Guinness World Records
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Rube Goldberg Machine to set new world record, bring forth apocalypse
If you've never seen the rise and fall of humanity as told by a series of pulleys, levers, and CO2 rockets, now's your chance -- a team of Purdue engineers have built a contraption that not only tells the history of the world through the end of days, but is also a contender for the world's largest Rube Goldberg machine. The Purdue team's "Time Machine" catalogs a history of dinosaurs, war, and rock 'n roll before finally culminating in a cataclysmic inferno and efflorescent renewal in 232 steps -- narrowly beating out the previous record of 230 set by Ferris State University in 2010. Impressive, but not officially the "world's largest" just yet-- the team is submitting a video of a flawless run to Guinness World Records to certify the historic thingamajig, hopefully eking out a victory with its two step lead.
World of Tanks sets Guinness World Record
Move over EVE Online -- there's a new sheriff in Single Server Population Town, and his name is World of Tanks. This surprisingly popular MMO, which is still hip-deep in beta, already has one record for the books -- literally. Wargaming.net announced that World of Tanks set the Guinness World Record for Most Players Online Simultaneously on One MMO Server. The event happened on January 23rd, as 91,311 players crowded onto its Russian server. CEO Victor Kislyi thinks the game can do better: "However, with the population of the game growing steadily another week or two, [it] would let us report a more impressive record as the current PCCU number surpasses 120,000 players." If you'd like to get in on this record-setting title, the North American beta and the European beta are both accepting tank drivers every day.
Record high score set on arcade game rescued from scrapyard
Justin Baxter has achieved a Guinness World Record for playing something he found in the garbage. Specifically, a Cosmic Monsters arcade cabinet he found in a scrapyard in 1990. Baxter has been playing Universal's Space Invaders clone for an hour a day over the last seven years, and has now clocked a score of 145,680, well ahead of the world record set in 1983. "I always wondered what it would be like to tell people I'm a world record holder and now I can find out," he told SWNS. "I'm not sure how impressed they'll be though." It's an inspiring tale of perseverence, one that teaches a valuable lesson: if you want to be the best at something, pick something nobody else has ever heard of. [Image: KLOV]
The Game Archaeologist and the Forbidden RuneScape: The highlights
The Game Archaeologist is a lazy adventurer-slash-professor who dons his trademark cap for a weekly expedition through some of the most famous MMOs of the past few decades. Each month he chooses a different title to examine its highlights, talk with its developers, and invite its fans to share their experiences. I don't know about you, but when I first heard of RuneScape a few years back, it was sold to me as "the poor person's World of Warcraft." In fact, I knew several teens who couldn't afford a monthly WoW subscription and had to "make do" with RuneScape as an alternative, and so I mentally filtered the title as being outside of my sphere of interest and moved on with my life. That was when I started to crochet. All adventurers should know how to crochet as a survival trait. In retrospect, I should've ignored the stigma and checked it out for myself, because while the above may be true for some, RuneScape deserved a lot better than to be blown off by a dismissive comment. No matter how some have pigeon-holed it as being less than worthy of proper MMO status, RuneScape is a behemoth of a game in both size, features and playerbase. In fact, as of right now, RuneScape holds the #2 spot for players, boasting a population well into the eight digits. So as of this month, we shall endeavor to put away any ignorant stances as we explore one of the most popular and longest-running MMOs of our time. Join me after the jump as I share RuneScape's greatest highlights -- and exactly why none of us should underestimate this game again.
Engadget's Darren Murph nabs Guinness World Record for most blog posts ever written!
We always knew Darren Murph had oodles of talent and was extremely prolific -- but now the man has got the paper to seriously prove it. Our own Mr. Murph was just awarded the Guinness World Record for most posts ever by a blogger. Not only is this a first for Darren, it's a first for Guinness as well, creating a new category for the group. Darren joined Engadget in July of 2006 (his first post is here), and almost four years to the day (when these numbers were submitted to Guinness) he'd arrived at 17,212 individual posts (since surpassed, of course). That's single posts on Engadget, Engadget HD, and Engadget Mobile, not duplicated work. We obviously couldn't be more proud of Darren and the work he's done (and continues to do) here, and we think this is an amazing feat for one writer. Of course, this is the guy who did 59 posts in a single day at CES 2008. Seriously. To put it in perspective, his current word count is at 3,389,148. That's War and Peace about six times over. We asked Darren if he had anything to say, and he gave a nod to Ryan Block (our former editor-in-chief) for giving him the chance to start here (and "not killing me when I passed him early on"). Darren also told us that he intends to defend the title for the rest of his natural life. So would-be competitors, you'd better get started... right... now.
Mafia 2 takes Guinness f-bomb record; HotD: Overkill effing dethroned
Mafia 2's rap sheet now includes a Guinness World Record for "most swearing in a video game." The mob saga surpassed House of the Dead: Overkill's 189 permutations on the word "f*ck" by ... well, they're still counting. Seriously. A representative for Guinness World Records tells Joystiq that at the moment the company has accepted that there are over 200 f-bombs in the game. He elaborated, "The number associated with the record is liable to change in the next few weeks, as 2K have promised to supply us with a copy of the game's full script under NDA so we can count the number of f-bombs ourselves and update the record with a complete figure." The company hopes to get the record into the 2011 Gamer's Edition that will be available in January. The prolific profanities were first noticed by Achievement Hunter and compiled into a video. Take a listen to the NSFW montage after the break.
Guinness: Modern Warfare 2 had biggest entertainment launch ever
There's been some dispute as to whether Modern Warfare 2 had the biggest first-day sales presence in the entire entertainment industry. Sure, its $401 million launch day revenue topped literally every other piece of entertainment media ever released, but in terms of units sold, it was surpassed by the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book and ticket sales for The Dark Knight. However, in an attempt to clear up any obscurity, the Guinness Book of World Records proclaimed that the game had the "Most Successful Entertainment Launch of All-Time." Though we shudder to think that we live in a world where success is measured in the amount of money earned, and not the number of lives a book, movie or game touches, we suppose congratulations are in order. So, congratulations, Modern Warfare 2! Guinness says you did it.
Assassin's Creed 2 enters Guinness World Records 2010
Yes, Assassin's Creed 2 has been awarded with a Guinness World Record. You might be surprised, however, to learn that it has nothing to do with how good the game is. No, Assassin's Creed 2 has been awarded the world record for "being the most cover-featured video game." In other words, it appeared on more magazine covers between April 2009 and April 2010 than any other game. According to the press release, Assassin's Creed 2 appeared on 127 covers throughout 32 different countries. Said Gaz Deaves, editor of the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition, "I'm sure plenty of commentators (including myself) would have predicted another well-known game winning the title instead, and this achievement is even more impressive in view of the other 2009 releases that Assassin's Creed 2 was able to beat." While it's an impressive feat by any standard -- and one Ubisoft marketing must be proud of -- we have to wonder if the record would hold up to closer scrutiny of games released before 2009. After all, there aren't as many gaming magazines around as there used to be, and a few games -- Street Fighter, Tomb Raider and Mortal Kombat come to mind -- appeared on quite a few magazine covers in the past. What do you say, Ubisoft competitors? Anyone want to do some research and challenge the record?
Joyswag: God of War 3, guide & Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
Update: Congratulations to our grand prize winner, Chris W., and our 4 first prize winners! Read any good books lately? We've got a couple you might be interested in: Guinness World Records 2010: Gamer's Edition and the God of War III Signature Series Strategy Guide. We're giving away 5 copies of each, courtesy of Guinness World Records and Brady Games. Plus, one lucky reader will also win a copy of the God of War III game! To enter this giveaway: Leave a comment with the correct multiple-choice answer to the following trivia question: At the launch party for God of War II (in April 2007), Sony made headlines for which controversial display: (A) Scantily clad women dancing in cages (B) A headless goat (C) A model of the Parthenon desecrated by graffiti (D) A boneless chicken You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec). Limit 1 entry per person. This entry period ends at 3:00PM ET on Wednesday, March 31. At that time, we'll randomly select 1 grand prize winner from the eligible commenters who answer correctly to receive the God of War III game (ARV $59.99), the God of War III Signature Series Strategy Guide (ARV $19.99) and the Guinness World Records 2010: Gamer's Edition book (ARV $14.99); and 4 first prize winners to receive the God of War III Signature Series Strategy Guide (ARV $19.99) and the Guinness World Records 2010: Gamer's Edition book (ARV $14.99); check your emails! For a list of complete rules, click here. What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. Please note that Joyswag may be in "used" condition. For more info on our policy, click here. Oh, and if you're stumped by the trivia question above, this hint should help you choose the right answer.
Guinness World Records 2010: Gamer's Edition out today
What's the highest grossing arcade game of all time? What's the longest anyone's spent playing an MMO? You'd know the answers to these and many more questions about the extremes of the video game world if you had a copy of the Guinness World Records 2010: Gamer's Edition. Or if you clicked over to the press release announcing that the book is out today in the US and will be out January 21 in UK. If you'd like more peeks into the book before you decide whether to buy into this celebration of gaming's most excessive numbers (and most obvious marketing), Guinness posted some preview pages here. And if you want to beat that MMO record, it was 16,799 hours. In Runescape. Have "fun!"
Italian gamers set new Guinness world record with Guitar Hero 5
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, Italy set a Guinness world record for "largest number of participants to play in a single Guitar Hero session over a 24-hour period." At the FNAC store, 594 people participated in a single, massive Guitar Hero 5 play session coordinated to celebrate the European release of Activision's latest music title. The record was set using Guitar Hero 5's Party Play mode, which supports drop-in and drop-out gameplay. There's no word on whether any Montagues or Capulets were harmed during the event, but as soon as we hear something, we'll let you know.
Batman: Arkham Asylum receives uninspiring Guinness World Record
Okay, we like Batman: Arkham Asylum and all, but our goodwill has limits -- and they stop right at the acceptance of a Guinness World Record for "Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever," which was announced today. It's a nice achievement for the game (and especially notable for a Batman game, given their history), but that's not a Guinness World Record. That's a marketing blurb. In fact, we're awarding it the Joystiq.com Award for Most Transparent Marketing Effort of the Day Presented by Windex™. Now, when Batman: Arkham Asylum lifts more than 160 pounds of weight with its ear, that's a Guinness World Record.Who decides what a superhero game is anyway? Plenty of people don't consider Batman a superhero, given that he has no superhuman abilities beyond super-wealth. %Gallery-31781%
Cosplay record attempt fails at GamesCom, Guinness believes TGS attempt could 'smash' record
If we had a "sad panda" costume, we'd put it on right now for this post. The GamesCom attempt to break the Guinness world record for "The Largest Gathering of Games Characters" failed this weekend -- but it wasn't an "epic fail." Joystiq spoke with Gaz Deaves, Guinness' video games records manager, who told us 311 cosplayers were present, which was 65 short of the record set at London MCM Expo on May 23 of this year. Deaves explained that once the line was cleared, organizers didn't think it would be fair to keep the folks waiting while they went looking for more people on the show floor -- a good thing, considering the heat already caused our pity meter to go into overdrive for the folks hotboxing inside the Tetris blocks and full Yoshi costumes. The organizer's eleventh-hour change of venue from the South Hall entrance to a random location between two halls in the enormous complex probably didn't help costumed revelers attend the event either. The next attempt to break the record will likely be London Games Festival or MCM Expo, which have applied the last two years, successfully breaking the record on both occasions. Deaves tells us, "However, the big competitor who has yet to apply is TGS. I expect Tokyo could smash this record; however, until they've been officially counted they can't claim it." [Image: Koelnmesse] %Gallery-70732%
Cosplayer gathering at GamesCom attempts to break Guinness record
Over 400 cosplayers are expected to gather and break the Guinness record for "The Largest Gathering of Games Characters" today at GamesCom. We were looking forward to telling you if they broke the MCM London record of 376 characters ... but we forgot one little detail: Um, all those people need to be officially counted and that seems to take a really long time.With a couple Guinness representatives on hand, each cosplayer has to write down the name of their character and respective game. Following that, a photo gets taken and then they get to bake in the summer sun -- waiting for everyone else to be counted. We felt really bad for the Tetris pieces! We'll update when we get the official count.Update: It failed.%Gallery-70732%
Sony eyes world record for 'Toro Station' newscast
Toro Station, a semi-interactive newscast running on PlayStation 3s in Japan, is about to hit its landmark 1,000th episode, and Sony has decided to submit the milestone to the Guinness Book of World of Records for most consecutive days of game content distribution. The Japanese-only content is available as Mainichi Issyo (Everyday Together), an application that houses various content including minigames and the long-running news program. Toro Station stars two cats who humorously deliver news and recommendations to viewers while appearing extremely adorable in the process. Having been available since the day of the PS3 launch in Japan, the content has seen more than 700,000 downloads across the PS3 and PSP, according to Sony. Fake cats and world records? Oh Japan, we love you.
Latest Pokemon movie sets Guinness World Record
Japan recently received its 12th Pokémon animated feature in Arceus: To The Conquering of Space-Time. Even before its July 18 release, the film showed that the power of Pokemans is still strong in Japan by shattering records. The Escapist reports that pre-sales of tickets were at insane levels, with 2,384,198 eager movie-goers signing up, enough to net it a Guinness World Record for most advanced sales of an animated feature. Heck, not even that many people bought Pokémon Platinum when it released!
iPhone It In: Guinness World Records
Some iPhone games are the picture of simplicity, honing a premise down to one, bite-sized gameplay idea. There are others though that take a kitchen-sink approach, seeing just how much stuff they can jam into Apple's portable. Guinness World Records, a reworked version of the Wii/DS release, is firmly in the latter group, but it thankfully manages to hit the mark more often than it misses.%Gallery-67043%
Guinness pours out its Top 50 Games of All Time
We wish we could write off Guinness World Records' newly published list of the all-time top 50 "console" games as a simple case of tapping one too many kegs that night. But then, the business of profiting from others' frivolous "records" was sold by the stout brewers some years ago and is today operated by the Jim Pattison Group, purveyor of the other bizarre events publication, Ripley's Believe It or Not!. Of course, a top 50 games list, while always subjective, doesn't have to be "bizarre" by nature -- this one just is.While the list (published in full after the break) appears to start off innocently, if not entirely incorrect with "Super Mario Kart," followed by "Tetris," and then "Grand Theft Auto" in third, an adjoining explanation (in the press release) reveals -- with inaccuracy and contradiction -- that the first three selections actually represent franchises, and not single games: "As the best-selling racing game on the N64 (more than 9 million units sold), Super Mario Kart is also the best-selling racer on the SNES (8 million units), the GameCube (nearly 7 million units) and the DS (10 million units) ... In second place, the world's most ported video game, Tetris, is available on at least 59 different gaming platforms ... Third runner up, Grand Theft Auto holds the record for the most controversial series of games." Oddly, GTA is represented two more times on the list by San Andreas (#16) and Vice City (#39). As for the remainder of the list, we are not given instructions for interpreting entries that could also be representative of entire series or just single titles (Halo, Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid, etc.), though, there are plenty of games that are singled out from their respective franchises, as well (Ocarina of Time, Resident Evil 4, Final Fantasy XII, etc.). But, that's the beauty of an annual records book -- there's always room in next year's edition to rewrite the list!
'108 Street Fighter wins' record has eerie significance
The number of stitches on a baseball. The number of prayer beads strung together to form a mala. The number of minutes in which Desmond had to press that damn button again and again. And, the new Guinness World Record for consecutive Street Figther IV wins. What do these seemingly unrelated phenomena have in common? The Number 108 ... <dramatic music> DUN DUN DUHHNNN </dramatic music> The UK's Zak Bennett has sealed his inseparable fate to this sacred number by setting the SFIV record at a London launch event last Friday, now confirms Guinness World Records. Initially, Bennett was defeated after only 28 consecutive wins, but even that was enough to break the previous record -- set at a paltry 10 wins. Still, something inspired him to try again. In his second attempt, Bennett would not be defeated for 108 consecutive matches. (Guinness did not confirm, however, just what caliber of opponents Bennett faced during his immaculate run.) Quick! Someone make this kid's Wikipedia bullet point.Source - Street Fighter Savant To Set New Guinness World Record [Press Release]Source - Guinness World Records Gamers Edition 2009 [Press Release]
Wii Fanboy Review: Guinness World Records
Back when I got my hands on Guinness World Records at E3, I was surprised at how engaging and fun the title was. Whether that was due to sheer exhaustion or the game actually being that good is anybody's guess. Luckily, the fine folks behind the game sent us a copy to review so we could decide, once and for all, if I was just crazy or if the game really was that good.Which is it? Read on and find out!
