (USA, right),
completed the game blindfolded in an incredible
23 min 14 sec. He had begun practising his
attempt only eight days earlier, mapping out the
best route before memorizing musical cues to
know when to jump and fire. “This run features
three deaths, getting lost briefly in Starworld,
baby Yoshi eating the goal tape, and entertaining
spectators to keep the hype up for when I was
too concentrated on the run,” he said.

Fastest blindfolded completion of WVBA

Championship in Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!
At the 2014 AGDQ event on 10 Jan, “Sinister1”
(USA, left) managed to punch his way to the
title in the 1987 NES boxing classic in a time of 28 min
21 sec. His impressive victories included a super-speedy
pummelling of Von Kaiser in 38 sec. Eventually,
“Sinister1” met his match when he fought
the game’s final boss – Mike Tyson himself.
Despite “Sinister1” landing several blows
on the eponymous ring titan, Tyson prevailed.

61
UGC GAMES
The craving for “user-generated content” (UGC) games has
exploded in recent years. Creative sandbox titles and level
editors let us build worlds, make games and even ride pigs!

62
 Most views for a dedicated
Minecraft video channel
Minecrafter DanTDM (aka Daniel
Middleton, UK) started his YouTube
channel “TheDiamondMinecart” as
a part-time hobby while studying
at university. Since its launch on
14 Jul 2012, his fun-infused channel
had accrued 6,284,997,560 views
from 1,811 videos, as of 24 Mar
2016. Despite the popularity
of fellow YouTube megastars
such as “stampylonghead”,
“Sky Does Minecraft” and
“CaptainSparklez”, DanTDM has
been watched more than any
other specialist Minecraft host.

63
UGC GAMES

UGC ROUND-UP
Level editors such as Super Mario Maker and LittleBigPlanet
may offer slick platforming action, but their biggest reward
comes from letting you create the games yourself.

Most starred Super Mario Maker First player to publish

UGC creator a level on LittleBigPlanet
As of 21 Mar 2016, a Japanese The “Publisher” trophy in Media
gamer known as “Chagama” Molecule’s LittleBigPlanet (2008)
had netted 1,194,891 stars from is awarded to players
fellow Super Mario Maker players. once they’ve made and
The course-making maestro published their own
designed 45 levels in the Wii U level. According to PSNprofiles,
game including “Anime Medley- “RiotPelaaja” (USA) won this
Automatic” and “Pokémon N UGC accolade on 20 Sep 2008
Final Battle”. – more than a month before the
The most shared Super Mario game’s commercial release.
Maker level is “Ice Cap Cave” by
“ƒç |¥Quøte” (USA), which had Longest marathon
been shared 262 times. on LittleBigPlanet 2
Gamers David Dino, Lauren
Most “world records” Guiliano and Sean Crowley (all
in Super Mario Maker USA) played the 2011 platformer/
“World records” in Super Mario game-maker for 50 hr 1 min on
Maker refers to the number of 17–19 Jan 2011. This mammoth
fastest clear times that a player session took place in the Sony
has achieved when attempting Style PlayStation Lounge in
the community’s user-created New York City, USA.
levels. As of 21 Mar 2016, “Izumi”
(JPN) held a lofty 2,049 world
records in the game.

Most hearted LittleBigPlanet level

As of 22 Mar 2016, “Little Dead Space” (left) by DarknessBear had won
317,000 hearts since being published in Nov 2008 – that’s more than
any user-made level across all three LBP games. The level riffed on
EA’s space horror Dead Space, which was released in the same year.

Minecraft’s influence continues to spread

FACT!

far and wide. In Jan 2016, Square Enix Number of bricks in the “LEGO Worlds Island”
released Dragon Quest Builders, a sandbox
spin-off set in the JRPG’s fictional world
of Alefgard.
8.9
million
level from LEGO ® Worlds – the most LEGO
bricks in a single videogame level.

Most viewed LEGO Worlds fan video

Released for Steam early access in Jun 2015,
LEGO’s Minecraft challenger LEGO Worlds
(TT Games, 2016) attracted the interest of a
number of star Minecraft YouTubers. As of
2 Mar 2016, the most watched LEGO Worlds
fan video was “Lego Worlds - Cake Castle
(1)” by “stampylonghead” (UK), which had
been viewed 4,500,477 times since it was
Most starred course on Super Mario Maker uploaded on 2 Jun 2015.
Super Mario Maker invites players to design their own
platform levels and then share them with fellow Mario fans to
tackle and judge. As of 21 Mar 2016, the user-generated level
“Automatic Mario Kart” by Japanese gamer “Sasae Tamae”
had won 169,742 stars – or likes – from fellow players.
The fastest completion of “Automatic Mario
Kart” (above) was 24.897 sec, achieved by
“Danger” (USA), according to the official site
SuperMarioMakerBookmark.nintendo.net.

64
 sackboy
lit tlebigplanet

Small!
Size
Sackperson
Species
bing, telekinesis
Skills Grabbing, clim
es 100+
Number of costum
es 14
Game appearanc

Most hearted
LittleBigPlanet 3 adventure
Inspired by the creepy indie series
Five Nights at Freddy’s, the user-made
LittleBigPlanet 3 adventure “FNAF1 |
FNAF2 | FNAF3” (above) by “Mooserick”
had won 8,054 “hearts” from LBP3 fans,
as of 22 Mar 2016. “HOLY MOLY!!!! It’s
scary but cool,” observed one reviewer.
The Adventure Crater is a new area for
LBP3 (Sony, 2014) that allows players
to craft larger creations consisting
of up to 15 linked levels.

Number of mischievous pink rabbits that 10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

HyperLiger deployed in a Mazecraft maze Between 2009 and 2012, Sony’s
204,755 (above left). The developer’s maze-
LittleBigPlanet series scooped four game
BAFTAs for three of its titles – the most
building app was released in Aug 2015. BAFTA wins for a platform series.

Most viewed Terraria video Most viewed level review for LittleBigPlanet
Re-Logic’s 2D game Terraria is often compared to While players can browse the official LBP site to
Minecraft because, like Mojang’s blocky behemoth, find new user-made content, many gamers turn to
players can use it to build and create things. A video YouTube for recommendations. As of 20 Apr 2016, the
of Minecraft YouTuber “stampylonghead” (UK) video “JACKSEPTICEYE LEVELS | Little Big Planet 3
playing Terraria for the first time had been viewed #5” had been viewed 3,327,899 times. In it, the Irish
6,327,989 times as of 20 Apr 2016. Both Terraria YouTuber “jacksepticeye” (top left) tackles fan-made
and Minecraft were first released in 2011. LBP3 levels that were designed in his honour.

65
UGC GAMES

MINECRAFT Most wood collected in

3 minutes in Minecraft (console)
Enkil Fernando Ceron Alvarez
Publisher: Mojang Devs: Markus “Notch” Persson

Full of minigames, roleplays and

parodies, Sky Does Minecraft is the most
10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

subscribed Minecraft YouTube channel,

with 11,794,783 fans as of 25 Feb 2016.
Debut: 2011 Series sales: 22.66 million (MEX) collected 99 wood blocks
Games: 1 (exc. Story Mode) Rivals: LEGO ® Worlds, Terraria at the Legends of Gaming event
in London, UK, on 5 Sep 2015.
Minecraft’s tallest staircase
Most watched gaming video built in 1 minute (console) rises
17 blocks, built first by Alastair
Published on 19 Aug 2011,
the four-and-a-half-minute “Ali-A” Aiken (UK) on 11 Jun 2015
“Revenge – A Minecraft Original and then matched by Tristen
Music Video”, created by Geren (USA) on 22 Nov 2015.
“CaptainSparklez”, aka Jordan
Maron (USA), had been viewed
a staggering 160,312,315 times
on YouTube as of 21 Feb 2016.

was previewed at E3 in Los Angeles,

California, USA, on 15 Jun 2015. The
Most downloaded

Guardian played it and observed:

“The future of gaming is right in
Minecraft project

HoloLens version of Minecraft

Featuring 650 custom

A jaw-dropping Microsoft
skins from the Minecraft
community, the epic
multi-genre challenge map

front of your eyes.”

“Diversity 2”, by “qmagnet”,
had been downloaded
1,741,045 times from Curse.
Largest Minecraft spacecraft com, as of 23 Feb 2016.
Featuring more than 5,043,664 blocks, a supersized
recreation of the titular starship from the sci-fi series Battlestar
Galactica by Ragnur Le Barbare (FRA) had been downloaded Largest original fictional
21,190 times from the Planet Minecraft website as of 24 Feb 2016. world in Minecraft
It earned 754 diamonds (likes) in approval. FACT! In Jul 2011, Aerna server users
began crafting the mother of
all Minecraft worlds. By late
2014, the 84-GB fantasy world
Farthest distance ridden measured 102,400 x 51,200
on a pig in Minecraft
Washington-based gamer
L J Pegross (USA) hitched
a ride on a passing
363 blocks. It spanned multiple
continents and covered
2,000 sq mi (5,240 km2), with
detailed landmarks, sprawling
pig and didn’t get towns and an array of cultures.
off until 667 km
(414 mi) later! Number of splash
First exhibition of real- texts (phrases Largest real-world place
This porcine
world art in Minecraft marathon, selected at random
created in Minecraft at full scale
The Tate gallery group’s DLC The Danish Geodata Agency
uploaded on from the game’s
Tate Worlds reimagines art 25 Feb 2013, published a 1:1 scale recreation
as Minecraft maps. Launched files) featured on of Denmark in Apr 2014, using
beat the
in Nov 2014, it features previous
the title screen as around a terabyte-gobbling
Christopher Nevinson’s Soul record by of 25 Feb 2016. 4 trillion blocks. Players could
of the Soulless City (above), 536 km (333 mi). explore the entire 43,000-km2
André Derain’s The Pool of (16,602-sq-mi) country. The
London and Peter Blake’s project survived sabotage on
The Toy Shop. 7 May 2014, when cyber vandals
smuggled in dynamite and
blew up a small area.
Longest journey in Minecraft
In Mar 2011, Kurt J Mac (USA, right) began a First working computer
quest for the Far Lands at the edges of the built in Minecraft
game’s terrain. As his audience grew, he “theinternetftw” built a
started to raise money for charity, only working 16-bit arithmetic
measuring his distance when he reached logic unit from powerful
fundraising milestones. On 28 Mar 2016 redstone. A video of it,
he was 2,723 km (1,692 mi) from Spawn – uploaded on 28 Sep 2010,
only 21.78% of the way there! earned the approval of
“Notch” himself.

66
 thorlar
thorlarian’s
astonishing
artwork ca
be viewed in n
its
complete wit entirety,
h di
deathwing (m ablo and
iddle), as a
detail of the
face of sara
kerrigan (top h
), and as a
minecraft la
ndscape
(bottom).

Largest pixel art in Minecraft

Created by Swedish gamer “Thorlar

Thorlarian”, this incredible piece of pixel
art took 165 days to build before its
completion on 19 Jun 2015. Crafted from
1,128,960 blocks, it depicts StarCraft’s
Sarah Kerrigan flanked by World of
Warcraft’s “Dragon Aspect” Deathwing
(left) and ruler of Hell, Diablo, from the
series of the same name (right). The piece
was so large that Thorlar had to use a
plug-in to zoom out far enough to see
what he was making.

67
UGC GAMES

MINECRAFT markus “notch” persso

minecraft
n

The sandbox game that became a commercial juggernaut

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

playable but securing the record for most

concurrent players in one Minecraft world.
Yogscast squeezed together 2,622 players
on 1 Aug 2011, rendering the game barely
rumbles on, with users entranced by its building blocks and
limitless possibilities. A movie version is now in the works.

Born 1 Jun 1979, Sweden

game 8
Age on making first
aft 32
Age on launching Minecr
201 6 $1.3 bn
Net wor th as of 25 Feb
king #1,415
World billionaires ran
Best-selling PC videogame
According to figures on the Mojang website, Minecraft had
sold 22,670,361 copies for PC/Mac platforms alone as of Longest Minecraft marathon
25 Feb 2016, including physical sales and digital downloads. Twitcher and YouTuber Joe Kelly
That equates to a creeper-quelling one every 6 sec since the (UK) played Minecraft for 35 hr
game’s release on 18 Nov 2011.

6 35 min 35 sec on his PC, on

10–13 Oct 2015. Motivated by
his love for the game but using it
as an opportunity to raise money
Largest gathering of people
for Cancer Research, he beat the
dressed as “Steve” Disney parks 24 hr 10 min of previous record
On 12 Sep 2015, 337 “Steve” on the MCMagic holder Martin Fornleitner (AUT).
fans came together at
MineVention, hosted by O’Brien
server, which also
houses the largest Smallest version of Minecraft
Event Management (IRL) in
real-world theme On 2 Dec 2009, “Notch” revealed
Peterborough, UK. The origin
of Minecraft’s first controllable park recreated a working version of Minecraft
player is shrouded in mystery: that took up only 2.52 KB of disk
in Minecraft.
his nickname “Steve” is an in-joke space. Named Minecraft 4k, this
on his lack of an actual name. game was his entry in a contest
for games no larger than 4 KB.
2015, reportedly earned more than
by playing with a cigarette lighter.
A video of the live stream, in Oct

Most popular Minecraft

room during a Minecraft session
A Japanese gamer set fire to his

3 million views within 24 hours.

server network
Most popular female games YouTuber
A block-rocking 34,434 gamers
A “true geek” who loves to “make people
played Minecraft concurrently on
smile”, Tiffany “iHasCupquake” Herrera
the Mineplex network on 28 Jan
(USA) had 4,396,662 subscribers to
2015. Mineplex’s MMO-style
her YouTube channel, as of 11 Apr 2016.
She specializes in creative and cultural experience is enabled by multiple
content, with an emphasis on gaming, servers that communicate to stop
especially Minecraft. She also features the game grinding to a halt.
“geek baking” and DIY videos.

FACT!

10
million Most widely used
videogame in schools
Minecraft is one of the few
Number of users of commercial videogames
Most viewed videogame unboxing video the Minecraft beta to be adapted specifically
Few concepts baffle outsiders more than “unboxing” videos, for classrooms. According
who registered
in which consumers unpack products to give their reviews. But to TeacherGaming LLC,
from Dec 2010 to their version – dubbed
that hasn’t stopped “MINECRAFT Papercraft Overworld Deluxe Jul 2011, making it
Set – Unboxing & Review” – uploaded by “EvanTubeHD” on MinecraftEdu – is used in
3 Jan 2014 – attracting 16,566,767 views as of 25 Feb 2016.
the most popular more than 7,000 schools
videogame beta. in at least 40 countries.

68
At Minecon 2015, eager fans seized the chance to cosplay their favourite
Minecraft characters, interact with the exhibits, watch live shows on the
big screen and meet the staff of Guinness World Records.

Largest convention for

a single videogame
Minecon 2015, held at London’s ExCeL
(UK) on 4–5 Jul, swiftly sold out its
10,000 tickets, effortlessly surpassing
all previous Minecons. It also outdid
any other fellow conventions dedicated
to one game, including Summer of
Sonic and EVE Fanfest – the latter of
which recorded 4,000 attendees for EVE
Online’s 10th anniversary in 2013. Started
in 2010, Minecon celebrates all things
Minecraft with a host of blocky activities.

69
UGC GAMES

SUPER MARIO MAKER

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo
Debut: 2015 Series sales: 2.88 million
Games: 1 (for Wii U) Rivals: LittleBigPlanet

Q&A with “PangaeaPanga”

How long have you been How long does it usually take for someone
into Mario games? to beat one of your courses?
Since I was a little kid! On average, the first clear of a “Pit of Panga”
level occurs around a day after I upload it.
You’d uploaded 25 courses However, “P-Break” and “U-Break” did not
get cleared by anyone until a week after.
in Super Mario Maker, as of
22 Mar 2016. How long do
they usually take to design? You have a bit of history with super-
Each level takes roughly 4–5 hr to design, difficult Mario challenges. What can
with my longest level – “Saved by the Shell” – you tell us about that?
taking me 24 hr, and the shortest being 2 hr. I’ve been making hard Mario levels ever
since 2008. Prior to Super Mario Maker, I was
What makes your levels so difficult? most famous for creating the “Item Abuse”
It’s the precise sequence of inputs that a series of three ridiculously hard Super Mario
player needs to make in order to overcome the World levels. “Item Abuse 3” has consistently
obstacles that I create, such as shell-jumps or been named by
mid-air springboard jumps. If the inputs are players and games
done wrong, it almost always results in death. journalists as
the hardest Super
Your courses aren’t just tough, they’re also Mario World level
ever made.
extremely popular. Do you have any tips
for designing a fun, challenging level?
I would say focus more on putting in tough Is your next ambition to
tricks and movements rather than spamming make an even more difficult
enemies or spikes everywhere. Try to find the level in Super Mario Maker?
right balance between fairness and frustration. Ha, that is top secret!

a:
“pit of pang en
d be
p-break” ha on
3,701 times
viewed 3,73 22 mar 2016,
as of
youtube ewed
the most vi
but it’s not ac co la de falls
at
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le
to “los nive mario maker”
r
mario I supe
somg” (ESP),
by “elrubiu 7 views.
with 10,354,14

70
 Most difficult level created
in Super Mario Maker
Created by YouTuber “PangaeaPanga”,
aka Alex Tan (USA, left), “Pit of Panga:
P-Break” has given even the most
experienced Mario players feverish
nightmares. As of 21 Mar 2016, the
level had been beaten 49 times from
1,550,870 tries since it was created
on 21 Sep 2015, producing a miserly
completion rate
of just 0.0031%
(or 0.00% on the
official site). That’s
the lowest success
score of any SMM level
that has been attempted
at least 500,000 times.

Developed by “PangaeaPanga” right after “Pit of Panga:

P-Break”, the equally fiendish “U-Break” level greets
any gamers who complete it with a message reading
“Yatta” (above). This is a reference to a famous video of
a Japanese gamer who finally completed P-Break after
around 60 hr of playing and screamed “Yatta” in joy.
It roughly translates as “I did it!” in English.

71
F E AT U R E ® S T UDIO
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72
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h t :
Heig
FIGHTING GAMES
From the side-scrolling brawlers of yesteryear to the grand
tournament play of Street Fighter, fighting games dazzle
with their martial artistry and memorable characters.

74
 As of 2016, ry
hart had won an
m
than 450 figh ore
game tourna ting
m
20 countries, ents in
on top play in coming out
g
fighters, tekk the king of
fighter, mor en, virtua
tal kombat
and street fi
ghter.

Most consecutive opponents

on Street Fighter V
On 16 Feb 2016, to celebrate the launch
of the latest instalment of Capcom’s
classic fighting series, eSports pro Ryan
Hart (UK) played Street Fighter V for
10 hr 36 min without breaks at a GAME
store in Manchester, UK. To qualify for
the record, Ryan needed to win 90% of
his bouts, but he went even better than
that, completing an incredible clean
sweep of 260 consecutive opponents.
FIGHTING GAMES

FIGHTING ROUND-UP Most critically acclaimed

3D fighting game
Released in 1999, the weapons-
From the brutal one-on-one challenge of Tekken and Mortal

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

game, having worked on every series

entry since 1992 – a total of 24 years.
Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon (USA) is the
longest-serving developer of a fighting
Kombat to the chaotic melees of Super Smash Bros., the rules based fantasy fighter SoulCalibur
remain the same: KO your opponent before they KO you... (Namco) is still king of the pile
when it comes to critical acclaim.
The Dreamcast game scored
Most crowdfunded fighting game 98% based on 24 reviews at
Metacritic, and 96.56% based
The popular 2D fighter Skullgirls (2012)
raised $828,768 (£521,477) from 15,860 on 25 reviews at GameRankings.
backers when an Indiegogo campaign IGN called it “The number one
was launched in Feb 2013. The game’s reason to buy a Dreamcast”.
developer Lab Zero Games had hoped On GameRankings, it is the sixth
to raise $150,000 (£94,383) for a new most acclaimed game overall.
DLC character, but the extra backing
allowed them to create even more DLC. Most critically acclaimed
film based on a videogame
As of 17 Feb 2016, the big-screen
adaptation of fighting series
Strongest recorded hit in Super Smash Mortal Kombat (1995),
Bros. for Wii U (without items) starring Robin Shou,
In a YouTube video boasted an aggregated
published on 3 Sep 2015, review score of 58% at
the Austrian team Metacritic. This edged
known as “Beefy Smash out 2010’s Prince of
Doods” demonstrated Persia: The Sands of
a mammoth strike that Time, which scored 50%.
inflicted 158% of damage.
The intricate combo lasted
8 sec and involved four
players in an orchestrated
move in which an airborne log was os.
sm ash br
swatted with a baseball bat – twice! pro super zalo “zero”
g o n
legend only a
hl) is not
barrios (c mer; he’s also
ga
champion youtuber. his
r
a popula o” had 153,676
“zer
originally planned as a game based
Them’s Fightin’ Herds (Mane6) was

Lowest-rated channel s and 27,182,734

Cutesy, crowdfunded indie fighter

Friendship is Magic – until a legal

r
fighting subscribe f 22 feb 2016.
on the TV series My Little Pony:

o
game views as
threat prompted a redesign.

Ubisoft’s
Kinect-
controlled Rarest console
brawler fighting game Most gaming genres
Fighter covered by a film licence
There are believed to be
Within (2010) Since the original film hit big
only five copies in existence
had a GameRankings of the European PAL version screens in 1993, Jurassic Park
rating of just 24.68% from of SNK’s Kizuna Encounter has spawned games in nine
31 reviews, as of 16 Feb 2016. (1996) for the Neo Geo. If distinct genres. These include
The Digital Fix called it a you are lucky enough to find shooters, virtual park builders,
“disaster”, describing the a cartridge, it could fetch up a point-and-click adventure, an
multiplayer as “a tragic, to $12,500 (£7,740). Copies FACT! RTS, and perhaps most curiously
so-bad-it’s-almost good of the NTSC version are of all, a one-on-one fighting
comedy of errors”. considerably cheaper. game featuring dinosaurs
called Warpath: Jurassic Park.
The game was published
Longest gold trophy achievement
in a fighting game
3.5
million
by Electronic Arts in 1999.

Most knockouts on
To win the “My Kung Fu is
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Stronger” gold trophy in
On 16 May 2015, “anthony11293”,
Mortal Kombat (2011), Number of words aka Jeremy Anthony (USA),
gamers need to play
in Super Smash achieved an amazing 56 KOs in a
the game for a minimum
of 672 hr (28 days). They
Bros. fan-fiction single match in St Louis, Missouri,
have to win 2,800 fights, The Subspace USA. A Super Smash Bros. Melee
Emissary’s Worlds specialist, he snatched the record
land 4,200 X-rays, spill
Conquest by from Shawn Alvarez (USA), who
280,000 litres of blood
AuraChannelerChris. had set the previous best of
and fight as each
42 KOs just 13 days earlier.
character for 24 hr.
 Most moves for a Tekken character
In the 2011 game Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Bandai Namco), the jaguar-
masked combatant King II boasted 176 fighting moves. King (pictured)
has appeared across the series in two guises, first as a Catholic priest
who is killed by Ogre, and then as an orphan trained by the original King.

JIN KAZAMA
TEKKEN

5 ft 11 in
Height
75 kg
Weight
Yakushima, Japan
Birthplace

Fighting style Mishima-style karate

Fatal Lightning
Aliases

Best-selling fighting series

(excluding crossovers)
An early 3D fighter title, Tekken
(Namco, 1994) has evolved into one of
the most enduring names in gaming.
As of 17 Feb 2016, the iconic series
boasted lifetime sales of 33.91 million
units, according to VGChartz. The
latest iteration, Tekken 7, was released
in arcades in 2015. A notable addition
to the fighting roster was Akuma
(above), Street Fighter’s mysterious
self-proclaimed “Master of the Fist”.
The best-selling Tekken game is
Tekken 3 (Sony), released for the
original PlayStation in 1998. The game
has sold a total of 7.16 million units.

77
 FIGHTING GAMES

STREET FIGHTER
Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom
Debut: 1987 Series sales: 33.33 million
Games: 16 canonical games Rivals: Mortal Kombat, Tekken

Most popular character

in Ultra Street Fighter IV
m bison
The 2014 update for Street
street fighter series Fighter IV offered five new
characters for selection. Yet
according to EventHubs, Street
Fighter stalwart Ryu remained
the character competitive
players turned to the most. As
of 8 Mar 2016, he had racked
up 3,382 usage points, with
taekwondo expert Juri in second
17 Apr place with 2,201, and Final Fight’s
Birthday
r II)
Cody in third with 2,158.
Game debut 1991 (Street Fighte
Psycho power
Fighting style Best-selling fighting game (including crossovers)
World domination Street Fighter and its rival Tekken have spent years slugging it out to
Aim
ngs see who is champion of the fighting-game world. Including crossover
Dislikes Incompetent underli
successes such as Marvel vs. Capcom and Capcom vs. SNK , Street Fighter
boasted formidable series sales of 40.01 million, as of 8 Mar 2016.

Most viewed competitive

videogame match Most viewed Street
Viewers of the 2004 EVO Street Fighter IV fantasy fight
Fighter III: 3rd Strike competition On 18 Sep 2015, YouTuber
were treated to a thrilling battle “Richie Branson” used a PC
between Daigo “The Beast” mod to adapt the characters of
Umehara (JPN) and Justin Wong Cammy and Balrog to resemble
(USA), with Umehara’s Ken UFC fighter Ronda Rousey and
somehow snatching victory from boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. The
a seemingly hopeless position. resulting bout, “Street Fighter IV:
As of 8 Mar 2016, the bout Mayweather vs. Rousey Edition”,
had been viewed an incredible had been viewed 680,111 times
5,385,142 times on YouTube. by fight fans as of 8 Mar 2016.
FACT!

In Nov 2015, fans launched a petition Views of Necalli’s Street Fighter V

asking Capcom not to censor a reveal trailer on YouTube, as of
risqué taunt by Rainbow Mika in
Street Fighter V. It had received 1,499,811 5 Apr 2016. The long-haired Necalli
8,656 signatures as of 5 Apr 2016. was a new character in the series.

Largest collection of Street Fighter memorabilia

“I honestly don’t know what the world would look like without
Street Fighter,” Canada’s Clarence Lim (below) told the 25th
anniversary documentary I Am Street Fighter (2014). His
record-setting collection of SF
memorabilia consisted
of 2,723 individual Highest-ranked Ultra
items, as of
Street Fighter IV player
29 Jun 2014.
Evil Geniuses member
Yusuke Momochi (JPN)
won 10,885 points from
22 tournament competitions
during the calendar year up
to 8 Mar 2016, according
to rankings produced by
prominent fighting-game
website Shoryuken.com.
Daigo Umehara (JPN) sat in
second with 10,215 points.
 Longest-running fighting-game series

Debuting in arcade halls in 1987, Capcom’s seminal Street

Fighter series has pitted virtual martial artists against each
other for 29 years. The excitement for its most recent iteration,
Street Fighter V, was so fierce that soon after the game’s
release in Feb 2016, a reported 3,000 players had signed up to
play it at EVO’s 2016 Street Fighter tournament on 15–17 Jul.

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
The longest videogame marathon playing
Street Fighter X Tekken lasted exactly
48 hr and was achieved by Anthony “A J”
Lysiak (USA) on 4–6 May 2012.

Most popular character in

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Most viewed Street
Reed Richards’ nemesis since Fighter cosplayer video
1962, Marvelverse veteran Doctor Cult status was bestowed
Doom is Ultimate Marvel vs. on “Gordito Sushi”, aka
Capcom 3’s most used character Danilo Palomino (ECU),
in competitive gaming. when TV footage of
According to fighting-game him dressed as SF’s
community EventHubs, Ryu went viral in his
the grumpy Latverian native South America
had 6,263 usage points in Jun 2011. The most
as of 8 Mar 2016. viewed video of his
This is based on high-energy demonstration
the number is “Gordito Sushi (Ryu)
of players OFFICIAL”, uploaded by
who have used “Jenn90Jenn” and watched
him as a primary, 1,466,760 times as of 4 Mar 2016.
secondary or
tertiary character.

79
FIGHTING GAMES

COMBAT SPORTS
The more sober cousin of OTT fighters such as Street Fighter,

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
Fire Pro Wrestling Returns (Spike, 2005)
featured 327 wrestling likenesses from a
variety of global organizations – the largest
roster in a combat sports videogame.
combat sports games typically feature sizeable career modes using the
and gameplay that is realistic and technical. custom tool
s
sports ufc, yo in ea
ut
“wickedshrap uber
been a prolif nel” has
Most popular games channel outrageous ic maker of
cele
by a sports personality ups. the pick brit y match-
of his videos
YouTube channel “UpUpDownDown” is a fight be
tween justin
is hosted by Austin Watson (USA, bieber and ch
uck norris.
left), a two-time WWE Tag Team guess who w
ins?
Champion better known as his ring
persona Xavier Woods. As of 29 Feb
2016, diehard gamer Woods had
388,793 subscribers to his channel.
He also has a Zelda tattoo on one arm.

Best-selling boxing game

on a single format
Released in 1987 for the NES, legendary
slug-fest Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! 5,385,036
powered its way to sales of 3.02 million
units, according to VGChartz. The
best-selling boxing game (multiple
platforms) is EA’s Fight Night Round 3 Views of Bruce Lee
(2006), which had sold 5.55 million taking on UFC’s
across five formats by 29 Feb 2016.
Mike Easton in
EA Sports UFC – the
most watched UFC
videogame fight,
as of 29 Feb 2016.
In a video recorded for the YouTube

Xavier Woods, aka Austin Watson,

eating a plate of mouth-scorching

reviewed Street Fighter V while
channel “Hot Pepper Gaming”,

Habanero peppers. Big ouch!

Fastest victory in WWE 2K16

Bunny-costumed gamers “oKILL3R JESUSo” and
“XxNeroDreXelxX” secured victory in an extreme-rules tornado
tag-team match on WWE 2K16 (2K Sports, 2015) that lasted
just 15 sec on 7 Nov 2015. Their speedy success was uploaded
to the “WWE Network Gaming” channel on YouTube.

Most videogame appearances

by a real-life martial artist
FACT!
“Godfather of mixed martial arts” Bruce
Lee (HKG) had starred in 12 games
as of 29 Feb 2016. This includes
Datasoft’s 1984 action
platformer Bruce Lee, the 1994
film spin-off Dragon: The Bruce
Lee Story (top left), a grappling
22
stint in Virtual Pro Wrestling 64
(1997) and a bonus unlockable Number of venues
character role in
in 2K’s 2008
EA Sports UFC
(2014, left). boxing game Don
King Presents:
Prizefighter, from
a gym to Madison
Square Garden.
king hippo Largest roster in a WWE wrestling game
mike tyson’s punch-out!! Released in Oct 2015, WWE 2K16 featured a selection of some 120 current and
classic wrestlers. In addition, fans pre-ordering the game were treated to two
playable versions of Arnold Schwarzenegger (right) in his guise of iconic movie
cyborg The Terminator. “I’ll be back,” he once said – and indeed he was.

First fighting game Longest-running

The first game to feature wrestling game series
one-on-one brawling was Sega’s Since its debut for the PC Engine
Heavyweight Champ in 1976. in 1989, the Japanese series Fire
Pacific
From Hippo Island, South The coin-op title featured a Pro Wrestling (Spike Human
k Major circuit #2 boxing-glove controller that Entertainment) has been turning
Highest boxing ran
18 allowed players to strike and out sequels and spin-offs for
Wins
10
block high or low punches. more than 23 years. Its most
Losses recent ring-bound
18
Wins by knockout Fastest completion of WWE romps were the
2K15 using all Superstars social network game
German gamer “LPer93” Fire Pro Wrestling in
grappled his way through WWE Mobage in 2011 and
2K15 (2K Sports, 2014) using Fire Pro Wrestling for
the full roster of Superstars in a the Xbox 360 in 2012.
time of 3 hr 4 min. The run was
recorded on his Twitch channel
on 7 Jul 2015 and listed at
Speedrun.com.

First all-female cast

in a fighting game
Released for the Mega Drive,
Asmik’s 1990 wrestling romp
Cutie Suzuki No Ringside Angel
featured only female characters.
The game – exclusive to Japan –
was named after pro wrestler
Cutie Suzuki, aka Yumi Harashima.

Most prolific developer

of combat sports games
Excluding cross-platform ports of the
same game, developer Yuke’s (JPN) has
made 41 combat sports games between
the release of Power Move Pro Wrestling
in 1996 and WWE 2K16 (pictured) in
Oct 2015. The studio’s titles included the
female wrestling game Rumble Roses
(2004), the robo-boxing movie tie-in Real
Steel (2011), and multiple entries in the
WWE and UFC Undisputed series.

81
FIGHTING GAMES

BEAT-’EM-UPS Largest combo goal in a

side-scrolling beat-’em-up
A 2013 title developed and
Whether you’re battling bare-knuckled through hordes of

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
The most ubiquitous videogame ninja

Ninja Gaiden series had appeared in

is Ryu Hayabusa. The star of Tecmo’s

27 different games as of 6 Mar 2016.

bad guys or hacking and slashing with weapons, the golden published by DrinkBox Studios,
rule of beat-’em-ups remains: the more enemies the better! Guacamelee!’s hero is Juan, a
murdered farmer brought back to
life as a Mexican wrestler. To earn
the Never Ending Combo Trophy/
Achievement, players must use
Juan to perform a sequence of
no fewer than 200 moves.

kratos
god of war

Best-selling hack-and-slash series

The electrifyingly brutal God of War series (Sony, 2005–15)
follows antihero Kratos as he carves a bloody path through
the world of Greek mythology, chopping up Olympians with
his pair of chained blades. As of 6 Mar 2016, it had racked up
global sales of 24.61 million units according to VGChartz.
The original God of War is the highest-rated hack-
10 Nickname
“Ghost of Sparta”
and-slash, with its GameRankings score of 93.58% from Blades of Chaos
Weapons
91 reviews placing it narrowly ahead of Capcom’s 2001 ying
Number of iconic Likes Vengeance, God-sla
Devil May Cry, with 92.6% from 70 reviews.
fighting soundtracks Ares
Dislikes
composed by Funniest alter ego
Spud of War
Most moves for Japan’s Yuzo
a character in a Koshiro, including
beat-’em-up Streets of Rage 1–3. Smallest beat-’em-up hero
Capcom’s God Despite standing only 1 ft (30 cm)
Hand (2006) high upon his haunches, Nando
survival-horror counterparts
prototype did not fit with its
conceived as a new iteration

and deserved its own series.

developers realized that the
Devil May Cry was originally

mixes hard- the rabbit becomes a playable

boiled action character in the competitive
with lots of
of Resident Evil, until

fighting mode of 2D side-scrolling

zany comedy. First beat-’em-up cult classic Guardian Heroes
Its hero, with all-female heroes (Sega, 1996).
martial artist
Released for the Mega Drive
Gene (left), uses
and Super Famicom and Fastest 100% completion
his divine fists to
rarely seen outside of Japan, of Battletoads (all stages)
perform combination
Angel’s Sailor Moon (1993) Mexico’s Piotr
attacks built upon
let gamers play as one or “TheMexicanRunner”
moves comprising
two of five female fighters. Delgado Kusielczuk
114 individual
techniques. The
The game might look cute, FACT! completed Tradewest’s
but it is considered to be notoriously difficult
game’s designers
one of the most bruising 1991 NES beat-’em-up
had wanted to
examples of the genre. in 24 min 19 sec, knocking
make a title for
“hardcore” nearly 10 min off the existing
gamers, record in the process.
hence its The run was verified by
many Speed Demos Archive
complex on 3 Apr 2014.
combos.

Most hero death

animations in
a videogame
Lowest-rated videogame The dark and fiendishly
As of 6 Mar 2016, difficult Bayonetta
GameCube beat-’em-up (PlatinumGames, 2009)
Charlie’s Angels (Ubisoft, has 48 different post-death
2003) had a GameRankings animations for defeated
rating of 23.74% from gamers to savour, the
23 reviews – the lowest most dramatic of all being
rating of any videogame “Armageddon”, in which
in any genre. Full throttle? Earth itself explodes
Stuck in reverse, more like. into pieces.
82
 Best-selling hack-and-slash
Tackling levels taken directly from scenes
from the first two films in Peter Jackson’s
Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–03), players
of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(EA, 2002) had to master individual attack
combos in order to beat back the forces of
Sauron. As of 6 Mar 2016, the game had sold
6.65 million copies, according to VGChartz.

Most prolific publisher of beat-’em-ups

Since 1989’s release of the arcade classic Final Fight,

Capcom has published 44 beat-’em-up titles across
all platforms. Early arcade titles Dynasty Wars (1989)
and Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (1993)
helped define the genre, while later home-console
blockbusters Devil May Cry (whose fourth instalment
special-edition is pictured here) and Onimusha Soul
(2012) added complexity and smoother gameplay.

83
FEATURE

SUPERDATA
The way we buy games is radically shifting. It’s no longer a case of
buying physical discs from retailers: many gamers now download
titles from digital distributors such as Steam, PlayStation Store and
Xbox Games Store. The rise of the free2play (F2p) model has also
led to a change in the way games can make money. US company
SuperData tracks digital game sales for the global market, as
well as analysing trends in eSports and virtual reality. Some of
the company’s most telling data is shared on these pages.

Q&A with Joost van Dreunen (right), CEO of SuperData

What is SuperData? Have recent sales charts been
We’re the leading providers of data and misleading owing to them not
insights on digital games and playable media. including digital sales?
By collecting the transaction data of more Yes, the emphasis on retail-based game
than 48 million spending gamers, we can sales gave the impression that interactive
report on the monthly performance of games, entertainment was a dying industry.
genres and markets. Underneath that, however, has
been the rising tide of digital.
How much of a shift has
there been towards What metrics do you track?
downloading games? The core group includes full
Digital distribution has game downloads, revenues, SUPERDATA STATS
made it possible for monthly active users (MAU), Based: New York, USA
small developers to conversion rate and average Year founded: 2009
successfully launch revenue per paying user. Full-time employees: 15
games in an arena Countries tracked: 50
that was previously How long will it be before Gamers tracked: 48 million
dominated by just a digital sales will be the most
few publishers. New dominant way to buy games?
digital-only platforms For some platforms, digital is already king.
such as social, mobile Premium PC titles have leaned digitally for
and MMO have also some time. Platforms with no retail equivalent
exploded. Worldwide, digital like mobile are obviously all digital. But the
games are about five times larger than retail. console market has been slower to adapt for
cultural and infrastructural reasons.
Who are the most popular
distributors of digital games? Which countries have the
For mobile it’s Apple and Google. For biggest digital markets?
PC games it’s Steam. A key challenge in Emerging markets, especially Brazil,
covering digital game sales is reconciling India and China, have digital markets
this fragmented market. that are vastly larger than retail.

Countries ranked by digital videogames revenue for 2015

1 China 2 USA 3 Japan 4 South Korea 5 UK

$13.15 bn $13.06 bn $11.85 bn $3.19 bn $2.67 bn

6 Germany 7 Brazil 8 France 9 Russia 10 Italy

$2.37 bn $1.83 bn $1.61 bn $1.60 bn $1.14 bn

84
Worldwide digital sales growth since 2010 % of US gamers using
mobile apps to watch
eSports in 2015
Mobile games
AlphaDraft
Year MAU Revenue
2010 1,195,642,770 $5,902,871,737
8% 40%
2011 1,412,651,158 $7,488,774,876 LoL eSports
2012 1,614,459,600 $12,883,392,538
2013 2,012,287,459 $19,299,431,200 9%
2014 2,216,533,322 $24,119,513,918 theScore 11%
2015 2,519,342,539 $30,149,587,706
Correct as of 31 Mar 2016 YouTube Gaming

12%
Console games (digital sales)
Year MAU Revenue Instant eSports
2010 n/a n/a
27%
2011 n/a n/a 13%
2012 163,288,709 $4,360,287,995
2013 182,503,536 $4,750,023,667 Ustream.tv
2014 204,270,983 $5,546,637,074 Twitch
2015 208,334,566 $6,238,669,087 MLG.tv 16%
Correct as of 31 Mar 2016

Most watched eSports mobile titles in the USA in 2015 2. World of Tanks Blitz

1. Hearthstone

30%
34% 4. Vainglory

17% 3. Million
19%
Predicted eSports revenue for 2015
Sponsorships and advertising:

$55.8 m (£37.6 m)

$53.8 m (£36.2 m)
and fantasy sites:

micro-tournaments:
eSports betting

$27.7 m (£18.6 m)

$15.9 m (£10.7 m)
$17 m (£11.4 m)
Prize pools:

Merchandise:
Amateur and

Ticket sales:
$578.6 m (£390.2 m)

85
RACING
A favourite in old-school arcades, racing games have evolved
and diversified. Whether they’re playing ultra-realistic sims
or cartoon racers, gamers love putting the pedal to the metal.

86
 Longest marathon
on Mario Kart (series)
On 4–5 Jul 2014, Harry Twyford, Josh
Alexander, Matt Smith and James
Hickman (all AUS) played the Mario
Kart series on the Wii, Wii U
and Nintendo 64 for 35 hr
45 min at Brauer College
in Warrnambool, Victoria,
Australia. They had
practised for six months,
including one 10-hr marathon
training session that ended in
disaster when one member threw
up and the rest fell asleep!

87
RACING

RACING SIMS
Know your downforce from your DRS? Developers of racing
sims go to extraordinary lengths in order to create the
most realistic and authentic driving experience possible.

Best-selling driving sim series Best-selling First racing game with interactive
EA’s Need for Speed may have Formula 1 videogame dashboard instruments
the edge in the overall driving- F1 titles have been popular The racer netKar Pro (Kunos
game market, with 101.6 million since the 1980s. However, the Simulazioni, 2006) was the first
units sold, but no driving sim best-selling digital take of this videogame to include a fully
can touch Gran Turismo with high-octane motorsport is interactive dashboard of the
its series sales of 72.1 million as Codemasters’ F1 2011, which had type typical of flight sims.
of 28 Apr 2016. Impressively, sold 2.43 million copies as of
Sony’s GT games have only been 16 Mar 2016. Predecessor F1 2010
released for PlayStation consoles, is second on the podium, with
unlike the multi-platform NFS. sales of 2.28 million
according to
Most critically VGChartz.
acclaimed racing game
Launched in Japan
on 23 Dec 1997,
the original
Gran Turismo
for PlayStation
remains the critical
benchmark for
racers, with a
GameRankings
rating of
94.95% as of
16 Mar 2016.
FACT!

Gran Turismo designer and producer Kazunori

Number of pink flamingos featured at the Chilean
track “Chungara Lake” in Driveclub. Incredibly,
Yamauchi has showcased his driving skills on
real-life circuits, competing in the 24 Hours
Nürburgring team race in 2010–12 and 2014.
19,000 each flamingo in the supersized flock behaves
independently of the others.

Most podium finishes for a gamer

in a real-life driving competition
Since winning the 2008 GT Academy, Lucas
Ordóñez (ESP) had secured 20 podium
finishes in real-life race competitions as
of 14 Mar 2016, according to his career
stats at driverdb.com.
Highlights include
first place in the
2013 Blancpain
Endurance
Longest-running PlayStation franchise Series – GT3
Pro-Am Cup,
With the release of Gran Turismo 6’s Track Path
and second
Editor app on 30 Sep 2015, Sony’s racing sim series
place in the
had been gracing PS platforms for a period of 17 years
GT4 European
281 days. At Paris Games Week in Oct 2015, Polyphony
Cup in 2009.
Digital unveiled a teaser for the next instalment in the
franchise, Gran Turismo: Sport, confirming that the game
would also support Sony’s new virtual reality hardware.

88
 First racing game to win a “Game of the Year” BAFTA
In 2001, Sony’s PS2 smash Gran Turismo 3: A-spec picked up the console
“Game of the Year” award at the prestigious BAFTA Games Awards. As of
Mar 2016, it was still the only racer to win a “top” British Academy Award.
BAFTA has been recognizing videogames since 1998.

Most “stakeholders”
involved in a racing game
Developed by Slightly Mad Studios,
Project CARS (Bandai Namco, 2015)
was put together with the assistance
of racing fans, who became involved
through the WMD funding portal.
Eighty-thousand so-called
“stakeholders”, mainly fans and
enthusiasts, put their hands in
their pockets, raising a total of
¤3.75 m (£2.99 m). Pro racer
Nicolas Hamilton (above),
brother of Formula 1 champion
Lewis, was brought on board
to advise the Project CARS
dev team on car handling to ensure
the most authentic drive possible.

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
Different locations in Forza Motorsport 6, including five

26 new circuits – Brands Hatch, Daytona, Indianapolis 2014,

Rio de Janeiro and Watkins Glen.
In China and Japan, the first editions of Gran
Turismo 4 came with the largest instruction guide
for a racing game. The guide was 212 pages long
and featured a car index and professional tutorials.

Longest draw distance in a racing game

Draw distance is a computer-graphics term that
measures the maximum distance of objects in
a three-dimensional scene. The hyper-detailed
Driveclub (Sony, 2014) boasts a draw distance
of 200 km (124 mi). It uses high-resolution data
collected by NASA to simulate Earth’s curvature
and to accurately map the stars in the night
sky. Even the clouds are
3D models.

Most drivable surfaces in a game

Forza Motorsport 6 (Microsoft, 2015) features a total
of 148 individual driving surfaces, with each surface’s
friction uniquely affected by multiple weather variables.
Key to that are the refined rain effects and 3D puddles.
The exclusive Xbox One title is also the most critically
acclaimed racer for an eighth-generation platform. It
had scored 88.63% at GameRankings as of 7 Mar 2016.
RACING

ARCADE RACERS
From melting tyres at improbable speeds, to flying upside
down in futuristic cars, arcade racers let you live out your
high-speed fantasies, no matter how crazy they may be.

Fastest lap on
Ridge Racer (high level)
Namco’s 1993 classic racer was
considered one of the first “must-
haves” for the original PlayStation.
Gamer Alex T Trammell (USA)
clocked a scorching lap time of
1 min 0.757 sec, as verified by Fastest lap of “Klies
Twin Galaxies on 21 Jun 2005. Bridge” in WipEout 64
Making cunning use of
First racing game to win programming glitches in the
“Game of the Year” at the gameplay, Wouter Jansen (NLD)
Golden Joystick Awards flew round the anti-gravity track
In 1988, OutRun beat Activision’s in exactly 13 sec, a time verified
The Last Ninja and Taito’s beat- by Speed Demos Archive on
’em-up Renegade to the coveted 28 Mar 2009.
Game of the Year title at the
long-running British videogame Fastest lap time in Daytona USA
awards ceremony – and remained Brian Ho (USA) completed a
the only racing game to have circuit of Sega’s 1993 arcade
done so, as of 9 Mar 2016. racer in just 45.62 sec on “Time
Attack” mode, as verified by
Twin Galaxies on 18 Jul 2009.

roove” Largest licensed soundtrack

“smooth mcg who
is a yo ut ub er in a racing game
apella
performs ac ogame Developed by French studio Ivory
vi de
versions of city Tower, The Crew (2014) features
-zero – mute k
songs. his “f d on a trac
120 licensed songs from artists
la”, ba se
acapel r, as diverse as Arctic Monkeys and
turistic race
from the fu ed m ore Mozart. There is also an original
has been vi ew
on times! score by Joseph Trapanese (USA),
than 2 milli who has composed for movies
including Oblivion and Tron:
Legacy alongside Daft Punk.

Number of
FACT!

In 1987, some home-computer versions

of OutRun came bundled with a high-performance
cassette featuring the original arcade
soundtrack, as the hardware wasn’t
sophisticated enough to replicate it.
51 cars available in
the 2015 Need for Speed reboot –
all customizable, naturally...

Most prolific racing-game series Highest score on OutRun

The Need for Speed series had amassed 26 titles as Richard Jackson (USA) scored
of 16 Mar 2016, dating all the way back to 1994. It has 52,897,690 points on Sega’s 1986
appeared on 3DO and iOS, while 2015’s Need for arcade racer, as verified by Twin
Speed: No Limits was released exclusively for mobile Galaxies on 21 Feb 1987.
platforms. Underlining its place in pole position, the The highest score on Turbo
series is also the best-selling driving-game series, with OutRun (arcade), the sequel
worldwide sales of 101.6 million to OutRun, was set by Martin
as of 28 Apr 2016, according Bedard (CAN) with 52,087,460
to VGChartz. points, verified
on 29 May 2008.
 First racing-game soundtrack CD
The launch of the original WipEout (Psygnosis, 1995) was accompanied
by a CD featuring cutting-edge electronica music by artists such as
Orbital, Leftfield and the Chemical Brothers. A follow-up soundtrack,
WipEout 2097 , accompanied the game of the same name in 1996.

Longest-running
futuristic racing-game series
Between the release of its PlayStation
launch title (for Europe) in Sep 1995
and the PS Vita game WipEout 2048
in Jan 2012, the WipEout series had
been burning anti-gravity matter
for 16 years 4 months. Developer
Studio Liverpool (formerly Psygnosis)
subsequently closed, but in Sep 2015
a Sony executive refused to rule out
the possibility of a new title.

Speed in km/h (423.7 mph) reached by YouTuber Fernando 10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

On 1 Sep 1982, Todd Rogers (USA) set a time of

682 Moretti in a nitro-powered Ford GT in a Need for Speed:

Carbon video uploaded on 4 May 2007 – the fastest
speed by a real-world car in a videogame.
5.51 sec on Dragster (Activision, 1980). Over 33 years
later the time still stood, making it the longest-
standing videogame record recognized by GWR.

Most critically acclaimed

kart-racer
Mario Kart might dominate the
Most money earned in Crazy Taxi kart market, but Crash Team
Hitmaker’s 1999 open-world racer challenges Racing (SCEA, 1999) has the
gamers to accumulate fares by delivering critics’ seal of approval with a
passengers to their destination as quickly as GameRankings score of 91.78%.
possible. J C Padilla (USA, inset) showed off some Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast
serious cabby skills in the game’s sun-scorched Californian (Nintendo, 2007) could only
setting. As verified by Twin Galaxies on 7 Jul 2010, the score 43.94%, making it the
gamer earned $106,833.09 (£70,404.09) in fares. lowest-rated kart-racer.

91
 RACING

MARIO KART
Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo
Debut: 1992 Series sales: 108.98 million
Games: 8 (plus 3 coin-ops) Rival: Crash Team Racing

36.29 sec on 28 Mar 2016. The

track – inspired by the Nintendo
donkey kong
game of the same name –
mario kart was among several new ones
featured on DLC for Mario Kart 8,
released on 23 Apr 2015.

Longest-standing
Mario Kart lap record
Multiple Mario Kart record holder
Karel “KVD” van Duijvenboden
(NLD) set the fastest lap for the
A ver y large gorilla “Ghost Valley” track in the NTSC
Species
16 version of Super Mario Kart on
Number of kar ts 29 Dec 2006. As of 28 Apr 2016,
ts
Strengths Bashing into small kar his 11.65-sec run remained a
Poor acceler atio n
Weaknesses record after 9 years 121 days.
Bananas
Likes
Most heats in a kart
videogame competition
Mario Kart event “The Grand
Best-selling Wii U game Wii” was held on 5–12 Apr
With global sales of 6.79 million 2008. Run by GAME, it
as of 28 Apr 2016, Mario Kart 8 is featured 30 regional heats
the Wii U’s biggest seller. Sales of in the UK. Winners went to
the console itself as of that date the final, to battle it out for
were 12.98 million, meaning that a Mario-themed VW Beetle.
more than 52 per cent of
Wii U owners have the game.
Longest-running kart videogame series
When Mario Kart 8 arrived in Japan on 29 May 2014 (a day later
Fastest time for MK 8’s in Europe and North America), the series cemented its position
“Animal Crossing” track as gaming’s longest-running kart-racing franchise: 21 years 275 days
“Flarena” (USA) finished had elapsed since Super Mario Kart made its debut on 27 Aug 1992.
three laps of the “Animal
Crossing” track in 1 min
FACT!

PAC-Man notched up roles in all three Mario Kart

Arcade GP games. The yellow fellow was joined Mario Kart 8 records held by
in the first two by his wife, Ms. PAC-Man, and red
ghost Blinky. They were the first characters from
a non-Nintendo game to appear in the series.
19 Japanese gamers as of 27 Apr 2016, according
to mkwrs.com – more than any other nation.

Most live-action parodies of a racing game

As of 12 Apr 2016, YouTube boasted at least
17 live-action Mario Kart parodies, featuring Fastest 32-track 200cc speed-run in MK 8
cosplayers driving through public spaces. When Nintendo’s fastest-ever karts were
Among the most viewed are “MARIO IN added to Mario Kart 8 in Apr 2015, 200cc
REAL LIFE LONGBOARDING, RUNNING records became musts for track addicts.
FROM SECURITY PRANK (CHASED By On 7 Feb 2016, “MBisonFuté” (FRA) guided
security)” by “JOOGSQUAD PPJT” (above) Donkey Kong around 32 tracks in just 1 hr
and “Mario Kart FlashMob” by “Base37” 4 min 1 sec, as verified by Speedrun.com.
(left). In the latter, actors dressed as Mario “What a great run,” he commented. “Only
Kart characters hare around the floors of Piranha Plant Slide [the second course of
one of London’s Westfield shopping centres. the Lightning Cup] was awful.”

92
 Best-selling racing series

Outselling major racing sims and arcade

racers alike, the Mario Kart series had
sold 108.98 million units as of 28 Apr
2016. By comparison, Gran Turismo and
Need for Speed had shifted 72.1 and
101.6 million respectively.
Sales of 35.78 million make Mario
Kart Wii (2008) the best-selling racing
videogame and third all-time best-seller,
after Wii Sports and Super Mario Bros.

Number of historic and current 10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

Super Mario Kart records held
405 by Karel van Duijvenboden
(NLD), as of 24 Mar 2016.
The most viewed fan film based on a racing
game is “MARIO KART (REMI GAILLARD)”.
As of 29 Apr 2016, it had been watched
67,827,239 times.

Q&A: Sami Çetin (right, as Mario)

The British founder of the time-trial

page mariokartplayers.com/smk is
a five-time runner-up and one-time
winner at the Super Mario Kart What would you tell gamers who
World Championships. want to be pro at Super Mario Kart?
Most Super Mario Kart World Play harder tracks often; your
Championship trophies How did you start with the game? driving accuracy improves, which
The Super Mario Kart World I was 10: my sister bought it for helps on easier tracks. And you can
Championship tournament me. The handling mechanics were watch strategy videos online – we
has been held in France since perfect. I had a vision of knowing didn’t have those in the 1990s. Set
2002. Gamers compete in the world’s best players and going realistic goals: don’t try to replicate
four events, such as GP 150cc to events. But there was no internet the fastest strategy straight away.
and Battle Mode. As of 28 Apr then. It was just a crazy dream.
2016, Florent Lecoanet (FRA) And you hold world records too…
had won eight gold and two Then the Super Mario Kart World Yes: Mario Circuit 1 Time Trial, the
silver trophies. Only in his Championships happened… first track in Super Mario Kart, in
first year (2005) did he fail I was very nervous at my first one. 57.90 and 55.97 sec for the PAL
to finish first or second. But I won the title once, in 2012. and NTSC versions, respectively.

93
FEATURE

25 YEARS OF MARIO KART

Since the release of the first Super Mario Kart in 1992, the
series has had millions of virtual racers dodging banana skins
and firing red shells at one another. Few games can match
its sense of addictive fun and pure adrenaline thrill. As the
power of consoles has increased, Nintendo has continued
to improve the Mario Kart blueprint, adding new features
and facets of gameplay. And with talk of a Mario Kart 9 for
Nintendo’s forthcoming NX console, it could be a long time
before this series reaches the finishing line... the
mastermind
behind mario
nintendo’s cr kart is
eati
shigeru miyam ve genius
1992 joining the co oto. since
mpany in 1977
he has create ,
d
Super Mario Kart mario bros. an both super
d zelda, and
The first MK title begins produced ev
ery
with eight racers and kart consol mario
e title
20 tracks. It marries to date.
the fun of Mario with
serious kart-racing
gameplay using power
slides and hopping.
1996
Mario Kart 64
Mario Kart arrives
on the N64 boasting
four-player split-screen
thrills, 3D courses with
elevation changes,
and Wario and Donkey
Kong as characters.
START

2003
2001 Mario Kart:
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Super Circuit The GameCube title
is notable for its
Released exclusively
two-player karts. One
for the Game Boy
character drives while
Advance, the third
a second collects
Mario Kart entry is the
items and weapons.
first to appear on a
hand-held console.

94
 2008 2011
Mario Kart Wii Mario Kart 7
The sixth console title Innovations in the
makes full use of the Nintendo 3DS title
Wii’s unique motion- include stereoscopic
sensing controls. It 3D graphics, hang-
introduces motorbikes glider add-ons, and
to the series. underwater sections
on some of its tracks.

2005
Mario Kart DS
The second title for
hand-helds features
Retro Cups, in which
players race over old
courses. It also adds
online multiplayer and
customizable karts. 2013
Mario Kart
Arcade GP DX
Mario’s third arcade
title features a “Team
Mode” that lets two
karters create one
larger vehicle, with a
driver and a “gunner”.

2014
FINISH

2016
Uploaded on re”
he
6 A pr 2016 by “T video Luigi’s “death sta rio
ta kin g in Ma
, mash-up while over .
Pixel Kingdom” s an internet meme
CKET LEAGUE” ha Ka rt  8 be co me s
“SUPER MARIO RO using havoc in r “B es t Ga mi ng
It is nominated fo 14 Golden
Mario Kart -ers ca soccer title 20
ed Moment” at the ds.
the vehicle-bas ue. Joystick Awar
Rocket Leag
2014
Mario Kart 8
Wii U users can enjoy
2016 new antigravity track
sections and all-terrain
vehicles. Race highlights
r Te sla can now be edited and
Car manufacture Easter uploaded to YouTube.
rio Ka rt
sneak in a Ma
g fo r th eir Mo del S and X cars.
eg d
rn their dashboar
It lets drivers tu ni c Ra inbow
to th e ico
display in
Road track.

95
RHYTHM & PARTY
From instrument-based rivals Guitar Hero and Rock Band to
the fancy footwork fun of Just Dance, music games flex the
fingers and stretch the legs of gamers and non-gamers alike.

96
 Longest marathon
on a videogame
Record-smasher Carrie Swidecki (USA)
played Just Dance 2015 (Ubisoft, 2014)
for a toe-toughening 138 hr 34 sec on
11–17 Jul 2015. Having set new dance
marathon records four years in a row,
Carrie this time broke the overall gaming
marathon record, beating by almost
3 hr the time set by Okan Kaya (AUS),
who played Call of Duty: Black Ops II
for 135 hr 15 min 10 sec in 2012.

97
RHYTHM & PARTY

RHYTHM GAMES indie fan

“pewdiepie”
They’ve got the music, you’ve got the moves – these games

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
w

Dance Dance Revolution became the first

when “machine dancing” was registered with

the Norwegian government on 9 Dec 2003.
videogame officially recognized as a sport
are great for budding dancers, would-be guitarists and even, blown away as
by the
thanks to Crypt of the NecroDancer, dungeon-crawlers. inventive cr
yp
necrodancer t of the
. his youtube
video “amaz
ing
– crypt of th ry thm game!
e necr
had been seen odancer”
2,
times as of 20 251,222
apr 2016,
amassing 10
2,585
likes.

Most viewed Just Dance

music video
“Just Dance Kids 2 – The Gummy
Bear Song (Wii Rip)” had been
Best-selling dance videogame series viewed 71,149,634 times as of
Crammed with Katy Perry hits and more crazy colours than 31 Mar 2016 – that’s an average of
a Candy Crush convention, Ubisoft’s Just Dance had moved more than 30 times per min since
a massive 58.08 million copies across multiple platforms as it was uploaded by YouTuber
of 31 Mar 2016, according to VGChartz.

5
“beyre83” on 20 Nov 2011. Its
Just Dance 3 (2011) is the best-selling dance game, with popularity is partly due to the
a total of 12.87 million units sold for the Wii, PS3 and X360. presence of Disney’s Girl Meets
World actress Sabrina Carpenter.
Other YouTube uploads of the
Longest-running instrument Nickelodeon Kids’ same clip take its total views
videogame series Choice “Best close to 90 million.
Konami’s GuitarFreaks hit arcades Videogame”
in 1998. The most recent version – Fastest completion of
awards won by
AC GITADORA Tri-Boost – was released Beat Sneak Bandit
17 years later, on 21 Apr 2015. It features the Just Dance
Simogo’s 2012 iOS title combines
791 songs by the likes of Babymetal. series, as of the rhythm-based action with stealth,
Tub-thumpers can opt for sister game 2016 ceremony. making it eye-catchingly original.
DrumMania, which debuted in 1999. On 2 Jan 2014, “Rebcart” (USA)
beat his way to the end in just
stop-motion TV show Robot Chicken.

more than 90,000 times on YouTube.

The comedy sketch has been viewed

21 min 49 sec.
Rhythm-game legend PaRappa the
Rapper (a rapping dog) comically
befriends rapper 50 Cent in the

Fastest play-through of
Crypt of the NecroDancer
Fastest Dance Dance Revolution song
Part rhythm-action game,
Dance Dance Revolution X3’ s
part dungeon-crawler, Crypt (2011) relentless banger “Tohoku
of the NecroDancer was EVOLVED” peaks at a whopping
developed by Brace Yourself 1,020 beats per min as players
Games and released by Klei progress through the song.
Entertainment in 2015. As The increased rate of bpm
of 31 Mar 2016, “incnone” refers to the on-screen arrows
(USA) held pole position on the that a player has to match with
game’s leaderboard, having completed its “Story their moves. The beat of
Mode” in just 17 min 44 sec. the actual song does not
FACT! literally speed up.

Youngest gamer to achieve Longest marathon on

a perfect score on Dance a karaoke videogame
Dance Revolution Julian Hill (UK) played SingStar
Ryota Wada (JPN) was aged (Sony, 2004) for a lung-busting
just 9 years 288 days when 24 hr 21 min 25 sec on 13–14 Apr
he secured a flawless “AAA” 2012. Fundraising for London’s
rating on the “Expert” Great Ormond Street Hospital,
difficulty level of Konami’s Take That fan Julian began
Dance Dance Revolution. with the British pop group’s
He mastered the song “Greatest Day” and finished
“Hyper Eurobeat” – by with their “Rule the World”.
Konami’s resident composer He livestreamed the entire
Naoki Maeda – at his home attempt, taking requests from
in Wakayama, Japan, on internet users in exchange for
29 Aug 2010.
donations to the charity.

98
 Best-selling dance mat series

More than 130 versions of Konami’s

Dance Dance Revolution have been
released in arcades and on home
consoles. As of 31 Mar 2016, its overall
series sales amounted to 21.67 million.
The original debuted on 21 Nov 1998.
A total of 17 years 129 days elapsed
before the most recent game, Dance
Dance Revolution A, hit Japanese
arcades on 30 Mar 2016, making it the
longest-running dance mat series.

99
RHYTHM & PARTY

ROCK BAND Longest marathon

drumming on Rock Band
A muscle-mangling 26-hr 40-min
Publisher: Harmonix/MTV Developer: Harmonix/EA

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
from 47 reviews, Rock Band 3 is the most
critically acclaimed instrument game and
the most critically acclaimed rhythm game.
With a GameRankings rating of 92.44%
Debut: 2007 Series sales: 27.88 million marathon was achieved by Sean
Games: 7 Rival: Guitar Hero “Phr34k” Feica (CAN) in Ontario
on 26–27 Jul 2008. He played all
243 songs on Rock Band at the
time, in order of difficulty, and
earned five stars on 141 of them
(of which 56 were full combos).
At the end, he encored with the
appropriately titled “Still Alive”
(by Jonathan Coulton), better
known as Portal’s end theme.

retailing
at $179.99 an
featuring ex d
tensive
First band-specific Rock Band game use of hall
& oa
Rock Band’s roster consists mainly of songs from a range it ain’t so”, th tes’ “say
e rock band
of artists, but the “Fab Four” got their very own edition with board game
w
The Beatles: Rock Band. Issued on 9 Sep 2009, in the wake by harmonix as unveiled

113
with a youtub
ad – “the ne e
of the first band-specific edition of rival Guitar Hero (2008, w game from
harmonix re
for Aerosmith; see p.102), it was endorsed by former Beatles vealed!” – on
1 apr 2012. it
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. was
course, a sp , of
oof.
Buttons
First gamer to reach 1,000,000,000 representing every
fans on Rock Band 3 possible finger
On 21 Nov 2010, after just 26 days of Highest cumulative disc scores
position on Rock
gameplay, Rock Band 3 muso Josh Ray on Rock Band 4
Band 3 ’s Fender
(USA) had gained 1,011,627,907 virtual A cumulative disc score refers
fans. He broke the billion mark by
Mustang PRO- to the points achieved across
playing the solo to Europe’s 1986 chart- Guitar controller. all 65 tracks that feature on the
topper “The Final Countdown” without game disc. As of 29 Mar 2016, the
missing a note. Josh is now “looking to following players held records
start a real band and become a musician”. for their chosen instruments:
A settlement was agreed, but Rock
launched Rock Revolution in 2008.

Band was the sales winner over its

Lawsuits flew between Harmonix

• guitar: “a drunk taco”

(12,806,592)
and Konami when the latter

First song to sell more • bass: “TheRealZachBraff”

on Xbox than iTunes (10,877,075)
poorly reviewed rival.

Mötley Crüe (bassist Nikki Sixx, • drums: “bookreader52” (USA)

right) let loose “Saints of Los (12,832,389)
Angeles” simultaneously on • pro drums: “PedroRVD” (ECU)
digital stores and via Xbox (13,796,026)
Live for Rock Band players on • vocals: “Cdrock7” (USA)
11 Apr 2008. The heavy metal (11,748,212)
quartet’s song shifted 47,000 • harmonies: “Valkrinos”
units in its first week on Xbox, (10,048,202)
outselling downloads of the • band: “Peacemaker27” (USA)
iTunes and Amazon versions
by almost five to one.
FACT! (26,011,521).

Most “Expert” full combos

in Rock Band 4 (guitar)
Highest individual score A full combo involves players
recorded on Rock Band 4
American gamer “vic699” scored
a powerful 847,954 playing bass on
18 performing an entire song to
perfection, without fluffing a
single note. As of 29 Mar 2016,
Iron Maiden’s “Powerslave” – Rock virtual axe-wizard “CURS06”
Band 4’s highest individual score had achieved 1,046 full combos
Headbanging
as of 29 Mar 2016. on the game’s “Expert” setting.
classics in 2008’s As of the same date, budding
Maiden were also responsible for
the most difficult song in the first AC/DC Live: Rock frontman “BansheeMan55”
Rock Band – their hit “Run to the Band Track Pack, had wailed his way to 988 full
Hills” was rated nine for difficulty including “Back combos – the most “Expert” full
on guitar, vocals, drums and bass. in Black”. combos on Rock Band 4 (vocals).

100
Most downloadable songs for a rhythm game
Although constantly changing due to the arrival
of new DLC, as of 6 Apr 2016, the Rock Band 4
Music Store had 1,845 songs to download. Its
vast, eclectic repertoire catered for all musical
tastes, with artists as diverse as U2, Ed Sheeran,
Royal Blood, Sam Hunt, Opeth, Outkast and
shock-rock legend Marilyn Manson (right).

Longest downloadable song

in a Rock Band game
“2112” by Canadian prog rockers Rush
is so long that it filled a whole side of
a vinyl record on its original release in
1976. On Rock Band 4, it’s an endurance-
testing 20 min 27 sec, or 618 bars and
1 beat. Inevitably, the epic also holds the
record for most gems playable in one
song on Rock Band 4 – its 13,453 total
betters even DragonForce’s finger-
melter “Through the Fire and Flames”.

101
 RHYTHM & PARTY

GUITAR HERO
Publisher: Activision Developer: Various
Debut: 2005 Series sales: 61.6 million
Games: 7 Rivals: Rock Band
danny johnso
Youngest gamer to 5-star Most viewed fan film based (usa) is a lege n
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“Through the Fire and Flames” on an instrument game fr
on “Expert” difficulty Posted by YouTuber “BloodBlitz and holder of etboard
m
First appearing in Guitar Hero III: Comedy” on 25 Jun 2008, titles for gu ultiple gwr
it
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Legends of Rock (2007), “Worlds most impossible gh3 ut
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“Through the Fire and Flames” song!!” had been viewed an henom” show
he’s no slou s
ch on
by UK metal-heads DragonForce incredible 30,150,277 times instruments real
is regarded as one of the as of 30 Mar 2016. The video , too.
toughest Guitar Hero tracks features BloodBlitz attempting
in existence. On 24 Nov 2007, a play-through of an ultra-tough
Ben Eberle (USA) mastered it custom song on the PC version
aged just 9 years 167 days. of Guitar Hero III titled “Do not
try this song!!”. He does well to
Highest guitar-part score emerge with a score of 498 out of
on a Guitar Hero game 2,340, with 21% of the notes hit.
On 17 Jun 2014, “Thabeast721” The clip is by far the most popular
scored 1,063,377 while playing of the 143 he has uploaded.
Guitar Hero: Metallica’s
epic “Mercyful Fate” –
Highest score on Guitar Hero Live
as of 30 Mar 2016, the
On 11 Jan 2016, “Lo11o2” scored 663,622 playing the “Expert”-level guitar
highest score on any part of “I Will Wait” by Mumford & Sons – the highest recorded score on
Guitar Hero game. any GH Live song on any level, as of 30 Mar 2016. Lo11o2 hit more than
1,000 consecutive correct notes during the course of the song.
Highest score for a vocal
part on Guitar Hero Live
Performing the “Expert”-
level vocal track of
“Berzerk” by Eminem,
“parzrevenge”
achieved a score
of 368,755 on
20 Oct 2015. It
was still unbeaten,
as of 30 Mar 2016.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins University Baseball games

FACT!

in Maryland, USA, used adapted Guitar missed by pro

Hero III controllers while developing
prosthetic limbs. The controllers helped to
calibrate the electrical signals generated
by the residual muscles of amputees.
3 pitcher Joel Zumaya (USA) in 2006 – he was
benched by the Detroit Tigers owing to a wrist injury
caused by playing Guitar Hero !

Longest continuous custom

note streak in Guitar Hero
Performing a player-made track in Guitar
Hero: Warriors of Rock (2010), Jeremy
Durand (USA) achieved a custom streak
of 7,500 continuous notes on 14 Feb 2015.
This feat of sustained
tapping excellence
and endurance
was streamed
live on his
Twitch
First band-specific Guitar Hero game channel.
Released in Europe on 27 Jun 2008, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
featured the iconic riffwork of the US rock band behind songs
such as “Livin’ on the Edge” and “Walk This Way”. The game
took wannabe rock behemoths on the journey from tiny club
venues to packed-out arenas. It was later followed by similar
titles featuring US groups Metallica and Van Halen.

102
 Best-selling rhythm game series

As of 31 Mar 2016, Activision’s Guitar

Hero series had sold 61.6 million units
according to VGChartz. That figure put
the series roughly 3 million ahead of its
nearest rival, Ubisoft’s Just Dance, which
boasted overall sales of 58.08 million.
The best-selling rhythm game across
multiple platforms is 2007’s Guitar
Hero III: Legends of Rock. The popular
sequel had shifted 16.39 million units
for PS2, PS3, Wii and X360 consoles.

Notes in DragonForce’s “Through the 10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

Fire and Flames” on GH III. The song lasts On 23–26 Feb 2012, Patrick Young
3,722 for 7 min 24 sec, which works out
at 8.38 notes every second!
(USA) achieved the longest
marathon on Guitar Hero by
playing for 72 hr 17 min.

Highest
score on Guitar
Hero III (female)
On 30 Sep 2010, Annie
Leung (USA) racked up a
score of 789,349 playing
DragonForce’s classic Guitar
Hero track “Through the Fire
and Flames” at her home in
San Francisco, California,
Largest funeral for a fictional object USA. Annie honed her
On 23 Nov 2006, a funeral for the air guitar was held in gaming skills playing Epic
London, UK, to mark the launch of Guitar Hero II. More Games’ 1999 FPS Unreal
than 80 “mourners” watched as a guitar-shaped coffin Tournament, before
was carried in by goth pallbearers, while a church organist switching her attention
and choir performed songs such as Boston’s “More Than from the gun to the guitar.
a Feeling” and Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box”.

103
FEATURE

GIANT GAME WORLDS

Developers constantly push the boundaries of game worlds.
Handcrafted areas, drawn with detail and character, form Procedural generation is a technique in which terrain is
randomly generated by algorithms rather than designed
the basis of many popular titles. However, the resurgence
by hand. By employing it, developers can create games
of procedural generation has meant that some worlds – in which unique landscapes are created on the fly by
or universes – have grown to truly astonishing sizes. the game’s code. It sounds futuristic, but procedural
generation has been around since the late 1970s and
1980s. In those earlier days the technique was popular
because it saved on file size: less space is required
to write a set of simple rules for how levels should
1 be assembled rather than describing the exact
appearance of each level. The technique fell out
of favour in the 1990s with the rise of compact
discs and increased storage space.
Today, the vast wealth of processing
power and the popularity of open-
world titles such as Minecraft
2 and Star Citizen mean that
it’s firmly back in fashion
– and, as a result, game
worlds are now truly
super-huge.
3

10

11

12

13

14
Here are some of the largest and most iconic game worlds (all sizes approximate)
1. Grand Theft Auto III 5. Just Cause 10. Elite
• Rockstar, 2001 • Eidos, 2006 • Acornsoft, 1984
• Size: 9 km2 (3.4 sq mi) • Size: 1,012 km2 (390 sq mi) • Size: 2,048 star systems
A landmark title for the games industry, this • Partially procedurally generated When developer duo David Braben and Ian
crime romp featured an open 3D world of Released around the birth of seventh-gen Bell told Acornsoft that their space-trading
seemingly limitless possibility. However, its consoles, Just Cause set a new standard sim could have 282 trillion galaxies, the
size is pretty small by modern standards for open worlds. Players were discouraged publisher told them to limit the game to
– at 127 km2 (49 sq mi), 2013’s Grand Theft from walking across its tropical island eight in case players didn’t believe them!
Auto V is more than 14 times larger. setting owing to an abundance of cars, Elite eventually launched with 2,048 star
bikes, boats, helicopters and aircraft. systems, to huge critical acclaim.
2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
• CD Projekt, 2015 6. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes 11. EVE Online
• Size: over 136 km2 (52.5 sq mi) • Sony Online Entertainment, 2007 • CCP Games, 2003
Prior to its release, developers claimed that • Size: 1,068 km2 (412 sq mi) • Size: 7,800 star systems
The Witcher 3 would be 35 times the size • Partially procedurally generated With the release of the Rhea update on
of its predecessor. The epic RPG sequel This fantasy MMORPG’s seamless world, 9 Dec 2014, the number of star systems in
features the free city of Novigrad, which known as Telon, was spread across three the space-faring MMORPG increased to
carries a sizeable population of 30,000, and sprawling islands. Players could travel a whopping 7,800. Of these, 1,907 are in
a group of six islands known as the Skellige. between each of them by flying on winged Empire regions, 3,294 are in Outlaw regions
creatures, sailing in player-crafted ships, or and 2,599 are in the tricky-to-access
3. World of Warcraft riding on the backs of “normal” horses. Wormhole regions.
• Blizzard, 2004
• Size: 200 km2 (77 sq mi), 7. Fuel 12. Elite: Dangerous
pre-The Burning Crusade • Codemasters, 2009 • Frontier Developments, 2014
With five expansions released as of • Size: 14,400 km2 (5,560 sq mi) • Size: 400 billion star systems
Apr 2016 (and a sixth in the works), WoW’s • Partially procedurally generated David Braben’s space sequel features
total playable size remains a mystery. A post-apocalyptic racer, Fuel’s hazardous approximately 400 billion star systems
However, prior to the release of expansion open world is the largest playable area in a to explore – more even than our own
The Burning Crusade (2007), player “Tobold racing game. Jim Rossignol of Rock, Paper, Milky Way. Around 160,000 of them are
Stoutfoot” calculated it by running in a Shotgun drove around its circumference based on real astronomical data, while
straight line from the east end of Thousand shortly after the game’s release. It took the rest are procedurally generated.
Needles to the west coast of Feralas. him just under eight hours in a buggy to
complete the circuit. 13. Star Citizen
4. EverQuest • Cloud Imperium Games, 2016
• Sony Online Entertainment, 1999 8. The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall • Size: 4 quadrillion km3
• Size: 906 km2 (349.8 sq mi) • Bethesda, 1996 (1 quadrillion cu mi) per star system
• Procedurally generated • Size: 161,600 km2 (62,394 sq mi) The incoming space sim was due to launch
Launched soon after Furcadia (1996) and • Procedurally generated with 100 star systems, each one measuring
Ultima Online (1997), EverQuest is still Thanks to procedural generation, the approximately 4 quadrillion cubic km in
an MMORPG pioneer. The game is first two Elder Scrolls games dwarf their volume. Explorers of the game’s vast,
set in Norrath, a vast, medieval modern sequels. Predecessor Arena (1994) persistent universe will encounter natural
world divided into more than is technically larger, but it’s impossible to effects such as nebulae and asteroid fields
500 zones. move from towns without fast-travelling. alongside man-made structures such as
space stations and derelict ships.
9. Minecraft
• Mojang, 2011 14. No Man’s Sky
• Size: 4,096,000,000 km2 • Hello Games, 2016
(1,581,474,441 sq mi) • Size: 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 planets
• Procedurally generated The indie space game features more than
Minecraft is notorious for its size. The 18 quintillion procedurally generated planets
game’s physics function on blocks to explore, each with its own wildlife, plant
up to 32 million blocks away from life and weather systems. Its size earns it
its world’s centre, allowing the overall record for largest videogame
for a maximum area that’s universe. To see each planet for one
roughly eight times second would take 585 billion years, so
the surface area it’s impossible to see everything! However,
of Earth. players can upload their planetary findings
to a universal database known as The Atlas.

minecraft ’s
mammoth size
makes it the
largest
playable op
en world in
a land-based
game. the
youtube vide
o “how big is
minecraft?”
by “nullatrum
explores its ”
size
detail, and ha in vivid
d ea
2,168,071 view rned
s by
4 may 2016.

105
 No movie-to-videogame licence has been more prolific than
George Lucas’ Star Wars. Diverse titles have enabled gamers
to live out their greatest fantasies, from wielding lightsabers
and blowing up Death Stars to turning to the dark side...

Largest collection of videogames

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away – or, more specifically,
1980 in Australia – Joel Hopkins was bitten by the gaming bug
thanks to the Atari home-console version of Space Invaders.
Over the next four decades, his games collection swelled to
17,466, as counted in Victoria on 12 Jan 2016. Among them is a rare
Japanese Mega Drive version of Tetris from 1989, of which fewer
than 10 are known to exist today. Enviably for Jedi fans, Joel owns
a Death Star-sized haul of 325 Star Wars games, which includes
region-specific releases, cross-platform ports and special editions.
He also collects other Jedi-themed merchandise in the shape of
toys and figures, maintaining a special display area in his home
that is guarded by a menacing, life-sized Darth Vader!

106
 “THESE AR
EN’T
T HE GAMES
YOU’RE
LOOKING F
OR…” –
JOEL HOPK
INS TAKES
SECURIT Y T HE
OF HIS STA
WARS COL R
LECTION V
SERIOUSLY E R Y
INDEED...

107
 A LONG TIME AGO, IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY...

Large and lucrative, the Star Wars franchise

1978 1982
has become. Just as George Lucas’s sci-fi
dynasty has launched countless toys, cartoons
and collectible merchandise, it has also inspired
38 years of game adaptations. The Star Wars
empire remains the most prolific game series
based on a film licence, with a staggering Apple Computer’s Starwars Released for the Atari 2600 and
cassette game for the Apple II Intellivision, Parker Brothers’ The
137 official titles (excluding ports and expansions)
isn’t official, but that doesn’t Empire Strikes Back is the first
released as of 8 Apr 2016. And it all started on a bother fans. Playing from a official Star Wars game. It casts
home computer a long, long time ago, in a living first-person HUD view, trainee gamers as Luke Skywalker during
room not so far away... pilots have to gun down ships the Battle of Hoth, challenging
that look like TIE fighters. him to fly a snowspeeder against
AT-AT walkers.

2000 1999

Star Wars: Force Commander Big Ape’s Star Wars: Episode I – The
(LucasArts) is the first Star Wars Phantom Menace leads to a wave
RTS game. It casts the player as of games based on the Star Wars
Brenn Tantor, a promising Imperial prequel trilogy, such as Battle for
officer who defects to the Rebels. Naboo (2000) and Obi-Wan (2001).

2003 2003 2004

Set after the events of A New Hope, BioWare’s mega-acclaimed RPG The FPS Star Wars: Battlefront (EA)
Star Wars Galaxies (Sony Online) is Star Wars: Knights of the Old recruits players for an all-out war
the first Star Wars MMO. It features Republic transports gamers to between factions from the original
familiar locations and 10 playable 4,000 years before the Galactic and prequel film trilogies. It enjoys
species. Servers shut down in 2011. Empire’s reign, to crush Darth Malak. two sequels, in 2005 and 2015.

2016
2015 2015

Due for release by Warner Star Wars: Uprising and Galaxy Star Wars: Card Trader (The
Bros. in 2016, LEGO Star of Heroes (above) lead a Topps Company) is a digital
Wars: The Force Awakens growing list of mobile titles card-trading app for mobiles.
will see the 2015 movie – that offer players a way to save Couch-bound gamers can
Episode VII – enjoying a the galaxy while on the go. collect characters from across
bricky adaptation. the entire franchise.

108
 Dead Space studio Visceral is developing a

FACT!
major new Star Wars game. Despite being
announced in 2013, the project was still wa Atar FEE
shrouded in mystery as of Apr 2016.
gru
nt s
mo s the i ’s 19
v 8
L TH
 an ie sp first 3 arc EF
db e v
le e ech id eo de g
a ORC
1983 1993 ps . It
f ro a
ga
m ame E!
m l s o i n e w i S ta r
Ch t
ew clude h dig War
ba s
cc a d a u t i t i z e d
an hen
d R ti c
2- D
2.

Star Wars: Jedi Arena (Parker Star Wars: X-Wing (LucasArts)

Brothers) is the first game introduces the classic X-Wing
with lightsaber action. The series. Its success inspires
overhead shooter pits virtual numerous sequels and other
Jedis against one another vehicle games, notably Rogue
over four levels of difficulty. Squadron (1998–2003) and
Starfighter (2001–02).

1997 1996 1995

Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi pits Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire Star Wars: Dark Forces (LucasArts)
the movies’ heroes against Arden (LucasArts) is one of the first N64 brings Rebel fighter Kyle Katarn to
Lyn and her army in a one-on-one games. It introduces fans to Dash Star Wars’ expanded universe. The
fighter. Leia (above) and Mara Jade Rendar, a Han Solo-like smuggler game’s popularity gives rise to four
both star as playable female Jedis. who aids the Rebel cause. sequels between 1997 and 2003.

2005 2008 2011

LEGO® Star Wars: The Video Game One of the first games considered Set thousands of years before the
(LucasArts) is the first of several “canon” by George Lucas, Star original movies, Star Wars: The Old
LEGO-themed action-adventures to Wars: The Force Unleashed Republic (EA) is a new MMO from
emerge from an alliance between (LucasArts) follows Darth Vader’s BioWare. Players fight for either
the two giant franchises. secret apprentice, Starkiller. the Sith or the Galactic Republic.

2015 2012

EA DICE’s Star Wars Battlefront reboot resurrects the Terminal Reality’s Kinect
series just in time for the new Star Wars movie trilogy. Star Wars doesn’t shake up
Up to 40 players participate in anarchic skirmishes on the galaxy, but it does add
iconic planets such as Hoth and Tatooine. The game motion-controlled gaming
also features an array of pilotable craft including to the mix. It also includes
X-Wings, AT-ATs and speeder bikes (above). a “Galactic Dance-Off”!

109
 ARCADE
The original Star Wars film Most points on
trilogy coincided with the Star Wars Trilogy Arcade
“Golden Age of Arcade Sega’s Trilogy Arcade cabinet
Games” in the late 1970s debuted in 1999 and featured rail-
and early 1980s, which led shooter sequences inspired by the
to some absolute classic original film trilogy, with bonus
arcade titles. Players have missions against Darth Vader or
racked up astronomical Boba Fett. Ken Towne’s (USA)
scores playing Star Wars galactic score of 3,612,600 was verified
pinball games, often on by Twin Galaxies on 28 Mar 2003.
a single credit.

First Star Wars arcade machine

Released in 1983, Atari’s Star Wars had players guide
Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing on a mission to destroy
the Death Star, battling Darth Vader and TIE fighters
along the way. The cabinet was available in two
versions: upright and sit-down cockpit (pictured
above, with Star Wars director George Lucas inside).

Highest score on Star Wars Pinball:

Balance of the Force (Android/iOS)
At the Kiip Mobile Gaming Championship held on
24–26 Jan 2014, Todd Kellen (USA) led a one-man
assault on Zen Studios’ 2013 pinball title. He racked
up 1,960,548,846 points on the game’s three Star
Wars-themed tables, a phenomenal tally considering
that the average score was only 4,496,797.

Star Wars:
Battle Pod has a
“Premium Edition”
available
in two designs, ea
ch weighing
435 kg (959 lb) –
the
Star Wars arcade m heaviest
achine.

110
 After taking on TIE fighters in the 1983

FACT!
Star Wars arcade game, gamers could see th In J
the message “MAY THE FORCE BE WITH for e hig an 1 9 FEE
YOU” in yellow lines on the Death Star.
S h 8
a s tar West s 4 , Ro
L TH
ing in b
le c ars ( gle - er t M
EF
re d 1 9 8 p l a r u c ORC
it , 3 y z
s co ). H e e r m e k (
E!
rin p a U
g 3 laye ratho SA) s
0 0 d fo n s et
, 0 0 r 4 co
7, 8 9 h re
94 r
 po on
i nt
s.

In Jun 1985, Dave Robert

s, Flavio
Roberts and Mike Ohren
(all UK)
played in shifts at Leeds
University,
UK, for 5 days 2 hr 26 min
to set the
highest group marathon
sco
Star Wars (1983). Their rec re on
ord score
was 1,000,000,012.

Largest screen on a
Star Wars arcade cabinet
Star Wars: Battle Pod (Bandai
Namco, 2015) featured a 180°
panoramic dome projection screen
that measured 260 cm (102 in) wide.
The curved screen was designed to
make players feel further immersed
in the action by enveloping their
entire field of vision.

Most arcade games based on a film licence

Released in 2015, Bandai Namco’s Star Wars: Battle Pod
(pictured above) was the eighth official Star Wars arcade
game. Vector classic Star Wars (Atari, 1983; right) came
first, followed by Return of the Jedi (Atari, 1984) and
The Empire Strikes Back (Atari, 1985), three
Sega Star Wars Arcade titles (released in 1993,
1999 and 2000) and Star Wars: Starfighter
(Tsunami Visual Technologies, 2003; left).

111
 SHOOTERS
Star Wars boasts a long
tradition of action-packed
shooters. When EA DICE, Best-selling Star Wars game
the development team (single platform)
behind the successful
The PS4 version of EA’s multiplayer
Battlefield franchise,
shooter Star Wars Battlefront (2015)
was brought on board to
had sold 7.2 million copies as of 4 Apr
reboot the Star Wars:
2016, according to VGChartz. The title
Battlefront series, the
was a reboot of LucasArts’ Battlefront
result was one of the
series (2004–13). More than 9.5 million
biggest hits of 2015.
gamers played its beta on 8–13 Oct
2015 – the most popular beta for
a shooter.

Fastest completion of
Star Wars: Republic Commando
In LucasArts’ 2005 FPS, players undertake missions
as part of Delta Squad, an elite tactical unit of
Clone Army commandos. On 24 Dec 2013, gamer
“LazerLong” (USA) battled through the game in just
2 hr 47 min 31 sec, as verified by Speedrun.com.

Fastest completion of Star Wars Battlefront

survival mode without blasters (team of two)
Playing on the Rebel Depot map on 7 Apr 2016,
“Twiinsane”, aka twins Liam and Jake Thompson (UK),
finished all 15 waves of survival mode in 10 min 24 sec.
The Rebel duo were prohibited from using their
primary blasters, instead relying on power-up cards.

On 6 Oct 2010,
ngy”
David “RandomE Cabbage”
d Ma rk “E xp lod ing
Rickard an mp let ed the fastest
US A) co
Amery (both igh t: Dark Forces II
di Kn
completion of Je verified by Speed
– 25 min 57 sec, as ive.
Demos Arch

112
 In the first three weeks following

FACT!
Battlefront’s 2015 release, a total of F
2.4 million Stormtroopers were hit u n d o n o rce
co s Re FEE
with rocks thrown by Ewoks. ve the g was leas
rs L TH
a p i s e th e e d i n
u
EF
l ot fir  19
o
to f Kyl st St 95 , ORC
de e
ve Kat ar W tar W
lop a rn a r
S E!
su p , a s F P ar s: D
e ri m e r S . P a rk
or
Sto cena layer
rm r y w s
t ro
op ho
ers
.

Fastest campaign completion

of Star Wars: Battlefront II
On 23 Feb 2016, gamer “ctc”
(USA) finished the 2005 sequel
(above) in just 49 min 49 sec.
As of 4 Apr 2016, the fastest
completion of the Clone Wars
in Star Wars: Battlefront (2004)
was 39 min 8 sec, achieved by
“SilenceOfTheLamy”, aka Alex
Lamy (UK), on 30 Mar 2016.

IT’S FAIR
TO SAY THA
T
EA’S “STAR
WARS
BATTLEFRO
NT REVEAL”
YOU T UBE V
IDEO RECEIV Most played
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PUBLICATIO LLOWING
N ON 17 AP Star Wars Battlefront
THE TRAILE R 2015
R WAS VIEW , According to figures
4.5 MILLIO ED released by EA, players
N TIMES IN
24 HOURS! spent 29.8 million min
as ice-cool bounty hunter
Boba Fett during the
three weeks following
the reboot’s launch on
17 Nov 2015. Luke Skywalker
was the second-most-played
special character, with Han
Solo coming in third.

113
 TOYS & COLLECTABLES
The fandom surrounding
Star Wars has not only
inspired diehard collectors
to haul together all things
Jedi, it’s also triggered
a range of spin-off and
crossover videogame
stars, from Disney Infinity’s
Star Wars Rebels to the Largest range of toys-to-life
mighty Angry Birds. figures from a film franchise
Created for use with Disney Infinity 3.0 (see
below), there had been 19 Star Wars toys-to-
life figurines unleashed as of 5 Apr 2016.
Figures include Star Wars: The Force
Awakens characters Rey, Finn, Poe
Dameron and the First Order’s Kylo
Ren (main picture).

Largest collection of Star Wars memorabilia

Steve Sansweet (USA, above) has catalogued
93,260 unique items at Rancho Obi-Wan in
California, USA. The haul features arcade
machines and videogames, including ultra-rare
prototype samples of Revenge of the Jedi,
before the 1984 game was renamed Return
of the Jedi to follow suit with the 1983 movie.
When the cataloguing of the collection is
complete, it may number more than 500,000.

Most viewed Star Wars videogame trailer

The “Angry Birds Star Wars Cinematic Trailer”
had been viewed 52,140,784 times on YouTube
as of 3 May 2016. The trailer was published on
7 Nov 2012, and has earned an average of
more than 43,000 views a day. Since the
release of the Angry Birds Star Wars games,
its feathery stars have been immortalized in
their own range of collectable Star Wars toys.

114
 In 1977, in order to meet demand for Star

FACT!
Wars figures, manufacturer Kenner sold
empty boxes with “Early Bird Certificates”,
A
A g o n D s of 3 FEE
promising to send their contents later! ai is
wa nst t ney I ay 2
 M L TH
s 1 h n
,1 3 e E m f i n i t 0 1 6 ,
EF
0, y th ORC
ON 3–4 SE s et pire:  3 .0’ e hi E!
P by “ M s S ghe
Wi t
2015, LUCA
SFILM i U os E i a r W st sc
J e sle ar s o re
STAGED AN di y
“di Ma : Ris
LIVESTREA 18-HR sn e d n e e
M IN WHICH yr u s s ”
STAR WARS NEW ss2
4”.
: T HE FORCE
AWAKENS
GAMES, TO
GADGE T S W YS AND
ERE UNBOX
YOU T UBERS ED BY
INCLUDING
“EVANTUBE
HD” AND
“ALEXBY11
”.

a mobile app
Star Wars: Card Trader is
cards. The most
that lets fans trade digital “Han in the
e
Fastest completion of valuable card is the Vintag
ich only 1,500 are
the Star Wars: The Force Awakens Millennium Falcon ”, of wh online for
Play Set on Disney Infinity 3.0 available. Copies have sold ).
1.75
Launched on 28 Aug 2015, Disney as much as $224.99 (£15
Infinity 3.0 was the third release
in Disney’s growing toys-to-life
series. On 12 Jan 2016, gamer
“Zimmycakesrtg” (USA) completed
a run-through of The Force Awakens
Play Set in just 1 hr 2 min 40 sec.

115
 ACTION-ADVENTURE
Moviegoers are thrilled First Star Wars videogame
by Star Wars’ deep-space to use mobiles as lightsabers
battles and electrifying Google’s Lightsaber Escape went live in
lightsaber combat. Dec 2015, allowing internet users to turn
Now games such as The their mobile devices into lightsabers and
Force Unleashed and the sync them to an online Star Wars game.
LEGO® series replicate By moving their phone, gamers could
the films’ exhilarating deflect fire from stormtroopers onscreen.
action sequences to great
success and acclaim.

First Star Wars videogame

with motion controls
Lightsaber simulations were available
to gamers before Star Wars: The Force
Unleashed (LucasArts, 2008). However,
the Nintendo Wii version of the action-
adventure was the first to use motion
controls to translate Wii Remote
movement into lightsaber actions.
The first game with lightsaber
action was Parker Brothers’ Star Wars:
Jedi Arena, which was released for the
Atari 2600 back in 1983.

Fastest completion
of Star Wars: Obi-Wan
Originally developed for the PC, Obi-Wan
(2001) was eventually released as an early
title for the Xbox. On 19 May 2015, Alex
“SilenceOfTheLamy” Lamy (UK) guided
the Padawan to victory in just 1 hr 14 min
18 sec, as verified by Speedrun.com.

Rarest Star Wars game

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi: Ewok
Adventure (Atari, 1983) was a shoot-’em-
up designed for the Atari 2600. However,
it was shelved after publishers Parker
Brothers decided the controls were too
difficult. The game’s designer, Larry
Gelberg, gifted the prototype to a friend’s
son, who sold it for $1,680 (£980) in 1997.

116
 Star Wars 1313 – an action-adventure game

FACT!
On
starring Boba Fett – achieved near-mythical 1
status when it was cancelled in 2013, owing (U 1 Apr
SA
FEE
to internal game dev ending at LucasArts. 55
 
) a 2 01 5 L TH
 m of St chie , Da EF
in n
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 se ars he eL
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1k E!
Most critically acclaimed e r i Fo i
f i e r c e t c o mm i n s
db k
game based on a toy y S U n le p let i ie
pe ash on
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy ed e
run d in
(LucasArts, 2006) allowed players . co
m.
to take on the guises of more than
50 characters from the Star Wars
franchise. The PC version had earned
a GameRankings rating of 86.83%
as of 5 Apr 2016, placing it above
Skylanders: Swap Force’s 84.68%.

tio n of
The fas tes t any % com ple te
ple
LEG O Sta r Wa rs: The Com by
,
Sag a is 3 h r 44 min 46 sec 5,
ki” (FIN ) on 26  Sep 201
“sm kur
com. “I’m
as verified by Speedrun. “Fe el
er.
don e…” sai d the PC gam s.”
ord
fre e to bre ak all my rec

Best-selling Star Wars videogame

First released on 6 Nov 2007, LEGO Star Wars:
The Complete Saga (LucasArts) featured levels
adapted from two previous titles: LEGO Star Wars:
The Video Game (2005) and Lego Star Wars II:
The Original Trilogy (2006). As of 4 Apr 2016, the
brick-busting release had sold 15.57 million copies
across four platforms: Wii, DS, PS3 and Xbox 360.

117
 RPGS & MMOS
From the ice planet Hoth
to the desert wastes
of Tatooine, the Star
Wars universe offers
boundless possibilities
for RPGs. Titles such as
BioWare’s 2003 epic Star
Wars: Knights of the Old
Republic (KotOR) have
taken full advantage.
First Star Wars MMORPG
Twenty-one years after the first licenced Star
Wars game, Star Wars Galaxies – An Empire
Divided was published in 2003. By becoming
mayors, players had the opportunity to make
improvements to civic structures as their cities
increased in size and rank – creating the first
player-managed cities in an MMORPG.

Largest voice-acting project

in the entertainment industry
During the making of Star Wars:
The Old Republic (EA, 2011),
246,250 lines of recorded
dialogue were performed
by 321 voice actors. More
than 4,000 characters
were portrayed, speaking
17 alien languages.
Played consecutively,
this dialogue would
have lasted for 11 days.

”, a helpful
“Czerka’s Crate-O-Matic
The Old Rep ubl ic tha t lets the
tool in
in pla in sigh t, has a drop
user hide
ion , acc ord ing to
rate of one in a bill
rg Zoeller.
lead combat designer Geo
item in
Highest-scoring gamer in Star Wars: This makes it the rarest
ars : The Old Rep ublic.
The Old Republic – Ranked Warzone Arena Star W
In the 2011 MMORPG, teams aligned to the Sith or the
Old Republic can do battle in specially designated
zones. As of 4 Apr 2016, the score of 3,302 by Sage
Sorcerer “Doublebubbles” in Season 2 remained the
highest on the Ranked Warzone Arena Leaderboards.

118
 The Prima Guide to KotOR II has a DVD

FACT!
compilation of HK-47 exhibiting “strange S T
m ta r h e M FEE
behavioural protocol”, in which the droid tes emo Wars ora
quotes from films such as The Wizard of Oz. ter ria G jM
N a l i n a la x e m o
L TH
th a a M i e s r
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ORC
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d i rib u s t vi e in
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ca t
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cc i t a
de
nt .

Most appearances in a Star Wars RPG

Perhaps surprisingly, the most prolific RPG
character isn’t Han Solo or Luke Skywalker
but sadistic droid and “meatbag” hunter
HK-47. The assassin was a playable ally in
both KotOR and KotOR II, a boss battle
in The Old Republic, and a preserved
artificial intelligence housed in a super
computer in Star Wars Galaxies.

Most downloaded mod

for Star Wars: Knights
of the Old Republic II
The “Sith Lords Restored
Content Modification” fixes
a reported 500 bugs and
restores cut content from
KotOR II’s original 2004
release. As of 4 Apr 2016, it
had reached 229,479 Steam
downloads and 169,568
ModDB.com downloads.

Fastest completion of
Star Wars: Knights of
the Old Republic
On 14 Feb 2014, US gamer
“glasnonck” completed
Most critically acclaimed Star Wars game KotOR in 1 hr 32 min 54 sec
Featuring Jedi Bastila Shan (above), the Xbox (with loads), as verified by
version of the RPG Star Wars: Knights of the Old Speedrun.com.
Republic (LucasArts, 2003) had a GameRankings “glasnonck” also set the
rating of 94.21% from 99 reviews as of 4 Apr 2016. fastest completion of
It was developed by BioWare, the RPG specialists KotOR II, having finished
behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age who went on the game in just 1 hr 18 min
to develop the MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic. 15 sec on 13 Dec 2015.

119
 VEHICLES
From AT-ATs to TIE fighters,
from X-Wings to the
Millennium Falcon, the
Star Wars universe has
produced some of the
most iconic vehicles in all
science fiction. When it
comes to piloting them, Most kills by a vehicle
videogames can make your in Star Wars Battlefront
space fantasies reality... Battlefront (EA, 2015) features a
furious blend of FPS warring and
vehicular combat. In the three
weeks from the game’s launch on
17 Nov 2015, the Empire’s bipedal
AT-STs logged 61 million kills. By
comparison, the Millennium Falcon
(below) had made a “mere” 9 million
kills, but given that only one gamer
can pilot that ship at any time (and
that it’s not always available), that’s
Most critically acclaimed space-flight game still a lethal return.
No game with space flight as its core mechanic has
fared better with the critics than Star Wars Rogue
Squadron II: Rogue Leader (LucasArts, 2001).
As of 4 Apr 2016, the dogfighting supremo
had scored 90.04% from 75 reviews
at GameRankings. Just behind it
was Star Wars: Starfighter
(2001), with 86.01%.

How’s this for getting

kko
the job done? Gamer Jaa
ai” Tam me la (FIN ) achieved
“JichiSenp Star Wars
com ple tion of
the fastest 100% s, 1999)
Episode I: Racer (LucasArt
ec
for PC, in 1 hr 46 min 11 s
on 17 Mar 2016.

120
 Star Wars was immortalized as a crazy

FACT!
kart racer in 2001’s Super Bombad Racing.
The PS2 game featured familiar faces with fe a f i r s
R
W ele
FEE
giant heads and comically small bodies. tur t au ars ased L TH
ed g A f
a 3 m e n rcad o r i O EF
60 t e S
° v ed r : Falc in N
ORC
iew eal o o E!
a n i t y S n G u v 2 01
dt n
o u t a r W ne r 0, St
ch w a
-sc a r s as t r
re e g a m h e
nc
o n e. I t
t ro
ls .

APPARENT Fastest completion of Rogue

LY A Squadron III: Rebel Strike
YEAR IN TH
E MAKING, Playing as the starfighter pilot
T HE FEB 20
16 YOUTUB Wedge Antilles, Michael “Tigger77”
ANIMATION E
“STAR KAR Welle finished this 2003 sequel in
STAR WAR T–
S + MARIO 27 min 41 sec on 15 Nov 2008, as listed
“DARK PIXE K A R T ” BY
L” FEATURE by Speed Demos Archive.
K A R T PE T R S MARIO
OLHEADS R The fastest completion of Battle of Hoth
IN STAR WA ACING in Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue
RS VEHICLE
T HE K A R T A S. Leader is 3 min 41 sec, achieved by Jon A
WAKENS! Palisi (USA) and verified by Twin
Galaxies on 22 Sep 2008.

Fastest completion of
Star Wars: Starfighter
On 22 Feb 2015, “oldhog” (USA) flew through
this pre-Battle of Naboo space fighter in
1 hr 13 min 6 sec. “It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t
pretty, but I finally got it,” he wrote. The 2001
actioner featured a host of unlockable craft
including the Havoc and Sith Infiltrator.

First Star Wars game with

Galactic Empire gameplay
Star Wars: TIE Fighter (LucasArts, 1994)
was the first licenced Star Wars game to let
players explore their dark side. After more
than a decade of fighting for the good guys,
gamers could now represent the Empire
by assuming the role of TIE fighter rookie
Maarek Stele, who clashes with Rebels.

121
SCI-FI
Few games stretch our imaginations further
than those that cross distant galaxies. From Star
Trek to Star Citizen, from Fox McCloud to Master
Chief, our sci-fi chapter celebrates the greatest
space games in the universe... and beyond.

Most polygons in a playable spaceship

Star Citizen is renowned for its hi-tech spacecraft,
and as of Apr 2016 none come bigger than the
Idris (main image, hangar shown above). The
frigate warship’s model is built from a record
3,322,169 polygons and has an in-game length of
239 m (784 ft). To a real-world scale, that’s longer
than two American football pitches. The ship is
being developed for Star Citizen’s single-player
campaign, Squadron 42, set for release in late
2016, shortly ahead of the full MMO.

Star Citizen is
e
an incoming MMO spac
t is bei ng dev elo ped by
sim tha ent ury
. Set in a 30t h-c
Cloud Imperium
a wide variety
Milky Way, it features t.
of advanced spacecraf

122
 Although
ntly
the Idris is curre
Cit ize n ’s lar ge st ship, its
Star r
ing an even bigge
developer is build bove) will run at
(a
one. The Bengal its
t) in length, and
1,000 m (3,280 f 7.5 million
mo de ls ha ve
early
polygons.

123
 SCI-FI

FACT!
On 2 Oct 2015, Hello Games’ Sean Murray (UK) demoed

SPACE SIMS his game No Man’s Sky on The Late Show with Stephen
Colbert. Colbert said: “I thought Morgan Freeman was
God. You’re the second God I’ve had on my show now!”

Few gaming genres have

Largest accurate
generated more publicity
than space sims in recent
videogame universe
months. Thanks to new Elite: Dangerous (2014)
technology, gamers simulates a playable solar
can now pilot giant system that replicates our
spaceships through own Solar System with
sprawling, procedurally scientific accuracy. As
generated universes calculated by developer
to thrilling effect. Frontier Developments, it
generates 4,918,906,760,000
cubic light years’ worth
of area for players
to explore.

Longest-running space-simulation series

The Elite series was created by David Braben (inset) and
Ian Bell (both UK). It debuted on 20 Sep 1984 with Elite
– the first open-world game. Three sequels followed
over 30 years 87 days: 1993’s Frontier: Elite II, 1995’s
Frontier: First Encounters and 2014’s Elite: Dangerous).

Most crowdfunded videogame

As of 4 Mar 2016, the space-faring MMO Star Citizen
(Cloud Imperium, 2016) had raised $109,460,348
(£77,637,500) from 1,293,782 backers, many of whom
had been buying in-game spaceships. Such support
also makes it the most crowdfunded project overall.

Q&A: Chris Roberts (Star Citizen director)

Star Citizen holds the record for most crowdfunded goals. When we’ve finished, I think it will be up there
project. Have you been surprised by the response? with anything that the big publishers have made, and
Yes, when I started the campaign I was hoping also one of the most expensive games in history.
to raise $4 m (£2.7 m). I thought we’d have to
raise money by more traditional methods. So it’s Why are space sims currently popular?
been crazy! New tech is enabling us to achieve things that
we couldn’t before. There’s a sense of scope and
Has the financing enabled you to develop a more possibility that you don’t get with traditional, level-
ambitious game? bound shooters, or old school space sims. You’re no
Yes, we’re now building a game with a level of fidelity longer exploring 10-km2 areas, you’re exploring a
that we couldn’t have achieved with our original whole universe.

124
 84
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Most explorable planets

in a videogame
Space epic No Man’s Sky (2016)
features 18,446,744,073,709,551,616
(that’s more than 18 quintillion)
planets for players to discover. Its
developer, Hello Games (UK), said
that even if a planet is found every
second, it would still take 585 billion
years to see them all, making this
the largest playable game universe.

SET UP IN 2014 TO
COVER THE DEVELOPMENT
OF INDIE GAMES, YOUTUBE Playing version 0.9 of
CHANNEL “COBRA TV” HAS Squad’s Kerbal Space
Program
BECOME A POPULAR SOURCE FOR 15) , Sco tt Ma nle y (UK ) designed
(20
VIDEOS OF NO MAN’S SKY, AS t ma de the fas test return
a rocket tha Mun,
WELL AS FOR CRANEBALLS’ trip from K erb in to the
CROWDFUNDED SCI-FI TITLE taking 58 min 50 sec.
PLANET NOMADS.

125
 SCI-FI
On 4 Oct 2015, the US soccer team Seattle

FACT!
HALO Sounders FC wore Halo 5: Guardians-branded
jerseys for their televised MLS match against
LA Galaxy. The match finished in a 1–1 draw.

Since debuting as a launch

title for the Xbox console
in 2001, Halo has become
one of the best-loved Longest Halo marathon
FPS franchises in gaming.
Playing in front of the public in a Helsinki
Originally developed by
shopping mall on 27 Oct 2015, Finnish gamer
Bungie, but now handled
Paavo “Paavi” Niskala played all five main
by Microsoft’s 343i studio,
Halo titles for 50 hr 4 min 17 sec. “It was
these militaristic, space-
fun to see how things have evolved in
bound epics unfold a
the games over the years and which
deadly struggle between
things have not changed,” he said.
humanity and an ancient
“Halo 3 was my marathon highlight.”
alien race known as the
Covenant.

Best-selling sci-fi shooter series

Excluding its non-FPS spin-offs such as the RTS Halo
Wars (2009), the mighty Halo franchise had achieved
global sales of 62.8 m as of 17 Feb 2016.
The best-selling Halo game is Halo 3 (2007), which
has shifted 12.11 m units, according to VGChartz.

CHIEF
MAS T ER
ERIES
HALO S

Most participants in a first-person shooter relay

Commemorating the Halo legacy in style, 54 gamers
took turns playing the first four Halo games for 47 hr
in Madrid, Spain, on 17 April 2015. The event was John -1
17
organized by Xbox Spain as it ramped up the buzz for ier
r- sold
Halo 5: Guardians, which was released six months later. Alias n supe
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As part of
unch,
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ye r Hs u Ch ia -H
cospla rcian
Jenny Manik Me
and designer a Master Chief
(AUS) create d
ed with 25,000
helmet encrust ystals.
Swarovski cr

126
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Most watched game

launch on YouTube
On 26 Oct 2015, Microsoft
complemented the launch of
Halo 5: Guardians with a six-hour
live broadcast on YouTube Gaming.
The stream attracted more than
330,000 unique viewers during
07,
SET UP IN 20 A the evening and amassed 5.5 m
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Most critically acclaimed

FPS on an Xbox platform
The first Halo game, Halo: Combat
Evolved (2001), remains the most
celebrated among critics, having
scored 95.54% across 78 reviews
on GameRankings. The game is
second only to Nintendo/Retro’s
Metroid Prime (2002) as the most
critically acclaimed shooter overall.

SPACECRAFT SPOTTER’S GUIDE: UNSC SHIPS

YSS-1000 “Sabre” AV-14 Attack VTOL Sparrowhawk

127
 SCI-FI
The iconic triangular “Arwing” spacecraft in Nintendo’s

FACT!
SPACE SHOOTERS classic rail-shooter Star Fox has made cameos in several
gaming franchises, including Bayonetta, The Legend of
Zelda, Super Smash Bros. and even Animal Crossing.

In space, nobody can hear you scream...

but they can see you get shot! Nightmarish
aliens, towering robots and a blistering array fox mccloud
of supersized sci-fi weaponry help to make STAR FOX 64
space shooters one of the most testing and
thrilling genres in the whole of gaming.
ARM CANNON

Arwing
Spacecraft of choice
Red scarf, attitude
Trademarks
Star Fox (1993)
Debut
First team to beat the Power beam
Also seen in Super Smash Bros.
“King’s Fall” raid in Destiny
Catchphrase “Returning to base!”
Just 13 hr after the unlocking of the fearsome
raid mission for Destiny expansion The Taken
King (Activision) on 18 Sep 2015, an intrepid
six-player fireteam led by Twitch broadcaster
“Gothalion” became the first group to defeat
Oryx, the Taken King himself.

Wave beam
Longest wall run
in Titanfall
When outside of
their giant mecha
exoskeletons, pilots in
EA’s Titanfall (2014)
Futuremark’s
can glide and scramble, red
2009 FPS Shatte
parkour-style, along walls.
wa s th e fir st videogame to
Horizon play.
In a video uploaded on ro-gravity game
19 Feb 2014, YouTuber feature “full” ze catastrophic lunar
In the aftermath
of a Ice beam
“WaRSPiRiTUK” managed rs floated around
explosion, playe
to stretch out a balletic an op en -s pa ce landscape.
wall run for 1 min 4 sec.

Most disliked videogame trailer

Published on 16 Jun 2015, the E3 Plasma beam
trailer for the 3DS game Metroid
Prime: Federation Force had
acquired 84,646 dislikes on
YouTube by 2 Mar 2016. The
series’ loyal fanbase had been Missile launcher
unhappy with changes to the Metroid
world, including the new “3 vs. 3
sci-fi sports game” Blast Ball and
the omission of heroine Samus Aran.

SPACECRAFT SPOTTER’S GUIDE

Gunship from Arwing from Hunter-class
Metroid Prime  3: Star Fox 64 3D gunship from
Corruption Metroid Prime

128
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VISOR SYSTEM

Combat visor

Scan visor

Thermal visor

X-ray visor

Morph Ball

Most critically acclaimed FPS

The star of Metroid Prime (Nintendo, 2002)
is bounty hunter Samus Aran, who dons an
exoskeleton known as the Power Suit, which
is equipped with an awesome arsenal and the
ability to roll up into a small sphere known
as a Morph Ball. As of 2 Mar 2016, Metroid
Prime had a GameRankings score of 96.33% –
higher than any other single FPS.

129
 SCI-FI
The real money values of ship losses can be calculated

FACT!
EVE ONLINE because of PLEX, a token that equates to a one-month
subscription and is worth roughly 1 billion ISK. PLEX can
be applied to an account or traded between players.

A galactic MMO, CCP’s

EVE Online features Largest virtual theft in an MMORPG
epic space battles, A character named Cally set up the EVE
rich corporations and Intergalactic Bank in 2006, then stole from it
exploration through 7,000 an estimated 790 billion ISK (approximately
star systems. Most notable $29,000 at the time). Since such actions are
are its lack of rules, plus allowed by the game’s licence, Cally went
its in-game currency of unpunished. In 2014, Cynosural Field Theory
InterStellar Kredits (ISKs), conned 1.19 trillion ISK from supercapital
which convert to various ship-buyers. However, the ISK-to-dollar
real-world currencies. exchange rate was lower at the time, so
this equated to “only” about $19,200.

Longest-running convention
for a single videogame
Since its 2004 debut, the EVE Fanfest in Iceland has
attracted fans on an annual basis, missing only 2011.
The biggest turn-out was in 2013, when 4,000 gamers
celebrated the game’s 10th anniversary. At the 2014
event, a team of CCP developers fought MMA fighter
Gunnar Nelson (ISL, above right) in submission contests.
Unsurprisingly, Nelson won every one of the bouts!

Most Titans lost in a battle in EVE Online

A huge battle began in the 49-U6U system, on China’s
Serenity server, on 25 Mar 2014. The Pan-Intergalactic
Business Community and RACOA/FDK coalitions
fought for 23 hr until the server went offline for a
scheduled update. A total of 5,843 player-controlled
characters took part in the battle, which destroyed
trillions of ISKs’ worth of ships and became known
as the Slaughterhouse. Alongside 824 dreadnoughts
and 39 supercarriers, a record 84 Titan-class ships
were lost, nine more than in the Tranquility server’s
Bloodbath of B-R5RB (above right) earlier that year.

SPACECRAFT SPOTTER’S GUIDE: EVE ONLINE SHIPS

Bowhead Eagle Rifter

130
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Most costly videogame battle

The infamous Bloodbath of B-R5RB, on 27–28 Jan
2014, was a 21-hr conflict involving 7,548 player
characters. It saw the destruction of 75 Titans,
13 supercarriers, 370 dreadnoughts, 123 carriers
and thousands of smaller ships, fighters and
drones. The in-game cost of these losses was
over 11 trillion ISK, the equivalent of more than
$300,000 (£212,260). This was calculated to be an
even greater loss than the Slaughterhouse (below
left) owing to differences between the main
Tranquility server and the Chinese Serenity server.

Most MMO player names

on a civic monument
The 5-m-high (16-ft 5-in) Worlds Within
a World monument situated in the
harbour of Iceland’s capital Reykjavik
bears the avatar names of every EVE
Online player active as of 1 Mar 2014.
A total of 562,514 are displayed – more
than the population of Iceland itself.

WHEN CCP
DE V ELOPER
S FOUGH T
GUNNAR NE
EVE FANFE LSON AT
ST IN 2014
CON T ES T W , TH
AS IMMORTA E
ON YOU T UB LIZED
E. “FANFES Rarest supercarrier in EVE Online
– E V E OF D T 2014
ESTRUCTIO The Revenant class is a supercarrier
BEEN VIEW N” HAS
ED AROUND for the NPC Sansha faction. As of 1 Mar
50,000 TIM 2016, only four had been recorded as
ES.
destroyed on EVE’s Tranquility server:
on 8 Jul 2013, 5 Sep 2014, 1 Mar 2015
and 8 Jul 2015. The first Revenant
destroyed was valued at 309 billion ISK.

131
 SCI-FI
Adam and Cheri Rose (USA) gave birth to a daughter on

FACT!
SPACE ROUND-UP 7 Jan 2014 and named her Tali’Zorah after a Mass Effect
character. Developers BioWare duly tweeted a photo
of the baby, saying, “Welcome to Earth, Tali’Zorah.”

The force of space games

has awoken, blasting out Most critically
of sims and shooters into acclaimed RPG
other genres. Veterans Space adventure Mass Effect 2
such as Star Trek have been (EA, 2010), on X360, holds
joined by the likes of Mass a GameRankings rating of
Effect – due to get its own 95.77%, from 75 reviews.
ride at the theme park However, the series’ biggest
California’s Great seller is Mass Effect 3 (EA,
America in 2017. 2012, main picture). Its
X360, PS3, PC and Wii U
incarnations had shifted a
total of 5.71 million units as of
17 Mar 2016 – nearly a million
more than its predecessor.
Meanwhile, a survey to find
the game’s most popular
character for romance
was topped by the asari
scientist Liara T’Soni.

Most videogame releases for a

single intellectual property in one year
Seven Star Trek games were launched in 2000,
including Voyager – Elite Force, Deep Space Nine:
The Fallen, ConQuest Online and Klingon Academy
(above). LEGO® released eight games in 2013, but
two of those titles were dual-licences with Marvel.

Most critically acclaimed game

based on a sci-fi TV series
As of 17 Mar 2015, Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force
(Activision, 2000) had a GameRankings score of
85.65%. Based on the fourth Trek series, its gameplay
centres on the stranded USS Voyager crew’s
desperate attempts to return to Earth.

The original, box-

rs trilogy
office-busting Star Wa Wing
ping
and a trio of chart-top
IV and Prophecy)
Commander titles (III, t actor to star
Ha mil l the firs
made Mark eogame
in both a movie and vid .1s.
franchise with three No

132
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Most prolific videogame voice actor
From LEGO® Batman 2 to Lollipop
Chainsaw, Steve Blum (aka Steven Jay
Blum) had contributed to 357 games
as of 17 Mar 2016, including an award-
winning role in the sci-fi RPG Mass
Effect 3. That’s an average of 16 games
voiced per year since the first, 1995’s
The Dig, a LucasArts point-and-clicker.

YOU T UBE C
HANNEL
“MANY A T
RUE NERD”
FEATURES
“NO GUNS”
T HROUGHS RUN-
OF MASS E
ITS GAMER FFECT.
S OP T T O T
ENEMIES O HROW
U T OF BOUN
RUN T HEM DS OR First sci-fi MMORPG
OVER INSTE
OF USING W AD MMOs – once set just in fantasy realms
EAPONS. – saw a spacey twist with the release of
Sega’s Phantasy Star Online on 21 Dec
2000. Released for the Dreamcast, it
was also the first console MMORPG.
In 2001, PSO was followed by two
other sci-fi MMOs, Anarchy Online and
DarkSpace, both of which were for PC.

SPACECRAFT SPOTTER’S GUIDE: MASS EFFECT SHIPS

Normandy Turian Cruiser Alliance Fighter

133
FEATURE

AWESOME ANNIVERSARIES
A host of much-loved series and consoles are celebrating
milestones in 2017. From super-smooth spies to sneaking
snakes, here are the numbers behind the record-breakers...

2007
PlayStation 3

10
Japan and the
USA got their
hands on Sony’s
seventh-gen
console in late
YEARS 2006, but the Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft)
2 0 07 rest of the world This 12th-century thriller
had to wait until was originally conceived
2007. It has since as a Prince of Persia
GameSpot hailed 2007 sold more than sequel, but Ubisoft
as the “great” year that 85 million units. changed tack and a new
defined seventh-gen stealth franchise was born.
consoles. It also gave us
landmark sequels such as
Resident Evil 4 and Halo 3.

1997

Nintendo 64

20 YEARS
1997
The N64 was first launched in
1996, but Europe did not see it
until 1997. It initially sold well and
was blessed with such classics
as Banjo-Kazooie and
GoldenEye 007.

The release of Final

Fantasy VII in Jan 1997 Final Fantasy VII (Square)
set a high benchmark for The PS RPG boosted the
game releases, and genre’s popularity outside
of Japan, owing to a
the rest of the year smart battle system, wry
didn’t disappoint. plot twists and a host of
Castlevania had memorable characters.
arguably its series
stand-out with
Symphony of the Night,
while home computers
enjoyed key debuts with
Age of Empires and Fallout.

Metal Gear (Konami)

Series sales of 41.38 million,
1987 as of 24 Feb 2016, make
this the best-selling stealth
series. Not bad, considering

30 YEARS
1987
developer Hideo Kojima’s
(JPN) first attempt to create
the game failed.

The golden era of 8-bit and

16-bit gaming, 1987 was also
a year when arcade halls
were in full flow. Big coin-op Sega Master System
hits After Burner, Operation Sega’s 8-bit originally launched in Japan in
1985 as the Mark III, but was later redesigned
Wolf and R-Type were all
and launched in Europe in 1987. Its rivalry
released, with each title with the NES began the first true console war.
successfully porting to home
platforms in ensuing years.

134
 Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo)
The concept of spherical worlds
first appeared in the demo Super
Mario 128, way back in 2000, but
it took another seven years of
development for SMG to emerge.

Guinness World Records

Gamer’s Edition 2008
Across 10 editions,
Gamer’s has featured
The Orange Box (Valve) hundreds of games and
The most critically acclaimed thousands of records,
game compilation, with 96.36% on and sold more than
GameRankings, this Half-Life bundle 4 million copies globally.
was the last time that fans saw a new
release from the cult FPS series.

Grand Theft Auto (Rockstar)

The original, top-down GTA looked
GoldenEye 007 (Nintendo) and played very differently to later
Perhaps Bond’s most celebrated games. But there were still hints of
hour, this N64 hit was conceived the freedom and zany open-world
as an on-rails shooter before humour that would define the series.
being redesigned into an FPS and
given an ace multiplayer mode.

Gran Turismo (Sony)

Polyphony’s driving sim took five
years to develop. It revolutionized
car games with unprecedented
realism. Scoring 94.95% on
GameRankings, it remains the
most critically acclaimed racing
game 20 years later.

Final Lap (Namco)

Namco’s ground-breaking arcade F1 racer
featured an early example of the “rubber-
banding” technique that prevents any
player from lagging too far behind, which
Nintendo later adopted for Mario Kart.

Street Fighter (Capcom)

The arcade cabinet for
the original game had two
pressure-sensitive pads in
Double Dragon (Technõs) place of buttons to gauge
A landmark moment in the strength of blows. It is
co-op brawling, this arcade now the longest-running
smash later became the fighting game series.
most ported fighting game,
hitting 23 platforms by 2016.

135
ROLE-PLAYING GAMES
RPGs invite players to step into alternative realities and lead
new lives, whether it’s as a musical bard, a grizzled warrior
or even a giant frog(!). The only limit now is the imagination…

136
 Fastest completion
of Final Fantasy VII
“Kynos” (DEU) – seen here toting the
Buster Sword as mercenary Cloud
Strife – completed a segmented run
of Square’s 1997 RPG classic Final
Fantasy VII in just 6 hr 44 min 49 sec,
as verified by SpeedDemosArchive.com
on 10 Jun 2013. He spent thousands
of hours practising his run, using a
technique called “step counting” to
optimize his time. The secret to his
success? Enjoying the game.

137
ROLE-PLAYING GAMES

RPG ROUND-UP
From the dungeon-dwelling oldies of yesteryear to the
massively multiplayer online worlds of World of Warcraft,
the RPG genre is filled with magic, mysticism and... gnomes.

Most concurrent players First MMO to release

for an MMO on Steam an “old school” version
Just two weeks after its release Many games have released
on 5 May 2015, Korean free2play updated versions of older games,
MMO Tera Online (En Masse) but not many have released
recorded 18,454 concurrent older versions of current games.
players on Steam. This figure was Yet in 2013, Jagex released Old
more than double that for Final School RuneScape, a standalone
Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn title based on the 2007 source
(7,401) and triple the figure for code for its MMORPG RuneScape.
The Elder Scrolls Online (5,067). Jagex has been publishing and
updating RuneScape since 2001.

Highest XP on
created Old School RuneScape
lz,
by ben schu was Gamer “Lynx Titan” had scored
nk in s”
“leeroy je
a rc ra ft character 2,493,735,243 XP (experience
aw 05 for
viral in 20 points) as of 28 Jan 2016. This
who went s guild’s plans.
hi tally was more than 300,000,000
scuppering 15, there were
as of nov 20 of him on higher than that of nearest rival,
4,607 videos a total of “Randalicious”, who had racked
ith
youtube, w views
up 2,141,487,955 XP as of the
123,254,604 same date.
co m bi ne d!

Most in-game
weddings in 24 hours
Love was in the air for players of
the MMORPG Rift (Trion Worlds,
2011) in 2012. A total of 21,879
in-game marriages were
conducted on Valentine’s
Day, 14 Feb.

In 1997, “Lord British”, the in-game alter ego of Number of gamers gathered in World of Warcraft
FACT!

Ultima Online creator Richard Garriott, was killed by

in Oct 2005 to remember a Chinese gamer,
a player casting a fire field spell in the game’s beta.
Garriott had forgotten to reset his invulnerability
following a server crash. MMOCrunch hailed it as
the most memorable event in MMORPG history.
100 “Snowly”, who had died of fatigue. The event
was gatecrashed by a rival clan.

Most played MMO (current) First game

According to SuperData, Dungeon Fighter developer in space
Online was the most played Massively On 12 Oct 2008, “Lord
Multiplayer Online (MMO) game in British”, aka Richard
2015, achieving an average of Allen Garriott (UK/
23,777,509 monthly active USA), boarded the Soyuz
users. Despite the game’s TMA-13 spacecraft and
character-driven flew off to the International
RPG mechanics, Space Station, docking at its
its side-scrolling destination two days later. Garriott is famous
brawling pays for creating the RPG series Ultima for Origin
homage to Systems in 1981. He is also credited with
vintage coining the term “MMORPG” with the
beat-’em- release of Ultima Online (EA) in 1997.
ups such as Double Garriott paid some $30 m (£17 m) for
Dragon (1987) and the privilege of flying to space. However,
Renegade (1986). space travel runs in the family – he is
It is published by the son of former NASA astronaut Owen
Neople in South Korea. Garriott, who spent 60 days in space in 1973.

138
First videogame pandemic
In Sep 2005, a deadly virtual plague broke
out in World of Warcraft (Blizzard, 2001),
infecting the avatars of thousands of players.
Dubbed the game’s first “world event”, First live-action movie
the “Corrupted Blood” infection meted out
by the end boss “Hakkar” in the Zul’Gurub based on an MMO
dungeon was only supposed to affect players Announced at BlizzCon in 2006, Warcraft
close to his corpse, but was spread to other is a live-action film (pictured) based on
areas via a virtual pet. Blizzard’s epic fantasy series. The film
was due for global release in Jun 2016.
The first movie based on an MMO was
the Chinese animated feature Dragon Nest:
Warriors’ Dawn, which hit screens in 2014.
The cult film was inspired by the free2play
fantasy title Dragon Nest, developed by
Eyedentity in 2010.

Lines of chat spoken per week between the players 10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
81.77 of RuneScape 3. Its publisher Jagex also reported
that there were 4.25 billion lines of chat spoken
In Oct 2008, a 43-year-old Japanese woman was
arrested for deleting her online husband’s avatar
million in the MMORPG MapleStory (Nexon, 2003) – the
in total throughout the whole of 2015. first arrest for the “murder” of a virtual victim.

Largest virtual gathering of gnomes

“Running of the Gnomes” is a virtual charity run, created in
2010 by World of Warcraft players “Dravinna”, aka “Magical
Warlock Girl”, and “Skakavaz”. On 24 Oct 2015, at least
2,454 gnomes turned up for its sixth annual run. The group
was raising awareness for breast cancer research, so the
runners were clad in
bright pink tabards.

Longest update support for a game

Since being released in 1992, the sandbox
RPG UnReal World has been continually
updated for 24 years, as of Feb 2016.
Among its design changes was swapping a
fantasy setting for an Iron Age Finland. Sami
Maaranen, one of the game’s two developers,
said that it was their intention to “keep
developing the game, with no end in sight”.

139
ROLE-PLAYING GAMES

ACTION RPGS
Forsaking turn-based combat in favour of real-time brawling,
these immersive adventures are designed for gamers who
like traditional role-play spiced up with hard-hitting action.

Fastest completion
of Torchlight II
On 3 Dec 2015, gamer
“TheGuyWithTheBeard”
completed Runic Games’ 2012
Ember-rich RPG by trekking from
the Estherian Steppes to the
dwarven ruins of the Grunnheim First
in just 59 min 33 sec, as verified expansion
by Speedrun.com. pack for an
The rarest achievement in action RPG
Torchlight II is “Trash Magnate”, Xanadu Scenario II:
with only 0.3% of players selling The Resurrection
the required 50,000 in-game of Dragon (1986)
items to unlock it on Steam, as introduced new enemies
of 21 Mar 2016. and features for fans of Nihon
Falcom’s 1985 dungeon crawler
Fastest completion of Bastion Xanadu – Dragon Slayer II.
By exploiting a glitch enabling
him to duplicate Cores, “Vulajin” Fastest completion
(USA) completed Supergiant of Axiom Verge
Games’ 2011 isometric fantasy On 6 Feb 2016, speed-runner
RPG in a quickfire 12 min 40 sec “Zecks” (FIN) completed the
on 21 Oct 2014, as verified by 2015 Metroidvania sci-fi RPG
Speed Demos Archive. in 36 min 2 sec, as verified by
Speedrun.com.

Fastest completion of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

On average, TW 3 takes 100 hr to complete, but on 27 Feb 2016
“Corpseflesh” (DEU) did it in just 2 hr 13 min 15 sec. The fastest
completion of The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition (“Insane” mode)
is 2 hr 50 min 45 sec, by Héctor Ortega Avilés (ESP) on 12 Apr 2015.

On 23 Mar 2015, gamers in Denmark The prize awarded to the gamer who
FACT!

were offered the opportunity to get could best explain the storyline

their hands on a free copy of Sony’s
sanguineous RPG Bloodborne –
provided that they were willing to
of Dark Souls to new players.
The contest was run by Bandai
$10,000
make a blood donation in return. Namco in Feb 2016.

Best-selling Western RPG

geralt Featuring dragon shouts, frostbite
spiders (below) and a surprising number
the witcher 3
of adventurers taking arrows to the knee,
Bethesda Softworks’ The Elder Scrolls V:
Skyrim proved to be a worldwide smash.
First action RPG Since its release in Nov 2011, the RPG
has sold 18.98 million copies according
Released for the NEC PC-88,
to VGChartz – more than any rival
an early home computer
developed in Europe or North America.
sold only in Japan, Dragon
Slayer (Nihon Falcom, 1984)
was the first true action RPG.
Wolf”
Including all the hallmarks Aka Gw ynbleidd, “White
that helped to define the Aka Butcher of Blaviken
genre, the game’s emphasis Sir Geralt of Rivia
Aka
was on combat and a limited ing
Abilities Alchemy, swordfight
inventory that forced players
Mutagens
to choose what they carried. Likes

140
 Most awards won by a
videogame prior to release
Despite not being released until 19 May
2015, sweeping open-world adventure
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt)
had amassed 206 awards by 23 Mar
2015, including multiple “Best of E3”
gongs and a Golden Joystick for
“Most Wanted”.
The Witcher series is based on a
series of cult fantasy novels by
Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski.
As of 21 Mar 2016, the PS4
version of The Witcher 3 boasted
a GameRankings score of 92.23%
– the most critically acclaimed
videogame based on a book series.

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
On 16 Jan 2009, Maciej Maselewski (POL)
achieved the fastest completion of an
RPG with a glitched run of Diablo (1996)
in a jaw-dropping 3 min 12 sec.

First completion of
Bloodborne without
healing, levelling up
Most critically acclaimed action RPGs or using guns
Game Publisher Released Score % As if FromSoftware’s 2015
Mass Effect 2 (X360) EA 2010 95.77 RPG wasn’t notoriously
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt CD Projekt 2015 92.23 tough enough, Twitcher
“Craddoc” (FIN) spent a
Mass Effect 3 EA 2012 92.17
month trying to defeat its
Vagrant Story Square 2000 91.97 17 bosses employing only
Xenoblade Chronicles Nintendo 2010 91.74 low-damage melee
Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition Blizzard/Square 2014 91.25 attacks. He eventually
Bloodborne SCEA 2015 90.66 slayed the final boss
Moon Presence on
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow Konami 2005 90.35
30 May 2015.
Demon’s Souls SCEA 2009 89.72
Dark Souls II Bandai Namco 2014 89.68
Source: GameRankings. All figures accurate as of 21 Mar 2016.
ROLE-PLAYING GAMES

DARK SOULS
Both feared and celebrated as one of the most unforgiving
series in gaming, the Souls games have achieved cult status
for their stunning gothic locales and exhilarating swordplay.

“twitch play
s” is
a social expe
in which larg riment
gamers try e groups of
to finish gam
in unison by es
usin
room comman g only chat-
ds. in sep 20
the “twitchpl 15,
aysdark”
collective fi
nish
souls. it took ed dark
them
43 days!

Dark Souls was published by Bandai Namco in 2011 as a follow-up to 2009’s

Demon’s Souls . Since then, its developer FromSoftware has created two
further sequels in the Souls series – Dark Souls II and III in 2014 and 2016,
respectively – plus the PS4’s Bloodborne in 2015. All titles have inspired
a generation of quirky challenges, from sharing the same controller in
co-op mode to playing the games upside down!

Q&A with “bearzly”, aka Benjamin Gwin (CAN)

Why did you start playing Dark Souls Was it easy making the controllers
with unconventional controllers? compatible with the game?
I was watching others challenge-run Dark For the guitar and drums, I used existing
Souls in different and exciting ways. It was tools to make them work. Others, like
suggested that someone should try using the bongos, I wrote custom software
a guitar controller. So I took the Rock Band for because the bongos don’t have
peripheral that I had lying around at home, enough buttons. I have a programming
started streaming, and the rest is history. background, which enables me to create
runs that nobody else could accomplish.
Why Dark Souls?
It’s my favourite game and I know it very What has the reaction been like?
well. It’s also notoriously difficult, but I I started on Twitch with two viewers and
wanted to show to everyone that a game 13 followers. I now have a lot more! The
this challenging could still be reduced initial reaction was crazy. People are
down to being beaten with a guitar always requesting new things. It’s been
controller... or any other controller! an amazing experience for me.

142
 Most alternative control methods
used to complete Dark Souls
The fantastical action RPG Dark Souls
is widely regarded as one of the
toughest games in existence, but that
hasn’t stopped “bearzly”,
aka Benjamin Gwin (CAN,
left), tackling it with the
“most obscure” and “terrible”
controllers he can find. As of
Mar 2016, the ambitious gamer
had finished the PC version
using nine unique control
methods: Rock Band guitar,
drums and piano peripherals,
Donkey Konga bongos,
microphone, Wiimote, dancemat,
steering wheel and an Xbox 360
pad, albeit played with one finger!

143
 ROLE-PLAYING GAMES

JRPGS
From mechanical titans and high-school sleuths to Disney
stars, Japanese role-playing games have built up huge fan-
bases with their exuberant art styles and imaginative worlds.

yu narukami Most recruitable party

members in a JRPG
persona 4: golden The PlayStation game Suikoden
(Konami, 1995) features
108 recruitable characters,
known as the “108 Stars of
Destiny”. While Pokémon has
more monsters that you can
capture, Suikoden is top for
“consensual” recruitment.

Student Most years spanned in a JRPG

Profession
1994 Square’s Chrono Trigger (1995)
Born allows players to venture back
Two-handed sword
Weapon in time to 65,000,000 BCE, and
Not saying much as far forward as AD 2300.
Renowned for

Critics say He’s suave but odd

Most popular Persona
character
In a poll conducted by Japan’s
Longest JRPG title in English Persona magazine #ONE MORE
With a total of 73 characters in Sep 2012, Yu from Persona 4
including spaces, Shin Megami (see above left) was hailed as
Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou the series’ most popular star. The
Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army high-school hero won 1,451 votes.
(Atlus, 2006) is the
longest JRPG title in
Most prolific JRPG main series
the English language.
With 15 main series entries to its name as of Apr 2016, Bandai Namco’s Tales
Its 2008 sequel, Shin
has released more principal story titles than any other JRPG. Its 16th trip
Megami Tensei: Devil into the fantastical – Tales of Berseria – was due out in Japan in Aug 2016, a
Summoner 2: Raidou month before the 15th main Final Fantasy game, the much anticipated FFXV .
Kuzunoha vs. King
Abaddon, clocks in
slightly shorter, at 70 characters.

Konami’s Vandal Hearts became the first Disney franchises featured in the crossover
FACT!

JRPG to receive an ESRB “M” rating when

classic Kingdom Hearts II (Square Enix, 2005),
it was released in the USA in 1997. The
game features an involving political
plot set in the fictional “historical”
region of Sostegaria.
11 including The Nightmare Before Christmas ,
Pirates of the Caribbean and Donald Duck.

Longest-running JRPG series Most critically acclaimed PS Vita game

Debuting on the Famicom/NES in 1986, Atlus’ hand-held mystery Persona 4: Golden
the Dragon Quest series was celebrating (2014, above) has a GameRankings score of
its 30th anniversary in May 2016 with the 94.16% – more than any other PS Vita game.
spin-off sequel Dragon Quest Heroes II. Prior to The most critically acclaimed JRPG on the
that, a third version of Dragon Quest X (subtitled 3DS is Fire Emblem Awakening (2012), which
Inishie no Ryuu no Denshou Online) was released in Japan in scores 92.52%. It’s the third-highest-rated
Apr 2015. The series was created by Yuji Horii and features title on the 3DS overall, behind Shovel Knight
such monsters as FairyRats, Giant Slugs and its mascot Slime. and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.

144
 Largest playable area in a JRPG

As estimated by Nintendo World Report

in Nov 2015, the playable world in
Xenoblade Chronicles X (Nintendo,
2015) stretches to around 400 km2
(154 sq mi). This makes it
potentially three times
bigger than the estimated
area in the action RPG
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Players can traverse its vast
terrain while riding giant mechs.
The sci-fi title is also the
best-selling JRPG for Wii U.
It had sold 780,000 units
worldwide by 14 Apr 2016,
according to VGChartz.

Likes for the English Kingdom Hearts 10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

2,198,350 Facebook page, as of 14 Apr 2016. A week A ballet based on Dragon Quest was
premiered in Tokyo, Japan, in 1996.
earlier, the mobile title Kingdom Hearts: Choreographed by Minoru Suzuki, it was the
Unchained X was released in the USA. first ballet inspired by a videogame.

First JRPG based on a book

Atlus’ 1987 horror JRPG Digital Devil Story:
Megami Tensei was based on the 1986 novel
Digital Devil Story: Reincarnation of the
Goddess by Aya Nishitani. The game was
released in Japan only and was the first title
in the enduringly popular Megami Tensei
series. It featured a sprawling dungeon maze
designed by the demon lord Lucifer, which
players explored in order to hunt demons.

Most hit points for a game boss

In the simulation RPG Trillion: God of Destruction (Idea
Factory, 2015), players star as a demon king trying to save
their supernatural realm from destruction. In order to
emerge triumphant, players must defeat a main foe named
Trillion, who has 1 trillion hit points (HP) to erase. Hit points
(effectively “health”) are a common denominator in RPGs.

145
ROLE-PLAYING GAMES

POKEMON
Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Various
Debut: 1996 Series sales: 247.84 million
Games: 50+ Rivals: Battle of Beasts

First videogame series

with its own science
exhibition
The Pokémon Research Institute
ran at the Miraikan National
Museum of Emerging Science
and Innovation in Tokyo, Japan,
in Jul–Oct 2015. Interactive
games that allowed visitors to
study and identify different
pocket monsters were designed
to help students hone skills in
Smallest handmade observing animals and insects.
Pokémon sculptures
Clay sculptures by Ruby
“Lonelysouthpaw” Huang Largest trading-card mosaic
(USA) measure 2–5 mm As part of the celebrations for Pokémon’ s 20th anniversary, artist
(0.078–0.196 in) high. As of Quentin Devine (UK, below) created an artwork consisting of
12,987 individual Pokémon trading cards. Unveiled in Paris
5 Jan 2016, the smallest piece
on 21 Mar 2016, the mosaic portrait of Pikachu measured
in “Project Pinkymon” was
71.54 m² (770 sq ft), and hung 10.23 m (33 ft 6.7 in) tall
Voltorb (top right), at 2 mm and 6.98 m (22 ft 10.8 in) wide.
in height, width and depth.

Most participants in a
single-player online videogame
A record-thrashing 1,165,140
Twitchers – dubbed “Twitch
Plays Pokémon” – played
Pokémon Red (1996) from
12 Feb to 1 Mar 2014. Over 16 days
7 hr 45 min 30 sec, concurrent
players peaked at a reported
121,000. More than nine million
watched, and at least 122 million
commands were issued.

Pokémon’s 20th-anniversary hoopla

FACT!

included a commercial aired during the Number of Pokémon listed on the official Pokédex, as
2016 Super Bowl. Its finer details were
noted in UnlistedLeaf’s “10 Easter Eggs In
The Pokemon Super Bowl Commercial!!”,
uploaded to YouTube on 27 Jan 2016.
720 of 18 Mar 2016. The numerical listing begins with the
overgrown, seed-sowing Bulbasaur and continues
to number 720, the mischievous magician Hoopa.

Largest collection of Pokémon memorabilia

After 14 years of collecting, Lisa Courtney (UK)
has amassed 14,410 different Pokémon items from
the UK, USA, France and the game’s home
country, Japan. On trips to Japan,
she has sent home 8–12 boxes
full of merchandise. Part of
the collection – including
her own Guinness World
Records certificate – has
First videogame franchise store been displayed at the
Introduced in 1996, Pokémon grew in Hertford Museum in
popularity to such an extent that, in 1998, Hertfordshire, UK.
a dedicated store opened in Tokyo, Japan. Her favourite of
The Pokémon Center, similar to The Disney all the items is
Store, sold merchandise including consoles, an Absol doll.
plush toys, figurines, backpacks, clothing
and CDs. More Pokémon Centers have since
opened across Japan and the USA.

146
 Best-selling RPG series

Pokémon games had sold

247.84 million copies as of 18 Mar
2016, according to VGChartz.
There have been departures
from the RPG format, such as
Hey You, Pikachu! (below), but
most sales come from core
titles such as Pokémon Omega
Ruby and Alpha Sapphire –
the top-selling games across
all platforms in 2014.

Weight in grams (3.5 oz) of 10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

lightest Pokémon Flabébé,
100
Having triumphed in the 2010, 2011
and 2012 finals, US teenager Ray
introduced in the first episode Rizzo secured the most wins of the
of 2013’s XY TV series. Pokémon World Championships.

First voice-controlled videogame

Hey You, Pikachu! (Nintendo, 1998) bewitched
attendees at Tokyo’s Space World show on
21–23 Nov 1997. The N64 game, developed
by Ambrella, allowed players to ask Pikachu
to perform simple tasks such as collecting
Most film
apples and playing with beachballs. Sales
spin-offs from were weak, possibly owing to the expense
a videogame of buying the game and a
The Pokémon microphone.
series had
spawned 19 feature-length movies as of
18 Mar 2016, with a 20th scheduled for
Jul 2016. Pokémon: The First Movie (1998)
remains the most successful, with a total
gross of $164,644,662 (£101,200,000),
making it the highest-grossing animated
movie based on a videogame.

147
 ROLE-PLAYING GAMES

FINAL FANTASY
Publisher: Square Enix Developer: Square Enix
Debut: 1987 Series sales: 111.55 million
Games: 15 (main series) Rivals: Dragon Quest

Fastest completion of Final

gilgamesh Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae
The playable demo of the
final fantasy XIII-2 15th instalment has attracted its
own dedicated following among
speed-run fans. On 27 Feb 2016,
“zefferss” (USA) uploaded a
super-fast any% run-through of
Episode Duscae version 2.0 to
Speedrun.com, clocking a total
time of just 23 min 12 sec.

92)
Series debut Final Fantasy V (19
Naginata polearm Most soundtrack albums to feature music from a videogame series
Weapon of choice
Enkidu There have been at least 180 commercially released albums containing
Trusty companion music from or inspired by the Final Fantasy series. They include original
Excalibur
Searching for soundtracks, compilations, piano collections, classical guitar renditions,
men!” 8-bit chip versions and live orchestral performances.
Says “Now we fight like

Most ubiquitous Most critically acclaimed

Final Fantasy character Final Fantasy game
He may have had to wait to Final Fantasy IX (2000) for
make his debut until 1992’s the PlayStation had earned a
Final Fantasy V, but Gilgamesh fantastic GameRankings rating
has made up for lost time. of 92.72% as of 15 Mar 2016.
The multiple-armed master Yet even the most successful
swordsman had made a total franchises can experience
of 31 series appearances as of hiccups. Scoring 50.27%, the
14 Mar 2016, including spin-offs 2010 MMO Final Fantasy XIV
and crossover games. He initially Online was the lowest-rated
appeared as a boss before Final Fantasy game. GamesRadar
eventually becoming an ally described it as a “swampy muck
of the player party. of bugs [and] quirks”.

Number of years following the release of Final

FACT!

Final Fantasy’s iconic side-view battle system took

its inspiration from an unlikely source – American Fantasy IX before a gamer unlocked the obscure
football. New to the world of RPGs, designer
Hiroyuki Ito (JPN) adapted the turn-based system
of pre-planned strategic attack from the sport.
13 side quest “The Lost Nero Family” in 2013. It had
remained unknown outside of Japan.

Most Facebook likes

for a videogame
cosplayer
Artist/model Alodia
Gosiengfiao (PHL)
is the most popular
cosplayer on Facebook,
with 5,660,594 likes as of
11 Mar 2016. Since 2003,
Alodia has cosplayed
Longest videogame reaction video for such series as
Following the fevered announcement of the Final DotA and Final
Fantasy VII remake at E3 2015, YouTuber “JwalkZer0” Fantasy, notably
(USA) spent a day collecting and compiling dressing as the
footage of gamers reacting to the news. As of green-eyed
15 Mar 2016, “Final Fantasy 7 Remake Reactions Rikku (right)
7-Hour Compilation” had been split into two parts from FF X
with a total running time of 7 hr 17 min 23 sec! and FF X-2.
The combined total of views came to 342,351.

148
 Longest development
period for a JRPG
The spin-off title Final Fantasy Versus XIII
began development in May 2006, but
still had not been released as of 10 Jun
2013. On that date, however, developer
and publisher Square Enix made an
announcement at the E3 industry event
that the game had been redesigned
as a main series title and would
instead be issued as Final Fantasy XV
(concept art above and left) in 2016.

Number of people who worked on the original Final 10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

Shifting 9.72 million copies as of 11 Mar 2016,

7 Fantasy in 1987, including director Hironobu Sakaguchi.

By the time of Final Fantasy XIII in 2009, the team
had swelled to more than 300 people.
FF VII (1997) is the best-selling Final Fantasy
game and the second-best-selling game on
the PlayStation, beaten only by Gran Turismo.

First update for a game demo

On 9 Jun 2015, Square Enix released
an update for its Final Fantasy XV
demo. The version 2.0 demo of the
hotly anticipated JRPG featured a
range of upgrades including a new
dodge-roll manoeuvre, new team
combo attacks and additional side
quests. There was also a terrifying
new monster to fight, taken
from classical Longest marathon on a
Ethiopia: the Japanese-style role-playing game
Catoblepas. Musician and model “Kinumi Cati”, aka
Hecaterina Kinumi Iglesias (ESP), is a
multiple record-breaker who specializes
in gruelling marathon gaming sessions.
On 26–28 Jul 2013, Kinumi spent 38 hr 6 min
on the subcontinents of Spira playing Final
Fantasy X (2001) in Vigo, Spain.

149
 FEATURE

GAME JAMS
Stick a bunch of programmers in a room together and
magic can happen! Game jams are events in which teams Some games prototyped at jam
of developers vie to make games from scratch, often while events have subsequently been
scoffing vast quantities of pizza. Jam participants must made into commercially available
design their games around a secret “theme”, which isn’t titles. Here are four examples that
revealed until the event starts. have gone on to do fine things...
Since 2002, jams have been
springing up all over the world, with
jammers challenged to make their
games in strict time limits, typically
set at 48–72 hr. Notable regular
events include the Nordic Game
Jam in Denmark, the long-running
Ludum Dare, and the Global Game
Jam, whose 2016 event took
place across 93 countries.

Here, we serve up a selection of

records (below) and highlights
from recent game jams (right).

Broforce
Developer: Free Lives (ZAF)
venues)
 (multiple me Released commercially for PC in
ts in a g ame jam 0 16 G lobal Ga
icipan Jan , the
2
ipants Oct 2015, the side-scrolling action
Most part n 2 9 –3 1  d p a rt ic
Held o gistere romp Broforce was originally
36 ,1 6 4 re ns in
Jam saw m 6 3 2 locatio conceived as Rambros at the Ludum
m in g fr o e larus,
ja m ding B Dare 23 game jam in 2012. The game
ies, inclu la and N
epal.
93 countr a , G u a te m a features fun parodies of big-screen
y, C u b a ,
d e
Paragua s were m muscle-heads such as Rambo, The
l o f 6 ,8 69 game o f “R itual”,
A tota e
e g e n e ral them y  titles.
Terminator and Conan the Barbarian.
th al-realit
based on were vir tu
f th e se
and 15 8 o

icipants on)
Most part gle locati
e jam (sin mers
in a gam re d ja m
n d 1, 2 2 8 registe n
Arou Egypt, o
in Cairo,
gathered to participa
te
n 20 16
29 –31 Ja e J a m , and
bal G a m
in the Glo ade at th
e
a m e s were m pt first to
ok
135 g l site . E g y
ff ic ia .
event’s o event in
2013
e a n n ual
part in th
ame jam
anized g been sta
ged
u nning org jams had
Lo n g e st -r
m D a re g a m e
p r 2 0 0 2 (Ludum
e Ludu om 13 A tal
The onlin 5 days, fr hat’s a to
u la rl y fo r 14 years u d u m D are 35). T ov e rall –
reg 4
to 18 A pr 2016 (L i- L D s, m aking 10
Dare 0) and 6 8 m
in
organize
r.
in events a single
of 36 ma ja m s st aged by
game
the most Johann Sebastian Joust
ie
r da’s Cass Developer: Die Gute Fabrik (DNK)
st g a m e jamme 3  M a y 2 011, Cana s o ld
Young e –1 ay
Jam on 11 ears 83 d The winner of the Nordic Game Jam
ronto TO s just 5 y yan
At the To 7  F e b 2 006) wa ra m m e r father R in 2011, Johann Sebastian Joust is a
to n (b . 1 h e r p ro g a ss ie
Creigh forces w
ith enture. C “no-graphics” sports title in which
e joined corn Adv
when sh ’s M a g ical Pony p e d its story.
As players aim to jostle each other’s
p Sissy and deve
lo 9.20
to develo m e ’s a rt e d $ 3 ,1 9 motion-controllers beyond an
of the ga ad rais
drew all e ga m e h on fund. allotted threshold (shown above).
e b 2 0 16 , the onlin s C a ss ie ’s educati The game picked up the Innovation
of 23 F ons towa
rd
in donati Award at the Game Developers
(£2,251)
Choice Awards 2012.

150
 Super Time
Force
Developer:
Capybara Games
(CAN)
The prototype
for this time-
travelling shooter
was conceived
at TOJam in May
2011, based on the
theme “What just
happened”. As of
Feb 2016, the Xbox
One version was the
most critically
acclaimed game
conceived at a
game jam, with
a GameRankings
score of 82% from
27 reviews.

Surgeon Simulator 2013

Developer: Bossa Studios (UK)
A blackly comic title about performing
surgical operations, Surgeon Simulator
was conceived at the 2013 Global Game
Jam. Its commercial version had sold
3,009,771 copies across all formats as of
17 March 2016, making it the best-selling
game conceived at a game jam.

When did you realize that your

Luke Williams (right) was the lead idea could be developed into a
designer on Surgeon Simulator 2013, a commercially releasable title?
first-person sim that bore similarities It was when we presented it in front of
to tabletop classic Operation. the other teams at the London venue
of the event. The whole room was in
Did you have any idea what kind of hysterics and shouting out what tools to
game you’d make at the 2013 Global use. We all looked at each other and said,
Game Jam? “Oh, so it’s not just funny to us then?”
Not at all, which is the way it’s intended!
You’re not given the theme until right Were there many changes between the
before you have to start making a game prototype and the final version?
game. That year the theme was simply None of the core mechanics actually
the sound of a heartbeat, so we took it changed. We just polished it all up,
quite literally and made a game about refined the controls and added a
performing a heart transplant. variety of new transplants!

151
SHOOTERS
Select a target. Aim. Fire. Repeat. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?
Think again. Whether you’re playing in first- or third-person,
shooters require a dead-eye aim and nerves of steel.

When Bethesda released Fallout 4 on 10 Nov 2015, Twitch star

“OMGitsfirefoxx” celebrated by playing the post-apocalyptic
shooter for 19 hr. She is shown here cosplaying the game in
an abandoned trailer park situated just outside Los Angeles in
California, USA. Of her record (see right), she said: “It really
makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something in
creating this amazing community that I have on Twitch.”

152
 Most followed female on Twitch

“OMGitsfirefoxx”, aka Sonja Reid (CAN),

has come a long way since her earliest
gaming days playing Wolfenstein 3D on
MS-DOS. The self-proclaimed “full-time
dragon slayer, part-time sniper” was the
most popular female gamer on Twitch in
2015, boasting 707,540 followers. As of
15 Mar 2016, she was still going strong
with 722,912 followers, just ahead of
“KittyPlays” with 717,466.
Firefoxx’s favourite games
to stream include Minecraft,
Counter-Strike and, of course,
Fallout 4, which was the theme
for her Gamer’s photo shoot.

153
SHOOTERS

FIRST-PERSON SHOOTERS Fastest completion of

Wolfenstein: The New Order
“BloodThunder” (USA) blazed
Ever since Wolfenstein had gamers romping round 3D

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
Sci-fi FPS Borderlands 2 (2K, 2012) features

an FPS. Among its terrors are sandworms,

spiderants and midget skeletons!
300 foes – the most enemy variants in
corridors, the FPS has spawned hit after hit, from the death through this alternative-history
matches of Doom to the alien scares of Half-Life. FPS (Bethesda, 2014) in 1 hr
37 min 10 sec on 13 Jan 2016.

First FPS to feature a sniper rifle

Predating the sniper rifle in
GoldenEye 007 (Rare) by a year,
the Quake Team Fortress
mod introduced gamers
to a sniper class when it
was released in Aug 1996.
A later version added
Most played multiplayer online shooter (current) head and body shots.
CrossFire, the online FPS, had 45,176,591 monthly active
users in 2015, according to SuperData. This put it behind only First multiplayer FPS
League of Legends as the most played multiplayer online Midi Maze (Hybrid
game (94,332,069). Launched by Smilegate in 2007, CrossFire Arts, 1987) exploited
had 500 million registered players by Apr 2016. By comparison,
the Atari
Activision’s FPS blockbuster Destiny had 25 million.
ST’s then-

14
advanced
MIDI ports.
Most acclaimed FPS for PC This enabled
Valve’s legendary FPS Half-Life 2 networking that
(2004) held a GameRankings score of sustained the
95.48% as of 26 Apr 2016. The game Schwarzenegger game’s popularity.
saw Gordon Freeman (left) fighting films that
to save Earth from an alien empire,
spawned games,
using such weapons as the genre-
defining gravity gun. DarkZero said including Atari’s doom co-creat
or
of the game: “It is the pure essence Terminator 3: Rise john carmac
of the Machines founding fath k, a
of enjoyment from start to finish.” games, was er of fps
awar
FPS from 2003. fellowship on ded a bafta
the event w 7 apr 2016.
as streamed
director J J Abrams confirmed to IGN

on
we’ve got writers, and we’re working

twitch. now
in Mar 2016 that movies of Half-Life

at oculus vr
and Portal were “in development…

carmack sa ,
id, “i’m just
getting star
Star Trek and The Force Awakens

ted!”
on both those stories”.

First World Video Game

Hall of Fame inductees
The seminal FPS Doom was
one of six titles inducted
into the first World Video
Fastest completion of Shadow Warrior Game Hall of Fame in
Swedish gamer “elmle” finished Devolver New York’s National
Digital’s 2013 reboot of Shadow Warrior Museum of Play, on
in 1 hr 13 min 53 sec on 8 Apr 2016. 5 Jun 2015. It was
By contrast, Finland’s “Inffi” polished FACT! joined by PAC-Man,
off GT’s 1997 original (above) in just 12 min Pong, Super Mario
28 sec. In both games, players star as a ninja Bros., Tetris and
who tackles nightmarish creatures using World of Warcraft.
firearms, shuriken stars and a katana sword.

120 million
Smallest FPS
You need 40 million
First FPS in which gamers kilobytes to download
modern FPS titles such as
can play the monster
Call of Duty: Black Ops III.
Released some 20 years before 2K’s Evolve Dollars awarded
At the other end of the scale,
pitted monsters against hunters, Alien vs in a Half-Life 3
.kkrieger (.theprodukkt, 2004,
Predator (1994) was the first time that tournament on
players could choose a monster rather than beta only) is a fully functioning
e-Sports Earnings FPS of just 97 kilobytes,
a hero. The Atari Jaguar title featured three
scary scenarios, in which the player is either on 1 Apr 2016. It thanks to the developer’s
the Alien, the Predator or a human Marine. was, of course, an procedural content creation
April Fool’s prank. and management tool.

154
 Longest-running developer
of FPS games
Texas-based id Software is the FPS don.
Co-founded by John Carmack (above,
far left, in the team’s early days), John
Romero (centre), Tom Hall and Adrian
Carmack, it has unleashed shooters for
nearly a quarter of a century. Between
the zombie pioneer Wolfenstein 3D
in 1992 and a reboot of the seminal
Doom, released in May 2016 (main
picture), id’s output has included the
sci-fi series Quake (1996–2007), various
Doom sequels and expansions, and the
post-apocalyptic thriller Rage (2011).

First audio-only FPS

In Shades of Doom (GMA, 2001), players navigate a
mutant-infested military research base, guided only by
echoes, footsteps and unsettling noises that occur dynamically.
Loosely inspired by Doom , whose 2016 reboot is shown above,
the game was hailed for its technical innovation.
SHOOTERS

MILITARY SHOOTERS
Painstaking research and advances in game technology are
enabling developers of military shooters to come ever closer
to recreating the bloody and harrowing experience of war.

Highest score on Battlefield 4 Largest living Most museums

According to the leaderboard at Easter egg in a game consulted for a game
bf4stats.com, “XBuRogers” had Battlefield 4: Naval Strike (2014) While developing the
scored 614,320,566 points from had a secret lurking beneath the historical naval MMO World of
6,840 rounds on the PC version waves of the Nansha Strike map: Warships (2015), Lesta Studio
of EA DICE’s 2013 military a mighty Megalodon, measuring and Wargaming consulted
shooter, as of 13 Apr 2016. The 18 m (59 ft) in length. 38 museums located around the
gamer chalked up 180,989 kills, On 29 Apr 2015, the 100th world, from Chinese Taipei and
while dying 29,553 times. patch to Battlefield’s Community Australia to Great Britain and
Gamer “sith_darthvader1” has Test Environment contained Poland. They visited institutions
made the most flag captures another prehistoric shark, this including the Qingdao Naval
on Battlefield 4, with 348,980 time on the Paracel Storm map Museum in China, the National
standards nabbed by the same – where, apparently, the DICE Naval Aviation Museum in Florida
date. This total was achieved developers had intended the and the Naval & Military Park in
playing 5,393 rounds. Megalodon to first appear. New York (both USA).

World of Warships Q&A: Markus Schill of Wargaming (far left)

How challenging is it digitally we’ve invigorated interest in that part of

recreating a WWII warship? history. We actually created a web game
The amount of work that goes into them with the Bovington Tank Museum (UK),
is ridiculous! Many ships from the war where our players are helping the museum
were either sunk in battle or never built. to verify 250,000 pictures of tanks that
So we work with museums and military are in their archives.
archives to find the original blueprints to
the ships, and these are usually hidden You work with the War Child charity, too.
on a dusty shelf somewhere. We’ve Yes, we were looking for a partnership
visited many surviving ships, but even a where we could give something back to
small destroyer takes weeks to measure society. War Child has been instrumental
and scan into 3D. in protecting children from the impact of
real war. We’ve done charity events and
It must be like researching dinosaurs? sold in-game items where a large portion
Exactly! They’re not as old but they’re of the profits went to War Child. Success
equally dusty! But by doing this research brings a certain amount of responsibility.

To ensure that Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege Views of “Battlefield 1 Official Reveal Trailer”, as of
FACT!

(Ubisoft, 2015) was as realistic as possible,

former counter-terrorism and police officers were 8 May 2016 – just 48 hours after the video was
brought in for the motion-capture sequences. 19,564,204 uploaded to YouTube. Scheduled for release in
They performed alongside established actors
such as Angela Bassett, who played agent “Six”. autumn 2016, the FPS is set during World War I.

Most prolific tactical shooter series

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six (Ubisoft) follows
the fortunes of RAINBOW, an elite, UK-
based, black-ops counter-terrorism unit. As
of 14 Apr 2016, there had been 18 instalments
in the series. US author Clancy’s name also
adorns numerous other military or espionage-
themed franchises, most of which are published
by Ubisoft. This includes the Tom Clancy’s
Splinter Cell stealth series (2002–13), combat
flight sims H.A.W.X (2009–10), tactical
wargame EndWar (2008), TPS The Division
(2016), and 13 titles in the tactical-shooter
franchise Ghost Recon. As of 13 Apr 2016,
some 46 titles bear Clancy’s name – the
most games headlined by a real person.

156
Best-selling mod franchise
Starting out as a humble Half-Life mod, Counter-Strike proved
so popular that Valve began releasing games in its own right.
As of 13 Apr 2016, sales of the five Counter-Strike titles had hit
63.81 million, according to figures compiled by SteamSpy.

Most digital sales of a PC

videogame (current)
Valve’s FPS Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
(2012) achieved astonishing digital sales of
4,905,030 in 2015, according to figures
from digital-data gatherer SuperData.
This was higher than the combined digital
sales for Activision’s military-shooter Call
of Duty: Black Ops III (2015) on both the
Xbox One and PS4 – the biggest digital
sellers on both of those formats.

Number of hours it took to 10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

make the German battleship Designed to present the US military in a positive
3,003 Tirpitz for World of Warships,
according to the designers. The process required
light, America’s Army (US Army, 2002) was the
first tax-funded videogame. It was created by
Epic Games and was free to play.
17 artists working on it for more than seven months.

Most prolific World War II shooter series

Boasting an initial story by film director
Steven Spielberg, the first 12 titles
of the Medal of Honor series focused
on the exploits of US forces during
World War II. The 2010 reboot Medal
of Honor relocated the action to
modern Afghanistan. However
the sequel, 2012’s Warfighter,
was poorly received and First FPS to recreate a World War I battle
so the series was placed Although Darkest of Days (2009) features a level
on hold. Sales of the loosely based on the Battle of Tannenberg during
WWII MoH games the “Great War”, Verdun (M2H/Blackmill, 2015,
stood at 28.93 million above) strives to historically recreate the Battle
as of 13 Apr 2016 of Verdun, fought between German and French forces
– the best-selling on 21 Feb–18 Dec 1916. Realistic bullet physics, skill-
WWII game series. based weapon handling, massive artillery barrages and
a claustrophobic gas-mask experience ensure that the
PC game is terrifying and educational in equal measure.

157
SHOOTERS

CALL OF DUTY Most tournament wins in

a single Call of Duty game
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Publisher: Activision Developers: Various
Debut: 2003 Series sales: 244.2 million was released in Nov 2014 to
Games: 23 Rivals: Battlefield, MoH kick-start a new season of pro
$15 bn Call of Duty gaming. The US
eSports team OpTic marched
on to win nine tournaments – a
record for a single Call of Duty
Best-selling first-person title. The clan’s final victory,
Lifetime revenue
shooter (FPS) series achieved by the Call prior to the season’s end, came
The all-conquering Call of Duty of Duty series by at MLG’s World Finals in New
series had racked up sales of Feb 2016, according to Orleans, USA, in Oct 2015.
244.2 million units across all publisher Activision
formats as of 4 Feb 2016, Blizzard. It began Most subscribed
according to VGChartz. The with developer YouTube channel by
most popular game in the Infinity Ward’s Call of an eSports team
franchise was Call of Duty: Duty game in 2003. The eponymous
Modern Warfare 3 (2011), which YouTube channel
had sold 30.89 million as of the of FaZe Clan, a

marathon on a shooter.
On 13–19 Nov 2012, Okan Kaya (AUS)
played Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012)
10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

for 135 hr 15 min 10 sec – the longest

same date, making it the best- successful pro
selling first-person shooter. Call of Duty team
based in the USA,
boasted 3,632,567 subscribers
as of 4 Feb 2016. The team
included Dillon “Attach” Price
(USA), the highest-earning
Most subscribed Call of Duty player in Call of Duty: Advanced
YouTube channel Warfare; the virtual sharp-
As of 2 Feb 2016, YouTuber shooter earned $145,954.50
“Ali-A”, aka Alastair Aiken (£101,384) from competing
(UK), had attracted in 41 tournaments.
7,549,838 subscribers to
his dedicated Call of Duty
Most critically acclaimed
channel. As of the same
Call of Duty game
date, “Ali-A” also had the
The Xbox 360 version of
most popular Call of Duty
channel by views, having Call of Duty 4: Modern
most popular games of 2015 – based

accrued 1,750,681,985 Warfare (2007) scored

FIFA 16 to top YouTube’s list of the

on video views (and length of time

video views since launching 94.16% at GameRankings,

Call of Duty: Black Ops III beat

on 13 Sep 2006. based on 80 reviews.

After the World War II
exploits of its predecessors,
watched) for the year.

the game became the first

in the series to enjoy a
present-day setting.

Fastest time to capture

the flag in Call of Duty:
Advanced Warfare (shared
controller, team of two)
Playing on the Biolab map
of the 2014 FPS, the UK’s
FACT!
“TWiiNSANE” (aka twins Liam
Thompson and Jake Thompson)
took 26.31 sec to capture the
flag while battling enemy
bots. Their speedy run was
achieved on 20 Jun 2015.
923,455

Digital sales
achieved by
Call of Duty:
Black Ops III on
Xbox One in 2015,
according to
SuperData.
Most digital sales of a PS4 videogame (current)
It may not have been released until Nov 2015, but, according to
SuperData, Call of Duty: Black Ops III still achieved more digital sales
than any other PS4 title in 2015. The near-futuristic FPS was downloaded
1,648,026 times for the console by the end of the year.

Most watched videogame

launch broadcast
On 5 Nov 2015, a total of 442,620
unique viewers tuned in to watch the UK
Call of Duty: Black Ops III launch event
live from Mayfair One in London, UK.
The party was streamed via the Twitch
channel of internet sensation Syndicate,
aka Tom Cassell (UK, above left), and
featured YouTubers, pro gamers and
soccer stars Héctor Bellerín and Patrick
Bamford competing in Activision’s
latest FPS.

159
SHOOTERS

THIRD-PERSON SHOOTERS Most critically

acclaimed rail shooter
A dragon-filled fantasy shooter
Take cover! Unlike their FPS blood brothers, third-person

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

influential TPS concept that pits the player

Gears of War 2 (Microsoft, 2008) was
the first game with “horde mode” – an

against increasing waves of enemies.

shooters (TPS) let gamers see the character they control. released for the Xbox, Panzer
The use of surroundings as tactical cover is critical to success. Dragoon Orta (Sega, 2002)
boasted a GameRankings rating
of 90.36% as of 29 Mar 2016.
Best-selling third-person This placed it ahead of Rez HD
shooter on the Wii U (Microsoft, 2008) with 88.62%
and Sin & Punishment: Star
Mario rules Nintendo’s top-sellers
Successor (Nintendo, 2009)
for the Wii U, but the 4.25 million
copies of Splatoon sold by with 85.86%.
Nintendo as of 24 Mar 2016
made it the best-selling TPS Fastest completion
for the console. Unleashed on of Splatoon (all scrolls)
28 May 2015, the shape-shifting, Sunken scrolls are items that
squid-packed gem proved a super- are collected on every stage
speedy seller in the UK and Japan. of Splatoon’s single-player
mode, known as “Octo Valley”,
with further scrolls earned by
defeating bosses. On 4 Mar 2016,
“TonesBalones” (USA) gathered

999
up every scroll while polishing
off the entire game in just
1 hr 10 min 6 sec, as verified
by Speedrun.com.

Number of
limited-edition
youtuber
Panzer Dragoon “moomoomilk”
Orta Special Edition one of the m is
os
Xbox consoles makers of ge t prolific
ars of war
Best-selling TPS videos. since
released in Japan 2009, he has
launching in
Ka-boom! That’s the sound of Gears of Wars 2 (Microsoft, publ
on 19 Dec 2002. than 400 vide ished more
os,
2008) decimating its rivals with 6.75 million sales as of 24 Mar weekly vlog including
2016, according to VGChartz. The franchise – also comprising s, fu
and montage nnies
Gears of War (2006), Gears of War 3 (2011) and Gears of War: s from
mythical bird that rose from its own

the series.
ashes. This was revealed on Twitter

Judgment (2013) – has shifted a total of 22.86 million units,

said that he created Fenix during
a turbulent period in his own life.
by designer Cliff Bleszinski, who

making it the best-selling TPS series. Gears of War 4 was

Gears of War’s Marcus Fenix is
named after the Phoenix, the

due in 2016 as an Xbox One exclusive.

First TPS with a cover system

It might be a common feature of
Most followed videogame today’s games, but Operation:
cosplayer on Twitter WinBack (Koei, 1999) – also
As of 24 Mar 2016, Jessica Nigri (USA) known simply as WinBack – was
had earned 515,000 Twitter fans the first TPS to include a system
through her portrayal of characters allowing players to pop out from
such as Gears of War 3’s Anya Stroud behind crates and corners
(left). Jessica has also cosplayed and take aim at enemy forces.
Pikachu, Lollipop Chainsaw’s Juliet Its laser sight mechanic
Starling, and even Assassin’s Creed IV’s FACT! would also become a
Edward Kenway. staple of the genre.

First “second-
Most popular zombie class in person” shooter
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare
According to data released in Nov 2015,
the most used zombie class in PopCap’s
79 Developed by Japanese
indie game studio Himo,
2011’s Second Person Shooter
zany shooter Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Zato did exactly what it said on
Warfare (2014) is the Foot Soldier. the tin. The player character
Length in years
From 1.4 billion multiplayer games, is blind, and the action is seen
the undead infantryman had been of Sera’s bloody
from the viewpoint of the
spawned 545 million times, roughly Pendulum Wars, enemies as they approach him.
twice as many as the zombie All-Star, which before the Locust The title of the game was
had 278 million spawns. On the other side invasion that kick- inspired by Zatoichi, a blind
of the garden fence, the most popular plant starts the Gears of and brilliant swordsman
class is the Peashooter, with 534 spawns. War action. from Japanese fiction.

160
Largest gathering of people wearing false moustaches in a game
Warframe is a free2play online TPS charting the battles of a race
of ancient warriors known as the Tenno. As part of the charity
fundraising month “Movember”, in 2014 developers Digital
Extremes offered players the chance to earn in-game facial hair Most popular cross-platform
by making donations. By 14 Nov, a razor-refusing 10,899 online game beta for a new IP
characters sported virtual moustaches.
Ubisoft’s online TPS Tom Clancy’s
The Division had a reported 6.4 million
gamers for its beta testing in Feb 2016,
smashing the previous record of
4.6 million set by Activision’s Destiny
in Jul 2014. These numbers are even
more impressive for the fact that the
beta took place across just five days,
with PS4, Xbox One and PC players
all participating. When The Division
was released shortly after in Mar 2016,
Ubisoft claimed it had the best first-week
sales of any new franchise, generating
an estimated $330 m (£229.8 m)
globally in its first five days.

161
 SHOOTERS

RPG SHOOTERS
Not content with simply launching you headfirst into battle,
these gaming experiences combine twisty plots and open- Fastest completion of
world freedom with weighty RPG character development. Deus Ex: Invisible War
Deus Ex franchise fan and
Twitcher “jelmeree” (NLD)
Fastest completion of Fallout 3 completed the PC version of
CLAPTRAP France’s “Rydou” smashed Deus Ex: Invisible War (Eidos,
BORDERLANDS through the 15-min barrier in 2003) in 22 min 41 sec on 21 Feb
Fallout 3, completing the game 2016. “The start was a bit sloppy,
in 14 min 54 sec on 29 Dec 2015, very good from Trier until the
according to Speedrun.com. end,” he wrote.

Most downloaded
Most concurrent players on Steam for a non-Valve game
Borderlands fan art
As of 8 Mar 2016, the peak for gamers playing Fallout 4 at the same
As of 8 Mar 2016, JohnSu’s
time on Valve’s digital distribution service was 471,955. This put it
(USA) “Borderlands YEAH” had third overall in the popularity rankings, behind Dota 2 (with 1,262,612)
Robot been downloaded 11,737 times and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (with 819,902) – two Valve titles
Race
by the DeviantArt community. that are only available through Steam.
Skill Analysing situations
The lauded piece of art depicted
kages
Purpose Delivering Action Pac the playable characters Brick,
Talking drivel Mordecai, Lilith and Roland.
Key trait
Poker Night 2
Unlikeliest cameo

First completion of the 2015 rele

ase
Fallout 3 as a baby of fallout 4
a big trend fo saw
On 5 Aug 2015, YouTuber “Bryan r famous
faces being
Pierre” uploaded five videos of recreated
in the game’
s ch
himself playing through Fallout 3 creation suit aracter-
e.
as a baby. A glitch in Bethesda’s online galler amusing
ies featured
2008 classic meant that it was such mugshot
s as
possible to escape the tutorial as beckham, wal david
uigi
a baby, although Bryan still had to and shrek.
use a mod to give his ankle-biter
sufficient skills to finish the story.
Inevitably, the run took numerous
hours – primarily because the
baby could only crawl!

In Jun 2015, a Fallout fan pre-ordered Fallout 4 The age of Fallout 4 ’s Vault Boy, according
FACT!

by speculatively posting Bethesda 2,240 bottle

to a spoof lonely heart profile that was
caps, the shooter’s in-game currency. Amazingly,
the publisher accepted the payment – but only as
a one-off. It tweeted: “We’re rewarding the first
guy. Bank is closed :)”.
25 published on the dating app Tinder
ahead of the game’s release.

Fastest completion of Deus Ex: The Fall

Dutch gamer “jelmeree” sped through the PC
version of Deus Ex: The Fall (Square Enix, 2013) in
18 min 23 sec (20 min 57 sec including load times)
on 6 Mar 2016. The cyberpunk RPG was developed
by N-Fusion and was first released for iOS in
Jul 2013 before being ported to home computers
via Steam in Mar 2014. It’s one
of the very few games
to have been
ported from
mobiles
to PC. First marriage proposal via a game character
In Apr 2011, Borderlands developer Gearbox made
a video for a superfan, Ben, who wished to propose
marriage to his girlfriend Tora. The NSFW video saw
the game’s loveable robot, Claptrap, relaying Ben’s
message in a comedic, uncouth manner. It was aired
at a party. Thankfully, a besotted Tora said “Yes”!
 Fastest completion of Fallout 4
(without loads)
On 1 Mar 2016, “JshaKhajiit” (UK) defied
Fallout 4’s sprawling size by completing
Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic shooter in
56 min 4 sec. Curiously, when loads were
included in the time, the run became
slower than several rival runs. This was a
likely consequence of gamers triggering
different loads depending on their route.
The run was listed at Speedrun.com and
prohibited the use of the Pip-Boy mobile
app, which enables players to operate
the game’s main gadget on their phone.

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
In 2000, Eidos’ Deus Ex was the first shooter you
could complete without despatching any enemies –
the lowest minimum kill requirement in a shooter.

Largest 4K screen at a videogame competition

On 9 Sep 2014, gamers Tom Lounsbury and Justin
Most pop culture references in a game Munoz (both USA) faced off in a Borderlands:
Eagle-eyed entertainment fiends can The Pre-Sequel! (2K Games) competition,
uncover 411 references to books, films, TV, battling it out on a giant 4K screen
popular figures, memes, music and rival measuring 1,414.36 m2 (15,224 sq ft). The
games lurking in Borderlands 2 (Gearbox, 27.7-m-high (91-ft) screen was powered
2012). Wryly name-checked throughout are by nVIDIA and was set up at Churchill
Minecraft (above), Shakespeare, Star Wars, Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
James Bond, My Little Pony, The Muppets,
and even the United States Postal Service!
FEATURE

VIDEOGAME CONCERTS
Gaming these days is no longer just about playing games.
It can be about cosplaying as Snake, broadcasting on Twitch,
or even enjoying live music. Videogame concerts are now
hugely popular. Fervent crowds cram into venues to hear
iconic and cult soundtracks being performed by some of
the world’s finest orchestras.

Producer Thomas Böcker (DEU, right) founded the

Symphonic Game Music Concerts, and in 2003 staged
the first videogame music concert outside Japan.
What gave you the idea for staging concerts? venues over arenas.
I’ve been interested in games music ever The capacities are
since I was given a C64 when I was seven around 2,000, but
or eight years when we did the Final
old. Years later, Symphony II tour of Final
I read about Fantasy music in Japan
live orchestra in 2015, 7,000 fans attended
performances our three concerts in a week.
in Japan and I felt
there would be a What have been some of your
global audience most memorable shows?
for this. But I Without question the Final Symphony II
came to the shows we did with the London Symphony
conclusion that Orchestra (LSO) in Japan last September were
if I wanted to hear a highlight. The LSO became the first foreign
my favourite game orchestra to perform videogame music in
music performed live by an orchestra, then Japan. During our second performance, I
I would have to produce it myself! was standing backstage with Final Fantasy
composer Nobuo Uematsu and we sneaked
Did you have a previous background in music? out before the encore to watch the audience.
I worked on my own projects, including The Japanese audience were enthusiastic
Merregnon, where I invited famous game in a way I’ve never seen before. They were
composers such as Yuzo Koshiro [Streets cheering wildly and giving standing ovations.
of Rage] to compose music for a fantasy Uematsu was so moved he hugged me.
story that I’d created.
Do you have a favourite piece of game music?
How many concerts have you worked on? I love the piece “Words Drowned by Fireworks”
I’ve produced or consulted on at least from Final Fantasy VII. It is such a beautiful,
50 orchestra concerts. I want the music to sound romantic piece, which is in stark contrast to
as good as possible, so I always choose classical the dark, somehow depressing, game world.

Most performed composer

at videogame concerts
Japanese composer Nobuo Uematsu has
composed scores for 13 of the 15 main
games in Square Enix’s Final Fantasy series.
As of 27 Feb 2016, Uematsu’s music had
been performed in at least 535 concerts
worldwide, including Distant Worlds
(111 dates since 2007), Video Games
Live (at least 334 shows) and Final
Symphony I & II (13 shows to date).
 Tommy Tallarico (USA, left) is a game-music composer and creator of
the Video Games Live (VGL) concerts. On 20 Mar 2016, VGL staged its
357th show, reaffirming it as the most performed gaming concert.
How did VGL come about? perform to over 25,000 people in big
I’ve been a game composer stadiums. We did a show in Beijing
for over 25 years so I wanted last year which was streamed live and
to prove to the world how had over a million people watching!
culturally significant and artistic But the most special performances are
games have become. the ones we do in Chile and Brazil. The
fans cheer so loud that my ears hurt!
Why is game music so popular?
When you play a game you become How do you make music come alive?
that character and the soundtrack We use synchronized video, stage
of the game becomes the soundtrack show production, interactive elements,
of your life! It’s a very different rock ’n’ roll lighting, special effects and
experience than anything else. humorous videos – just as an example!

What have been your finest shows? What’s your favourite soundtrack?
We played to over 60,000 people in Uematsu-san’s Final Fantasy VIII.
Chinese Taipei in 2009. In China we “Liberi Fatali” is my favourite song.

Banjo-Kazooie (1998)
Kingdom Hearts Position: 13
The Elder Scrolls series
(2002) Composer: Grant
(2002–present)
World of Warcraft Position: 30 Kirkhope (UK)
(2004) Position: 11
Composer: Yoko Scotland’s Kirkhope
Composer: Jeremy Final Fantasy series
Position: 53 Shimomura (JPN) worked on a number
Soule (USA) (1987–present)
Composers: Various of N64 titles including
Composer and pianist Soule has been widely Position: 9
Blizzard’s MMORPG GoldenEye 007 (1997).
Shimomura worked for heralded as the “John Composer: Nobuo
is almost as famous His work on Rare’s
Square for nine years, Williams of videogame Uematsu (JPN)
for its sweeping Banjo-Kazooie was
and is best celebrated music”. His scores for
music as it is for its hailed as a true classic. No game composer is
for her work on this the Elder Scrolls RPGs
fantastical denizens. more celebrated than
Disney-licenced RPG. are often haunting and
Its composers include Uematsu. His magical
always utterly epic. Final Fantasy music
Russell Brower (USA).
has also been released
across numerous
TOP 5 soundtrack albums.
GAME SOUNDTRACKS IN THE 2015 CLASSIC FM HALL OF FAME
Classic FM is a leading classical music radio station
165
SIMS & STRATEGY
Whether you’re conducting large naval battles,
raising a virtual pet or driving a spluttering
tractor, these genres often have three key
traits: realism, diversity and quirkiness.

Most digital revenue generated

by a videogame (current)
Revered for its fast-paced strategic
gameplay, Riot Games’ MOBA League
of Legends (2009) managed to
generate a staggering $1,627,643,818
(£1,097,840,000) in digital sales
revenue in 2015 – despite being a
free2play game. The revenue was
generated by microtransactions,
which allow players to buy virtual
items or features within the game.

166
Most played online multiplayer game (current)
With an average of 94,332,069 monthly active users (MAU) throughout 2015,
League of Legends is streets ahead of the MMO competition. According to
figures compiled by SuperData, its MAU count is more than twice that of
online FPS CrossFire (Smilegate, 2007), in second place with 45,176,591.

167
SIMS & STRATEGY

SIMULATION GAMES Fastest 100% completion

of Animal Crossing (solo)
On 11 Mar 2015, “Orcastraw”
Interact with other humans in their everyday lives. Take a trip

In 2006, Nintendo’s pet sim Nintendogs

was given a PETA “Proggie” award for

first videogame to win a PETA award.

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

Best Animal-Friendly Video Game – the

on a hyper-realistic train or truck. Or just bash things with a (USA) submitted a video to
goat. With sim games, reality has never been so much fun! Speedrun.com of a total
completion of community sim
Animal Crossing (Nintendo, 2001)
in 61 hr 31 min 54 sec. It entailed
Most expensive DLC collecting all fish, insects,
for a game (combined) golden tools, player statues and
Released in Sep 2015, the mega- upgrades to Tom Nook’s store,
detailed Train Simulator 2016: Steam paying off debts and completing
Edition (Dovetail Games) offered the museum’s catalogue.
247 DLC releases available for
purchase through the Steam store as
Most critically
of 7 Jan 2016. On that date, snapping
acclaimed
up every one would set back the
virtual rail enthusiast £3,348 ($4,904). virtual pet
Nintendo’s pet
sim Nintendogs:
Lab & Friends
was released
Fastest time to make in 2005 for the
10 deliveries in Euro DS. Lapped up
Truck Simulator 2 by gamers, it
Playing version 1.18B
of SCS Software’s
2013 “delivery” sim,
77 amassed a
top-dog score
of 85.05% from
Norwegian gamer 76 reviews on
“walland” completed GameRankings.
10 deliveries in his trusty
four-wheeler in 6 min
28.85 sec on 9 Nov 2015,
before uploading his
effort to Speedrun.com. Different cities
featured in
runaway sim
smash Euro Truck
Simulator 2 .

with 43,248,9
69
subscribers
11 apr 2016, “p as of
ewdiepie”
(swe) has th
Most liked game video on YouTube subscribers e most
check out hi on youtube.
“FUNNY MONTAGE.. #2” by social media s amusing in
game commen -play
star “PewDiePie” (SWE, inset top left) had especially hi taries,
been given the thumbs-up 1,017,942 times s favourite
sim games.
as of 23 Mar 2015. The video features comic
scenes, many modded, from games such as
Farming Simulator 2013 (Focus, above) and
Goat Simulator (Coffee Stain Studios, 2014).
“Nessie Lochlan” in the Sims 3 Store.
There is also a pre-made Sim named
monster appears in the lake on the
neighbourhood screen and also in
star in The Sims – the Loch Ness

Downtown and Vacation Island.

You can see a surprising guest

Fastest collection of all trophies

in “Goatville” in Goat Simulator
Without the aid of “mutators” –
crafty mods to make your goat
more powerful – “DerToSt”
(DEU) collected all 30 trophies
in 4 min 20 sec on 21 Jan 2016.
The fastest collection of
all trophies in “Goat City
Bay” in Goat Simulator is
6 min 28 sec, by “Riekelt”
(NLD) on 10 Feb 2016.
FACT!
goat
goat simulator Most expansion packs for a videogame series
The Sims is renowned for its all-encompassing perspective on contemporary
life, and the expansion packs provide a further wealth of new settings,
themes, pets, fashion styles, objects, places to go and character traits.
By Feb 2016, there had been 54 expansions released across five games.

First god simulation Smallest development team

Peter Molyneux (UK) is an icon in to win a simulation BAFTA
the sim genre. In 1989, his game Developed by a team of one
Butting, licking Populous created a new sub- – Lucas Pope (USA) – Papers,
Special moves
Mayhem genre of sims by inviting gamers Please follows an immigration
Likes
to play as powerful deities. officer at a border checkpoint
Getting hit by cars
Dislikes In 2012, Molyneux made in the fictional country of
Demon Goat further headlines with Arstotzka. It won the
Alter ego
Jetpack his experimental BAFTA in the
Favourite mod
smartphone game “Strategy and
Curiosity – What’s Simulation”
Inside the Cube? This category
online title offered one in 2014.
gamer the chance to
buy a virtual diamond
chisel for around
$75,000 (£47,000)
in real money
– the most
expensive
in-game
purchase.

Best-selling PC game series

Since the release of life-sim sandbox

The Sims (Maxis) in 2000, the series has
grown into a global phenomenon. Previous
estimates of PC series sales have topped
50 million copies, but as of 22 Feb 2016
VGChartz placed total sales at 36.72 million.
The Sims 2 (2004) is the most critically
acclaimed life-sim game, with a 90.76%
GameRankings score as of the same date.

169
SIMS & STRATEGY

MANAGEMENT SIMS
Build your own sprawling city from the ground up. Guide a

20,297,542 people logged in to play

On 28 Feb 2011, a total of

Zynga’s CityVille (2010) – the most

people playing a city simulator in 24 hr.
10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
well liked fo
species through evolution, or just make a really, really slow “let’s build r his
m
roller-coaster. Management sims place you firmly in control. videos, “yog inecraft ”
sc
also a dab ha ast sjin” is
jails. his vide nd at running
os for the in
hit prison ar di
chitect prov e
hours of tips ide
(and laughs
for the clin )
k.

Most prolific management-sim

developer on mobile devices
Management sims were once the
preserve of PCs, but an increasing
Longest roller-coaster built number of titles are now
in RollerCoaster Tycoon appearing on touchscreen-
Chris Sawyer’s 1999 theme-park management sim equipped devices. Japanese
invites gamers to build the rides of their dreams, company Kairosoft had
but the anonymous creator of “Kairos – The Slow” released 44 management
produced a nightmare instead. Footage first appearing sims on mobiles as of
on imageboard 8chan showed a train crawling around 12 Jan 2016, with titles
an epic track on a journey calculated to last 210 real- including Game Dev Story
life days. That equates to over 3,000 in-game years. and Dungeon Village. Thirty had

tried to build a dominant ant colony.

swapping regurgitated food as they
One of sim guru Will Wright’s more
unusual titles, SimAnt (Maxis, 1991)
been translated into English.
had players fighting caterpillars,
Most viewed fan dodging human footsteps and First city-building videogame
film based on a The first construction and
city-building game management simulation
Uploaded to YouTube is generally considered to
on 29 Oct 2012 by be Utopia, released on the
“joueurdugrenier”, “Papy Intellivision in 1981. Players
Grenier - SIM CITY” had are responsible for improving
amassed 5,180,969 views on their own island by positioning
Best-selling political sim YouTube as of 21 Mar 2016. buildings, feeding citizens
The leader in an under- A French-language satire and managing the economy.
represented gaming based around Maxis’s classic
genre, government sim management Most evolutionary periods
Democracy 3 (Positech game FACT! in a management-sim game
Games, 2013) had sold SimCity, Designed by sim-game legend
473,539 copies as of 18 Apr it starred Will Wright, Spore (EA, 2008)
2016, with the vast bulk of Dorian challenges players to control
its sales being recorded Chandelier the development of a species
through Steam. The game and Yann through four evolutionary
challenges players to boldly Chauvière.
stages: microscopic organism,
fill the boots of a country’s
president or prime minister. early life form, simple planet-
bound tribe and all-conquering
intergalactic civilization.

Smallest functioning prison in Prison Architect

On 2 Dec 2015, Joshua Roberts uploaded a design of a prison
in Introversion Software’s 2015 penal-management game that
8,146 First pop star in a sim game
Best known for 1999 single
“Mambo No. 5”, Lou Bega (DEU)
measured just 6 m x 6 m (19 ft 8 in x 19 ft 8 in). The design
appears as a dictator persona in
worked to rules stipulating that it contain one cell, a kitchen,
island sim Tropico (PopTop, 2001).
canteen, shower and yard, with utilities
and delivery spaces outside of the grid.
Residents of
the Hamster Largest neural network
Tenement, the in a videogame
Democracy 3 uses an artificial
largest-capacity
neural network (ANN) capable of
building in simulating 4,975 neurons. ANNs
SimCity 4. are modelled on the brains of
animals in order to help machines
to learn. In the game, policies,
voters and player decisions are
all represened by neurons.
 Best-selling city-building
videogame series
With sales of over 18 million units as
of 21 Mar 2016, Maxis’s SimCity series
has challenged countless gamers to
protect their precious metropolises from
nuclear meltdowns, earthquakes and the
occasional rampaging monster. Its first
title appeared on the PC in Feb 1989,
and with SimCity arriving 24 years
later in Mar 2013, it is also the longest-
running management-sim series.

Largest SimCity 4 city region

On 27 Aug 2014, YouTube user Peter Ritchie uploaded a monstrous mega-
region consisting of 81 large city tiles. Its 26,541 km (16,491 mi) of paved
roads, 8,626 km (5,359 mi) of subway lines, 324 hydrogen power plants
and over 2,000 schools supported a population of 107,658,254 residents.

171
SIMS & STRATEGY

STRATEGY GAMES
Whether turn-based or real-time, tactical titles require
careful planning, watchful cunning, and plenty of skill and
dedication if you are to emerge victorious.

Greatest aggregate time playing Civilization II

In Jun 2012, “Lycerius”, aka James Moore (USA),
revealed details of “The Eternal War”, an epic
game of Civilization II (MicroProse, 1996) that he
had been playing since 2002. In a Reddit update
on 11 Jun 2013, more than 11 years after he had begun
playing, Lycerius had reached the in-game year of AD 4200,
and a “nightmare world of suffering and devastation”.

Fastest completion of
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
On 27 Feb 2015, Canada’s “Gippy” Highest-earning
sped through the “Campaign” Age of Empires II player
mode on the classic Nintendo Despite the demise of its
DS strategy title Advance Wars: original developer, the
Days of Ruin (Intelligent Systems, historical RTS series still enjoys
2008) in just 57 min 2 sec, as some popularity on the eSports
verified by Speedrun.com. scene. As of 23 Mar 2016, Kang
“iamgrunt” Byung Geon (KOR)
Most critically acclaimed had earned $78,666 (£54,296)
turn-based strategy game playing Age of Empires II:
A GameRankings score of 93.36% The Age of Kings (Microsoft,
put Sid Meier’s Civilization IV 1999), according to figures
(2K Games, 2005) ahead of by eSportsearnings.com.
Galactic Civilizations II: Dark
Avatar (Stardock, 2007), with
92.61%, as of 22 Mar 2016. In
third place with 92.52% was Fire
Emblem: Awakening (Nintendo,
2012) for the 3DS, the most
critically acclaimed hand-held
turn-based strategy game.

The forces of the undead take on unusual Number of iPads Clash of Clans legend Jorge Yao,
FACT!

forms in madcap tower defence Plants vs.

aka George Yao (USA), played simultaneously while
Zombies (PopCap, 2009). The haunted
hordes include Snorkel Zombie, Pogo
Zombie, Dolphin Rider Zombie and –
of course – the Zombie Bobsled Team.
5 he was the world’s No. 1. He even wrapped them in
plastic bags so that he could play in the shower!

Most watched videogame TV commercial

Featuring a chilling “AngryNeeson52”, aka
Hollywood actor Liam Neeson, “Clash of Clans:
Revenge (Official Super Bowl TV Commercial)”
had been viewed 108,095,225 times on
YouTube by 22 Mar 2016. The advert was
originally shown on 1 Feb 2015 during half-time
of Super Bowl XLIX, and
reputedly cost $9 m
Most revenue by a mobile game (current) (£5.9 m) to air.
According to SuperData, the strategic
war title Clash of Clans (Supercell, 2012)
generated revenue of $1,345,114,025
(£938,964,835) in 2015, more than
any other game for the calendar year.
Clash of Clans is a freemium title,
meaning that it is free2play, but players
can purchase virtual in-game items or
features by making microtransactions.

172
Most money raised from
a “Humble Bundle”
Humble Bundles are curated
collections of PC games sold
on a pay-what-you-want basis
over a limited time period. The
proceeds are split between
charities and designers. On
14–28 Aug 2013, EA’s “Humble
Origin Bundle”, containing
strategy titles Populous (Bullfrog,
1989) and Command & Conquer:
Red Alert 3 – Uprising (EA LA,
2009), sold 2.1 million copies and
raised over $10.5 m (£6.75 m).

Most followed battle in a strategy game

In Aug 2015, Australian Redditor “TPangolin”,

aka Jett, began simulating a titanic Civilization V
(2K Games, 2010) clash he dubbed “Battle Royale
Mk. II”. The game featured a possible maximum of
62 rival civilizations, 61 of which were AI-controlled.
TPangolin’s “Battle Royale” Subreddit page was
still going strong in Mar 2016, by which point it
had received a staggering 828,081 views. Monthly
unique views peaked at 84,730.

“Flavours” used by Civilization V to determine the 10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

personalities of its AI-controlled leaders and their
26
Released in 2011, Sega’s ultra-detailed
actions. These flavours range from “expansion” Total War: Shogun 2 featured 80 types
of tree – the most species of tree
and “defence” to “religion” and “happiness”. in a strategy game.

Fastest completion of
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
The transatlantic partnership of “Papers”
(USA) and “Twyn” (FRA) successfully
headed off the alien invasion depicted
in the turn-based campaign
of Firaxis Games’ XCOM:
Enemy Unknown (2012)
in a segmented run
Largest-scaled LEGO® model completed on
based on a videogame map 28 Dec 2014. The
A LEGO diorama inspired by maps from Blizzard’s super-fast victory
RTS StarCraft games measured 4.267 m x 0.762 m (14 ft x took just 29 min
2 ft 6 in). It was built to a scale of 1:125, meaning a 1:1 map 19 sec, as verified
would have measured 51,000 m² (550,000 sq ft) in the by Speed
game. The diorama was developed over three years by eight Demos
LEGO enthusiasts: Bart De Dobbelaer (BEL), Cecilie Fritzvold Archive.
(NOR), Sean and Steph Mayo (both USA), and Simon Liu,
John Moffatt, Chris Perron and Tim Schwalfenberg (all CAN).
SIMS & STRATEGY

HEARTHSTONE Most Hearthstone

cards bought at once
In May 2015, Reddit user
Publisher: Blizzard Developer: Blizzard

According to a study in 2015 by PC Gamer,

a whopping 90% of pro gamers voted
for Dr Boom as the most popular
10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

Legendary card in Hearthstone.
Debut: 2014 Series sales: N/A (free2play) “MattCauthron” purchased over
Games: 1 Rivals: Elder Scrolls: Legends 2,800 packs of cards in a 48-hr
spending spree. He splashed out
$3,400 (£2,234) in the process.
Most pro wins per class “I knew I would have to buy a
in Hearthstone sizeable amount of packs to get
“ThijsNL” (NLD, all the gold cards I wanted,” he
right) had won told PC Gamer. He ended up
90 pro Hearthstone: destroying much of his collection
Heroes of Warcraft matches – more than 240,000 cards – in
with the Druid class as of 18 Mar return for Arcane Dust, which
2016. According to the eSports site players use for crafting cards.
GosuGamers, he had also used the
Druid class for 152 matches – the most
Most popular player-made
games played per class in Hearthstone.
Hearthstone deck
“Legend of the Warsong
Most Twitch followers for Commander” by
a Hearthstone player “HorLukRos” had
One of the most recognizable names in 3,480 community
Hearthstone, pro gamer Jeffrey “Trump” endorsements on
Shih (USA) had 691,465 followers of his Hearthpwn.com, as
“TrumpSC” Twitch channel as of 18 Mar of 18 Mar 2016.
2016. It was the 30th most followed channel
overall. Trump uses his videos to deal out Most money won in a
advice for players of all skill levels. Hearthstone tournament
On 17 Dec 2015, “DawN”
(KOR) won the World Cyber
Arena 2015, taking home
Strongest class in Hearthstone
(“Arena” mode)
Based on Hearthstats.net data,
600 CN¥700,000 (£71,975). He
beat James “Firebat” Kostesich
in the final, utilizing Warlock,
Rogue is the safest class to wield Druid, Warrior and Paladin decks.
in Hearthstone’s “Arena” mode.
As of 21 Mar 2016, it enjoyed Grams of gold in
a 60.8% win rate. Rogues China’s Gold Series
are championed as stealthy,
thrall
trophy, presented
back-stabbing assassins, skilled in to the winners of hearthstone
brewing poisons. Pictured left is the
its Hearthstone
Rogue Valeera Sanguinar.
event in 2015.

Hearthstone world rankings

defeating “nugoory” in the final
On 4 Jul 2015, “Trump” won his

widely hailed as Hearthstone’s

first Hearthstone tournament,

Name Nationality Win rate Rating

most famous player, yet had
of HTC Recharged. Trump is

never won an event before.

ThijsNL (Thijs Molendijk) Netherlands 64% 1,327

Purple (Ryan Murphy-Root) Canada 64% 1,291
Ostkaka (Sebastian Engwall) Sweden 53% 1,245 Shaman
Class
SuperJJ (Jan Janssen) Germany 61% 1,236 Hero power 1 Summoning a totem
Lifecoach (Adrian Koy) Germany 57% 1,232 Lightning Jolt
Hero power 2
AKAWonder (Esteban Serrano) Spain 57% 1,222 s will destroy you!”
Says “The element
hoej (Frederik Nielsen) Denmark 62% 1,212 Warcraft III
Originally from
Dog (David Caero) USA 56% 1,208
Kolento (Aleksandr Malsh) Ukraine 58% 1,200
Orange (Jon Westberg) Sweden
Source: GosuGamers. All figures accurate as of 3 Apr 2016.
54% 1,191
FACT! Most cards drawn
in a Hearthstone turn
On 8 Apr 2015, “Mamytwink”
(FRA, left) – the “expert of
Longest single Hearthstone turn useless Hearthstone challenges”
On 25 Mar 2015, Twitcher Florian “Mamytwink” Henn – drew 14,745 cards. In the
(FRA) took 1 day 21 hr 18 min to complete a single same move, he also took
Hearthstone turn. The average turn takes around 108,714,885 points of
1 min 30 sec. However, Mamytwink exploited a fatigue – the most fatigue
loophole that enabled him to fire 28,752 arcane damage in a Hearthstone
missiles instead of the usual three, triggering
turn. TouchArcade hailed
an epic animation lasting nearly two days!
him as a “mad genius”.

174
Most viewed Hearthstone stream
With its simple-yet-intense card battles, Hearthstone has become a gripping
spectator eSport. This was evidenced in Sep 2015 when a stream of the Archon
Team League Championships peaked with 140,730 concurrent viewers – more
than any other Hearthstone tournament. Cloud9 (USA) emerged victorious.

having discov
ered
that hearth
stone ’s
effects soun
ded like
percussion,
yo
“jimandnatha utube duo
nd
used them to othegames”
make a song
as of 24 mar !
your nature 2016, “raise
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Longest pro win

streak in Hearthstone
On 13 Nov 2015, Germany’s “SuperJJ”
beat “ThijsNL” at the SeatStory Cup IV,
kickstarting an 18-match win streak
in Hearthstone tournaments. The run
lasted until 27 Nov 2015, when he lost
to “Purple” at DreamHack Winter.
SuperJJ (inset) plays for the eSports
team compLexity, and as of 3 Apr 2016
GosuGamers ranked him as the fourth
best Hearthstone player in the world.

175
FEATURE

MODS garry’s mod

is an enormou
popular sa
game that be ndbox
sly

gan life as
Over the years, gamers have become more skilled in a half-life 2
mastering the tools of digital creation. Meanwhile, game mod. youtub
“vanossgam er
ing” is a fan
studios willingly allowed access to the engines that power garry’s mod – hi
videos starri s
their creations. The result has been a significant trend for toy story an ng
d matrix
game modification – or, as it’s more commonly known, characters
have
“modding”. From alterations to existing games, to entire 20 million vi over
ews
new entities built from the blocks of distinguished releases each.
such as Doom and Warcraft III, we celebrate some of the
most impressive mods created in recent years.

Black Mesa
Modded from: Half-Life 2
Creators: Crowbar Collective
Developed across eight years by some 40 fans and
released on Steam in May 2015, Black Mesa is a full
remake of Valve’s seminal FPS Half-Life. The mod
was created using Valve’s Source engine, which was
first used to power Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike:
Source in 2004. Despite the remake’s superior
visuals, its gameplay and story remains faithful to
the original 1998 game, evoking identical emotions.
Eurogamer Spain hailed it “an excellent work”.

Ancients
Defense of the Modded from: Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Creators: Steve Feak
There might not be any more important mod than
Defense of the Ancients (DotA). Its initial creation
in 2003 spawned the massively online battle arena
(MOBA) genre, and without it there would likely be
no Dota 2 or League of Legends. DotA is primarily
a mod of Warcraft III, although it actually bases its
terrain on the Aeon of Strife map from StarCraft. Its
success led to its creator, Steve Feak, being hired
by Riot Games to help create League of Legends.

DayZ Modded from: ARMA II

Creators: Dean “Rocket” Hall
In 2012, New Zealander Dean Hall somehow took
a military simulator that prides itself on accuracy
and authenticity and turned it into a celebrated
zombie survival game. The core appeal of DayZ is
that nothing in it is certain, with real players vying
for limited resources in a world overrun by the
living dead. Do you cooperate with others, or do
you stab them in the back? The choice is yours...

Brutal Doom Modded from: Doom

Creators: Sergeant_Mark_IV
As its name suggests, Brutal Doom (2010) is a
mod at the extreme end of the scale. Compatible
with Doom, Doom II, The Ultimate Doom and
Final Doom, it ups the levels of blood in the
series and makes the enemies faster and less
predictable. As a result, it’s not a mod you should
install if you’re not already a skilled player. John
Romero, one of the creators of the original Doom,
praised the mod for its humour and its dedication
to exaggerating everything it possibly could.

176
 nerations
Super Mario Ge Modded from: Sonic Generations
Creators: Daku Neko
The rivalry between Mario and Sonic has been
the fiercest in gaming history. So, when modder
Daku Neko inserted Mario characters into a
Sonic game in 2015, the world took notice. Sonic
Generation’s (2011) original platforming action
remains intact, only this time you’re sprinting and
rolling through levels at a lightning pace as the
Italian plumber rather than the blue hedgehog.
Playing as Mario in a Sonic framework certainly
results in a fun, albeit slightly odd, novelty factor.

Modded from: Doom 3

The Dark Mod
Creators: Team Dark Mod
Sometimes fans can’t wait for the next iteration
of a gaming series – so they make their own
sequel instead. That’s what happened with The
Dark Mod, a full game inspired by the stealth-
adventure franchise Thief. Silence and shadows
are your best friends here, with the avoidance of
combat the best means to acquiring valuables.
The Dark Mod’s original 2009 release required
Doom 3 to be installed on your PC, but versions
since 2013 have removed that condition.

’s Edge
Nehrim: At Fate Modded from: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Creators: SureAI
Created in 2010 by a German team dedicated
to making mods for the Fallout and The Elder
Scrolls franchises, Nehrim: At Fate’s Edge is one
of the most exhaustive modding projects ever
undertaken. It’s been dubbed a “total conversion
mod”, meaning that much of the original Oblivion
content has been replaced with new elements.
Magic and travel mechanics have been reworked,
the game has its own full campaign narrative, and
it features entirely new buildings and towns. Pro
actors were even hired to voice new characters.

Modded from: Minecraft

JourneyMap Creators: Techbrew
There are many options for modding Minecraft,
but few of them are as brilliantly useful – and as
understated – as JourneyMap. Simple in concept,
the mod offers a map that updates itself in real
time as you explore the gaming world. It stops
gamers from getting lost in newly charted
regions, while also providing advance warning of
nearby players and pets by way of a mini-map.
JourneyMap can also reveal everything around
you – not advisable if you love to explore, but
helpful if you’re seeking specific terrain types.

177
SPORTS
Whether you’re managing on the sidelines or taking to the
field, sports videogames summon the passion and intensity
that all true fans understand – whichever sport they follow.

178
 Longest game of
Football Manager
From early 2013 to Dec 2014, Liverpool
FC fan Darren Bland (UK) pursued a
single career in Football Manager 2010
on PC for 154 seasons. He managed just
one team throughout – Fiorentina (ITA)
– winning 151 league championships and
securing “legendary” status.
His marathon game was only
brought to an end when a
liquid spillage damaged
his laptop. Incredibly, the
in-game year was 2163
and his in-game manager
would now have been
theoretically more
than 180 years old.

179
SPORTS

SOCCER Most regional competitions in a

sports videogame tournament
Konami’s 2016 PES League
Few sports have translated to videogames as beautifully as the

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S

World Cup Brazil, on 28 May 2014.

A whopping 321 goals secured Patrick
Hadler (DEU) the highest margin of
victory (vs computer) on 2014 FIFA
“beautiful game” itself. Hit series such as FIFA, PES and Kick eSports competition featured
Off inspire heated rivalries both on and off the virtual pitch. qualifying leagues divided into
a globe-spanning 28 regions,
including Germany, Israel,
Most subscribers for a FIFA YouTuber India and Peru. Winners
of each league would
UK entertainer “KSI”, aka Olajide “JJ”
Olatunji, had 12,001,578 subscribers win a place at the
to his “KSI” YouTube channel, world final, to be
as of 19 Feb 2016. Revered for staged at the San
his FIFA game videos, Olatunji Siro stadium – home
also once held the record for the to Italian soccer
highest margin of victory against giants AC Milan and
a computer on FIFA 13, with 190. Internazionale – on
28 May 2016.

Strongest player
in the FIFA series
AFC Wimbledon striker
9,132,839
Adebayo “The Beast”
Akinfenwa (UK) has been the
strongest player in four separate
FIFA games, accruing an average Number of
strength rating of 97.6. In FIFA 16 matches played
he earned a mighty 98 – two more
on the mobile
than Christopher Samba (COG).
soccer-management
sim Top Eleven
(Nordeus) on just
Q&A: Dino Dini, creator of the Kick Off series
one day in 2015.
Why is the original Kick of doing a football
Off still so popular after game with cars,
25 years? so now I’m kicking
It’s a skill-based game. myself! But if you’re going
When you score, you get a to play football with cars,
real feeling of satisfaction. there will be a lot of skill
involved, and that’s the case
How did 2016’s Kick Off with Rocket League. If you
Revival come about? create a game with a lot of
I gave a talk at the Game depth, you get an intrinsic
Developers Conference in satisfaction from mastering
2013, which moved someone it. I think we’ve been losing
at Sony. They sent me a Vita that in videogaming.
dev kit, so I started working
on a new game. How good are you at Most successful PES
Kick Off ?
League player
Do you see many similarities Ha, not that good! When I
Since Konami’s official
between the gameplay in competed at the Kick Off
PES League became a
Rocket League and Kick Off ? World Cup two years ago,
A few years ago I had an idea I actually came last... global competition in 2011,
its most decorated gamer is
“VietKong90321”, aka Ettore
Longest-running soccer for 15 tournaments in total. “Ettorito” Giannuzzi (ITA). The
videogame tournament The most recent event was masterly player was the 2011
Since 2001, an international
Kick Off 2 World Cup has
been held in Europe every
hosted in Dublin, Ireland, on
7–8 Nov 2015 (below), with
more than 40 players signed
137 world champion and the 2014
UEFA Youth League champion.

year, making up to compete. Most Kick Off 2 World

Cup championships
The most playable
With four tournament victories
leagues in a to his name, Gianni Torchio (ITA)
sports videogame is the king of Kick Off 2 (Anco,
can be found in 1990). He also finished runner-up
Football Manager four times (including 2015, when
2016 (Sports he lost to the UK’s Andy G) and
Interactive, 2015). third twice – that’s 10 medals in all.
Smallest development team to
Highest-earning FIFA videogame player
win a sports videogame BAFTA EA’s FIFA is one of the most lucrative and eagerly contested series based
Winner of the 2013 sports on traditional sports on the eSports circuit. In 2013, Ivan “BorasLegend”
videogame BAFTA, the mobile Lapanje (SWE) pocketed $145,378 (£93,735) from winning three
RPG title New Star Soccer was tournaments in the FIFA series.
the work of a team of just one –
the UK’s Simon Read.

megan rapino
(below left e
) and
sydney lero
ux (below
right) were
among the
usa players
who visited
ea’s vancouve
r studio to
participate
in m
capture that otion
put
finishing touc the
hes
to fifa 16.

First FIFA soccer game

to feature female players
Despite the series debuting in 1993, FIFA 16
(EA, 2015) was the first to feature women’s
teams – in this case, 12 national sides.
International variants of the game also
boasted the first female soccer players on
a FIFA cover: Christine Sinclair (CAN), Alex
Morgan (USA) and Steph Catley (AUS).
The first soccer game to feature female
players was Mia Hamm 64 Soccer, released
for the N64 by SouthPeak in Nov 2000.

181
SPORTS

AMERICAN FOOTBALL
With a tactical mix of running and hard hitting, gridiron has

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
Patrick Scott Patterson (USA) achieved

by Twin Galaxies on 20 Jan 2010.

the highest margin of victory on Madden
NFL 10 – a whopping 56 points, as verified
been a smash with gamers. Madden may dominate the charts, First videogame to feature
but other series have thrown some serious weight, too. real NFL players and teams
NFL Football, released for the
NES in 1989, was intended to
Most critically acclaimed represent the 1988/89 NFL
American football videogame season and used teams and play
formations from the era.
Hailed for its fluid running game, Sega’s
NFL 2K1 (2000), released exclusively
for the Dreamcast, had scored an end- First Super Bowl correctly
zone-busting 94.50% at GameRankings predicted by the annual
as of 5 Apr 2016. Breathing down its EA Super Bowl simulation
neck was NCAA Football 2004 (EA, Since 2004, EA has tried to
2003), which boasted 93.27%. predict each year’s Super Bowl
result by simulating the match
through the latest Madden
videogame. Ahead of Super
Best-selling American Bowl XLIX on 1 Feb 2015, Madden
sports videogame NFL 15 correctly forecasted
Released in 2006, a 28–24 victory for the New
Madden NFL 07
28
England Patriots against the
(EA) featured new Seattle Seahawks.
rushing controls that
allowed players to refine Most prolific sports
their running game. As of videogame developer
29 Feb 2016, Madden NFL 07 Number of titles With 68 commercially released
had racked up Super Bowl- sports games developed since
winning sales of 10.02 million
in the Madden
NFL series as of 1988, Visual Concepts’ credits
across 10 different platforms. include work on the Madden NFL
1 Mar 2016 – the
series and the flagship 2K Sports
most games in an
brand, which includes baseball,
NFL videogame basketball and ice hockey titles.
franchise.
feature female fans in the stands.
Madden NFL 16 – women! It was
unfamiliar faces in the crowd in
Eagle-eyed gamers will notice

the first game in the series to

Longest fumble in a Madden videogame

On 13 Sep 2015, the Aimless Adventure Podcast published Most viewed American
a video showing a Madden NFL 16 fumble that lasted 9 min sports videogame video
20 sec. An apparent glitch meant that players from both the The NFL 15 musical promo
Arizona Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers were unable to “Madden NFL 15: Madden
pick up the ball, which finally rolled harmlessly out of play. Season” is a big-budget
production featuring
Hollywood actors Kevin
Hart and Dave Franco (both
Most votes for a
videogame cover
FACT! above). As of 29 Feb 2016, it
had earned 17,126,201 views
More than 40 million on YouTube.
people voted on who
should grace the front
of Madden NFL 25
(EA, 2013) – the series’
grand 25th anniversary
release. A total of
5 Most successful
Madden player
Three-time winner of the
60 players were in prestigious EA Sports Madden
the running, but it was Challenge, Eric “Problem” Wright
Number of players
former Detroit Lions (USA) earned his nickname
on each side in
running back Barry for the trouble he caused his
Sanders (USA, left) who Mattel’s 1979 opponents. Between 2006 and
came through, pipping Intellivision classic 2013, Eric won an unprecedented
2012 NFL MVP Adrian NFL Football – less 18 Madden gaming titles, with
Peterson of the Minnesota than half the size his total earnings amounting
Vikings to the honour. of a real team! to $380,000 (£273,787).
 Most Madden Bowl videogame tournament wins
Held every Super Bowl weekend, the Madden Bowl is a gaming tournament
featuring celebrities and athletes. Four US pro footballers have won it
john madden twice: Reggie Brooks (1995 and 1996), Jacquez Green (2001 and 2002),
madden nfl Dwight Freeney (2003 and 2004) and Alex Smith (2006 and 2007).

Commentary
Special skills
“Boom!”
Catchphrase (I)
“Whack!”
Catchphrase (II)
“Doink!”
Catchphrase (III)
Telestrator
Favourite tool

Longest-running sports
videogame series
Debuting with John Madden
Football for PC in 1988, EA’s
Madden NFL series had been going
strong for 27 years, as of Aug 2015’s
NFL 16. The series even survived
the departure of Madden himself
– the longest-serving videogame
commentator retired in 2008 after
13 years of providing commentary
to the games.

183
SPORTS

BASKETBALL First basketball videogame

The simply titled Basketball! was
built for the Magnavox Odyssey
From the tip-off to the final buzzer, basketball videogames

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
videogame is NBA Street Vol. 2 (EA,

of 90.16% as of 29 Feb 2016.
The most critically acclaimed basketball

2003), with a GameRankings rating

provide non-stop high-octane action, featuring some of and released in 1973, the year
the biggest names – and shoe sizes – in global sport. after the first-generation console
hit stores. Like many Magnavox
titles, Basketball! used plastic
overlays placed over the TV
screen to make the basic blocky
graphics more visually appealing.
It wasn’t until 1980 that
the first videogame with an
NBA licence appeared: NBA
Basketball, built for Mattel’s
second-gen Intellivision.

Largest basketball
Longest-running database in a videogame
basketball videogame series World Basketball Manager
The very first game in EA’s NBA Live series was NBA Live 95 (Icehole, 2014) boasted a
(1994), predating the first instalment in the NBA 2K series roster-busting 12,500 players,
– NBA 2K (Sega, 1999) – by five years. As of Mar 2016, there 1,400 managers,
had been 19 NBA Live titles, with the most recent being 194 nationalities,
2015’s NBA Live 16.
1,500 and 972 clubs and
national teams.

Most viewed
NBA 2K video Number of
on YouTube customizable
Featuring a
tattoo designs
soaring slam dunk
by Superman in NBA 2K16 ’s
and a stadium- “MyPlayer”
shaking alley-oop basketballer-
by the Incredible creation mode.
Hulk, “Avengers Vs
Justice League in NBA
Player | Tallest Player Ever!!”, posted

2K ! Age of Ultron HD”

havoc on court. It had been viewed
YouTube video “NBA 2K – 30 Foot

by “MkElite” (USA) had been viewed

3,959,671 times as of 11 Mar 2016.
giant basketball player causing

4,485,248 times as of 29 Feb 2016.
by “GamingWithOva”, shows a

Best-selling NBA 2K videogame

NBA 2K13 (2K Sports, 2012) summoned
an all-star name of its own to act as
executive producer: Jay Z. The multi-
million-selling rapper not only selected
songs for the soundtrack but also
appeared in an introduction to the
game. As of 29 Feb 2016, NBA 2K13
had shifted 6.08 million copies across
PS3, X360, Wii U, Wii and PC, according
to figures compiled by VGChartz.
FACT!

Fastest completion of
Looney Tunes B-Ball
104 Most videogame
cover appearances
by a basketball player
“His Airness” Michael Jordan
Sculptured Software’s 1995 SNES (USA) appeared on the
title was the first videogame to Victory margin by cover of seven different
place Bugs Bunny and co. on Daniel Lee Strickland titles. These include 1996
a basketball court, predating Perea (USA) on movie-tie-in Space Jam
Space Jam by a year. Playing as 16 Oct 2015 – the (Acclaim), the platformer
Taz and Marvin the Martian, Alfredo Salaza Michael Jordan: Chaos in the
biggest blowout
(CHL) completed the game’s tournament Windy City (EA, 1994) and
mode in 27 min 13 sec on 4 Apr 2015. on NBA Jam for Wii
three NBA 2K games.
(single player).
184
First Oscar-nominated film director to direct a sports videogame
The single-player story mode in NBA 2K16 (2015) entitled “Livin’ Da
Dream” follows the fictional player Frequency Vibrations. It was directed
by the then twice-Oscar-nominated director and diehard New York Knicks
fan Spike Lee (USA). Lee later won an Honorary Oscar in Nov 2015.

Best-selling basketball
videogame franchise
Since debuting on the Dreamcast in
1999, the sure-footed NBA 2K series
(Sega/2K Games) has dominated rivals
NBA Live and NCAA Basketball in the
charts. As of 17 Jan 2016, the series
had sold 52.1 million copies across
all iterations according to VGChartz.
Pictured left is James Harden of
the Houston Rockets, one of three
stars to grace the cover of the most
recent game, NBA 2K16.
SPORTS

EXTREME SPORTS ROUND-UP

From BMX to BASE jumping, snowboarding to surfing,

10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
Skater is 1,943,543 points, by Croatian
gamer Domagoj Broj. He set the record on
the Warehouse track on 9 Aug 2002.
The highest score on Tony Hawk’s Pro
extreme sports mean extreme gaming. One critical and
commercial hit dominates the genre: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.

Most critically acclaimed

sports videogame
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (Activision,
Fastest single-segment
2000) on the PlayStation had a
GameRankings score of 94.75% as of
completion of Mirror’s Edge
24 Feb 2016. Ironically, its most recent On 19 Jul 2013, Filip “Zubmit”
iteration, THPS 5 (2015), was the lowest- Sahlberg (SWE) finished
rated sports videogame with 32.96%, EA’s 2008 parkour-based
amid reviews citing technical issues. action-adventure game in
just 34 min 49 sec, as ratified
by Speed Demos Archive.
The game’s heroine Faith
Connors is shown above.
Highest career score
in OlliOlli (console)
Roll7’s skateboarder gained Most ported extreme
sports videogame
a cult fanbase following
its 2014 release. As of
2 Feb 2016, nobody
had scored better
250 Over the course of its 29-year
history, California Games
(Epyx, 1987) has appeared on
than “Strayphside”, 16 different gaming platforms.
who racked up Challenges The formats are: Apple II,
6,445,943 points on C64, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST,
the Neon City 5 Pro
gamers need
to complete in Amiga, Spectrum, Apple IIGS,
level of the Xbox One Atari 2600, MSX, NES, Sega
version of the game. Amateur and Pro
Mega Drive, Sega Master System,
Careers before they
DOS, Atari Lynx, mobile and Wii
can unlock “Rad” virtual console. Further plans to
mode on OlliOlli 2. port for consoles such as the DS,
Most videogames endorsed by an extreme sports athlete PS2 and PSP were cancelled.
Name Sport Games As seen in…
EA’s 2012 snowboarding sequel SSX

Fastest “gold” completion

data from NASA satellites that was

Tony Hawk (USA) Skateboarding 19 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2

featured 28 real-world mountains

of Trials Fusion
manipulated using 3D software.
generated using topographical

Shaun White (USA) Snowboarding 5 Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip

The fifth game in RedLynx’s
Dave Mirra (USA) BMX 4 Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2
smash-hit platform racing series,
Greg Hastings (USA) Paintballing 3 Greg Hastings Paintball 2
Trials Fusion (2014) challenged
Mat Hoffman (USA) BMX 2 Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX 2 players to navigate a series of
Bode Miller (USA) Skiing 2 Bode Miller Alpine Skiing obstacles and complete the trials
Shaun Murray (USA) Wakeboarding 1 Wakeboarding Unleashed ft. Shaun Murray on a motorcycle, with gameplay
Shaun Palmer (USA) Snowboarding 1 Shaun Palmer’s Pro Snowboarder modelled on actual physics.
Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer
“TheBlazeJp” (UK) achieved
Kelly Slater (USA) Surfing 1
a gold medal on every track in a
Sunny Garcia (USA) Surfing 1 Sunny Garcia Surfing
time of just 58 min 51 sec. The run
All figures accurate as of 24 Feb 2016
was achieved on the PC version
and uploaded to Speedrun.com
FACT! on 11 Jun 2014.

Highest “Spot” score

in OlliOlli (console)
A single combo score is

50 known as a Spot on Roll7’s

2014 skateboarder. As of
23 Feb 2016, “shine3p” had
recorded a leaderboard-topping
Longest “word” in the title of a Spot score of 7,692,221, achieved
commercially released videogame Songs on the
on the Neon City Spot 1 Pro level
The opening “word” in the soundtrack to
of the PS4 version.
offbeat futuristic BASE jumping simulation snowboarder SSX, The highest “Spot” score in
AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard featuring a diverse OlliOlli 2 (console) is 4,352,211,
for Gravity (Dejobaan Games, 2009) and its two sequels is range of artists pulled off by the aptly named
28 characters long, including exclamation marks. No wonder from DJ Shadow “RaymondTerrific” on the Curse
the games’ titles are often abbreviated to AaAaAA!!! to The Hives. of the Aztec Amateur 4 level.

186
 Best-selling extreme sports game series
With worldwide sales of 33.8 million as of 24 Feb 2016, according to
VGChartz, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater is streets ahead of the competition.
To put it into perspective, EA’s highly successful SSX snowboarding
series could muster sales of only 10.14 million by the same date.

Most videogames endorsed

by a professional sports athlete
As of 24 Feb 2016, skateboarder Tony
Hawk (USA, photo shown inset) had
endorsed a total of 19 games for his Pro
Skater series, published by Activision.
The figure included spin-offs, remakes
and reimagined ports. This narrowly
beat golfer Tiger Woods (USA), who
had endorsed 18 PGA Tour titles for EA.
Although NFL commentator John
Madden endorsed more titles, he
never played a professional
officer dick game of American football.
ton y hawk’s pro skater

Richard Envee
Name
ume the Position
Special trick (I) Ass
Neckbreak Grind
Special trick (II)
Yeehaw Front Flip
Special trick (III)
MTX Mototrax
Notable cameo

187
SPORTS

SPORTS ROUND-UP
Whether you’re smashing balls across a tennis court, blitzing
a puny elf catcher, or taking to the soccer field inside a car, First 3D sports videogame
there is plenty to play for in the world of sports videogames. A launch title for Nintendo’s
Virtual Boy console on 21 Jul
Best-selling ice hockey First videogame 1995, the 3D game Mario’s Tennis
videogame Developed by the US physicist was the first time that the famous
Ice hockey has been a huge hit William Higinbotham, Tennis plumber and his pals took to a
with gamers. As of 22 Apr 2016, for Two is often regarded as the tennis court. Although the 3D was
Nintendo’s 28-year-old NES game first videogame. It simulated considered convincing, it was the
Ice Hockey (1988) boasted sales a game of tennis or ping pong fun gameplay that led to sequels
of 2.42 million – more than any on an oscilloscope, and was on later consoles.
licenced NHL game. unveiled at the Brookhaven
National Laboratory in New Most critically acclaimed
York City, USA, on 18 Oct tennis videogame
1958. Inevitably, it was Virtua Tennis (Sega, 2000) on the
also the first tennis Dreamcast has a GameRankings
videogame, predating score of 91.37%,
the Magnavox Odyssey’s based on 33
Tennis by 14 years. reviews.

The “Ice cream! Ice cream!” shout

FACT!

in Speedball 2 is one of gaming’s Versions of Nintendo’s horse-racing

22
best-loved sound effects. According to
Eurogamer, when one of the developers videogame series Derby Stallion
first heard it, he cried: “Wow, that’s released between 1991 and 2014.
incredible. That’s going to make it fly!”

Best-selling game for a fictitious sport

Based on Games Workshop’s tabletop game,
Cyanide’s Blood Bowl (2009) had sold 240,000
physical copies as of 21 Apr 2016, according to
VGChartz. The turn-based game features skaven and
lizardmen (among other odd races)
trying to score touchdowns
while causing as much
injury to opponents as
possible. An improved
sequel, Blood Bowl 2 Most ported sports videogame
(left), was Going neck-and-neck with the extreme sports classic
released California Games (Epyx, 1987), The Bitmap Brothers’
in 2015. Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe has been ported and
remade for 16 different platforms since its acclaimed
1990 debut. The futuristic sport combines elements
of handball and ice hockey with lashings of cartoon
violence. Its most recent variant was Speedball 2 HD,
programmed by Jon Hare (UK) for the PC in 2013.
 Most game BAFTAs won by a sports videogame
Psyonix’s vehicular soccer blast Rocket League scooped
three awards at the 12th British Academy Games Awards on
7 Apr 2016, in the Multiplayer, Family and Sport categories.
It was the night’s joint biggest winner, with Her Story and
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture also bagging three gongs.

First motion-sensing
multi-sports console
Beating the Wii to the punch,
the SSD Company launched
the first known motion-sensing
home workout in the form of
the XaviXPORT. The innovative
console was launched in the USA
in Aug 2004, with three titles
initially available: XaviX Tennis,
XaviX Bowling and XaviX Baseball.

trollslayer
blood bowl 2

Most goals scored in Rocket

League (team of three)
Playing in front of a packed-out crowd at
the Insomnia festival in Birmingham, UK,
on 12 Dec 2015, “DanTDM”, James Hayes
and Martyn Littlewood (all UK) scored
Dwarf
Race 41 goals against the computer. Minecraft
nts YouTuber DanTDM proved to be the
Strengths Clobbering oppone
Running team’s hotshot, rattling the net around
Weaknesses 30 times. A huge indie smash from 2015,
Special skills Thick Skull, Frenzy Psyonix’s Rocket League takes the basic
Dwarf Giants rules of soccer, but swaps out human
Famous teams
players for futuristic cars.

Gold coins it costs to hire ogre star player Morg ’n’ 10 YEARS OF GAMER’S
Wii Sports (2006) is the best-selling videogame, with
430,000 Thorg in Blood Bowl 2 . The huge goblin-squasher 82.71 million copies sold as of 22 Apr 2016. The five-
is one of the sport’s toughest players. game sports compendium was typically bundled with
the Wii console, which explains the large sales.

First hurling videogame First roller derby videogame

It took the now-defunct Nichibutsu’s 1984 arcade title Roller Jammer
Australian developer featured a solo skater fighting rivals as they
IR Gurus Interactive to raced around an outdoor track. However, the first
introduce the Gaelic team game to depict a true team-sport roller derby is
sport of hurling to gamers. Frozen Codebase’s Jam City Rollergirls (pictured).
Released for PS2 in 2007, Released in the wake of the sport’s reinvention in
Gaelic Games Hurling the early 2000s, the 2011 Wii exclusive is licensed
2007 features a “season” by the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association
mode based on Ireland’s (WFTDA), with
National Hurling League. teams including
Similar in name but the Dairyland
completely different in nature, Dolls and
curling has players sliding stones Rat City
across an icy playing field. Rollergirls.
The first dedicated curling
videogame was Nathan
Sorenson’s Take-Out Weight
Curling, released in 2002.
FEATURE

MACHINIMA FILMS machinima is

Machinima is the art of making animated narrative films from name of a po also the
computer graphics, most commonly using the engines found pular games
website, whi
in videogames. Some of the earliest machinima videos were ch enables
gamers to sh
ow
created by editing the gameplay demos in id Software’s home-made co case their
nt
1996 FPS Quake, but in recent years new tools such as machinima (n ent such as
aturally). th
Valve’s Source Filmmaker, Bungie’s Halo Forge (first found site has a ta e
lent
in Halo 3) and GTA V ’s Rockstar Editor have made machinima 30,000 progra pool of
production more accessible. Usually, the most watched mmers.
machinima videos come from the most popular games.

The first video editor

mode in a game is
The first machinima the “Editing Room”
is Diary of a Camper, 1992 in Stunt Island (The
which is made by Assembly Line).
United Ranger Films Promoted as “The
using Quake. It is 1996 Stunt Flying and
Filming Simulation”
released in Oct 1996
and tells the story of game, it features a
marines fighting a lone range of customizable
sniper, who turns out film sets.
to be Quake co-creator
John Romero.
Edited together from
the cutscenes in 1998
With a run time platformer Oddworld:
of 130 min, Devil’s Abe’s Exoddus, Abe’s
Covenant by Clan Exoddus: The Movie
Phantasm is the 1998 is the first cutscene
first feature-length movie. The 14-min
machinima. It uses 35-sec short is
the Quake engine reportedly submitted
and its makers are for consideration at
nominated at the the 1999 Oscars!
Quake Movie Oscars
for Best Movie Clan.
The longest
machinima is The Seal
of Nehahra (Mindcrime
First airing on G4 TV Productions), which
in 2002, Portal
becomes the first
2000 runs for 235 min.
It is made using a
TV series to use modified version of
machinima. It is a Quake and serves
comedy sketch show 2002 as the backstory to
in which the host, a fan-made game
Cybernaut Dave, called Nehahra.
aka Dave Meinstein,
explores the virtual
worlds of MMOs.
The first machinima
music video to air
on MTV is made by
There are many books Tommy Pallotta (USA)
written on machinima, and is created for the
ranging from 2003 song “In the Waiting
academic studies Line” by UK electro
to how-to guides. duo Zero 7. It is built
The first published using the id Tech 3
book on machinima 2004 engine from Quake III
is 3D Game-Based Arena (1999).
Filmmaking: The Art
of Machinima by the
director Paul Marino. The 2006 South Park
episode “Make Love,
Not Warcraft” features
As of 8 Apr 2016, machinima scenes
made using World
YouTuber and GTA V
player “Merfish”, aka
2007 of Warcraft. In 2007
Comrade Tripp (USA), it becomes the first
is the most prolific machinima to win an
maker of Rockstar 2016 Emmy, awarded for
Editor videos. Of his Outstanding Animated
123 published videos, Program. In it, the
many are parodies show’s characters
of TV shows, such as exact revenge on a
Teletubbies (left). rude Warcraft player.

190
 CHINIMA
TOP 10 MOST WATCHED MA
YouTube is awash with budding film-makers who are using the engines of
familiar videogames to make their own pixellated productions. From GTA
to Minecraft, from Warcraft to Five Nights at Freddy’s, machinima videos
are among the most watched gaming videos on the web...
(All data below from YouTube; correct as of 21 Feb 2016.)

2
1. Minecraft
• “Revenge” - A Minecraft
Original Music Video”
• CaptainSparklez, 2011
• 160,312,315 views
2. Grand Theft Auto
• “AWESOME GTA 5
3 STUNTS & FAILS (Funny
Moments Compilation)”
• RedKeyMon, 2015
• 62,688,387 views
3. FNAF
4
• “[SFM/FNAF] Five
Funky Night’s at
Freddy’s 2”
• Father ferguson, 2015
• 51,047,885 views
4. The Sims
• “Barbie Girl - Aqua -
The Sims 2”
5 • Amanda Haug, 2007
• 24,668,627 views

5. Counter-Strike
6
• “Counter-Strike For Kids
(Machinima)”
• Machinima, 2008
• 18,069,751 views

6. Team Fortress
• “Team Fabulous 2”
• kitty0706, 2012
7 • 17,288,292 views

7. WoW 8
• “That’s the World of
Warcraft That You Play!”
• Ian Beckman, 2006
• 17,012,342 views 8. Halo
• “Red vs. Blue S8 Tex
fights Reds and Blues
in awesome action
9 sequence”
• Rooster Teeth, 2010
• 14,048,446 views

9. The Elder Scrolls 10

• “Gamer Poop - Skyrim
(#1)”
• Machinima, 2012
• 8,205,768 views
10. Portal
• “Portal: A Day in
the Life of a Turret
(Machinima)”
• Machinima, 2008
• 5,909,848 views

191
TWIN GALAXIES
On 10 Nov 1981, the Twin Game Variation Player Score
Galaxies videogame Android
arcade opened its doors Angry Birds Flock Favorites – 29–2 Andrew Pete Mee (UK) 121,130
in Ottumwa, Iowa, USA. Angry Birds Seasons Arctic Eggspedition – 1–6 Lucianna Mee (UK) 80,730
Founder Walter Day sought Angry Birds Star Wars II 1. Naboo Invasion – B1–1 Marc Cohen (USA) 35,890
to turn gaming into an
Beach Buggy Blitz Points Max Haraske (USA) 27,532
international sport by
creating contests, enforcing Crossy Road Points Matthew Felix (USA) 399
rules, crowning champions Hill Climb Racing Jeep – Cave [Distance] Camden LeCroy (USA) 1,158
– and measuring world Piano Tiles: Don’t
Classic – 6 x 6 Chad Liggon (USA) 6.687
records. He collected high Tap the White Tile
scores for games from more Piano Tiles: Don’t
Relay – 6 x 6 Joshua Arenivaz (USA) 54
than 100 arcades, releasing Tap the White Tile
them as the Twin Galaxies Arcade
National Scoreboard. Asteroids Tournament Brian Nelson (USA) 218,030
Since then, thousands Bad Dudes
1-Player – Points Pete Hahn (USA) 999,999
of videogame scores have vs. DragonNinja
been adjudicated and Blazing Star Highest Score 1 Player Richard Evans (UK) 6,659,910
collected, with high scores Points [Normal Mode/ Chris Teter & Laura Teter
logged and record holders Bubble Bobble 2,809,310
2-Player Team] (both USA)
honoured. Twin Galaxies’ D2K: Jumpman Returns Points [3 Men To Start] Roald Podevyn (BEL) 185,900
state-of-the-art peer-review Death Race Points [Single Player Only] Aaron Laberge (CAN) 34
system adheres to GWR
1-Credit Verified Gary Whittingham
submission guidelines, Defender
Endurance Marathon (AUS)
3,751,875
ensuring that Twin Galaxies
Most Wall Jumps on
remains a gold standard for Donkey Kong Alen Staal (AUS) 55
a Rivet Board
videogame adjudication.
Donkey Kong Points [Hammer Allowed] Wes Copeland (USA) 1,195,100
Submit your score at:
Donkey Kong Points [No Hammer] Jeff Wolfe (USA) 735,100
www.twingalaxies.com.
All high scores were Donkey Kong Points on “Hard” Romset Tanner Fokkens (USA) 914,200
correct as of 21 Apr 2016. Double Dragon
Points [Tournament Mode] Pete Hahn (USA) 430,500
[Neo-Geo]
Elevator Action Points [Normal – Difficulty 1] Steve Wagner (USA) 156,550
Mappy Points Mike Kasper (USA) 2,313,890
Points – No POW Challenge
Mario Bros. Steven Kleisath (USA) 2,134,120
[Single Player Only]
Metal Slug –
Points [Single Player Only] Jacob Spring (DNK) 2,761,200
Super Vehicle-001
Missile Command Points [Marathon] Victor Sandberg (SWE) 103,809,990
Paperboy Points [Easy Street] Edward Owen (USA) 168,372
Test Track –
Pole Position II Brian Roemer (USA) 89,640
Factory Settings [Points]
Robot Bowl Points Aaron Laberge (CAN) 290
Extreme Endurance
Robotron: 2084 David Gomez (USA) 102,904,275
Marathon (X-Enduro)
1-Credit Verified
Robotron: 2084 David Gomez (USA) 180,022,000
Endurance Marathon
Atari 2600/VCS
NTSC – Game 1,
Berzerk Christian Keilback (USA) 1,057,940
Difficulty A or B
Commando PAL – Game 1, Difficulty B Peter Nadalin (AUS) 1,030,100
Steve Germershausen
Donkey Kong NTSC – Game 1, Difficulty B 1,472,100
Angry Birds Seasons (CAN)
Rovio Entertainment’s Donkey Kong PAL – Game 1, Difficulty B Peter Nadalin (AUS) 1,420,900
2010 sequel grew out of a Frankenstein’s Monster NTSC – Game 1, Difficulty B Douglas Korekach (USA) 4,900
spooky spin-off: Angry Birds Kool-Aid Man NTSC – Game 1, Difficulty B Mason Cramer (USA) 214,800
Halloween Special Edition. Yars’ Revenge NTSC – Game 2, Difficulty B Glenn Case (USA) 14,066,997
Seasons comprised a series Atari Jaguar
of updates celebrating
Ruiner Pinball Ruiner [Points] John M Brissie (USA) 21,561,400
events from the Chinese
Trevor McFur Default Settings Ryan Genno (CAN) 605,280
New Year to St Patrick’s
Day. “Arctic Eggspedition” Commodore 64
was released in Dec 2013. Beach Head EMU – Game 1 Clay Karczewski (CAN) 161,200
Lucianna Mee (UK) scored Frogger [Sierra] EMU – Points Daniel Desjardins (USA) 64,290
80,730 playing levels 1–6 on LeMans NTSC – Points Brendan O’Dowd (USA) 238,000
Android, as verified by Twin Moon Shuttle Points Rob Maerz (USA) 33,110
Galaxies on 7 Oct 2015. Pipe Dream EMU – Points John Eden (AUS) 101,700

192
Game Variation Player Score
Zaxxon PAL – Points Paul Kearns (UK) 17,550
Game Boy/Game Boy Color
Castlevania Legends Fastest Completion Jesse Porter (USA) 36:42.0
Double Dribble: 5 on 5 Biggest Blowout Rudy Ferretti (USA) 213
Game & Watch Gallery 3/
Donkey Kong Jr.
Game Boy Gallery 4/ Andrew Pete Mee (UK) 652
Classic – Points
Game Boy Gallery 3
Mortal Kombat Points Patrick Maher (USA) 3,678,000
Oddworld Adventures Fastest Completion Mark Cox (USA) 35:11.0
Game B – Level 0
Tetris Ben Mullen (USA) 7,623
High 5 – Points
Tetris Plus Classic – Points Don Atreides (USA) 999,999
Game Boy Advance
The Legend of Zelda:
Fastest Completion Matthew Felix (USA) 02:44:32
The Minish Cap Robot Unicorn Attack 2
Mario Kart Super Circuit Rainbow Road [Fastest Race] Ethan Streblow (USA) 01:47.16 When Adult Swim created
an endless runner in 2010,
Mario Party Advance
See Monkey? [Fastest
Christian Backes (USA) 17.85 the cable network ended
Completion] up spawning a new cult
Intellivision franchise. This 2013 mobile
Burger Time [NTSC/PAL – sequel has gamers darting
Burger Time Michael Sroka (USA) 73,500
Points – Fastest Difficulty] gracefully through rainbow-
Donkey Kong NTSC/PAL – Skill 1 John Pompa (USA) 249,100 filled landscapes while
Tron: Solar Sailer NTSC/PAL – Default Settings Glenn Case (USA) 891,800 battling giants. Jordan
iOS Baranowski (USA) scored a
magical 138,045 points, as
Angry Birds Flock Favorites – 29–2 Joe Jackmovich (USA) 118,050
verified on 26 Nov 2015.
Bejeweled Blitz Mike Romagnoli (CAN) 247,500
Circle Points Terence Wong (AUS) 53
Pinball Arcade Tales Of The Arabian Nights Benjamin Sweeney (USA) 60,839,620
Robot Unicorn Attack 2 Jordan Baranowski (USA) 138,045
Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (MAME)
Arm Wrestling Points George Riley (USA) 605,450
Baluba-Louk Henning Gundersen
Points 3,297,300
No Densetsu (NOR)
Points
Black Widow David Jury (USA) 313,075
[Tournament Settings]
Block Hole Points Nick Vis (NLD) 798,940
Burger Time
Points Jeffrey Lowe Jr (USA) 7,789,300
[Data East Set 1]
Points
Crazy Kong [Set 1] Andrew Barrow (NZ) 431,400
[No Hammer Challenge]
Crystal Castles
Points Ian Purdy (USA) 751,934
[Version 4]
Dark Tower Points [1 Player Only] Estel Goffinet (USA) 21,235,300
Defend the Terra
Points Brian Allen (USA) 45,160
Attack on the Red UFO
Dimahoo [US 000121] Points [1 Player Only] Sebastien Giraud (FRA) 4,112,160
Donkey Kong Junior
Points Corey Chambers (USA) 1,323,200
[US]
Eggs Points [Marathon Settings] Jason Vasiloff (USA) 172,780
Donkey Kong Junior
Galaga [Namco rev.B] Points [Marathon] Stephen Krogman (USA) 5,679,450
In Nintendo’s 1982
Coconut Cove platformer, Mario takes on
Golden Tee ’99 [v1.00] J Weaver Jr (USA) 55
[Least Amount Of Strokes]
the role of villain as DK Jr
Highest Score Completing
Green Beret Brian Woodward (USA) 52,750 tries to free his father
Stage 1 on 1st Life
from a cage. In the past,
Indian Battle Points Michael O’Neill (USA) 23,100
arcade legends such as Billy
Jr. PAC-Man Mitchell and Steve Wiebe
Points Jason Vasiloff (USA) 1,394,460
[Speedup hack]
(both USA) have held the
Lethal Enforcers II: overall high-score record.
Points [Single Player Only] Travis Warnell (USA) 1,272
Gun Fighters [ver EAA]
The highest point-scorer
Lizard Wizard Points [Single Player Only] Chris Teter (USA) 260,600 on the US version is Corey
Lucky & Wild Points [Single Player Only] Travis Warnell (USA) 293,700 Chambers (USA), with
Ms. PAC-Man
Points Francois Toit (ZAF) 945,260
1,323,200 on the MAME,
[Speedup hack] as verified on 16 Oct 2015.
Ninja Spirit Points Graham Hawkins (NZ) 617,300
Super Puzzle
Points [Tournament Settings] Huy Dinh (VNM) 613,910
Fighter II Turbo

193
TWIN GALAXIES

Game Variation Player Score

Nintendo 3DS
GCN Dino Dino Jungle
Mario Kart 7 Andrew Carrick (UK) 02:11.158
[Fastest Race]
Rainbow Road
Mario Kart 7 Roald Podevyn (BEL) 01:52.17
[Fastest Race]
Single Player –
Tetris: Axis Marathon [Endless] – John Pompa (USA) 307,536
Points
Nintendo 64
NTSC – Trick Attack/
1080° Snowboarding Mike Romagnoli (CAN) 59,124
Halfpipe [Points]
Bust-A-Move ’99 NTSC – Challenge [Points] Shawne Vinson (USA) 61,780,160
Cruis’n World NTSC – Kenya Garry Harman (CAN) 37.96
Ken Griffey Jr.’s Craig Rout Gallant
NTSC – Home Run Derby 11
Slugfest (CAN)
NTSC – Fastest
Mortal Kombat 4 Brendon Meares (USA) 05:14.0
Completion – Master II
Nagano Winter
NTSC – Luge Rocky L Rose (USA) 01:05.911
Olympics ’98
Mario Kart 7
NTSC – Dig Dug
Zooming on to the 3DS Namco Museum 64 Jeff Stillwagon (USA) 77,330
[Points, Marathon Settings]
in 2011, Mario Kart 7 was
only the third series racer The New Tetris NTSC – Sprint – Lines Don Atreides (USA) 231
to tear it up on a hand-
held. Belgian gamer Roald NTSC – Area 51 –
Perfect Dark Wayne Meares (USA) 02:23.0
Podevyn has proved to Infiltration – Agent
be one of its fiercest track NTSC – Pelagic ll –
kings. As of 22 Apr 2016, Perfect Dark Wayne Meares (USA) 01:59.0
Exploration – Agent
he held 19 fastest race
NTSC – Arcade Mode Joshua Delacruz/
times on the Twin Galaxies Ready 2 Rumble Boxing
[Most Consecutive Wins] Tom Duncan (both USA)
10
scoreboard. These included
1 min 52.17 sec on the iconic Tetrisphere NTSC – Rescue Ryan Genno (CAN) 31,537,900
circuit Rainbow Road, as Nintendo DS
verified on 3 Apr 2016. Arkanoid DS Clear Mode – High Score W Michael Dietrich (USA) 239,420
Time Attack –
Burnout Legends Interstate Backward John M Brissie (USA) 48.89
[Fastest Completion]
NTSC/PAL – Sum 41 – “Makes
Elite Beat Agents No Difference” – Breezin’ – Andrew Pete Mee (UK) 127,208
High Score [Points]
NTSC/PAL – Rail Riders –
Mario Party DS Christian Backes (USA) 999.9
Longest Distance
New Super
Mario’s Slides Mitchell Chapman (USA) 34
Mario Bros.
Nintendo Entertainment System
10-Yard Fight NTSC – Biggest Blowout Andrew Gardikis (USA) 70
Astyanax NTSC – Points Jared E Oswald (USA) 2,955,900
NTSC – Points [Game B] Michelle Ireland &
Balloon Fight 2,975,250
– 2-Player Co-op Matthew Miller (both USA)
Extreme – 1 Life Only
Battletoads Phillip Ballenger (USA) 313,700
– High Score
Battletoads Bee 52 NTSC – Points Ryan Johnson (CAN) 106,625
Created to cheekily rival
Bucky O’Hare NTSC – Points Paul Tesi (USA) 195,500
a certain mob of reptilian
martial artists, Rare’s own Contra
NTSC – Points [Tournament Douglas Lida & Vincent
916,800
Battletoads were a trio of Settings] – 2-Player Team Scalpati (both USA)
beat-’em-up warriors who Defender II NTSC – Points Mason Cramer (USA) 1,524,900
debuted on the NES in
Ice Climber NTSC – Points Nicholas Mollica (USA) 2,977,760
1991 – and boy was their
game tough! Credit, then, to Kid Icarus NTSC-U – Points Trevor Pawlak (USA) 5,028,200
Phillip Ballenger (USA), who MiG-29: Soviet Fighter NTSC – Points Justin Burchfield (USA) 4,481
scored 313,700 points with
one life on “Extreme”, as Mike Tyson’s Punch- NTSC – Fastest KO/TKO
Jason Stanley (USA) 02:15.0
Out!!/Punch-Out!! of Mike Tyson/Mr. Dream
verified on 14 Dec 2015.

194
Game Variation Player Score
NTSC – Fastest Purist
Ninja Gaiden Charles Ziese (USA) 18:01.0
Completion [TGES]
Silver Surfer NTSC – Points Tim Raulerson (USA) 803,000
World Class Track NTSC – 100M Dash
Kevin Holst (USA) 6.31
Meet/Stadium Events [Fastest Time]
Nintendo Wii
Single Player – Bass –
The Beatles: Rock Band Marc Cohen (USA) 49,023
“Ticket to Ride” – Points
Single Player – Bass –
The Beatles: Rock Band Marc Cohen (USA) 74,962
“I Am the Walrus” – Points
GCN Waluigi Stadium –
Mario Kart Wii Ethan Evans (UK) 43.427
Time Trial – Fastest Lap
Coconut Mall – Time Trial –
Mario Kart Wii
Fastest Race
Alex Thune (USA) 02:03.916 No More Heroes 2:
Desperate Struggle
Play Now Mode – Biggest Daniel Lee Strickland
NBA Jam
Blowout – Single Player Only Perea (USA)
104 The Wii was hardly blessed
with hack-and-slash games,
No More Heroes 2: Side Job 07 – so this stylized action romp
Adam Davis (AUS) 128,910
Desperate Struggle Getting Trashed
proved a real cult smash,
Super Smash NTSC – Stadium – Target
Matthew Felix (USA) 30.61
challenging players to
Bros. Brawl Smash! – Level 4 – Marth slice their way to the top
PAL – Strength Training of the assassin rankings.
Wii Fit/Wii Fit Plus – Side Lunge – 10 Reps Daniella Mee (UK) 85 Adam Davis (AUS) scored
[Points] 128,910 points in Side
Training – Boxing – Working Job 07 – “Getting Trashed”,
Wii Sports Tristen Geren (USA) 57 as verified on 24 Feb 2016.
the Bag
Nintendo Wii U
Heptrix Points John Pompa (USA) 18,074
Time Trials – Retro –
Mario Kart 8 Andrew Carrick (UK) 02:14.876
Yoshi Valley [Fastest Race]
Time Trials – Retro – [DLC]
Leonardo P Bugmann
Mario Kart 8 Rainbow Road – [Fastest 01:34.601
(BRA)
Race]
Super Destronaut Points Benjamin Sweeney (USA) 898,210
Dance – Stamina Steps
Pekka Luodeslampi
Wii Fit U – Duration [15 min] – 1,087
(FIN)
Most Points
Demolition Row Craig Rout Gallant
Wii Party U 192,800
[Endless Mode – Points] (CAN)
South Park: Super Benjamin Sweeney
Zen Pinball 2 18,790,608
Sweet Pinball [Points] (USA)

Wii Party U
Wii Party U’s huge line-up
of party-pleasers ranges
from Water Runners, in
which you scoop water from
a virtual stream using the
Wii Remote, to Demolition
Zen Pinball 2 Row, in which you connect
Zen Studios’ 2012 sequel didn’t just deliver a mighty coloured blocks in order to
fine game of pinball according to the critics – it blow them to smithereens.
also offered a number of licenced tables for fans Craig Rout Gallant (CAN)
to rack up huge scores on. As verified on 14 Nov scored 192,800 points in
2015, Benjamin Sweeney (USA) mustered a total Demolition Row’s “Endless
of 18,790,608 points flipping shiny balls on the Mode”, as verified by Twin
“South Park: Super Sweet Pinball” table. Galaxies on 27 Sep 2015.

195
TWIN GALAXIES

Game Variation Player Score

Nintendo Wii Virtual Console
Galaga NES – Points [Tournament] Andrew Franciscus (USA) 196,030
Ninja Gaiden III: The
NES – Points James Sorge (USA) 1,307,600
Ancient Ship of Doom
Sega Genesis/Mega Drive
– Fastest Minimalist
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Matthew Felix (USA) 38:20.0
Completion [Sonic
Alone Mode]
Super Street Fighter II: SNES – Points
Wayne Meares (USA) 7,400
The New Challengers [Tournament Settings]
NES – Fastest Completion
Wario’s Woods Matthew Runnels (USA) 02:45.0
[3 Rounds/Hard Mode]

Zanac NES – Points Jesse Porter (USA) 837,640

PC
Dig Dug Default Settings Dick Moreland (USA) 270,340

Fallout 4 Red Menace – Points Wes Copeland (USA) 138,000

Battle Royale [Most Kills

H1Z1 H1Z1 – Shotgun Only – Regular Clement Graham (UK) 28
In the post-apocalyptic Server – Solo]
world of the Daybreak Mechatron: 2154
Enduro (Default Settings) Travis Warnell (USA) 3,238,025
Game Company’s survival (A Robotron Remake)
sandbox MMO, gamers Points – Rainstorm
Risk of Rain Nick Vis (NLD) 43,509
have to contend with the (No Artifacts)
elements, rival scavengers, PlayStation
prowling wolves and angry NTSC – Win Contest Winning
bears – and zombies. Lots Bust-A-Move 4 Shawne Vinson (USA) 45
Streaks With Chain Reaction
of zombies. Playing the
NTSC – Buster Buddies Stephen Krogman
“Battle Royale” scenario on Buster Bros. Collection 755,200
– Panic Mode [Points] (USA)
the PC, Clement Graham
Crash Bandicoot: NTSC – Time Trial: 09 – Tomb
(UK) achieved 28 shotgun Kaitlin Degeneffe (USA) 58.06
Warped Time [Fastest Completion]
kills roaming the eerily quiet
streets, a score verified Crash Bandicoot: NTSC – Time Trial: 25 – Bug
Kaitlin Degeneffe (USA) 01:12.36
Warped Lite [Fastest Completion]
on 24 Mar 2016.
PAL – Undercover –
Driver Maya – Quick, Get Maya Andrew Pete Mee (UK) 21.8
[Time Remaining]
NTSC – Entire Game [Fastest
Final Fantasy VII Addison Dumke (USA) 13:14:11.0
Minimalist Completion]
PAL – Quick Arcade – Class A
Gran Turismo Paul Kearns (UK) 01:10.458
– Deep Forest [Fastest Lap]
PAL – Arcade Mode – Class B
Gran Turismo 2 – Apricot Hill Speedway – Paul Kearns (UK) 05:14.531
Forward [Fastest Race]
NTSC – Exhibition
Madden NFL 98 Matthew Dauer (USA) 100
[Biggest Blowout]
Mortal Kombat Trilogy Fastest Completion Patrick Maher (USA) 15:22.0
PAL – Arcade Mode –
Point Blank Jacob Spring (DNK) 63,923
Training Mode [Points]
Rampage World Tour Points Benjamin Sweeney (USA) 96,200
Ridge Racer PAL – T.T. [Fastest Race] Jason Newman (UK) 03:12.927
Risk of Rain Ridge Racer Turbo/
This spacey, rogue-like PAL – Mid-Level [Fastest Lap] Jason Newman (UK) 41.77
Hi-Spec Demo
platformer was developed NTSC – Tokyo – Hector Rodriguez
by two US students, initially Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 1,809,795
Single Session [Points] (USA)
for a university project,
NTSC – Stage 6 –
before being souped-up Um Jammer Lammy Teriyaki Yoko – Lammy – Conner Smith (USA) 32,463
in 2013 via a Kickstarter Normal Difficulty [Points]
campaign. Players are PlayStation 2
tasked with surviving a
NTSC – Dodge ’Em – W Dietrich/Shaun
hostile planet. As verified on Atari Anthology 1,080
Game 1, Difficulty B [Points] Michaud (both USA)
20 Feb 2016, Nick Vis (NLD)
scored 43,509 points on NTSC – Time Attack –
Burnout 2:
Ocean Sprint – Forward Track Don Atreides (USA) 01:59.716
its “Rainstorm” difficulty. Point of Impact
[Fastest Completion]
Capcom Classics NTSC – 1943 Kai –
Jesse Porter (USA) 203,300
Collection (Vol. 1) Hardcore Difficulty [Points]

196
 Guitar Hero World Tour Samurai Warriors
Activision’s 2008 World Tour was the first Guitar Hero Set during the “Warring
game that allowed players to sing or play the drums. States” period of Japanese
Avatars of real-life musicians such as Sting (above) history, Koei’s 2004
were also available. Playing the guitar on “Medium” hack-and-slash title had
setting on 30 Seconds to Mars’ 2006 chart hit “The spawned three sequels as
Kill”, Matthew Simpson (USA) scored 148,342 points, of 20 Apr 2016. Under the
as verified by Twin Galaxies on 6 Sep 2015. guidance of Andrew Pete
Mee (UK), kabuki dancer
Okuni wielded her parasol
Game Variation Player Score to deadly effect, scoring
Fatal Fury Battle NTSC – Fatal Fury Special
135 KOs during the “Dance
Monty Meares (USA) 45,800 of Osaka”, as validated
Archives Volume 1 [Tournament Settings]
on 20 Sep 2015.
NTSC – Bonus – Demolition
FlatOut Eddie Hall (CAN) 04:11.36
Dash [Fastest Race]
NTSC – License Test –
Gran Turismo 3: A-spec S-1: Apricot Hill Time Attack Marc Cohen (USA) 01:42.673
[Fastest Completion]
NTSC – 1. Opening Licks
Guitar Hero Encore:
– “18 and Life” – Hard Dave Soeiro (CAN) 161,544
Rocks the 80s
Difficulty – 1-Player [Points]
NTSC – 1. Starting Out Small
Guitar Hero III: – “Hit Me With Your Best
Jeff Mikuska (USA) 66,121
Legends of Rock Shot” – Easy Difficulty –
1-Player [Points]
NTSC – The Eagles –
Guitar Hero World Tour “Hotel California” – Guitar Scott Simpson (USA) 128,668
– Easy – 1-Player [Points]
NTSC – 30 Seconds To Mars
Matthew Simpson
Guitar Hero World Tour – “The Kill” – Guitar – Medium 148,342
(USA)
– 1-Player [Points]
Midway Arcade NTSC – Xybots Stephen Krogman
179,900
Treasures 2 1-Player [Points] (USA)
Midway Arcade NTSC/PAL – Mortal Kombat 3
Patrick Maher (USA) 11:09.0
Treasures 2 [Fastest Completion]
NTSC – Championship –
Need for Speed:
01. National Forest Challenge Jason Beasley (USA) 01:59.88
Hot Pursuit 2
[Fastest Lap]
PAL – Dance of Osaka –
Street Fighter II
Samurai Warriors Andrew Pete Mee (UK) 135 Capcom’s hard-hitting
Normal Difficulty [KOs]
SNK Arcade NTSC – Fatal Fury –
sequel was released in
Monty Meares (USA) 47,800 1991, and was given a
Classics Vol. 1 Insane Difficulty [Points]
makeover in a Turbo HD
Street Fighter II: 15th NTSC – Street Fighter II
Chris Gleed (USA) 425,500 Remix in 2008 (above).
Anniversary Collection Mode [Points]
SF II was notable for the
NTSC – Bust-A-Move
debut of one of the series’
Taito Legends 2 Again – Puzzle Mode Shawne Vinson (USA) 70,178,910
[Points] most popular characters,
Guile. Chris Gleed (USA)
NTSC – Time Attack Mode
Tekken 4
[Fastest Completion]
Pete Hahn (USA) 01:55:38 scored 425,500 with Guile,
playing Street Fighter II
PAL – Rio Ruckus – on its 15th Anniversary
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 Andrew Pete Mee (UK) 1,488,703
Single Session [Points]
Collection for the PS2, as
NTSC – Cloud [Number verified on 22 Dec 2015.
We Love Katamari Joe Jackmovich (USA) 497
of Clouds – Points]

197
TWIN GALAXIES

Game Variation Player Score

PlayStation 3
Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies – Kino Der Toten Camden LeCroy (USA) 112,030
Battle Result – Academia
Final Fantasy XIII–2 400 AF – Nelapsi x5 – Andrew Pete Mee (UK) 19,580
Easy Mode [Score]
Special Events – Sierra
Gran Turismo 6 Marc Cohen (USA) 844,681
Time Rally: Challenge 3
Single Player – “When I
Green Day: Rock Band Michael Sroka (USA) 106,969
Come Around” – Guitar
Race Challenge – Crossing
Just Cause 2 Shaun Michaud (USA) 01:13.69
Lanes [Stinger Dunebug 84]
Play Now Exhibition
NCAA Football 14 Matthew Dauer (USA) 92
– Biggest Blowout
Pinball Hall of Fame:
Whirlwind – Points Marc Cohen (USA) 76,222,110
The Williams Collection
Single Player – Guitar –
The Beatles: Rock Band Michael Sroka (USA) 100,044
“Back in the U.S.S.R.” – Points
Exhibition Mode
UFC Undisputed 2010 Matthew Runnels (USA) 25
– Fastest Victory
Ultra Street Fighter IV Points Chris Gleed (USA) 752,200
PlayStation 3 PSN
Geometry Wars 3: Single Player: Adventure
Joe Jackmovich (USA) 224,577,010
Dimensions Evolved – Level 35
Trials Fusion
Marvel Pinball Blade – Points Shaun Michaud (USA) 343,617,400
The physics-based
Racer – Oakmont Valley
motorbike sim poses a Need for Speed:
– Ultimately Open – Scott Simpson (USA) 01:41.8
notoriously stiff challenge Hot Pursuit
Fastest Completion
to would-be speed-
PAC-Man Championship Dungeon – Score
runners. Playing on the Edition DX Attack – 5 Minutes
Ethan Daniels (USA) 2,212,100
PS4, Scott Simpson (USA)
Zen Pinball Street Fighter II – Points Marc Cohen (USA) 436,424,955
managed to avoid tears
on the Greenhorn’s Grove PlayStation 4
Event “Waterworks” Beach Buggy Racing Easy Street – Race 4 Brandon Finton (USA) 50.28
course, completing it in The Pinball Arcade Cue Ball Wizard – Points Marc Cohen (USA) 1,013,823,870
just 35.272 sec – despite
his rider crossing the finish The Pinball Arcade Monster Bash – Points Max Haraske (USA) 3,618,437,390
line headfirst! His time
Greenhorn’s Grove
was verified on 12 Aug 2015. Trials Fusion Scott Simpson (USA) 35.272
Event – Waterworks
Ultratron High Score Challenge! Joe Jackmovich (USA) 6,485,670
PlayStation 4 PSN
Crimsonland Nukefism – Most Points Brandon Finton (USA) 85,000
Star Wars:
Tatooine: The Mos Espa Open Marc Cohen (USA) 02:39.25
Racer Revenge
The Forest: 1–13 Tommy’s
Super Meat Boy Joe Jackmovich (USA) 3.49
Cabin (Fastest Time)
PlayStation Portable
NTSC/PAL – Tempest
Atari Classics Evolved John M Brissie (USA) 87,191
Evolved [Points]
NTSC/PAL – Time Attack –
Burnout Legends USA – Silver Lake Forward John M Brissie (USA) 01:39.08
[Fastest Completion]
Capcom Classics NTSC/PAL – Block Block –
John M Brissie (USA) 9,220
Collection Remixed Normal Difficulty [Points]
Crimsonland
Difficulty 5 – Nut Cracker –
The 2014 re-release of Gods Eater Burst Brandon Finton (USA) 01:48.0
Fastest Time
10tons’ top-down arena
Sega CD
shooter featured the
Bram Stoker’s Dracula Points James Barnard (CAN) 23,831
“Nukefism” game mode,
in which the hero was left Formula One NTSC – Free Practice –
World Championship: Hungaroring [Hungary Jared E Oswald (USA) 01:19.28
weaponless and having to Beyond the Limit Budapest] – Fastest Lap
defeat the growing hordes
of spawning enemies using NHL ’94 NTSC – Biggest Blowout Raphael Frydman (USA) 61
bonuses alone. US gamer Sega Dreamcast (All records NTSC)
Brandon Finton’s score of Marvel vs. Capcom:
85,000 on the PS4 was Clash of Super Survival Mode [Most Wins] Victor Delgado (USA) 5
confirmed by Twin Galaxies Heroes
on 26 Aug 2015. NFL 2K Biggest Blowout Timothy Samandari (USA) 189

198
Game Variation Player Score
Boss Mode – Hierophant B
The House of the Dead 2 Jared E Oswald (USA) 41.11
[Fastest Completion]
The King of Fighters:
Points [Tournament Settings] Monty Meares (USA) 108,900
Dream Match 1999
Sega Genesis/Sega Mega Drive
Ayrton Senna’s PAL – Free Run – Brazil
Peter Nadalin (AUS) 46.55
Super Monaco GP II [Best Lap]
Battletoads NTSC – Fastest Completion Phillip Ballenger (USA) 52:59.0
Bulls versus Blazers Timothy Samandari
NTSC – Biggest Blowout 53
and the NBA Playoffs (USA)
NTSC – Points [Tournament
ClayFighter Enrique Barron (USA) 209,000
Settings]
Cool Spot NTSC – Points Jesse Porter (USA) 358,040
ESWAT:
NTSC – Points Juan Castellanos (USA) 198,500 The House of the Dead 2
City Under Siege
Ferrari Grand Prix NTSC – American GP – Sega’s horror-themed
Skylar Jones (USA) 01:14.62 rail-shooter was originally
Challenge Fastest Lap
Hard Drivin’ NTSC – Points Marc Cohen (USA) 355,416
released for the arcades
in 1998, before being
PAL – Biggest Blowout –
NBA Jam Grant Robinson (AUS) 21 ported to the Dreamcast
Single Player Only
the following year. Among
NHL ’94 PAL – Biggest Blowout Mikey McBryan (CAN) 18 the vicious bosses gamers
Ranger X NTSC – Points David King (USA) 436,848 encountered along the
RBI Baseball ’93 NTSC – Biggest Blowout Mike Yesenko (USA) 22 waterways of Venice, Italy,
NTSC – Fastest Full one of the toughest was the
Sonic & Knuckles Charles Ziese (USA) 32:11.0 Hierophant, a giant creature
Completion – Knuckles
Sonic the Hedgehog NTSC – Points Eric Schafer (USA) 873,520 wielding a trident. Jared E
Oswald (USA) peppered the
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 NTSC – Points Zachary Spencer (USA) 1,000,320
Hierophant B with gunfire,
Zoom! NTSC – Points Jared E Oswald (USA) 20,400 killing it in 41.11 sec, as
Sega Master System approved on 16 Oct 2015.
Air Rescue NTSC – Points Ryan Genno (CAN) 68,400
Alex Kidd in
PAL – Points Steve Badcock (UK) 81,800
Miracle World
California Games NTSC – BMX Clay Karczewski (CAN) 67,200
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 NTSC – Points Ryan Genno (CAN) 257,700

California Games
Back in 1987, before the
X Games became a fixture
on the US sporting calendar,
bikers, skaters and surfers
could get their gaming
fix tackling Epyx’s classic
sporting title. Playing on
Sonic the Hedgehog the Sega Master System,
Eric Schafer (USA) scored 873,520 points playing the Clay Karczewski (CAN) hit a
original Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Genesis/ series of front and vertical
Mega Drive, as verified on 12 Oct 2015. Released in flips on his way to a huge
1991, the game was the start of a hugely successful score of 67,200 points on
franchise that was still going strong on eighth-gen the “BMX” challenge, as
consoles, with 2013’s Sonic Lost World (pictured). ratified on 16 Oct 2015.

199
TWIN GALAXIES

Game Variation Player Score

Super Nintendo Entertainment System
American Gladiators NTSC – Points Brendan O’Dowd (USA) 45
Chuck Rock NTSC – Points Tyler VanderZwaag (USA) 384,275
Cybernator NTSC – Points Jonathan Bowen (USA) 343,350
D-Force NTSC – Points Benjamin Sweeney (USA) 169,700
Donkey Kong Country
Highest Score Tim Hanson (USA) 5,316
Competition Pak
Double Dragon V: NTSC – Tournament Mode
Ryan Genno (CAN) 836,900
The Shadow Falls [Points]
Last Action Hero NTSC – Points Phillip Ballenger (USA) 466,230
NHL ’94 NTSC – Biggest Blowout Raphael Frydman (USA) 58
Pinball Dreams PAL – Beat Box [Points] Andrew Pete Mee (UK) 7,974,500
PowerFest ’94 Points Paul Tesi (USA) 25,163,950
Matthew Felix/Scott
Double Dragon V: Star Fox NTSC – Course 1 [Points]
Kessler (both USA)
60,000
The Shadow Falls Super Buster Bros. NTSC – Panic Mode [Points] Mason Cramer (USA) 160,420
Dropping the side-scrolling
NTSC – Vanilla Lake 1
brawling of its legendary Super Mario Kart Zachary Lynch (USA) 59.89
[Fastest Race]
predecessors, 1994 console
1-Player – Star Cup – Fastest
game The Shadow Falls Super Mario Kart
Completion
Gabriel Deanda (USA) 08:30.04
was a one-on-one fighter
Timon & Pumbaa’s
that shared similarities NTSC – Points [Hippo Hop] Josh Jones (USA) 34,300
Jungle Games
with Street Fighter II. Ryan
Genno (CAN) has proved a Xbox
dab hand at its virtual kung- NTSC – Time Attack –
Burnout 2:
fu, scoring 836,900 points Interstate Loop – Forward Don Atreides (USA) 01:02.733
Point of Impact
Track [Fastest Completion]
in “Tournament Mode”, as
approved on 8 Apr 2016. Capcom Classics NTSC – Mercs –
Joshua Arenivaz (USA) 169,650
Collection (Vol. 1) Normal Difficulty [Points]
NTSC – Yellow Turban
Dynasty Warriors 4 Rebellion – Hard – Mark Kakareka (USA) 02:27.0
Fastest Completion
PAL – Arcade/Custom –
Juiced East Angel Island – Point Andrew Pete Mee (UK) 01:22.85
To Point [Fastest Time]
Mega Man Anniversary
NTSC – Mega Man 1 [Points] Jesse Porter (USA) 1,322,700
Collection
Midway Arcade NTSC – Gauntlet [2-Player Chris Plaza & Michael
43,477
Treasures Team, Points] Sroka (both USA)
NTSC – Quick Race – 1-Player
NASCAR Thunder 2002 Michael Sroka (USA) 15.496
– Bristol [Fastest Lap]
PAL – OutRun Challenge –
OutRun 2 OutRun Mission – Stage 1.5 Andrew Pete Mee (UK) 02:04.916
Math Mayhem [Fastest Time]
NTSC – The New
Taito Legends Shawne Vinson (USA) 168,800
Zealand Story [Points]
Taito Legends NTSC – Zoo Keeper [Points] Michael Sroka (USA) 412,950
Xbox 360
Call of Duty 4:
Mile High Club – Points Gil Limas (USA) 100,020
Modern Warfare
Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies – Dead Ops Arcade Joe Jackmovich (USA) 1,126,725
Dance Central “Funkytown” – Lipps Inc Andrew Pete Mee (UK) 400,349
Star Fox
The 1993 SNES rail-shooter NTSC – 2. Amp-Warmers –
Guitar Hero II “Heart-Shaped Box” – Expert Jenna Matthews (AUS) 225,320
introduced one of Nintendo’s Difficulty – 1-Player [Points]
most iconic characters in the
form of Fox McCloud, who NTSC – Bonus Tracks – “In The
Guitar Hero III:
Belly Of A Shark” – Expert Joshua Arenivaz (USA) 228,058
returned in 2016 with Star Legends of Rock
Difficulty – 1-Player [Points]
Fox Zero (above). Matthew
Felix (USA) scored 60,000 NTSC – 1. Starting Out Small –
Guitar Hero III:
Sabotage – Expert Difficulty Dave Soeiro (CAN) 285,494
points on Course 1 of the Legends of Rock
– 1 Player [Points]
original, as verified on 16 Oct
2015. This ties the existing NTSC – Dinosaur Jr. –
Guitar Hero World Tour “Feel The Pain” – Guitar – Jared E Oswald (USA) 115,276
record set by Scott Kessler, Easy – 1- Player [Points]
as verified on 2 Oct 2007.
Just Dance – “Umbrella”
Just Dance 4 – Rihanna featuring Jay-Z – Lucianna Mee (UK) 10,237
Single Player [Points]

200
 PAC-Man Championship Edition
X-Men
The dot-gobbling PAC-Man was once voted the most
recognized game character, with 94% of Americans First released in 1992, this
recognizing his giant yellow head. PAC-Man’s 2007 Marvel beat-’em-up was
game Championship Edition was the final title ported to the Xbox Live
designed by his creator Toru Iwatani. It featured Arcade in 2010. Gamers
familiar gameplay but sped up, with mazes split could select from six
into two halves. As verified on 21 Jul 2015, Michael characters, including Storm
Ferguson (USA) scored 343,410 points in the game’s and Cyclops. Dave Soeiro
Championship Mode on the Xbox Live Arcade version. (CAN), however, opted to
take on the minion hordes
of Magneto using Wolverine
and his adamantium claws.
Game Variation Player Score He scored 131 points, as
Midway Arcade Origins Wizard of Wor John M Brissie (USA) 37,900 ratified on 26 May 2015.
Namco Museum
Metro-Cross – Points Ryan Sullivan (USA) 136,950
Virtual Arcade
Namco Museum Pole Position II – Michael Ferguson
20,340
Virtual Arcade Seaside Track – Points (USA)
Pinball Hall of Fame:
Jive Time – Points Philip Ryder (USA) 95,710
The Williams Collection
NTSC – Death of the Cool
Rock Band – “Can’t Let Go” – Bass – Jared E Oswald (USA) 55,757
Medium – 1-Player [Points]
NTSC – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Rock Band – “Maps” – Guitar – Easy – Will Love (USA) 30,394
1-Player [Points]

Sonic’s Ultimate
NTSC – Golden Axe I –
Genesis Collection/
Arcade Mode [Fastest Jesse Porter (USA) 14:22.0
Sega’s Ultimate Mega
Completion]
Drive Collection
Ultra Street Fighter IV Points Chris Gleed (USA) 1,234,800
Xbox 360 Live Arcade
Aegis Wing Points – Normal Difficulty David Kinnick (USA) 169,980
Contra Points Pete Hahn (USA) 3,669,800
Galaga Points W Dietrich (USA) 327,160
Mr. Driller Online Quest Driller – China Jacob Spring (DNK) 448,720
NBA Jam: Biggest Blowout Daniel Lee Strickland
43
On Fire Edition – 1-Player Only Perea (USA)
Golden Axe
PAC-Man Championship Michael Ferguson
Points [Championship Mode] 343,410 Sega’s 1989 Mega Drive
Edition (USA)
classic gave the beat-’em-up
The Pinball Arcade Theatre of Magic – Points Philip Ryder (USA) 1,556,960,960
genre a fantasy makeover,
Robotron: 2084 Points David Gomez (USA) 434,700 with gamers battling as
Track & Field Points Gil Limas (USA) 3,237,170 an axe-wielding dwarf, a
Hello World! – female warrior and a Conan
Trials HD Scott Simpson (USA) 23.716
Fastest Completion the Barbarian lookalike.
X-Men 1-Player – Points Dave Soeiro (CAN) 131 Jesse Porter (USA) finished
Xbox One the game’s Arcade Mode
in 14 min 22.0 sec. He was
The Pinball Arcade Medieval Madness Philip Ryder (USA) 126,377,260
playing it through the 2009
Creature from compilation Sonic’s Ultimate
The Pinball Arcade Jordan Baranowski (USA) 285,290,100
the Black Lagoon
Genesis Collection.
The Pinball Arcade The Addams Family Jordan Baranowski (USA) 1,821,222,150

201
FEATURE

YOUR NEW FAVOURITE GAMES

Bored of Bloodborne? Fallen out with Fallout 4? Has
The Witcher 3 lost its spell? Don’t worry: we’ve got
four pages crammed with exciting new titles that will
soon be breaking records of their own – from offbeat
coming-of-age dramas to gritty sci-fi shooters.

Bloodstained: The Legend of Zelda

Ritual of the Night Platform: NX, Wii U
Platform: Multiple Action-adventure fans are
Upon leaving Konami, waiting with baited breath
Castlevania series producer for the 19th instalment in
Koji Igarashi set to work on the Zelda series. Moving out
a new castle-based action- of the dungeons, Link can
adventure. A Kickstarter now explore a vast open-
campaign raised $5.5 million world gamescape on his
(£3.8 million) towards the horse Epona. Producer Eiji
game, in which orphan Aonuma has stated that
Miriam battles a curse that is Nintendo’s aim is to produce
turning her body to crystal. “the ultimate Zelda game”.

The Last Guardian

Night in the Woods
Platform: PS4
Platform: Mac, PC, PS4 Eleven years after Shadow
In this crowdfunded indie of the Colossus was released
adventure, feline Mae in 2005, director Fumito
drops out of college and Ueda has finished his long-
discovers that she possesses awaited new game. Part-
paranormal powers. The puzzle, part–adventure, The
result is a quirky and Last Guardian tells the story
intriguing mystery. “The of a boy held prisoner in the
world in peril is boring,” ruins of a vast castle, and a
noted developer Scott creature named Trico who
Benson, “but heartbreak tries to help him escape.
is the apocalypse.”

202
 Persona 5
Platform: PS3, PS4
The latest addition to the
cult JRPG series, Persona 5’s
offbeat premise centres
on a group of high-school
students who form the
heroic outsider group the
“Phantom Thieves of Hearts”.
Director Katsura Hashino has
promised “characters that are
going to be a little rougher
around the edges”.

Scalebound
Cuphead Platform: Xbox One
Platform: PC, Xbox One An epic third-person
The brainchild of Studio action RPG, Scalebound is
MDHR – brothers Chad slated for a 2017 release.
and Jared Moldenhauer – It’s being developed by
Cuphead is drawn in the style PlatinumGames, the team
of classic 1930s cartoons. behind Bayonetta. In the
When Cuphead loses a bet game, a modern hero named
with the Devil, he has to Drew is transported to the
fight a stream of bosses to fantasy world of Draconis,
repay it. Don’t be fooled where he teams up with
by the cute look: this is one fearsome AI dragon Thuban.
seriously tough side-scroller.

Vampyr
Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Set in a flu-gripped London
in the aftermath of World
War I, Dontnod’s action RPG
follows the vampire doctor
Jonathan E Reid. Painstaking
research has helped create
an eerie and atmospheric
game. Will players stalk the
city feasting on victims, or
try to remain true to their
doctor’s oath?

TURN THE PAGE 203

FEATURE

YOUR NEW FAVOURITE GAMES

Planet Coaster Final Fantasy VII

Platform: PC Platform: PS4
Described as a “spiritual Judging by the reactions
successor” to RollerCoaster to its announcement (see
Tycoon 3, the construction p.148), the Final Fantasy VII
and management sim remake may be the most
challenges players to create hotly anticipated title in
the perfect theme park. gaming. It will be released
The game was built using in an episodic format with a
Frontier’s in-house COBRA new real-time battle system.
engine. Players will be able Producer Yoshinori Kitase
to share their attractions in has told fans to expect
a “global village” of UGC. some storyline changes.

Shenmue III Tacoma
Platform: PC, PS4 Platform: Mac, PC, Xbox One
Originally developed for the Fullbright have followed up
Sega Dreamcast, the first their 2013 hit Gone Home
two parts of Yu Suzuki’s with a sci-fi mystery set in
revenge epic Shenmue a near-Earth space station.
gained a cult following, Amy Ferrier arrives at Tacoma
if not the hoped-for sales. only to find it deserted –
Fans pressed for Shenmue III what has happened to the
for over a decade, and crew? Augmented reality
thanks to a wildly successful blogs help to expand the plot
Kickstarter campaign they and deepen the mystery.
will get their wish in 2017.

204
 Mass Effect: Andromeda
Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One
BioWare has been clear
that its new action RPG is
not a direct sequel to Mass
Effect 3. The events take
place in a different time
period and a new location –
the Andromeda galaxy. Fans
are unlikely to mind. Look
out for a new and improved
Mako, the ATV last seen in
the original Mass Effect.

Yooka-Laylee Sea of Thieves

Platform: Multiple Platform: PC, Xbox One
The colourful 3D platformer Legendary UK studio Rare
is the work of Playtonic is taking to the high seas
Games, including personnel with this nautical MMO. The
from the Banjo-Kazooie developer has described
team. Chameleon Yooka and the adventure as the “most
his bat pal Laylee explore ambitious game” it has
the worlds contained within ever created, and promises
magic books. According to a multiplayer experience
the website, “there may or enriched with UGC. Naval
may not be a move involving battles, mutinies and walking
a giant fart bubble”. the plank are all in the offing.

Crackdown 3 Gears of War 4

Platform: Xbox One Platform: Xbox One
This futuristic sandbox TPS Set 25 years after Gears of
promises mass destruction War 3, the latest sci-fi TPS
on an unprecedented scale. boasts a new hero – JD
Drawing on the power of the Fenix, son of Marcus – and
Microsoft Cloud platform, a new enemy in the Swarm.
it offers online multiplayers Humans have been almost
the chance to fight in a wiped out on Sera, and
persistent, destructible city. players will have to contend
Watch bridges burn and with violent “windflares”
buildings crumble in the that rage across the planet.
heat of battle.

205
CONTRIBUTORS
These are the experts who contributed to the 10th
anniversary Gamer’s Edition, sourcing and writing the
records, facts, figures and trivia that go into the book.

STEVE BOXER
Steve writes for the Guardian,
Empire, Trusted Reviews, Pocket
Lint and Digital Spy. He’s old enough
to have owned an Atari VCS with its
MATT BR ADFORD launch line-up of games.
Matt is a Canadian writer, editor
Which games did you play most this year?
and voice actor who has covered
Dark Souls III, Hitman and the hardy Destiny.
the industry since the 1990s. He
What was this year’s most exciting event?
can be heard on the Zombie Cast and
VR headsets becoming available to the public,
Video Game Outsiders podcasts.
and learning what Nintendo’s NX is all about.
Which games did you play most this year?
Far Cry Primal, Undertale and Fallout 4. I’m
still not done exploring the Boston wastes.
What was this year’s most exciting event?
Watching the VR revolution take shape.

ROBERT CAVE
Rob is a lifelong videogame
enthusiast. He has worked on
DAVID CROOKES the Gamer’s Edition since its launch
in 2008 and is proud to see it has reached
David’s written for Retro Gamer, its 10th edition.
gamesTM , The Independent, i,
the Evening Standard, and Xbox, Which games did you play most this year?
Nintendo and PlayStation magazines. Fallout 4. But the one I enjoyed playing the
He’s also curated two videogame exhibitions. most was Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture.
What was this year’s most exciting event?
Which games did you play most this year? VR. I hope it’s not just an expensive gimmick.
Life is Strange, Day of the Tentacle and Hitman.
What was this year’s most exciting event?
The build-up to Uncharted 4’s launch. It’s a
series that brings out my inner Indiana Jones.

PAUL DAVIES
Paul wrote for the Nintendo
S
MATTHEW EDWARD magazine, edited Computer and
Video Games and helped launch its
Matthew wrote for Eurogamer website. He manages his own editorial
and gamesTM and is now a agency and writes for Gamereactor and VG247.
Capcom UK community manager.
Which games did you play most this year?
Which games did you play most this year? Destiny, The Division, Paragon and Black Ops III.
Street Fighter V, Monster Hunter Generations What was this year’s most exciting event?
and Dark Souls III. I was engrossed in Destiny: The Taken King,
What was this year’s most exciting event? but it was fascinating to see VR take shape.
Street Fighter V replacing Ultra Street
Fighter IV on the Capcom Pro Tour. It’s a new
era and the competition keeps getting fiercer.

206
 LOS
DANIEL GRILIOPOU
Dan has written about
videogames for IGN, GameSpot,
Edge, Kotaku and PC Gamer. He’s
a narrative designer on five games, STACE HARMAN
and is writing two books about gaming.
Stace is a freelance writer,
games consultant, author of the
Which games did you play most this year?
book Independent By Design: The
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Art & Stories of Indie Game Creation,
What was this year’s most exciting event?
and an admirer of all those who have set the
VR. It will change entertainment completely.
records that have made up 10 years of Gamer’s.

Which games did you play most this year?

The Banner Saga 2, Hearthstone and XCOM 2.
What was this year’s most exciting event?
The rise of VR gaming.

DAVID HAWKSETT
David has been a science
consultant and contributor
for Guinness World Records for
16 years. He’s an advisor on Gamer’s
when not busy with his UK Planetary Forum.

Which games did you play most this year?

ARMA 3 and Elite: Dangerous. TYLER HICKS
What was this year’s most exciting event?
Tyler is an analyst for the
The release of Elite’s major Horizons update.
eSports organization Team
Liquid and an avid fan of all things
competitive gaming.

Which games did you play most this year?

Halo 5. I helped Team Liquid secure a top-eight
finish at the Halo World Championship.
What was this year’s most exciting event?
JOHN LEARNED The Final Fantasy XV “Uncovered” event in
which they revealed their plans for its release.
John has contributed to
GamesRadar, USgamer and Twin
Galaxies. He often chooses writing
and Street Fighter III over sleep.

Which games did you play most this year?

Dark Souls III and Salt and Sanctuary.
What was this year’s most exciting event?
The influence of Dark Souls made manifest in
Salt and Sanctuary, Eitr and Death’s Gambit.

JOHN ROBERTSON
John is a writer and
photographer specializing in
videogames and their cultural
impact on wider society. He tries
to avoid playing games on his phone
MATT WALES as much as possible.
Matt has written about games
Which games did you play most this year?
for over a decade, from IGN and
Undertale and The Witness.
CVG to Eurogamer and Kotaku.
What was this year’s most exciting event?
The launch of VR gaming.
Which games did you play most this year?
The Witness, Stardew Valley, Subnautica, Hyper
Light Drifter, Ark: Survival Evolved, No Man’s
Sky and my big-budget highlight Dark Souls III.
What was this year’s most exciting event?
It’s hard not to get excited by E3 each year.
207
 INDEX B
Back to the Future 45
Bad Dudes vs.
DragonNinja 192
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
198
Broforce 150
Broken Sword 44
Clash of Clans 172
CLASSICS 50–59
ClayFighter 199
Cloud Imperium
Dark Souls II 141,
142; Dark Souls III
142
Dark Tower 193
Bold entries in the Angry Birds BAFTA awards 14, 65, The Shadow of the Games 105, 124 Darkest of Days 157
index indicate a main Halloween Special 89, 169, 181, 189 Templars 44 Codemasters 88, 105 DarkSpace 133
entry on a topic. Edition 192; Angry Bagra 10 Brower, Russell 165 Coffee Stain Studios Datasoft 80
BOLD CAPITALS Birds Seasons 192; Balloon Fight 194 Bruce Lee 80 168 Dave Mirra Freestyle
indicate an entire Angry Birds Star Baluba-Louk No Brutal Doom 176 Combat Sports BMX 2 186
chapter. Wars 114; Angry Densetsu 193 Bubble Bobble 192 80–81 Day of the Tentacle
Birds Star Wars II Bandai Namco 28, Bucky O’Hare 194 Command & Conquer: 44
2D Boy 58 192 77, 89, 111, 140, 141, Bull versus Blazers Red Alert 3 173 Daytona USA 90
2K Games 80, 163, Animal Crossing 128, 142, 144 and the NBA Commando 192 DayZ 176
172, 173 168 Banjo-Kazooie 134, Playoffs 199 commercials, TV 172 Dead Space 64
2K Sports 81, 184 Apple 84, 108 165, 205 Bullfrog 173 Commodore 64 192 Deadly Premonition
5th Cell 40 iOS 58, 59, 90, 98, Baraduke 129 Bungie 126 concerts 164–165 46
10-Yard Fight 194 121, 193 Basketball 184–185 Burger Time 193 Contra 194, 201 Death Race 192
25 Years of Mario arcade gaming 16, Basketball! 184 Burning Crusade, conventions 8, 52, 69; Deep Silver 38
Kart 94–95 56, 83, 90–91, 95, Bastion 140 The 105 see also Game Defend the Terra
1080° Snowboarding 98, 99, 110–111, 121, Batman: Arkham Burnout 2: Point of Jams; tournaments Attack on the Red
194 192 Asylum 40; Arkham Impact 196, 200 Cool Spot 199 UFO 193
2014 FIFA World Cup Arcade Racers City 40; Arkham Burnout Legends cosplay 24, 37, 48–49, Defender 192
Brazil 180 90–91 Knight 14, 15, 40; 194, 198 52, 79, 92, 148, 152, Defender II 194
Archie Comics 52 Arkham Origins 48 Bust-A-Move 4 196 160; crowd events Defense of the
A Arena 105 Batman Cosplay Bust-A-Move ’99 194 54, 56, 68 Ancients (DotA)
AaAaAA!!! – A Arkanoid DS 194 48–49 Buster Bros. Counter-Strike 20, 22, 32, 176; Dota 2 19,
Reckless Disregard Arm Wrestling 193 Battlefield 4 156 Collection 196 30, 31, 153, 157, 191 21, 22–23, 27, 30,
for Gravity 186 ARMA II 176 Battletoads 82, 194, Global Offensive 14, 33, 162
AC GITADORA art: 199 C 15, 20, 31, 33, 157, Dejobaan Games 186
Tri-Boost 98 fan art 56, 162; pixel Bayonetta 82, 128 California Games 186, 162 Democracy 3 170
AC/DC Live: Rock art 67; real-world Be a Record-Breaker 188, 199 cover stars 11, 182 Demon’s Souls 141
Band Track Pack 66; trading-card 5 Call of Duty 13, Crackdown 3 205 Derby Stallion 188
100 mosaic 146 Beach Buggy Blitz 192 30, 35, 158–159; Craneballs 125 Destiny 154, 161
Acclaim 184 artificial neural Beach Buggy Racing Advanced Warfare Crash Bandicoot: The Taken King 128
Acid Nerve 36 networks (ANNs) 198 158; Black Ops 198, Warped 196 Deus Ex 163
Acornsoft 105 170 Beach Head 192 200; Black Ops II Crash Team Racing 91 Deus Ex: Invisible
Action RPGs 140–141 Asmik 81 Beat Sneak Bandit 98 97; Black Ops III 12, Crazy Kong 193 War 162; Deus Ex:
ACTION- Assassin’s Creed 134; Beat-’Em-Ups 82–83 154, 157, 158, 159; Crazy Taxi 91 The Fall 162
ADVENTURE Assassin’s Creed II Beatles: Rock Band, Modern Warfare Crew, The 90 Devil May Cry 82, 83
34–47, 116–117 39; Assassin’s The 100, 195, 198 158, 200 Crimsonland 198 Devil’s Covenant 190
Action-Adventure Creed IV 160; Bee 52 194 Candy Crush Saga 59 CrossFire 154, 167 Devolver Digital 58
Round-Up 36–37 Brotherhood 38; Bejeweled Blitz 193 Capcom 9, 28, 40, 75, crossover characters Diablo 141; Diablo III:
actions per minute Syndicate 38 Bell, Ian 105, 124 78, 82, 83, 135, 197 52 Ultimate Evil Edition
(APM) 27 Assembly Line, The Benson, Scott 202 Capcom Classics crossover games 78, 141
Activision 37, 38, 40, 190 Berzerk 192 Collection Remixed 144 Diary of a Camper
42, 59, 90, 91, 102, Asteroids 56, 192 Bethesda Softworks 198 Crossy Road 192 190
128, 132, 154, 157, Astyanax 194 10, 105, 152, 162 Capcom Classics Crowbar Collective DICE awards 15, 39
158, 161, 186, 187, 197 Atari 20, 52, 56, 110, BioWare 108, 119, 132, Collection (Vol. 1) 176 Die Gute Fabrik 150
Activision Blizzard 10, 111, 154 205 196, 200 crowdfunding 76, Dig, The 133
20, 59 Atari 400 57; Atari Bitmap Brothers 188 Capcom vs SNK 78 89, 124; see also Dig Dug 196
adjudication services 2600 40, 46, 56, Black Mesa 176 Capybara Games 151 Kickstarter Digital Devil Story:
21, 31 108, 192; Atari ST Black Widow 193 card-trading apps Cruis’n World 194 Megami Tensei 145
Advance Wars: Days 38; Jaguar 154, 192 Bland, Darren 179 108, 115 Crypt of the Digital Extremes 161
of Ruin 172 Atari Anthology 196 Blazing Star 192 Carmack, John 154, NecroDancer 14, 98 digital games sales
Aegis Wing 201 Atari Classics Evolved Blindfolded 155 Cryptic Studios 40 84–85
After Burner 134 198 Speed-Runs 60–61 Castlevania Crystal Castles 193 Digital Jesters 31
Agar.io 13 Atlus 144, 145 Blizzard 25, 26, 32, Castlevania Legends Culling, The 12 Dimahoo 193
Age of Empires 22, awards 14–15 105, 139, 141, 165, 193; Dawn of Sorrow Cuphead 203 Disney Infinity 42, 43
134 BAFTAs 14, 65, 89, 173, 174 141; Symphony of Curiosity – What’s Disney Infinity 3.0
Age of Empires II 169, 181, 189; DICE Block Hole 193 the Night 134 Inside the Cube? 169 114, 115
172 awards 15, 39; The Blood Bowl 188; Blood Cawthon, Scott 46 Cutie Suzuki No Division, The 156
agents, eSports 20 Game Awards 14; Bowl 2 188, 189 CCP Games 105 Ringside Angel 81 Don King Presents:
Air Rescue 199 Game Developers Bloodborne 14, 15, CD Projekt 8, 14, cutscenes 37, 53 Prizefighter 80
Alex Kidd in Miracle Choice 14, 150; 140, 141, 142 105, 141 Cyanide 188 Donkey Kong 9,
World 199 Golden Joystick Bloodstained: Ritual Champions Online 40 Cybernator 200 52, 56, 57, 192,
Alien: Isolation 46 15, 90, 95, 141; of the Night 202 charity fundraising 193; Barrel Blast
Alien vs Predator 154 Nickelodeon Kids’ Blow, Jonathan 58 139, 156, 161 D 91; Country
Alone in the Dark 46 Choice Awards Bode Miller Alpine Charlie’s Angels 82 D-Force 200 Competition Pak
American Football 98; Outstanding Skating 186 Checkley, Julian 48 D2K: Jumpman 200; Donkey Kong
182–183 Innovation in Boon, Ed 76 Chinese Room, The 44 Returns 192 Junior 193
American Gladiators Gaming 31; PETA Borderlands 162 Chrono Trigger 144 Daku Neko 177 Dontnod 203
200 awards 168 Borderlands 2 154, Chuck Rock 200 Dance Central 200 Doom 30, 154, 155,
America’s Army 157 Awards Round-Up 163; The Pre-Sequel! CineMassive 58 Dance Dance 176; Doom II 176;
Amiga 38 14–15 163 Cinematronic 50 Revolution 98, 99 Doom 3 177; Final
amiibo figures 42 Awesome Bossa Studios 151 Circle 193 Dance Dance Doom 176; The
Anarchy Online 133 Anniversaries boxing games 80, 81 City of Heroes 40 Revolution X3 98 Ultimate Doom 176
Android 12, 17, 192 134–135 Braben, David 105, CityVille 170 dance games 98–99 Double Dragon 135,
Angel 82 Axiom Verge 140 124 Civilization II 172 Dark Mod, The 177 138, 192; Double
Angry Birds 58, 192, Ayrton Senna’s Super Brace Yourself Games Civilization V 173 Dark Souls 140, Dragon V: The
193 Monaco GP II 199 98 Clan Phantasm 190 142–143 Shadow Falls 200

208
Double Dribble: 5 on 5 agents 20; global 149, 196, 204; Final Game Design Sweden
193 viewing figures Fantasy IX 148; Final AB 58
Dovetail Games 168 32; GosuGamers Fantasy X 149; Final Game Dev Story 170
Dragon Age 119 32–33; International Fantasy XIII–2 198; Game Jams 150–151
Dragon Nest 139 e-Sports Final Fantasy XIV: Game of Thrones 45
Dragon Nest: Federation (IeSF) A Realm Reborn GameCube 82, 94
Warrior’s Dawn 21; match-fixing 138; Final Gameloft 41
(movie) 139 scandals 21; Fantasy XIV Games Workshop
Dragon Quest revenue potential Online 148; Final 188
144, 145; Dragon 32; school Fantasy XV 144, 148, Gamescom 8
Quest X 144; curriculum 22, 30; 149 Gamma-Attack 56
Dragon Quest XI wagers on 24, 30; Final Fight 83 Gammation 56
144; Dragon Quest YouTube platforms Final Lap 135 Garfield 52
Builders 64 12–13; see also Firaxis Games 173 Garriott, Richard 138
Dragon Slayer 140 tournaments Fire Emblem: Garry’s Mod 176
Dragon: The Bruce eSports Round-Up Awakening 172 Gazillion
Lee Story 80 30–31 Fire Pro Wrestling 81 Entertainment 41 Guitar Hero II 103, Hungry Shark World
Dragon’s Lair 50–51 ESWAT: City Under Fire Pro Wrestling in Gearbox 162, 163 200; Guitar Hero III: 13
Dragster 91 Siege 199 Mobage 81; Fire Pro Gears of War 160 Legends of Rock Hunter 38
DrinkBox Studios 82 E.T. the Extra- Wrestling Returns Gears of War 2 30, 102, 103, 197, 200; Hybrid Arts 154
Driveclub 88, 89 Terrestrial 56 80 160; Gears of War 3 Guitar Hero Encore: HyperLiger 65
Driver 196 Euro Truck First-Person 160; Gears of War 4 Rocks the 80s 197;
driving games 88–91 Simulator 2 168 Shooters 154–155 160, 205; Judgment Guitar Hero Live I
driving simulations EVE Online 17, 105, Five Nights at 160 102; Guitar Hero Ice Climber 194
88–89, 135 130–131 Freddy’s 46, 47, 65 Geometry Wars 3: World Tour 197, Ice Hockey 188
DrumMania 98 EverQuest 105 FlatOut 197 Dimensions Evolved 200; Metallica 102; Icehole 184
Dungeon Fighter Everybody’s Gone Focus 168 198 Warriors of Rock 102 id Software 155
Online 138 to the Rapture 14, Football Manager 13 Ghost Recon 156 GuitarFreaks 98 Idea Factory 145
Dungeon Village 170 44, 189 Football ”ghosts” 36 Igarashi, Koji 202
Dungeons & Dragons: Evil Geniuses 15, 19, Manager 2010 179; Giant Game Worlds H in-game purchases
Tower of Doom 83 22, 23 Football Manager 104–105 H1Z1 196 169, 172
Dying Light 46 Evolution 2016 180 Giga Wing 2 56 hack-and-slash Incredible Hulk 40
The Following 46 Championship Foreword 3 GMA 155 82–83 Indian Battle 193
Dynasty Warriors 4 Series (EVO) 21, Formula One World Goat Simulator 168, Half-Life 2 154, 176 Injustice: Gods
200 28, 29 Championship: 169 Half-Life 3 154 Among Us 30
Dynasty Wars 83 Evolution of eSports Beyond the Limit 198 God Hand 82 Hall, Dean 176 Inside a LEGO®
20–21 Forza Motorsport 6 God of War 82 Halo 30, 126–127, 191; Studio 72–73
E Extreme Sports 15, 89 Gods Eater Burst 198 Combat Evolved instrument games
EA (Electronic Arts) Round-Up 186–187 FPS games 108, 112, Golden Axe 201 127; Halo 3 126, 134; 100–103
EA DICE 112; games Eyedentity 139 126–127, 135, 154– Golden Joystick Halo 5: Guardians Intelligent Systems
9, 11, 40, 64, 76, 80, 155, 158–159, 167 Awards 15, 90, 126, 127; Halo Wars 172
83, 88, 108, 109, 112, F franchise stores 146 95, 141 126 Intellivision 193
118, 120, 128, 132, 141, F1 2010 88 Frankenstein’s Golden Tee ’99 193 Hamill, Mark 132 International eGames
170, 173, 182, 183, F1 2011 88 Monster 192 GoldenEye 007 134, Hard Drivin’ 199 Committee (IeGC) 11
184, 186 Fabulous Beasts 43 Free Lives 150 135, 154 Hardware Round-Up interviews:
EA Sports UFC 80 Facebook 17 free2play games 40, Gone Home 204 16–17 Ali-A (games
EA Sports UFC 2 80 Fallout 134; Fallout 3 84, 138, 139, 157, 161, Google 84, 116 Hare, Jon 188 broadcaster) 3,
earnings/prize money 162; Fallout 4 10, 166, 172 GosuGamers 32–33 Harmonix 100 12; Bagley, Jim
19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 14, 15, 152, 153, 162, Freedom Force 40 Gran Turismo 17, 88, Hart, Ryan 75 (programmer) 50;
27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 163, 196; Fallout Freedom Force vs 93, 135, 149, 196; Hawk, Tony 187 Böcker, Thomas
32, 91, 154, 172, 174, Shelter 15 The 3rd Reich 40 Gran Turismo 2 196; H.A.W.X 156 (videogame concert
181, 182 fan art 56, 162 Frictional Games 46 Gran Turismo 3: Hearthstone 30, 85, producer) 164;
”Easter eggs” 57, fan fiction 76 Frogger 192 A-spec 89, 197; 174–175; Heroes of Çetin, Sami (gamer)
146, 156 fan films 93, 102 FromSoftware 141, 142 Gran Turismo 4 89; Warcraft 174 93; Criminski, Jacob
Eggs 193 fan videos 64 Frontier Gran Turismo 6 88, Heavyweight Champ (gamer) 60; Dini,
Eidos 40, 105, 162 Farming Developments 105, 198; Sport 88 81 Dino (software
Elder Scrolls, The Simulator 2013 168 124, 204 Grand Theft Auto 38, Helldivers 15 developer) 180;
165, 191; The Elder Fatal Fury Battle Frostburn 22 88, 135, 191; Grand Hello Games 105, GosuGamers
Scrolls II: Daggerfall Archives Volume 1 Frozen Codebase 189 Theft Auto III 105; 124, 125 team 32, 33; Gwin,
105; The Elder 197 Fuel 105 Grand Theft Auto IV Heptrix 195 Benjamin (gamer)
Scrolls IV: Oblivion Feak, Steve 176 Fullbright 204 37, 38; Grand Theft Her Story 14, 15, 189 142; Hassan,
177; The Elder Ferrari Grand Prix Furcadia 105 Auto V 11, 15, 38, 39, Heroes of Newerth Syed (gamer)
Scrolls V: Skyrim Challenge 199 41, 105; Grand Theft 22 22; Johnson,
140; The Elder FIFA 10, 13, 30, 180, G Auto Online 15 Heroes of the Storm Isaiah “Triforce”
Scrolls Online 138 181 Gaelic Games Hurling Graphic Adventures 15, 24, 25, 33 (gamer) 30; Mariee,
Elevator Action 192 FIFA 13 180; FIFA 16 2007 189 44–45 Hey You Pikachu! 147 Ashley (games
Elite 105, 124; 30, 180, 181 Galactic Great Giana Sisters, Higinbotham, William broadcaster) 12;
Dangerous 105, Fight Night Round 3 Civilizations II: Dark The 52 188 Martyn, Victor
124; Frontier: Elite II 80 Avatar 172 Green Beret 193 Hill Climb Racing 192 (GosuGamers
124; Frontier: First Fighter Within 76 Galaga 193, 196, 201 Green Day: Rock Himo 160 owner) 32;
Encounters 124 Fighting Games Game & Watch Band 198 Hitmaker 91 MasterOV (games
Elite Beat Agents 28–29, 74–83, 135 Gallery 3 193 Greg Hastings Holmes, Paul 38 broadcaster) 13;
194 Fighting Round-Up Game Awards, The 14 Paintball 2 186 Hopkins, Joel 106, 107 ”PangaeaPanga”
En Masse 138 76–77 Game Boy 59, 60, 193 Grim Fandango: Horii, Yuji 144 (gamer) 70;
EndWar 156 Final Doom 176 Game Boy Advance Remastered 44 Horror Games 46–47 Roberts, Chris
Epic Games 103, 157 Final Fantasy 94, 193 GT Interactive 154 House of the Dead 2, (software
Epyx 186, 188 148–149, 164, 165 Game Boy Gallery 3 Guacamelee! 82 The 199 developer) 124;
ESPORTS 10, 18–33 Final Fantasy V 148; 193 Guardian Heroes 82 HTC 17 Schill, Markus
adjudication Final Fantasy VII Game Boy Gallery 4 Guitar Hero 100, 102– HTC Vive 17 (software
services 21, 31; 8, 134, 137, 148, 193 103; Aerosmith 102; Humble Bundles 173 developer) 156;

209
INDEX LEGO Star Wars II:
The Original Trilogy
117
LEGO Studio 72–73
Mario Party Advance
193
Mario Party DS 194
Mario’s Tennis 188
66–69, 105, 153, 163,
177, 191
Minecraft: Story Mode
45; MinecraftEdu
Need for Speed 88,
90, 93; Carbon 91;
Hot Pursuit 198;
Hot Pursuit 2 197;
Smith, Jonathan Kerbal Space LEGO The Hobbit 8 marriage proposals 68 No Limits 90
(TT Games Program 15, 125 LEGO The Lord of the 162 Mineplex 68 Neeson, Liam 172
production Kick Off 180 Rings 73 martial arts games 80 Minesweeper 58; Nehahra 190
director) 72; Kick Off 2 180 LEGO Worlds 64 Marvel Heroes 2016 41 Super Challenge 58 Nehrim: At Fate’s
Spencer FC (games Kickstarter 16, 17, 39, LeMans 192 Marvel Pinball 198 Mirror’s Edge 186 Edge 177
broadcaster) 13; 43, 202, 204 Lethal Enforcers II: Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Missile Command 192 Nelson, Gunnar 130,
Tallarico, Tommy Kid Icarus 194 Gun Fighters 193 28, 30, 78; Clash of Mitchell, Billy 57 131
(game-music Killer Instinct 28 Life is Strange 14, 44 Super Heroes 198; Miyamoto, Shigeru Neople 138
composer) 165; van Kinect Star Wars 109 life simulation games Fate of Two Worlds 52, 54, 94 NES 80
Dreunen, Joost King Digital 169 40; New Age of MMORPGs 40, 41, netKar Pro 88
(CEO, SuperData) Entertainment 59 Lightsaber Escape 116 Heroes 40 105, 118, 119, 130, Never Alone 52
84; Williams, King of Fighters, LittleBigPlanet 64 mash-up videos 95 133, 138, 139, 165 New Star Soccer 181
Luke (software The 75; Dream LittleBigPlanet 2 64; Mass Effect 119, 132; MMOs 40, 108, 109, New Super Mario
developer) 151 Match 1999 199 LittleBigPlanet 3 65 Andromeda 205; 124, 130–131, 133, Bros. 194
iOS 59, 90, 98, 121, King of Kong: Lizard Wizard 193 Mass Effect 2 132, 138, 156 New Tetris, The 194
193 A Fistful of Quarters Lollipop Chainsaw 141; Mass Effect 3 MOBA Round-Up Nexon 139
IR Gurus Interactive (documentary) 56 133, 160 132, 133, 141 22–25 NFL 2K 198
189 Kingdom Hearts Looney Tunes B-Ball Mat Hoffman’s Pro mobile apps 85 NFL 2K1 182
Iron Maiden 100 145, 165; Kingdom 184 BMX 2 186 mobile gaming 12, 84, NFL Football 182
Irrational 40 Hearts II 144; Lord of the Rings: Mattel 42, 184 85, 110 NHL ’94 198, 199,
Ito, Hiroyuki 148 Unchained X 145 The Two Towers 83 Maxis 169, 171 modding 22, 46, 119, 200
Ivory Tower 90 Kirkhope, Grant 165 Lucas, George 108, Mazecraft 65 154, 176–177 Nibbler 56
Iwata, Satoru 9 Kizuna Encounter 76 109, 110 Mechatron: 2154 196 Mods 176–177 Nichibutsu 189
kkrieger 154 LucasArts 44, 45, Medal of Honor 157 Mojang 45, 59, 66, Nickelodeon Kids’
J Knuckles the Echidna 108, 109, 112, 116, 117, Media Molecule 64 105 Choice Awards 98
Jagex 138, 139 52 119, 120, 121, 133 Mega Man Molyneux, Peter 169 Night in the Woods
Jak and Daxter 53 Koei 160, 197 Lucasfilm 44 Anniversary Monkey Island 44 202
Jak II: Renegade 53 Konami 31, 36, 37, 46, Luckey, Palmer 8 Collection 200 Monument Valley 58 Nihon Falcom 140
Jam City Rollergirls 98, 99, 100, 134, 141, Lucky & Wild 193 Megami Tensei 145 Moon Shuttle 192 Ninja Gaiden 82, 195
189 144, 180 memorabilia 42, 46, Moon Studios 53 Ninja Gaiden III:
Jay Z 184 Kool-Aid Man 192 M 54, 78, 106, 114, 146 Mortal Kombat 75, The Ancient Ship
Johann Sebastian Koshiro, Yuzo 82 Machinima Films Metal Gear 31, 36, 134 76, 193 of Doom 196
Joust 150 Kula World 58 190–191 Metal Gear Solid Mortal Kombat 4 Ninja Spirit 193
John Madden Kunos Simulazioni 88 ”Madden curse” 11; 36, 37; Metal Gear 194; Mortal Kombat Nintendo: 3DS 95,
Football 183 Madden NFL 07 182; Solid IV: Guns of the Trilogy 196; Mortal 194; DS 9, 194;
Jordan, Michael 184 L Madden NFL 10 182; Patriots 37; Metal Kombat X 14, 15 Entertainment
Journey 44 Lab Zero Games 76 Madden NFL 15 182; Gear Solid V: The Mötley Crüe 100 System 194–195,
JourneyMap 177 Lara Croft GO 14 Madden NFL 16 9, Phantom Pain 14, movies 9, 36, 40, 56, 200; games 9, 29,
Jr. PAC-Man 193 Last Action Hero 182; Madden NFL 98 15, 36 76, 139, 147, 154; 37, 54–55, 70, 91,
JRPGs 144–145, 149 200 196 Metal Slug – Super machinimas 190–191 92–95, 128, 129,
Juiced 200 Last Guardian, The Madden Bowl 183 Vehicle-001 192 Mr. Driller Online 201 135, 141, 145, 146,
Jurassic Park 8 36, 202 Madden, John 183 Metroid Prime 127, Ms. PAC-Man 193 147, 160, 168, 172,
Just Cause 105; Last Ninja, The 90 MagicBand 42 128, 129; Corruption Multiple Arcade 188; Nintendo
Just Cause 2 198; Last of Us, The 35; Magnavox Odyssey 128; Federation Machine Emulator 64 134, 194; NX
Just Cause 3 39 Left Behind 36 184, 188 Force 128 (MAME) 193 console 10; Virtual
Just Dance 98, 103; League of Legends Major League Metroidvania 140 music: see concerts; Boy 188; Wii 9,
Just Dance 3 98; 20, 21, 24, 27, 30, Gaming (MLG) Mia Hamm 64 Soccer soundtracks 116, 195; Wii U 195;
Just Dance 4 200; 32, 33, 154, 166, 10, 20 181 Myst 44 Wii Virtual Console
Just Dance 2015 97 167, 176 Management Sims Michael Jordan: 196; World
Lee, Bruce 80 170–171 Chaos in the Windy N Championships 20,
K Lee, Sir Christopher Mane6 76 City 184 Nagano Winter 21, 30, 54
Kairosoft 170 8 Maniac Mansion 44 Microsoft 59; Cloud Olympics ’98 194 Nintendo Campus
karaoke games 98 Lee, Spike 185 MapleStory 139 205; games 28, 89, Namco 28, 37, 56, 76, Challenge 54
kart-racing 91, 92–95 Legend of Zelda, The Mappy 192 126, 160; HoloLens 77, 90, 129, 135 Nintendogs 168;
Kelly Slater’s Pro 128, 202; The Minish marathons 38, 60, 64, 17 Namco Museum 64 Lab & Friends 168
Surfer 186 Cap 193; Ocarina of 68, 75, 79, 87, 97, Middle-earth: Shadow 194 No Man’s Sky 14, 105,
Ken Griffey Jr.’s Time 10, 37, 60, 144 98, 100, 103, 111, 126, of Mordor 38, 39 Namco Museum 124, 125
Slugfest 194 Legends of Gaming 149, 158 Middleton, Dan Virtual Arcade 201 No More Heroes 2:
9, 12–13 Mario! A Super (“DanTDM”) 63 NASCAR Thunder Desperate Struggle
LEGO Batman 2 133 Musical (stage Midi Maze 154 2002 200 195
LEGO Dimensions 35, comedy) 11 Midway Arcade Naughty Dog 36, 37 Nordeus 180
42, 72, 73 Mario Bros. 52, 192 Origins 201 NBA 2K 184, 185
LEGO dioramas 173 Mario Kart 87, 92–95; Midway Arcade NBA 2K13 184; O
LEGO Island 72 Double Dash!! 94; Treasures 200 NBA 2K16 184, 185 Oblivion 90
LEGO Jurassic World Mario Kart 7 95, 194; Midway Arcade NBA Basketball 184 Oculus Rift 8, 10, 17
72 Mario Kart 8 30, Treasures 2 197 NBA Jam 199 Oculus VR 17
LEGO Marvel 92, 95, 195; Mario MiG-29: Soviet NBA Jam for Wii 184, Oddworld: Abe’s
Adventures 40 Kart 64 94; Mario Fighter 194 195; On Fire Edition Exoddus 190
LEGO Star Wars: Kart Arcade GP 92; Mike Tyson’s 201 Oddworld
The Complete Saga Mario Kart Arcade Punch-Out!! 61, 80, NBA Live 184 Adventures 193
117 GP DX 95; Mario 81, 194 NBA Live 16 184; Old School
LEGO Star Kart DS 95; Mario Military Shooters NBA Live 95 184 RuneScape 138
Wars: The Force Kart Wii 93, 95, 195; 156–157 NBA Street Vol. 2 184 OlliOlli 186
Awakens 108 Super Circuit 94, Million 85 NCAA Football 14 198 OlliOlli 2 186
LEGO Star Wars: The 193; Super Mario Minecraft 9, 10, 12, NCAA Football 2004 Olympic sport 11
Video Game 109, 117 Kart 92, 93, 94, 200 13, 17, 63, 64, 65, 182 Onimusha Soul 83

210
open-world gaming point-and-click RHYTHM & PARTY Sea of Thieves 205 Smite 14, 22
38–39, 91, 104–105, games 44, 46, 133 96–103 Seal of Nehahra 190 Sneak Bandit 98
124 Pokémon 8, 144, Rhythm Games Second Person SNK Arcade Classics
Operation: WinBack 146–147 98–99 Shooter Zato 160 Vol. 1 197
160 Pokémon Alpha Ridge Racer 90, 196 Sega 81, 82, 110, 111, Soap Creative 56 Sports Interactive 180
Operation Wolf 134 Sapphire 147; Ridge Racer Turbo/ 133, 160, 173, 182, Soccer 180–181 Sports Round-Up
OpTic Gaming 14 Pokémon Blue 60; Hi-Spec Demo 196 184, 185, 188; CD SOMA 46 188–189
Orange Box, The 135 Pokémon Omega Rift 138 198; Dreamcast 56, Sonic & Knuckles 199 Squad 125
Order: 1886, The 15 Ruby 147; Pokémon Riot Games 24, 166, 76, 182, 198–199, Sonic Generations Squadron 42 122
Ori and the Blind Red 146; Pokémon 176 204; Genesis 199; 177 Square Enix 8, 39, 44,
Forest 14, 15, 52 Sapphire 12 Rise of the Tomb Master System 134, Sonic the Hedgehog 64, 134, 137, 141, 144,
Origin Systems 138 Pokémon: The First Raider 15, 36 199; Mega Drive 81, 52, 199 148, 149, 162, 164
OutRun 90 Movie 147 Risk of Rain 196 82, 199 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 SSD Company 189
OutRun 2 200; Pole Position II 192 Robot Bowl 192 Sega’s Ultimate Mega 196, 199; Sonic the SSX 186, 187
Turbo OutRun 90 Polyphony 88, 135 Robot Unicorn Drive Collection 201 Hedgehog 3 199 Star Citizen 105, 122,
Overwatch 32 Pong 154 Attack 2 193 Sensible Object 43 Sonic Universe 52 124
pop culture Robotron: 2084 192, Shades of Doom 155 Sonic’s Ultimate Star Fox 128, 200
P references 163 201 Shadow of the Genesis Collection Star Fox 64 3D 128
PAC-Man 56, 154; PopCap 160, 172 Rock Band 100–101, Colossus 36, 202 201 Star Trek 132;
Championship Pope, Lucas 169 201 Shadow Warrior 154 Sony 134; games 8, ConQuest Online
Edition 201; PopTop 170 Rock Band 3 100; Shaun Palmer’s Pro 53, 65, 77, 82, 88, 132; Deep Space
Championship Populous 169, 173 Rock Band 4 100, Snowboarder 186 89, 98, 105, 135, 140; Nine: The Fallen 132;
Edition DX 198; Portal 73, 190, 191 101 Shaun White see also PlayStation Klingon Academy
The World’s Biggest Portal Stories: Mel 14 Rock Revolution 100 Snowboarding: Sorenson, Nathan 189 132; Voyager – Elite
PAC-Man 56 Positech Games 170 Rocket League 9, 13, Road Trip 186 SoulCalibur 28, 37, 76 Force 132
Painkiller 30 post-apocalyptic 14, 15, 95, 189 Shenmue III 39, 204 Soule, Jeremy 165 STAR WARS
Pajitnov, Alexey 58 games 105, 163, 196 Rockstar 37, 38, 39, Shimomura, Yoko 165 soundtracks 82, 90, 106–121, 132; action-
Pandemic Legacy 15 Power Move Pro 105, 135 Shin Megami Tensei: 91, 148 adventure 116–117;
pandemics 139 Wrestling 81 Rogue Squadron 109 Devil Summoner: SouthPeak 181 arcade gaming 110–
Panzer Dragoon Orta PowerFest ’94 200 ROLE-PLAYING The Soulless Army space, gaming in 59 111, 121; Battle for
160 Prince of Persia 36; GAMES 118–119, 134, 144 Space Invaders 20, 56 Naboo 108; Battle
Paperboy 192 The Forgotten 136–149, 203 Shin Megami Tensei: Space Jam 184 Pod 111; Battlefront
Papers, Please 169 Sands 12; The Sands Roller Jammer 189 Devil Summoner 2: Space Round-Up 15, 108, 109, 112, 113,
Parker Brothers 108, of Time 36, 76 RollerCoaster Tycoon Raidou Kuzunoha 132–133 120; Battlefront II
109, 116 Prison Architect 14, 170 vs. King Abaddon Space Shooters 113; Card Trader 108,
Perfect Dark 194 170 RollerCoaster 144 128–129 115; Dark Forces
Persona 4: Golden procedural Tycoon 3 204 SHOOTERS 112–113, Space Sims 124–125 109; The Empire
144 generation 104 Romero, John 176, 152–163; see also Spacewar! 20 Strikes Back 108,
Persona 5 203 Project CARS 89 190 FPS games; TPS speed-runs 36, 37, 111; Episode I – The
Persson, Markus Psygnosis 91 rotoscoping 36 games 38, 40, 44, 46, 52, Phantom Menace
(“Notch”) 68 Psyonix 189 Rovio Entertainment Shovel Knight 42, 53, 55, 58, 64, 80, 108; The Force
PES League 180 Puzzle Games 58–59 192 53, 144 81, 82, 90, 92, 98, Awakens 114, 115;
“PewDiePie” 15, 98, RPG Round-Up Sid Meier’s 112, 113, 115, 116, 117, Force Commander
168 Q 138–139 Civilization IV 172 119, 120, 121, 137, 108; The Force
PGA Tour 187 Q*bert 21, 56 RPG Shooters Silent Hill 46 140, 141, 148, 154, Unleashed 109,
Phantasy Star Online Quake 30, 32, 155, 190 162–163 Silver Surfer 195 158, 162, 163, 168, 116, 117; Galaxy of
133 Quake III Arena 190 RPGs 118–119, 134, SimAnt 170 172, 173, 184, 186; Heroes 108; Jedi
Phylon 133 Quake Team Fortress 136–151, 203 SimCity 170, 171 blindfolded 60–61 Arena 109, 116;
Piano Tiles: Don’t Tap 154 Ruiner Pinball 192 SimCity 4 170, 171 Speedball 2 188; Jedi Knight: Dark
the White Tile 192 QuakeCon 21 Rumble Roses 81 Simogo 98 Brutal Deluxe 188; Forces II 112; Kinect
Pinball Arcade 193, RuneScape 138 Sims, The 168, 169, 191 Speedball 2 HD 188 Star Wars 109;
198, 201 R RuneScape 3 139 Sims 2, The 169 Spelunky 52 Knights of the Old
Pinball Dreams 200 R-Type 134 SIMS & STRATEGY Spider-Man 40; Republic 108, 118,
Pinball Hall of Fame: RACING 86–95 S 166–175 Unlimited 40, 41 119; Knights of the
The Williams Racing Sims 88–89 Sailor Moon 82 Simulation Games Spielberg, Steven Old Republic II 119;
Collection 198, 201 Rage 155 Saints Row IV 38 168–169 157 LEGO Star Wars:
Pipe Dream 192 Rainbow Arts 52 Samsung Gear VR 17 simulations 88–89, Spike Human The Complete Saga
Planet Coaster 204 Rampage World Tour Samurai Warriors 197 124–125, 135, 151, Entertainment 81 117; LEGO Star
Planet Nomads 125 196 Sandbox Adventures 156, 168–171, 180, Splatoon 14, 15, 30, Wars: The Force
Plants vs. Zombies: Ranger X 199 38–39 184, 204 42, 160 Awakens 108;
Garden Warfare Rapid Reality 133 sandbox games Sin & Punishment: Spore 170 LEGO Star Wars:
160, 172 Rare 154, 194, 205 38–39, 64, 66–69, Star Successor 160 sports 178–189 The Video Game
Platform Games Raspberry Pi Zero 16 139, 169, 176, 205; Sinclair ZX81 50 SPORTS 178–189 109, 117; LEGO
52–53 Ratchet & Clank 52 see also open-world SingStar 98 Star Wars II: The
PlatinumGames 82, RBI Baseball ’93 199 gaming Sissy’s Magical Original Trilogy 117;
203 Re-Logic 65 Sawyer, Chris 170 Ponycorn
PlayStation 88, 144, Read, Simon 181 Scalebound 203 Adventure 150
196 Ready 2 Rumble SCEA 91, 141 Skullgirls 76
PlayStation 2 89, Boxing 194 Schafer, Tim 44 Skylanders 42, 43;
196–197 Real Steel 81 Schwarzenegger, Spyro’s Adventure
PlayStation 3 38, 98, Reid, Sonja 152, 153 Arnold 81, 154 42; Swap Force
134, 198 Renegade 90, 138 SCI-FI 46, 122–133, 42, 117; Trap
PlayStation 4 16, 17, Resident Evil 9, 46 140, 145, 155, 204, Team 42
112, 157, 161, 198 Resident Evil 4 46, 134 205 Slightly
PlayStation Portable Retro Games 56–57 Scribblenauts Mad
198 revenues 39, 43, 161, Unmasked: A DC Studios
PlayStation Vita 144 166, 172; see also Comics Adventure 89
PlayStation VR 17 earnings 40 Slither.io 13
Playtonic Games 205 Revolution 44 Sculptured Software Smach Z 16
Point Blank 196 Rez HD 160 184 Smilegate 154
INDEX Techland 46
Technos 135
Tecmo 82
Tekken 29, 75, 77, 78
Trion Worlds 138
Tron: Legacy 90
Tron: Solar Sailer
193
World of Tanks 30
World of Tanks Blitz
85
World of Warcraft
Lightsaber Escape Studio MDHR 203 Tekken 3 77; Tekken 4 Tropico 170 67, 105, 138, 139,
116; Masters of Teräs Stunt Island 190 197; Tekken 7 28, Tsunami Visual Tech 154, 165, 190, 191
Käsi 109; Obi-Wan Suikoden 144 77; Tekken Tag 111 World of
108, 116; The Old Sundown 14 Tournament 2 77 TT Games 42, Warships 156,
Republic 109, 118, Sunny Garcia Surfing Telltale Games 44, 45 64, 72 157
119; Racer Revenge 186 Tennis 188 Turbo OutRun 90 World Video Game
198; Republic Super Bombad Tennis for Two 20, 188 Twin Galaxies 21, Hall of Fame 154
Commando 112; Racing 121 Tera Online 138 31, 192–201 wrestling games
Return of the Jedi Super Bowl 182 Terminal Reality 109 Twitch 8, 12, 13, 21, 28, 80, 81
111, 114; Return of Super Buster Bros. Terminator 3: Rise of 146, 152, 153, 174 Wright, Will 170
the Jedi: Ewok 200 the Machines 154 Twitter 160 Virtual Pro WWE 81
Adventure 116; Rise Super Destronaut 195 Terraria 65 Tyson, Mike 80 Wrestling 64 80 WWE 2K15 81;
Against the Empire Super Famicom 8, Tetris 30, 58, 59, 106, Visceral 109 WWE 2K16 80, 81
115; RPGs & MMOs 16, 82 154, 193; Axis 194; U Visual Concepts 182
118–119; Shadows Super Mario 42 Tetris Plus 193 U.B. Funkeys 42 voice actors 8, 35, 38, X
of the Empire 109; Super Mario Bros. 52, Tetrisphere 194 Ubisoft 38, 76, 98, 40, 73, 118, 133 X-Men 201
shooters 112–113; 54–55, 93, 94, 154 Texas Chainsaw 103, 134, 156, 161 VR headsets 8, 10, 17 Xanadu – Dragon
Star Wars: TIE Super Mario 64 Massacre, The 46 Ueda, Fumito 36, 202 Slayer II 140
Fighter 121; Star 54, 55; Super thatgamecompany Uematsu, Nobuo W Xanadu Scenario II:
Wars 1313 117; Star Mario Galaxy 54, 44 164, 165 Wakeboarding The Resurrection
Wars Arcade 111; 135; Super Mario theme parks 58, 68 UFC 2 11 Unleashed featuring of Dragon 140
Star Wars Arcade: Galaxy 2 54; Super Them’s Fighting UFC Undisputed 81 Shaun Murray 186 XaviX Baseball 189
Falcon Gunner 121; Mario World 61; Herds 76 UFC Undisputed 2010 Walking Dead, The 45 XaviX Bowling 189
Star Wars Episode I: Super Smash Bros. Thief: The Dark 198 Warcraft III 20, 22, 24, XaviX Tennis 189
Racer 120; Star for Wii U 76 Project 177 UGC GAMES 62–71 32, 176 XaviXPORT 189
Wars Galaxies Super Mario Third-Person UGC Round-Up Warcraft (movie) 139 Xbox 360 42, 46, 81,
108, 119; Star Wars Generations 177 Shooters 160–161 64–65 Warfighter 157 98, 158, 200–201;
Galaxies – An Super Mario Kart 92, THPS 2 37, 186, 187; Ultima 138 Warframe 161 Live Arcade 201
Empire Divided 118; 93, 94, 200 THPS 3 196, 197; Ultima Online 105, Wario’s Woods 196 Xbox Live 100
Star Wars Pinball: Super Mario Maker THPS 5 186 138 Warner Bros. 38, 40, Xbox One 16, 52, 89,
Balance of the 14, 15, 20, 30, 64, Timon & Pumbaa’s Ultimate Doom, The 42, 108 157, 160, 161, 201
Force 110; Star Wars 70–71 Jungle Games 200 176 Warpath: Jurassic XCOM: Enemy
Rogue Squadron II: Super Mario World 70 Tiny Arcade 16 Ultimate Marvel vs. Park 76 Unknown 173
Rogue Leader Super Meat Boy 52, Titan Souls 36 Capcom 3 28, 30, Watson, Austin Xenoblade Chronicles
120, 121; Star Wars 61, 198 Titanfall 128 79 (Xavier Woods) 80 141
Rogue Squadron III: Super Puzzle Tom Clancy’s Ultra Street Fighter IV We Love Katamari Xenoblade
Rebel Strike 121; Star Fighter II Turbo 193 Rainbow Six: Siege 28, 198, 201 197 Chronicles X 145
Wars Trilogy Arcade Super Smash Bros. 156 Ultratron 198 Wii Fit/Wii Fit Plus
110; Starfighter 43, 128; Brawl 30, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Um Jammer Lammy 195 Y
111, 120, 121; toys & 195; Melee 30, 76; Cell 156 196 Wii Fit U 195 Yacht Club Games 42
collectables 114–115; Super Smash Bros. Tom Clancy’s The Umihara Kawase 8, 16 Wii Party U 195 Yamauchi, Kazunori
Uprising 108; for Wii U 29 Division 161 Uncharted: Drake’s Wii Sports 93, 189, 88
vehicles 120–121; Super Street Tony Hawk’s Pro Fortune 37 195 Yars’ Revenge 192
X-Wing 109 Fighter II: The New Skater 187 Undertale 15 Wii U 76, 92, 95, 98, Year in Gaming 8–11
StarCraft 20, 21, Challengers 196 Top Eleven 180 United Ranger Films 145, 160 Yooka-Laylee 205
26–27, 30, 32, 67, Super Street Topps Company 108 190 Wing Commander; Your New Favourite
173, 176; Brood War Fighter IV 28 Torchlight II 140 Unreal Tournament Prophecy 132; Wing Games 202–205
26, 32; StarCraft II: Super Time Force 151 Total War: Shogun 2 103 Commander III YouTube 43, 47, 63,
Wings of Liberty 26, Supercell 172 173 UnReal World 139 132; Wing 64, 65, 66, 68, 70,
27; StarCraft III 24 SuperData 84–85 tournaments 9, 10, Until Dawn 14, 47 Commander IV 132 76, 80, 121, 133,
Stardock 172 Superhero Games 11, 19, 20, 21, 22–31, update support 139 winning streaks 22, 158, 168, 170, 180,
Starfighter 109 40–41 38, 75, 130, 174, 175, Upper One 52 24, 30 182, 184, 191; Cobra
Steam 16, 64, 84, Superman 40 180, 183; audiences user-generated WipEout 91 TV 125; fan films
162, 176 Superman Returns 40 21, 24, 31; prize content 62–71 WipEout 64 90 93, 102; Legends
Stop Press! 214–215 Supermassive 47 money 22, 23, ustwo 58 Witcher 2: Enhanced of Gaming 12–13;
Strategy Games SureA1 177 26, 27, 28, 29, 30; Utopia 170 Edition, The 140 music videos 98;
172–173 Surgeon Simulator screens 28, 163 Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, parodies 12, 92;
Street Fighter 21, 75, 2013 151 Toys-to-Life 42–43 V The 8, 14, 15, 105, reaction videos 148;
77, 78–79, 135 TPS games 160–161, Vagrant Story 141 140, 141, 145 trailers 78, 113, 114,
Street Fighter T 205 Vainglory 85 Witness, The 58 128, 156; ”unboxing
Alpha 3 20; Street Tacoma 204 Track & Field 201 Valve 17, 22, 135, 154, Wizard Games 46 videos” 68;
Fighter II: 15th Taito 90 TrackMania 31 157, 176 Wolf Among Us, YouTube Gaming 8,
Anniversary Taito Legends 200 TrackMania Nations Vampyr 203 The 44 12, 127
Collection Taito Legends 2 197 Forever 31 Vandal Hearts 144 Wolfenstein: The New Yuke’s Media
197; Street Take-Out Weight Tradewest 82 Vanguard: Saga of Order 154 Creations 81
Fighter III: 3rd Strike Curling 189 trailers 9, 78, 113, 114, Heroes 105 Wolfenstein 3D 155
78; Street Fighter IV Tales from the 128, 156 Vault of the Traveler, Woods, Tiger 187 Z
78; Street Fighter V Borderlands 45 Train Simulator 2016: The 45 World Basketball Zanac 196
10, 75, 78, 79, 80; Tales of Berseria 144 Steam Edition 168 Verdun 157 Manager 184 Zaxxon 193
Street Fighter X Talos Principle, The Trapanese, Joseph Videogame Concerts World Championships Zen Pinball 198
Tekken 79; Super 58 90 164–165 20, 21, 22, 30, 54, Zen Pinball 2 195
Street Fighter II tattoos 8 Trevor McFur 192 Viewtiful Joe 40 93, 147 Zen Studios 195
30; Ultra Street Team Dark Mod 177 Trials Fusion 186, 198 Viewtiful Joe 2 40 World Class Track zombies 46, 155, 160,
Fighter IV 78 Team Fortress 191 Trials HD 201 Virgin 40 Meet/Stadium 172, 196
Streets of Rage 1–3 82 Team Meat 52 Trillion: God of Virtua Fighter 75 Events 195 Zoom! 199
Studio Liverpool 91 Techbrew 177 Destruction 145 Virtua Tennis 188 World of Goo 58 Zynga 170

212
PICTURE CREDITS
5 Paul Michael Hughes/ Hughes/GWR; 66 James
GWR, James Ellerker/GWR, Ellerker/GWR; 69 AP/PA, COUNTRY CODES
Ranald Mackechnie/GWR; Rex; 70 Kevin Scott Ramos/
6 Kevin Scott Ramos/GWR, GWR; 84 iStock; 87 Ryan
ABW Aruba GMB Gambia PCN Pitcairn Islands
Ryan Schude/GWR, Ranald Dix/GWR; 88 Alamy; 93 Paul AFG Afghanistan GNB Guinea-Bissau PER Peru
Mackechnie/GWR, James Michael Hughes/GWR; 97 April AGO Angola GNQ Equatorial PHL Philippines
Ellerker/GWR; 7 Paul Michael Massirio; 98 Shinsuke Kamioka/ AIA Anguilla Guinea PLW Palau
Hughes/GWR, Ryan Dix/ GWR; 100 Alamy; 101 Alamy; ALB Albania GRC Greece PNG Papua New
102 Ryan Schude/GWR; AND Andorra GRD Grenada Guinea
GWR; 8 Paul Michael Hughes/ ANT Netherlands GRL Greenland POL Poland
GWR; 9 Getty; 10 Express 106 Jeff Crow/Edge magazine; Antilles GTM Guatemala PRI Puerto Rico
& Star; 11 Getty; 16 James 108 Alamy; 110 Alamy; ARG Argentina GUF French Guiana PRK Korea, DPRO
Ellerker/GWR; 18 Patrick 111 Getty, Arcade Flyer Archive; ARM Armenia GUM Guam PRT Portugal
Strack/ESL; 19 opterown; 114 Ryan Schude/GWR; ASM American GUY Guyana PRY Paraguay
133 Alamy; 136 Paul Michael Samoa HKG Hong Kong PYF French
20 Paul Michael Hughes/GWR,
ATA Antarctica HMD Heard and Polynesia
Jonathan Leibson; 21 Getty, Hughes/GWR; 138 Alamy; ATF French Southern McDonald QAT Qatar
Shutterstock; 22 Patrick Strack/ 139 Alamy; 142 James Territories Islands REU Réunion
ESL; 26 Alamy, Kevin Chang; Ellerker/GWR; 146 Getty, ATG Antigua HND Honduras ROM Romania
27 Major League Gaming; Paul Michael Hughes/GWR; and Barbuda HRV Croatia RUS Russian
28 Red Bull; 29 fightinggm; 147 Alamy; 149 Paul Michael AUS Australia (Hrvatska) Federation
Hughes/GWR; 150 Corbis/ AUT Austria HTI Haiti RWA Rwanda
30 Stephanie Wunderl; AZE Azerbaijan HUN Hungary SAU Saudi Arabia
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GWR; 54 Game Culture, BGR Bulgaria IRN Iran SHN Saint Helena
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GWR; 56 Alamy; 57 Alamy, 3D 178 Ranald Mackechnie/GWR; BHS The Bahamas ISL Iceland Jan Mayen
Arcade; 58 Alamy; 59 Reuters; 180 Paul Michael Hughes/GWR; BIH Bosnia ISR Israel Islands
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Ramos/GWR; 62 Paul Michael 215 ZAGG Studios BLR Belarus JAM Jamaica SLE Sierra Leone
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BMU Bermuda JPN Japan SMR San Marino
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TS
ACKNOWLEDGEMEN BRA Brazil KEN Kenya SPM Saint Pierre
BRB Barbados KGZ Kyrgyzstan and Miquelon
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Guinness World and Mandy Hopkins; Indigo Darussalam KIR Kiribati SSD South Sudan
Pearl (Caroline Miller, Ben Le BTN Bhutan KNA Saint Kitts STP São Tomé
Records would like to
BVT Bouvet Island and Nevis and Príncipe
thank the following for Rougetel, Tom Regan); Isaiah
BWA Botswana KOR Korea, SUR Suriname
their help in compiling "Triforce" Johnson; Mike CAF Central African Republic of SVK Slovakia
Gamer’s Edition 2017: Kasprzak (Ludum Dare); Koch Republic KWT Kuwait SVN Slovenia
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FJT Logistics; Frontier Jessica Telef; thatgamecompany FRA France NCL New Caledonia VEN Venezuela
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GLP Guadeloupe PAN Panama ZWE Zimbabwe

213
STOP PRESS!
Highest score
on Donkey Kong
On 5 May 2016,
Wes Copeland
(USA) racked up
1,218,000 points,
surpassing his own
previous records
set on 4 Jan
2016 (see p.57)
and on 19 Apr
2016. It’s speculated that Most disliked trailer
Copeland’s latest score Uploaded on 2 May
includes every known point 2016, the “Official
Most people playing a single game of Pong in the game. However, the Call of Duty®: Infinite
On 7 Jan 2016, a total of 251 people played the classic gamer claimed that it could Warfare Reveal Trailer”
2D tennis title Pong at an event in Sandusky, Ohio, still be beaten with “a lot of earned 1,518,525 dislikes
USA. The game was organized by Zachary, Steven luck”. He told IGN: “It’s the in just eight days from
and Kristi Sneed and the CodeMash conference (all equivalent of playing poker 15,987,374 views. The
USA). Players were split into two teams and given
and being dealt 10 royal trailer showcases the
laser pointers, whose movements were run through
flushes in a row.” 13th main entry to the
a computer program to guide the Pong paddles.
military FPS series and
Fastest accumulation of introduces a space
Fastest completion Most popular cross- 1,000 mass on Slither.io setting for the first time.
of Fallout 4 platform beta for a new IP The 2016 browser game Journalists speculated
“BloodThunder” (USA) challenges players to expand that the backlash was
On 12 May 2016, Blizzard
conquered the RPG snake avatars by eating dots
a consequence of the
revealed that 9.7 million
series’ overwhelming
shooter in just 49 min players had tested and colliding with other
success. Publisher
58 sec on 3 May 2016. The Overwatch during the gamers. “ZerGreenOne”
Activision told Polygon
gamer took the record by shooter’s public beta. This (AUS) achieved a size of
that no entertainment
shaving just over a minute broke the record set by The 1,000 mass in 7.55 sec franchise can “generate
off a time achieved by Division (see p.161). It’s also on 17 Apr 2016. the kind of passion that
“BubblesDelFuego” in April, the most popular beta for a Call of Duty can”.
which itself beat a March run shooter, pipping Star Wars Fastest completion
by “JshaKhajiit” (see p.163). Battlefront (see p.112). of The Witness
Gamer “taru” navigated
Fastest glitchless Fastest completion the mazes of
completion of Undertale of SUPERHOT 3D puzzler
(Neutral Route) On 10 Mar 2016, “Lt_Disco” The Witness in
Taking the Neutral Route (USA) finished the 2016 indie 18 min 41 sec on
through the indie RPG on FPS in 20 min 20 sec. 24 Feb 2016.
8 Apr 2016, “TGH” (USA)
finished in 1 hr 4 min 58 sec.
Fastest completion of
Ratchet & Clank (2016)
Just eight days after Ratchet & Clank’s
PS4 release in North America, speed-
runner “Raikaru” (USA) hurtled
through the sci-fi platformer
in 1 hr 16 min 45 sec. His run,
on 20 Apr 2016, used the
Bouncer, a pre-order
weapon. The 2016 Fastest completion
version of Ratchet & of Super Mario Bros.
Clank is a reimagining
Not content with setting a
of the first title in
world-record time of 4 min
Sony’s series, which
57.427 sec on 14 Jan 2016 (see
debuted on the
p.55), Twitcher “darbian” (USA)
PS2 in 2002.
continued to speed-run the
seminal platformer on the NES.
On 13 Apr 2016, he improved
his time to 4 min 57.260 sec.
He declared: “I have reached
my potential in this category
– I’m done! My quest is over.”
 Fastest completion of
Ninja Gaiden III: The
Ancient Ship of Doom
On 4 May 2016,
Chinese gamer
“100Ton” finished
Tecmo’s 1991 martial-
arts platformer in
12 min 49 sec.

Most BAFTAs won by

a one-man dev team
Most liked game
Sam Barlow (UK) won
video on YouTube
three awards for his crime
Uploaded on 6 May
2016, EA’s “Battlefield 1 mystery Her Story at the Fastest completion of Dark Souls III
Official Reveal Trailer” 12th British Academy Games “Distortion2” (USA) sped through FromSoftware’s
had won 1,194,442 likes Awards on 7 Apr 2016. gloomy masterpiece in 1 hr 2 min 49 sec on 28 Apr
as of 10 May 2016. These were for Mobile & 2016. They also achieved the fastest completion
It’s not only the most Handheld, Debut Game and (all bosses): 1 hr 17 min 1 sec on 3 May.
liked game trailer, but Game Innovation. Barlow Distortion2 also holds the same records for
also the most liked had previously found fame Dark Souls II: fastest completion (16 min 20 sec
game video overall, as the lead designer and on 12 Sep 2014) and fastest completion (all bosses)
smashing the record writer for the Silent Hill (2 hr 24 min 55 sec on 10 Mar 2016).
held by PewDiePie’s games Origins (2007) and
“FUNNY MONTAGE.. Shattered Memories (2009). Most concurrent views for a Fastest completion of
#2” (see p.168). The Counter-Strike tournament Resident Evil 0 Remaster
video unveiled the 14th Fastest completion Held on 30 Mar–3 Apr in PC gamer “uhTrance” (UK)
Battlefield title and is of Star Fox Zero Columbus, Ohio, USA, finished Capcom’s HD horror
set during World War I. Playing in the Arcade mode, the 2016 Counter-Strike: remake in 1 hr 21 min 16 sec
Some outlets linked US gamer “Rodriguezjr” Global Offensive Major on 12 Feb 2016.
its popularity to the finished the space shooter Championship peaked with
backlash suffered by its in 36 min 29 sec, as verified 1.6 million viewers. This Highest matching score
FPS rival CoD (see left). by Speedrun.com on beat a record set at the on Fruit Ninja in one
2 May 2016. ESL One Cologne CS: GO minute (team of two)
tournament in Germany Mireille Bills and Megan
on 22–23 Aug 2015 (see Weaver (both UK)
p.31). A combined total achieved identical scores
of 45 million hr was of 127 playing Halfbrick’s
watched by fans. 2010 touch-screen game
at Gadget Show Live,
Highest-earning Halo 5: NEC Birmingham, UK,
Guardians player on 2 Apr 2016.
As of 5 May 2016, Bradley
“Frosty” Bergstrom (USA)
had earned $259,600
(£178,847) playing the
sci-fi FPS in tournaments.
Largest prize pool for an FPS eSports tournament
The bulk of his record haul
The original $1-m (£690,522) prize pool for 2016’s came from winning the Halo
Halo World Championship swelled to $2.5 m (£1.72 m)
World Championship with
thanks to micro-transactions made by players of
the Counter Logic Gaming
Halo 5: Guardians. At the tournament – held in
team (see picture above
Hollywood, USA, on 18–20 Mar 2016 – the Counter
left). Each of the four
Logic Gaming team (above, with coach Wes “Clutch”
Price second from left) gunned their way to victory. members netted a cool
$250,000 (£172,233).

Fastest completion of “The Showstopper” in Hitman

Set amid the glitz of a Paris fashion show, “The Showstopper” is the main level
in the first episode of Hitman (Square Enix, 2016). On 29 Mar 2016, gamer
“640509040147” (POL) took just 34 sec to eliminate his targets, beginning
the level disguised as a member of the stage crew and completing the mission
by shooting a balcony heater from long distance.
“640509040147” also set the record for the fastest completion of “The
Showstopper” in Hitman (Silent Assassin, Suit Only) – 1 min 22 sec, without
disguises or accruing non-target casualties, as verified by Speedrun.com on
25 Mar 2016. The gamer used a remotely detonated explosive and a proximity
mine to assassinate both of his targets with deadly proficiency.

215
 Largest foot
rotation
Maxwell Day

Fastest monowheel
motorcycle
Kevin Scott

Most views for a Minecraft

video channel Highest jump
Dan the Diamond Minecart by a llama
Caspa

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