WEIRD AND WONDERFUL RECORDS
A selection of some of the more crazy world records from the world of video games...
FIRST GAMING CLAN TO LEGALLY BIND THEIR PLAYERS
The success of Counter-Strike inspired the first ever gaming clan to legally bind their players to the clan. The clan, SK Gaming, subsequently became the first clan to have a player bought out of their contract when Team NoA bought Ola “elemeNt” Moum for an undisclosed sum in May 2004.
LONGEST PRISON SENTENCE FOR PLAYING A VIDEO GAME
In September 2002, the UK’s Faiz Chopdat was jailed for four months for playing Tetris on his mobile phone on a plane. Nobody has been jailed longer for playing a video game.
SMALLEST VIDEO GAME DANCE MAT
The smallest DDR mat in the world measures 10 cm (4 in) wide by 11.5cm (4.5 in) long and weighs just 20 g (0.7 oz) and is the world’s first hand-held dance mat to be played with the fingers.
FIRST VIDEO GAME SERIES TO INSPIRE A BALLET
The first video game to inspire a ballet was Dragon Quest.
MOST EXPENSIVE FLIGHT SIMULATOR COCKPIT
Australian trucking tycoon Matthew Sheil has spent the last eight years constructing a flight simulator cockpit based around the Boeing 747-400. To date the project has cost $300,000 Australian dollars (£132,000) – it is the most expensive home-made flight simulation cockpit in the world.
LARGEST VIRTUAL BEER FESTIVAL
Once a year in World of Warcraft the warring factions of the Horde and the Alliance put down their arms and celebrate “Brewfest”; the world’s largest virtual beer festival.
MOST OFFICIAL REAL LIFE STAND-INS
Having been officially portrayed by nine different models, Lara Croft is the video game character with the most real life stand-ins.
MOST PROLIFIC VIDEO GAME CHARACTER
Mario has appeared in 116 distinct titles (not including remakes or re-releases) making him the most prolific video game character of all time.
FIRST CONSOLE IN A NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONSPIRACY
In December 2000, it was reported that the FBI and US Customs were investigating the shipment of up to 4,000 PlayStation 2 consoles to Iraq. As they were designated video game systems, rather than hardware, it was rumoured that this allowed Saddam Hussein to avoid UN sanctions prohibiting the sale of computer hardware to Iraq. It was speculated that the consoles could be adapted for use as guidance systems for long-range missiles.
ONLY SENSORED SPORTS GAME
BMX XXX is the only extreme sports game to have been censored. Featuring several nude BMX riders, this was modified in the PlayStation 2 version to include black bars covering exposed body parts. Ironically, the version on the family-centric GameCube remained unchanged. BMX XXX was originally part of the Dave Mirra series, until Dave realised the nature of the content and requested his name be removed.
“HOTTEST” FEMALE FIGHTING GAME CHARACTER
In an internet poll of serious martial artists who also happen to play fighting games, the character of Nina Williams, from Tekken, was voted the “hottest”. The barely-clad blonde was admired for her fighting skills and fashion sense. Nina is the only female character to have appeared in every version of Tekken, and also starred in her own spin-off game, the 2005 PlayStation 2 title Death by Degrees.