High Scorers
American Edition Electronic Gaming Magazine of World Records
1982 Video Game High Scores
(Effective 1/1/82) January 1, 1982 for December 1982 Publishing
ATARI WORLD RECORDS: (Note: Many of these records have changed since these
original scores were recorded, some being deemed invalid.)
Nov. 13, 1982 Scott Safran (1979) 41,336,440 ASTEROIDS
Feb. 6, 1982 Leo Daniels, 40,101,910 ASTEROIDS Carolina Beach, North Carolina.
Feb. 20, 1982 Ken Chevalier, 12,900,000 BATTLEZONE Atascadero, California.
Mar. 23, 1982 Michael Weisberg, 638,651 TEMPEST Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Mar. 29, 1982 Allen Toney 583,750 WARLORDS Huntington, West Virginia
Apr. 4, 1982 Walt Stewart 52,454,815 MISSILE COMMAND Sacramento, California.
Apr. 7, 1982 Rijanto Joesoeff, 4,421,232 CENTIPEDE Los Angeles, California.
Apr. 11, 1982 Joe Ergo 674,437 TEMPEST Baldwin, New York.
May 6, 1982 Eric Ginner, 1,140,070 DIG DUG Mountain View, California.
May 15, 1982 Kenneth Vance, 397,460 SPACE DUEL Las Vegas, Nevada.
May 22, 1982 Eric Glick, 1,311,290 TEMPEST Houston, Texas.
Jun. 8, 1982 Seth Butler, 1,145,362 TEMPEST Tuscon, Arizona.
Jun. 20, 1982 Ron Kussman, 63,983,475 MISSILE COMMAND Upland, California.
Jun. 23, 1982 Mr. Scott Carter, 179,600 SPACE DUEL Mountain View, California.
July 11, 1982 Kenneth Vance, 12,364,840 DIG DUG Las Vegas, Nevada.
Score Deemed INVALID: (July 6, 2000, Mr. Mark Longridge Referee)
Note: 11/9/09
Hey Paul. On your spyhunter site there are some references to old Dig Dig
scores in the 12 millions and a 'note' from Mark Longridge saying the 12
million is 100% impossible. I can assure you it is possible. There is an
official Atari revision that has the kill screen fixed and they very well
may have had this revision at the acrade in Vegas at the time. The times
listed for both the 12 million games are about what you could expect as I
scored 6543230 in about 3 hours 45 minutes. I personally have one of the
boards and plan very soon to beat the old 12 million score. Maybe we can
add a note to the old note explaining this?
- Ken House
http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=43&id=1749
Aug. 1, 1982 Eric Smith, 1,379,450 DIG DUG Mammoth Lakes, California.
Aug. 27, 1982 Michael Baird, 12,311,126 CENTIPEDE Lakewood, California.
Aug. 29, 1982 Peter Skahill, 911,875 WARLORDS Los Angeles, California.
Sep. 26, 1982 Kenneth Vance, 722,500 GRAVITAR Las Vegas, Nevada.
Sep. 28, 1982 Shawn Dybdall, 12,822,460 DIG DUG
Score Deemed INVALID by: (July 6, 2000), Mr. Mark Longridge Referee)
Oct 1, 1982 Shawn Dybdahl, 285,300 KANGAROO Las Vegas, Nevada.
Oct 5, 1982 David Plummer, 2,175,743 TEMPEST SK, Canada.
Oct 13, 1982 Kenneth Vance, 482,620 SPACE DUEL Las Vegas, Nevada.
Oct 15, 1982 Darren Olson, 15,207,353 CENTIPEDE Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Oct 31, 1982 Kenneth Vance, 411,200 KANGAROO Las Vegas, Nevada.
Nov 8, 1982 Kenneth Vance, 4,999,993 TEMPEST Las Vegas, Nevada.
Nov 13, 1982 Scott Safran, 40,336,440 ASTEROIDS Newton, Pennsylvania.
Dec 4, 1982 Raymond Mueller, 4,722,200 GRAVITAR Boulder, Colorado.
Dec 23, 1982 Victor Ali, 80,364,995 MISSILE COMMAND Fremont, California.
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Time Magazine
Time Magazine "Gonk! Flash! Zap!" January 18, 1982
Video Games Are Blitzing The World
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(1983 High Scores: Made available on December 1983 for Publishing.)
Baby Pac-Man 6,685,130 Richard Sattilaro, Edison, New Jersey
Bagman 3,333,330 Tie: Mark Robichek, Mountain View, California
Paul Lagrou, Moscow, Idaho
Buck Rogers 731,030 Bruce Borsato, Trail, British Columbia, Canada
BurgerTime 5,663,220 Tom Sher, San Francisco, California
Centipede 15,345,789 Rod Maddox, Kokomo, Indiana
Crystal Castles 777,217 Eric Ginner, Milpitas, California
Champion Baseball 100,6990 Gus Papas, Upland, California
Defender 76,377,300 Bert Jennings, Durham, North Carolina
Dig Dug 4,129,600 Ken Arthur, Blackaburg, Virginia
Donkey Kong Junior 957,300 Bill Mitchell, Ottumwa, Iowa
Dragon's Lair 454,974 Steve Harris, No. Kansas City, Missouri
Food Fight 12,231,500 Scott Shrewabury, Sandy Springs, Georgia
Frenzy 4,804,540 Mark Smith, Shelby, North Carolina
Frontline 727,500 John Dunies, Wilmington, North Carolina
Gorf 2,220,000 Jason Smith, Midland, Texas
Gravitar 4,722,200 Raymond Muelier, Boulder, Colorado
Gyruss 4,067,000 Tony Salisbury, Salisbury, Maryland
Guzzler 431,108 Mike Klug, San Jose, California
Joust (new chip) 101,192,900 Robert Minster, Alberta, Canada
Jungle Hunt/King 1,510,220 Michael Torcello, East Rochester, New York
Journey 10,000,125 Joe Maurizi, Saint Clairsville, Ohio
Liberator 3,016,010 Sean Middleton, Anchorage, Alaska
Lost Tomb 1,210,460 John Marks, Parkersburg, West Virginia
Millipede 4,304,549 Ben Gold, Stockton, California
Moon Patrol (7 cars) 1,214,500 Mark Robichek, Mountain View, California
Ms. Pac-Man 419,950 Tom Asaki, Ottumwa, Iowa
Munch Mobile 2,035,540 Ivan Luengas, No. Miami Beach, Florida
Motorace U.S.A. 1,219,400 Steve Harris, Ottumwa, Iowa
Nibbler 838,322,160 Tom Asaki, Bozeman, Montana
Pac-Man Plus 3,203,580 Doug Perking, Dallas, Texas
Pengo (4 men) 809,990 Kevin Leisner, Racine, Wisconsin
Pole Position (4 laps) 86,710 Tie: Less Lagier, Mike Klug
Estimated Time: 215.71 San Jose, California
Popeye 1,131,360 Steve Harris, Ottumwa, Iowa
Q*bert 24,079,950 Divelle Dorris, Lake Park, Florida
Quantum 1,029,160 Judd Boone, Moscow, Idaho
Robotron 325,325,325 Robert Bonney, Kirkland, Washington
Satan's Hollow 43,086,600 Aaron Samuel, Moscow, Idaho
Star Trek (6 shields) 46,330,500 Gary Hatt, Upland, California
Super Pac-Man 588,430 John Azzia, Santa Maria, California
Star Wars (6 shields) 1,461,042 John Sebring, Santa Maria, California
Time Pilot 4,134,400 Bill Bradham, Dubland, Georgia
Xevious 999,990 Tim Williams, Moscoe, Idaho
Zoo Keeper 9,574,020 Eric Clayburg, Fredericksburg, Virginia
Most popular games
From: KLOV "Top 100 Videogames" list [1] (http://www.klov.com/TOP100.html).
Space Invaders (1978)
Asteroids (1979)
Galaxian (1979)
Lunar Lander (1979)
Battlezone (1980)
Berzerk (1980)
Centipede (1980)
Defender (1980)
Missile Command (1980)
Pac-Man (1980)
Star Castle (1980)
Tempest (1980)
Warlords (1980)
Wizard of Wor (1980)
Donkey Kong (1981)
Frogger (1981)
Galaga (1981)
Ms. Pac Man (1981)
Qix (1981)
Vanguard (1981)
Burgertime (1982)
Dig Dug (1982)
Joust (1982)
Moon Patrol (1982)
Pole Position (1982)
Q*Bert (1982)
Robotron 2084 (1982)
Time Pilot (1982)
Tron (1982)
Xevious (1982)
Dragon's Lair (1983)
Elevator Action (1983)
Spy Hunter (1983)
Star Wars (1983)
Tapper (1983)
JoyStik-December '83 Link
Editor's Message by Doug Mahugh
Joystik Magazine: December 1983
In this issue, you'll find strategy pieces written by three well-known players:
Eric Ginner, Tad Perry, and Ben Gold. These three young men are part of a
nationwide clique that includes the top coin-op players in the U.S. It may
come as a surprise to you (as it did to me) to learn that such a group exists.
These players talk to one another on almost a daily basis, in spite of the
fact that they live all around the country.
Eric Ginner, who has been contributing his strategies and observations to JoyStik
since January of this year, is perhaps the best known of the group. He first
earned national recognition in the Atari World Championships in 1981, and since
then he has won numerous contests and set many world records.
One of the world records Eric Ginner has held was the Millipede record, at
1,506,864 points. Last Febraury, that record was broken, or rather shattered,
by Ben Gold, who scored over four million points. Ben was also one of the
featured players in the recent tour of the U.S. Olympic Video Game Team, and
he has appeared in two nationally televised contests, both of which he won.
Bill Mitchell and Steve Harris are two other players that were featured on the
Olympic Team. Bill is the premiere Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong, Jr. player in
the country, and as of this writing he also holds the world record on Ms. Pac-Man.
Steve is a master of many "cute" games (e.g. Bubbles, Popeye and Congo Bongo),
and he holds the current world record on Dragon's Lair.
Tad Perry has been contributing to JoyStik since July, and he wrote the Crystal
Castles article in this issue. He has scored 25,000,000 on Food Fight (and wrote
the JoyStik Food Fight Strategy), and is close to the Crystal Castles and Ms.
Pac-Man world records, with scores of 800,000 and 400,000 on those two games.
Being new to magazines and old to games, I have always turned to these players
when we need a strategy article. Some of the other video magazines rely on
freelance writers with an interest in games, but here at JoyStik we think it
makes more sense to have players write the strategies. After all, Ben Gold may
never write a War And Peace, but we know for sure that Tolstoy never broke 4
million on Millipede.
-----------------------
JoyStik-September '83 Link
Editor's Message by Doug Mahugh
It's Saturday afternoon at the local arcade, and you've just dropped in for
a quick game of Dig Dug. Both of the Dig Dug machines are taken, so you put
up a token up on each one and walk over to an open Defender. Waiting for your
turn to come up on Dig Dug, you drop a token into Defender and begin idly
hammering the controls.
A dozen Defender games later, the same two players are on Dig Dug and you're
getting impatient. You decide to go watch them, to see if you can pick up anything
from their playing--after all, they've both been on the same game for almost
five minutes.
The player on the left is playing with a set of quick and efficient patterns
that keep the monsters at a safe distance. He has just cleared the 125th board,
and has a long string of extra turns across the bottom of the screen. The player
on the right, however, is still on the very first board. through some obscure
trick (which she refuses to reveal to you) she has managed to rid the screen
of monsters without advancing to the next board, and is carefully carving her
initials in the dirt.
Obviously, both of these players know the game of Dig Dug very well. They can
both make a single game last almost indefinitely, so either one can claim to
have "mastered" Dig Dug. But who is the better player? The answer, of course,
depends on your definition of a good player. Rather than getting grounded in
semantics and definitions, let's just assume that this is a matter of opinion
and rephrase the question: Who do you think is the better player?
Most players would say that the pattern player, with his high score and many
extra turns, is the better player. I disagree. The object of the game may be
to clear screens, but the object of playing the game is to take a break from
the pressures and problems of reality. And if we take the object of the game
itself too seriously, we've just created yet another pressure to deal with--the
pressure to perform. In the example above, the player on the right (the one with
the trick) obviously isn't feeling that kind of pressure. She's just playing a
game and having a good time doing it.
Achieving a high score is a satisfying accomplishment, and I don't mean to detract
from that--I was once a very competitive player myself, and held the world record
on Defender back when it was a mere 20,307,600 (24 hours of play). Achieving that
record, however, was not the most satisfying experience I've had playing Defender.
The first time I shot a baiter, the first time I froze the screen, the first time
I made it through a wave of free space--those are the accomplishments that I'll
always remember. I can honestly say that I often forget about the world record
unless someone mentions it. "Was that me?" I think. "Did I really care?"
So where does a player learn the tricks and techniques that can make playing
video games more than a quest for the highest possible score? Well, the best
place to learn is wherever you play. Watch other players, and pay close attention
to anything that you don't understand. Ask questions, but don't be surprised if
you get a slang version of "no comment" in reply. And read The Tricks of the Trade,
on page 60 of this issue. It's a new column that will explain many of the tricks
discovered by top players around the country. The first installment includes the
Dig Dug trick mentioned above, along with others for Stargate, Tempest, Robotron,
and Donkey Kong, Jr. They won't necessarily help you improve your score, but they
will help you become a better player. By anyone's definition.
P.S. If you still want to play Dig Dug like the player on the left, turn to page
36--in this issue's Winning Edge, Eric Ginner explains a set of safe and effective
patterns for Dig Dug that can get you through every possible screen.
Video Game Magazine (1982 - 1985) Link
Other Video Game Magazines between (1982 - 1985) Link
Rank #1 in 1983, Today in 2004 He is Ranked #2 in World Link
Score 76,377,300
Player Bert Jennings
Durham, NC
United States
Date Achieved Friday, April 08, 1983
Date Verified Friday, June 11, 2004
Verification Method Referee
Score Status Active
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My 40-Hour Defenderthon: 42,335,225 (Sept. 28, 1983)
Dale Rees
18-year-old Dale Rees:
Link
Back in the October issue of VIDEO GAMES, , of Cocoa Beach, Fla., slapped our
wrist for printing an erroneous Defender high score. Rees added that he would
be going for the record - 33 million points at the time - and asked if we would
like a report on "the event." "Certainly," we replied. Two months hence the
following article article arrived in the mail.
At the age of five, I was told that my coordination would never be right. I
couldn't even touch my nose with my hand. And here I am preparing to top the
Defender high score.
It's 10 a.m., Tuesday, Sept. 28, when I pop my quarter into the machine at the Game
Tunnel in Merrit Island, Fla. My first ship goes down at 62,375. My first soda
goes down as I start to climb to the big bonus level of 990,000.
I'm well into the fourth million when the game room begins to fill up. It's already
way past dinner-time when someone brings me a burger; another friend supplies Pac-Man
cookies for some quick energy. By 11 p.m. - as I pass the 14 million mark - the
spectators are beginning to thin out. A leather pad I designed is doing a good job
keeping the cabinet's hard edge from gnawing at my wrists - no soreness yet.
Dwayne Coffman, my Defender-playing partner, talks me through the wee hours.
By 6 a.m. (Wednesday) my score stands at 22 million. I'm hungry again. Dwayne
feeds me an Egg MacMuffin and coffee. Suddenly, nature calls - I hold off until
the last moment, make a mad dash to the bathroom, throw some cold water on my
face and race back to Defender. Incredibly, only three of my well-stocked ships
have been lost. By noon, Milt Salamon, a local newspaper reporter, arrives, followed
by the local TV crew. Soon the room is
flooded with bright lights, and I'm being asked lots of questions. In the
background, I hear a live radio D.J. informing all of Cocoa Beach what I've
accomplished so far. Then my mother arrives and spoonfeeds me chili in between
attack waves. Even in three-second gulps, the hot food is calming.
At 5 p.m. I reach the magic 33 million point. While friends whistle congratulations
for achieving the goal I set, I decided to run the machine up to 34 million before
quitting. Then I get some shocking news. According to the Twin Galaxies National
Scoreboard, in Iowa, the Defender high score is 52 million! Even though I hadn't
planned on a second night without sleep, I keep going.
By 11 p.m., at 39 million, I'm in pain. The ice packs scorekeeper Guy Kent has
been putting on my knuckles are no longer helping; my right foot, which has been
supporting me through this ordeal, is throbbing. At midnight, my concentration
starts to lapse. My hands seem to be moving independently of my brain. Suddenly,
at 41,410,000, I drop to four ships.
I feel like a boxer who's down for the count. Three, two, now one ship left.
I'm smart-bombing everything just to stay alive. A new wave begins. I smart-bomb
the pods and regain another ship. Have I weathered the storm? Hardly. My smart
bomb stock is down to two. Did I overplay them in my previous panic?
The final moment arrives at 42,335,225. I am, in fact, relieved. I let my head
drop into my hands. I could cry, but I am just too tired. Forty hours is a long
time Defending.
-Dale Rees
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Video Games - July, 1983
ARCADE PROFITS DROP: Link
1983 July 17 (NB) -- The discouraging news is that video arcade profits are expected
to drop from $7 billion last year to $5.3 billion by this December, with many
arcade-houses seeing income off 25 to 50 percent. Many are banking on new types
of games to win back the kids, such as the laser-disk animated cartoon "Dragon's
Lair" from a former Walt Disney cartoonist Don Bluth.
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Video Games - May, 1983
Are commercial arcades in trouble deep? May, 1983Link
One of the more immediate results has been the newly released Bernstein Research
Report on "The Video Game Industry," prepared by Christopher Kirby, marketing
analysts for Leisure Time Industry with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Inc.
Some of the revelations are no surprise at all, being a repeat of what most
operators have been saying all year. The difference here is the credibility
of the sources. According to Mr. Kirby, "The coin operated game market (video
games) has encountered a flat growth stage" with results being a unit decline
in 1983. This is not falling off in total play time by players, but a reduction
in the number of machines purchased by the operator and a reduced income per
machine. This is seen to be a direct reflection of the saturation of the market.
The effects of this number reduction will carry over to the manufactures and
distributors who find themselves with reduced pricing flexibility and margins.
Mr. Kirby concludes that following the shake-out phase the industry will
experience all through 1983, modest growth may be expected. However, this
growth will not carry over as fully to arcades as to machines in set street
locations. It is estimated that fully 25% of the approximate 10,000 video
game arcades in business by the end of 1982 will pull the plugs and close the
doors on their equipment by 1986.
According to Mr. Kirby, an analysis of game locations revealed approximately
1,220,000 coin operated video games on the street and in arcades at this time.
Of this equipment, the industry average for street locations reveals a loss
of $616.00 per piece of equipment and about an $80.00 loss for each arcade piece.
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Video game crash of 1977 before the 1983 video game crash
Pong gets over saturated throughout the marketplace:
The video game crash of (1977) was different from the video game crash of (1983) The
video game crash of 1983 refers to the sudden bankruptcy of a number of companies
marketing home computers and video game consoles in late 1983. The term "shakeout"
would be a more accurate description of what happened, but because of its sudden
and unexpected nature the term "crash" has stuck.
The crash has been attributed to a weak economy, poor quality of games (particularly
the Atari 2600 versions of Pac-Man and E.T.), and to very aggressive marketing of
inexpensive home computers such as the Commodore VIC-20, Atari 800XL, Commodore 64,
Tandy Color Computer and Texas Instruments TI-99/4A; the crash was probably caused
by a combination of the three factors. In that the crash was not so much caused by
games as it was caused by a single game/unit. Atari
Atari Inc. is now the name of a French-owned (ex. Infogrames) game software company.
The original company Atari was a pioneer in arcade games, home video game consoles,
and personal computers, and its dominance in those areas made it the major force
in the computer entertainment industry in the early to mid 1980s. The brand has also
been used at various times by Atari Games, a separate company split off in 1984.
Pong
Developer: Atari
Publisher: Atari
Game designer: Nolan Bushnell
Release date: 1972
Genre: Retro/Sports
Game modes: 2 players
Cabinet: Standard
Controls: 2 Rotary controller
Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Black & White Raster, standard resolution
Size: 13-inches
Pong was the invention of Nolan Bushnell,
a young
engineer who introduced video
table tennis to arcades in 1972. Simple and addictive, Pong launched the craze
for home video games.
Pong was first released by Atari Pong, an adaptation of table tennis to the video
screen, was the first widely popular arcade game. Actually, since it used a video
screen, it was the first video game. "Pong" was first released by Atari in 1972,
although other video games in this form had been created previously.
Pong had become so popular that it was cloned until the market could no longer
hold that many cloned consoles.
This crash is not as well known as the 1983 one, since the video game market in
1977 was extremely small in modern terms, and mostly oriented towards adults.
Video games were still seen as just another pastime which would probably soon
diminish as some new leisure activity caught the mainstream's interest.
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1982 Scoreboard
High Scores 1982: ATARI Link
FEBRUARY (1982)
February 6, 1982 Mr. Leo Daniels, 20, scores 40,101,910 points on ASTEROIDS by
Atari Inc. after playing the game for 36 hours and four minutes at Ocean View
Corporation in Carolina Beach, North Carolina.
February 20, Mr. Ken Chevalier, 16, scores 12,900,000 points on BATTLEZONE
by Atari Inc. after playing the game for 12 hours at the Star Station 101
arcade in Atascadero, California.
MARCH (1982)
March 23, 1982 Mr. Michael Weisberg, 27, scores 638,651 points on TEMPEST
by Atari Inc. after playing the game for fifty minutes at Space Port Arcade
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
March 29, 1982 Mr. Allen Toney, 23, scores 583,750 points on WARLORDS by
Atari Inc. after playing the game for one hour at Scratch & Tilt in Huntington,
West Virginia.
APRIL (1982)
April 4, 1982 Mr. Walt Stewart scores 52,454,815 points on MISSILE COMMAND
by Atari Inc. after playing the game for 40 hours and twenty minutes at Odyssey
Fun Center in Sacramento, California.
April 7, 1982 Mr. Rijanto Joesoeff, 22, scores 4,421,232 points on CENTIPEDE by
Atari Inc. after playing the game for eight hours at Captain Video in Los
Angeles, California.
April 11, 1982 Mr. Joe Ergo scores 674,437 points on TEMPEST by Atari Inc.
after playing the game for twenty minutes at Just for Kicks in Baldwin, New York.
MAY (1982)
May 6, 1982 Mr. Eric Ginner, 20, scores 1,140,070 points on DIG DUG by Atari Inc.
after playing the game for 55 minutes at Central Park Center in Mountain View,
California.
May 15, 1982 Mr. Kenneth Vance, 18, scores 397,460 points on SPACE DUEL by Atari Inc.
after playing the game for one hour and seven minutes at Tilt Arcade in
Las Vegas, Nevada.
May 22, 1982 Mr. Eric Glick, 18, scores 1,311,290 points on TEMPEST by Atari Inc.
after playing the game for one hour and thirty minutes at a 7-11 convenience
store in Houston, Texas.
JUNE (1982)
June 8, 1982 Mr. Seth Butler, 19, scores 1,145,362 points on TEMPEST by Atari Inc.
after playing the game for one hour and thirty minutes at Fool Around Arcade
in Tuscon, Arizona.
June 20, 1982 Mr. Ron Kussman, 20, scores 63,983,475 points on MISSILE COMMAND by
Atari Inc. after playing the game for 45 hours and thirty minutes at Star Arcade
in Upland, California.
June 23, 1982 Mr. Scott Carter, 17, scores179,600 points on SPACE DUEL by
Atari Inc. after playing the game for 32 minutes at Time Zone #192 in Mountain View,
California.
JULY (1982)
July 11, 1982 Mr. Kenneth Vance, 18, scores 12,364,840 points on
DIG DUG by Atari Inc. after playing the game for seven hours and 31 minutes
at Tilt Arcade in Las Vegas, Nevada. (On Thursday, July 6, 2000, Mr. Mark
Longridge (cubeman@iname.com) writes, “I can say as an expert player, and as
an owner of the machine, that 12 million points is 100% impossible. This is
because round 256 (round 0 in 8-bit logic) is a “kill screen”, that is a screen
which is impossible to clear. It’s impossible to clear because one of the pookas
starts the round on top of your game, and the collision detection of the program
doesn’t allow you to pump up anything right on top of you… My own personal
best was 2.7 million set at Funspot in Weir’s Beach, New Hampshire, early
this year. I have a 2.5 million on video tape.”)
AUGUST (1982)
August 1, 1982 Mr. Eric Smith, 14, scores 1,379,450 points on DIG DUG by
Atari Inc. at Spectrum Entertainment in Mammoth Lakes, California.
August 27, 1982 Mr. Michael Baird, 18, scores 12,311,126 points on CENTIPEDE
by Atari Inc. after playing the game for 21 hours and twelve minutes at Phil's
Amusement in Lakewood, California.
August 29, 1982 Mr. Peter Skahill, 23, scores 911,875 points on WARLORDS by
Atari Inc. after playing the game for 45 minutes at UCLA Games Center in Los
Angeles, California.
SEPTEMBER (1982)
September 26, 1982 Mr. Kenneth Vance, 18, scores 722,500 points
on GRAVITAR by Atari Inc. after playing the game for two hours and 39 minutes
at Tilt Arcade in Las Vegas, Nevada.
September 26, 1982 Mr. Michael Kelly, after taking first place in the regional
GRAVITAR contest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, flies to Atari, Inc. headquarters
in Sunnyvale California for the national finals. There, he places third with
a score of 187,500.
September 28, 1982 Mr. Shawn Dybdall, 16, scores 12,822,460 points on DIG DUG
by Atari Inc. after playing the game for eight hours and sixteen minutes at
Tilt Arcade in Las Vegas, Nevada. (On Thursday, July 6, 2000, Mr. Mark Longridge
(cubeman@iname.com) writes, “I can say as an expert player, and as an owner of
the machine, that 12 million points is 100% impossible. This is because round
256 (round 0 in 8-bit logic) is a “kill screen”, that is a screen which is
impossible to clear. It’s impossible to clear because one of the pookas starts
the round on top of your game, and the collision detection of the program doesn’t
allow you to pump up anything right on top of you… My own personal best was 2.7
million set at Funspot in Weir’s Beach, New Hampshire, early this year. I have
a 2.5 million on video tape.”)
OCTOBER (1982)
October 1, 1982 Mr. Shawn Dybdahl, 16, scores 285,300 points on KANGAROO by
Atari Inc. after playing the game for one hour and 46 minutes at Tilt Arcade
in Las Vegas, Nevada.
October 5, 1982 Mr. David Plummer, 14, scores 2,175,743 points on TEMPEST by
Atari Inc. after playing the game for two hours and 23 minutes at Midtown
Amusements in Regina, SK, Canada.
October 13, 1982 Mr. Kenneth Vance, 18, scores 482,620 points on SPACE DUEL by Atari
Inc. after playing the game for one hour and 46 minutes at Tilt Arcade in
Las Vegas, Nevada.
October 15, 1982 Mr. Darren Olson, scores 15,207,353 points on CENTIPEDE by Atari Inc.
after playing the game at Reflection Fun Center in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
October 31, 1982 Mr. Kenneth Vance, 18, scores 411,200 points on KANGAROO by Atari Inc.
after playing the game for two hours and 27 minutes at Tilt Arcade in Las Vegas, Nevada.
NOVEMBER (1982)
On Monday, November 8, 1982 Mr. Kenneth Vance, 18, scores 4,999,993 points on Tempest
by Atari Inc. after playing the game for three hours and five minutes at Tilt
Arcade in Las Vegas, Nevada.
On Saturday, November 13, 1982 Mr. Scott Safran, 16, scores 40,336,440 points on
ASTEROIDS by Atari Inc. after playing the game for 53 hours and four minutes
at All-American Billiard Company in Newton, Pennsylvania.
DECEMBER (1982)
December 4, 1982 Mr. Raymond Mueller, 21, scores 4,722,200 points
on GRAVITAR by Atari Inc. after playing the game for twelve hours and 21 minutes
at Chuck E. Cheese in Boulder, Colorado.
December 23, 1982 Mr. Victor Ali, 19, scores 80,364,995 points on MISSILE COMMAND
by Atari Inc. after playing the game for 48 hours at Cinedome 7 Theater in Fremont,
California.
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October 1982 Link
Video Games Magazine-October '82
HYPERSPACE
Those of us in the press who have become full-fledged followers of the video game
about as much longevity as a beginner's first bout with Defender. Industry optimists
notwithstanding, the Wall Street doomsayers have been having a field day of late.
Peering through tortoise-shell glasses into their crystal balls, all they can see
is one corporate corpse after the next smoldering like fallen asteroids in video
game heaven. No doubt, with the ridiculous number of new companies suddenly reaching
for video's brass ring, there are bound to be several casualties on the horizon.
Yet, why should this wealth of competition spell disaster for those companies that
do know what they're doing?
Again, this brings us back to the to-be-perfectly-honest-I-think-this-all-is-a-fad-
theory. If you are wont to believe video games are nothing more than devilishly
powerful drugs that have to wear off sometime soon, be my ghost. We at Video Games
think otherwise. In fact, we're so confident about this industry's vitality that
we devoted most of Issue Two to its future.
The Golden Age: Link
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Editor's Message by Doug Mahugh - Joystik July 1983 Link
Early in 1982, Eugene Jarvis (designer of Defender, Stargate, and Robotron) told me,
"It looks like video games are becoming a fad, and that scares me. I mean, look at
what happened to disco. I think that games should just be something that everybody
does but nobody talks about."
In the ensuing year, Eugene's worst fears became reality. Video games began showing
up in bars, gas stations, and restaurants. "Pac-Man Fever" was a hit single, and
"wanna see my Pac-Man pattern?" edged out "come here often?" as the least imaginative
come-on of the year. After video games were featured on the cover of almost every
major news magazine, several new publications (JoyStik, for example) sprung up to
answer the needs of the game-playing public. People weren't just talking about games--
they were reading about them, writing about them, and living, breathing, and playing
them all around the country.
Well, that was last year. This year, as any arcade owner will tell you, business
is down. Millions of people still play every day, but the rampant rise in video
games' popularity between 1980 and 1982 is over, never to be repeated again. Does
this mean that video games will soon go the way of CB radios and hula hoops? Was
the media blitz of 1982 the worst thing that could have happened to the game industry?
Would we all be better off if games were still something that everybody plays but
nobody talks about?
No--the video game industry has finally matured, and it never would have happened
without all of the hype.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1981 Video Game Players and Arcades Article:
LIFE/STYLE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INVASION OF THE VIDEO CREATURES
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By LYNN LANGWAY with PAMELA ABRAMSON in San Fransisco, DAVID T. FRIENDLY in Los
Angeles, FRANK MAIER in Chicago, MARSHA ZABARSKY in Boston, LINDA R. PROUT in
New York and Bureau reports
Beware. You are about to enter the murderous Battlezone . . . The maddening
Pac-Man maze . . . the menacing Gorfian galaxy. Within one-third or a
second, the cannons will rumble . . . the monsters will pounce . . .
the robots will open fire. The new music of the spheres will resound: ka-boom,
c-r-r-unch, bleep-blip. Your tank, your hero or your spaceship will disintegrate
unless you make the right maneuvers. Even so, the bad guys will win--sooner or
later. And you stand to lose not only your quarters, but your very will to leave.
Greetings from the brave new universe of video games. Faster than a leaping
laser, the video invaders have conquered pop culture like no force since television
itself. A decade ago, the computerized games had barely begun to beep; now they've
boomed into a $5 billion obsession that's bigger financially than movies or records.
Would-be star warriors plot strategies and pulverize aliens on campus, at home and
in old pinball haunts--from Broadway's Playland to the Blanca Oasis Drugstore in
Sierra Blanca, Texas (population: 750). Like pinball wizards and pool sharks before
them, most videologues are teen-age boys--but their pinstriped elders and a few
intrepid females are also pinging happily away. There's even an otherworldly
series: the finals of the first International Asteroids Tournament will be held
in Washington this weekend.
For all their winning ways, video games have been bombarded by controversy. Critics
contend that they squander allowances and study time, glorify violence and encourage
everything from compulsive gambling to tendinitis (Space Invaders wrist). Taking a
cue from the pool-troubled elders of the mythical River City, communities from
Snellville, Ga., to Boston have recently banned arcades or restricted adolescent
access; one legal challenge to the ordinances will be heard by the Supreme Court
this week. Boosters counter that video gaming is helpful as well as fun: it speeds
eye-hand coordination, sharpens driving and math skills and shields against technological
future shock.” Kids are becoming masters of the computer, " says Bob Doyle, a Cambridge,
Mass., astrophysicist who designs electronic games.” When most grownups talk about
computers, they fear the machines will dominate and displace. But these kids are
learning to live and play with intelligent machines. "
To most devoted vidkids, the play's the thing.” It's challenge to myself, and when
I get a high score, I feel happy, exults Chris Edwards, a ten-year-old Spectar expert
from New York's Bronx, grew so addicted to his game that he filched quarters from his
mother's handbag. Other regulars praise the emotional rescue.” It can take the anger
out of you, " says Steve Marmel, 16, of Lincoln wood, Ill., who practices his spacecraft
every day and is a Midwest video-tournament champ.” Rather than blowing up at my
history teacher, I can take it out on Asteroids.” Still other players cite the
chance for nonathletes to show off--or to assuage loneliness.” This is my world--it
stinks, don't it?" says Jacky Hughes, 17, a self-described Times Square drifter who
can shine in the Broadway arcades.” When you start to think you're a loser, you come
here and get 4, 000 at Space Invaders, and you ain't a loser anymore.”
Basically, the video universe divides into three groups of games. Currently the
most popular are coin-operated consoles for arcades. Most of these machines are
equipped with 19-inch screens and very special effects: the disembodied Pac-Man',
for example, gobbles monsters in a technicolor labyrinth to calliopelike toots.
Some of the most stellar games are being reproduced as hand-held toys. And many
arcade hits have been translated into cassettes (between $25 and $40 each) that
can be played through an adapter (between $150 and $300) on an ordinary television
set--or even on a home computer. Financial analysts consider the home market to
be a largely untapped trove. In the past year, the number of U. S. homes equipped
to play video games has nearly quadrupled from 2 percent to almost 8 percent That
leaves 74 million homes with TV sets to invade.
If home is where the future lies, right now the heart of the video ethos throbs in
the colorful, cacophonous arcades. Some are souped-up pinball parlors, like Atlanta's
Gold Mine, or reformed strip joints, like Boston's Teddy Bear.” The arcades are
addictive; the lights, the sound--that all makes it womblike, " says psychologist
Mitchell Robin of New York's New School.” Every generation needs a refuge, and at
least in this one, the kids can learn about accomplishment.” And if these lessons--
at a quarter a throw--turn out to be expensive, that's not such a bad thing, argues
Dick Sogn, whose glossy Westworld arcade near the UCLA campus in Los Angeles boasts
a twenty-minute waiting line on Saturday nights.” There isn't a single kid who
leaves here with enough money to go out and buy dope, " says Sogn.
Arcadians are overwhelmingly male (90 percent) and predominantly teen-age (80 percent),
according to industry estimates. (Nine out of every ten teen-agers have probably
tried an arcade game at least once. ) Many girls seem to shun the arcades, because
of their unsavory reputation and because of the predominance of martial games. But
the crowds are surprisingly cosmopolitan.” Look at all these people together--blacks,
whites, Puerto Ricans, Chinese, " says Martha Abrams, 18, a regular at the Teddy Bear.”
This is probably the one place in Boston where there are not hassles about race.”
Not all the players are young. On one recent weekday afternoon at the Teddy Bear,
six insurance auditors huddled self consciously around a Polaris game. all have
a college education, you know, " blurted Kevin Gorham. Aptitude, however, seems
to decrease with age.” You see this guy come in with his briefcase and threepiece
suit and stand next to a kid 3 1/2 feet tall. The kid's as cool as can be, but the
businessman's so nervous he's shuffling around, working up a sweat, " says Teddy
Bear proprietor George Tecce.
The actual video contest requires both endurance and strategy. Fifteen-year-old
Steven Juraszek of Arlington Heights, Ill., last month racked up a record of nearly
16 million points at Defenders--in sixteen hours and 34 minutes of uninterrupted
play for a quarter.” The kid must have a bladder the size of Connecticut, " marveled
James Sanders, owner of the One Step Beyond arcade, who called Steven's mother to
tell her where he was and stayed open all night to accommodate his streak. Using
the skimpy instructions printed on the games, the novice is lucky to survive for more
than a minute. Beginners are advised to spend twenty minutes or so kibitzing.
Professional help is also at hand: videonaut Ray Giguette of Los Angeles has written
a $2. 50 "How to Win" guide to the top ten games, which has sold 10, 000 copies.
And Ken Uston-a card-counter who has been barred from most blackjack tables--has
just finished a book called "Mastering Pac-Man.”
Even movie celebrities have been captivated. Director Steven Spielberg says that
he and actor Richard Dreyfuss turned on to the video games when they were filming
"Jaws" on Martha's Vineyard seven years ago. Now Spielberg keeps eight arcade-style
consoles (costing $2,000 to $4,000 apiece) in his home and six more humming on the
set.” When you see all the quarters dropped into the slots in every city and town,
you know this is a runaway success--bigger than disco, with stronger legs, " he says,
lapsing into movieland lingo for a blockbuster.” I may be in the wrong business.”
Nobody scores higher on video games than their manufacturers. The leader is Atari,
which produced the Java man of video games, Pong, in 1972 and subsequently clicked
with the three-dimensional Battlezone and last year's hyperhit, Asteroids. Revenues
doubled last year to $415 million; this year the Atari division is expected to
provide one-third of all operating income for its giant parent, Warner Amex Communications.
In second place is the Bally Corp., whose Midway Division holds licenses for two
Japanese-created games$-this year's sizzling success, Pac-Man, and the all-time
champ, Space Invaders. Belly, the world's largest slot-machine and pinball maker,
also owns 250 arcades. Its video sales doubled last year, to more than $130 million.
Between them, the two video titans rule about 80 percent of the coin-operated market.
New challengers, however, are springing up as swiftly as Assuch Japanese contenders
as Nintendo, which produces a current smash called Donkey Kong. Inevitably, pirates
are active in the trade. The U. S. International Trade Commission, which ordinarily
deals with such weighty subjects as the importation of automobiles, recently denied
entry to 21 separate foreign ripoffs of Bally's copyrighted Galaxian. Atari is suing
two neighboring game firms in northern California that were founded by former
employees, charging them in effect with concept-napping,
Fresh ideas are at a premium in this volatile business, where a game's life span usually
runs only six months to a year.” All games seem to do well at first, " says Bally
chairman Robert Mullane.” But it's longevity that counts, and that's hard to measure
in advance.” Mullane admits that he was skeptical about the prospects for Pac-Man.
Now 250 Bally engineers and designers are searching furiously for Pac-Man's successor.
Their best bet seems to be Tron, pegged to a Walt Disney film that will be released
next summer; suitably enough, it involves a computer programmer who gets trapped in
his own machine.
Every company hopes for an irresistible "hook" to capture consumers.” You want to
develop a healthy level of frustration, " says Lyle Rains, a vice president of
engineering at Atari, who delivered Asteroids.” You want the player to say, "Gee,
if I put another quarter in, I might do better'.” Their quarters also support
technological research that finds its way into uses ranging from toasters to medical
scanners. The video-games industry is not only the principal customer for the
microprocessor chips that have so advanced computer capability, but its researchers
have made major break-throughs that permit multiple colors, realistic characters
and infinite movements to be programmed. It takes both technology and imagination
to create the games. Ideas are born "at home, in dreams and over beers, " says
Atari programmer Ed Logg, who also worked on Asteroids. The company maintains a
master list of potential projects that are periodically brainstormed. Often a
lackluster game will lie around for months until someone suggests riveting new
sounds or graphics$-such as the extra carnivorous creatures that were added to the
trendy new Centipedes. Then the game may be programmed, prototyped and produced a
process that takes from three months to a year. Most Atarians are computer junkies
who are delighted to "test" new games in the company's free arcade. Other firms go
so far as to actually "sneak preview" games in public, videotaping player reactions.
When a game strikes it rich, outsiders also turn a tidy profit. Most machines are
sold to distributors, who lease them to the kets for 50 percent of the gross revenue.
The average income per machine runs between $200 and $800 a week, depending on
location.” When you get your first check, you can't believe it's that big, "
marvels Dick Clifton, co-owner of Fitzgerald's pub in downtown Atlanta, where the
once despised machines now generate so much money that a plush Victorian parlor,
formerly reserved for private parties, has been turn over to two Pac-Mans.
Toy manufacturers and retailers are cashing in, too. Asteroid and Space Invaders
cartridges an hand-held Pac-Man games are leaving the stores almost as fast as they
come in; Coleco Industries promises a $50 table-model PacMan for January. The biggest
problem for many stores, on the eve of the Christmas rush, is trying to get enough
games through a haphazard distribution system.
What may become the most lucrative video market is the home, Game units that attach
to TV sets have been available for nearly ten years, but often seemed boring in
comparison to the arcade classics. Lately, improved technology and a rivalry between
Atari and Mattel, Inc., have made the home versions far more attractive.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Longest records still standing from the classic era Link
Twin Galaxies Forums Forum Index -> Coin-Op Video Games
View previous topic :: View next topic
Author Message
squarefishx2
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 7:08 am
Post subject: Longest records still standing
from the classic era
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was wondering what some of the longest records standing from the classic arcade
era were?
Is there a way to search for that information?
Obviously I know Ray Mueller's Gravitar record of 4.7 million still stands all
the way back to Dec. 1982, but are there any other records that still stand to
this day over 20 years later.
Games from the classic era like Tempest, Centepede, Pac-Man, Galaga, Gyruss,
Asteroids... I'm guessing most of these records have been broken many times
over since their release.
_________________
"Photography with a Vision"
www.cooganphoto.com
www.cooganphoto.com/gravitar
- dedicated to the 1982 Atari classic video arcade game Gravitar.
Hints and playing tips with screen captures, etc. included...
Gravitar 3,652,700
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RCorcoran
TG Board of Directors
Joined: 25 Aug 2002
Posts: 1761
Location: Glendale, AZ
Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 12:47 am Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After 9 hours of play, Dan's game ended at 3.2M!
Congrats Dan on an awesome score!
_________________
Ron "Mr. Atari" Corcoran
Twin Galaxies Chief Editor
A couple of decent scores here and there...
SPQR - Senatus Populus Que Romanus
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
squarefishx2
Link
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 6:08 am Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Everybody,
It was a really good effort and I wanted to thank Ron and Brian for their patience
during the long game and expertise in recording the game.
Gravitar game play started at 12:38 PM, ended at 9:43 PM = 9 hours 5 minutes
final score: 3,203,900 points.
This was the 2nd best game I have played, completing the 4 universes almost 8
times (topped only by my game on Sept 7, 2003 ending with 3,652,700 points, game
play 3:09 PM - 1:03 AM = 9 hours 54 minutes
I thought I was going to make it through that final planet (for the 8th time,
upper left, 3rd solar system of the Positive Gravity/Invisible Landscape) but
after running into the wall (just past the area of the 6th gun turret), and even
going back into the planet tunnel 3 additional times to the same area of the 6th
turret, (and getting to that exact same place those 3 additional times -- this
is extremely difficult to do -- you know if you have ever played Gravitar) I
was not able to complete the planet again. I still would have had to complete
the 11 planets in the Reverse Gravity/Invisible Landscape to have completed all
4 universes, 8 times -- but it was still a good effort and I'm happy it counts
towards the Twin Galaxies official records.
To score a world record in any game takes a lot of stamina and Gravitar is no
different. I hope to eventually break Ray Mueller's amazing 4,722,200 point
game (that has stood firm since Dec. 1982) and I think I have a 5 million point
game in me at some point. Maybe Ron and Brian can give it another try with me
6 months from now.
Thanks to all that love this amazing game.
best,
Dan
_________________
"Photography with a Vision"
www.cooganphoto.com
www.cooganphoto.com/gravitar
- dedicated to the 1982 Atari classic video arcade game Gravitar.
Hints and playing tips with screen captures, etc. included...
Gravitar 3,652,700
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RMRUCZEK
TG Board of Directors
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 1:03 am Post subject: The Oldest Records Remaining
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Squarefishx2:
Unfortunately, that we will never truly know. Remember that Walter lost approx
250 scores from the "way back era" (1982 and prior) according to his first book,
so we may never know what the true world records are on such ancient titles like
"Sea Raider", "Cosmic Alien", "Superbug", and others from the vintage era.
Additionally, it is conceivable that some games that TG does have current scores
on, like "Stratovox" to name one, are also from the era where another score,
possibly a few, from a given title were included in that lost batch.
As for as what we DO know, however, I'd recommend waiting for Walter himself to
respond, or drop him a line at "Walter@TwinGalaxies.com", or call him at
(641) 472-1949 and ask, as he is so busy I am not sure when he will get a
chance to respond to this posting. I'm sending him an E-MAIL link and hopefully
he will have the answers.
Mind you, we're talking arcade world records and not home console, home computer,
hand-held or pinball.
Robert
_________________
Robert T Mruczek
Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee
Star Wars classic arcade marathon champion
rmruczek@doremus.com (work E-MAIL)
******************************
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
permafrostrick
Referee
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 1:48 pm Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert, just a tip. Don't ever give phone numbers over a public forum. e-mail
it to the person.
Programs monitor for e-mail addresses and phone numbers and add them to a spam
list company.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RMRUCZEK
TG Board of Directors
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 2:09 pm Post subject: Thanks
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Rick:
Walter's number is all over the TG forum from prior posts, but I'll refer
players to the staff page instead from now on. Thanks for the tip.
My own info, however, is embedde in so many messages that it's a lost
cause, now.
Robert
_________________
Robert T Mruczek
Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee
Star Wars classic arcade marathon champion
rmruczek@doremus.com (work E-MAIL)
******************************
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
dyancey
Location: King George, VA, USA: circa 1982
Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2004 5:07 pm Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Todd Rogers' Gorf score is an old one. Also his Gyruss score is long standing.
I heard that the Missile Command record score is also very old.
_________________
Player of Activision games
Thank you for reading my post!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
================================================================================
Thread of TG Scores posted and disputed from 1982:
Link
================================================================================
TRIVIA - TG Scoreboard (Sep. 3, 1982)
Goto page 1, 2 Next
Twin Galaxies Forums Forum Index -> Coin-Op Video Games
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Author Message
RCorcoran
TG Board of Directors
Joined: 25 Aug 2002
Posts: 1761
Location: Glendale, AZ
Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2002 4:00 pm Post subject: TRIVIA - TG Scoreboard
(Sep. 3, 1982)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did you know the following scores we on the TG scoreboard in 1982?
Alpine Ski 254,587 Randy Edwards
Amidar 18,210,100 Joe Barrett
Asteroids 40,101,910 Leo Daniels
Asteroids Deluxe 2,269,230 Leo Daniels
Astroblaster 64,610 Phil Iaty
Battlezone 12,009,000 Ken Chevalier
Berzerk (Fast Bullets) 68,300 Joel West
Bosconian 442,400 Peter Zemke
Carnival 221,780 David Schooling
Centipede 12,311,126 Mike Baird
Crazy Climber 428,650 William Lee
Defender 50,999,975 Ned Troide
Dig Dug 6,198,490 Antonio Medina
Donkey Kong 1,453,700 Steve Sanders
Eliminator 527,900 Jim Benda
Frenzy 1,897,821 Jay Bennett
Frogger 442,330 Mark Robichek
Galaga 7,857,090 Slate Thompson
Galaxian 185,900 Glenn Tate
Gorf 404,600 Peter Wrench
Kangaroo 183,000 Scott Parr
Looping 295,550 Charles Brown
Lunar Lander 1,275 Mike Barnhart
Make Trax 1,508,310 Walter Day
Missile Command 72,547,630 Kevin Baughan
Ms. Pacman 214,300 John Turner
Omega Race 1,434,800 Steve Garrett
Pacman 5,999,820 Sam Blackburn
Pacman Deluxe 2,935,590 Eric Schwibs
Phoenix 672,590 Orlando Funderburk
Qix 1,166,604 Bill Camden
Rally-X 120,450 Joel West
Reactor 128,450 Antonio Medina
Robotron 112,000,600 Eric Ginner
Scramble 561,480 Dan Hummer
Space Duel 375,920 David Covell
Space Fury 222,590 Loren Hawkison
Space Invaders 210,000 Ed Troide
Star Castle 7,842,950 Ron McCoy
Stargate 389,029 Dwyne Andrews
Tempest 3,086,355 Leo Daniels
Tron 3,195,329 Sterling Ouchi
Vanguard 3,110,000 Scotty Williams
Venture 148,850 Bobby Zier
Warlords 583,750 Allen Toney
Wizard of Wor 204,700 Mike Good
Zaxxon 1,660,200 Robert Wykoff
_________________
Ron "Mr. Atari" Corcoran
Twin Galaxies Chief Editor
A couple of decent scores here and there...
SPQR - Senatus Populus Que Romanus
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 1982, Ottumwa, Iowa:
LIFE magazine gathering / contest
Ben Gold, Age 16, Dallas, Texas, 40,001,150 points, Stargate
Bill Mitchell, Age 17, Hollywood, Florida, 25,000,000 points, Centipede
Eric Ginner, Age 20, Mountain View, California, 536,470 points, Moon Patrol
Jeff Brandt, Age 20, Bloomington, Illinois, 787,400 points, Donkey Kong Jr.
Steven Sanders Age 18, Clinton, Missouri, 3,165,300 points, Donkey Kong
Ned Troide, Age 18, Palm Harbor, Florida, 72,999,975 points, Defender
Mark Robichek Age 23, Mountain View, California, 221,480 points, Tutankham
Leo Daniels, Age 21, Wrightsville, North Carolina, 3,086,000 points, Tempest
Mike Lepkosky, Age 14, Houston, Texas, 286,410 points, Ms. Pac-Man
Some of the above scores have been deleted, deemed invalid.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
permafrostrick
Referee
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2002 4:41 pm Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.9 million on Frenzy? 1.4 million on Donkey Kong?
Man, you really did have some bogus scores back then.
That 6 million pacman score you put in boldface maybe was also...but maybe not...
if he managed to get past the split-screen once then reach the second split-screen
and his game end there with not much monster eating at the start 6 million would
roughly seem right to reach the 2nd split-screen.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
cubeman
MAME Editor
Location: Oshawa Ontario Canada
Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2002 11:15 pm Post subject: Scores
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'd say the pacman scores over 3,333,360 are all bogus, however there is one
way to change my mind, by sending me an inp file where you clear the split
screen.
The 6 Million on Dig Dug is an obvious fake.
They used to do restarts on kill screen games and then add scores from multiple
games together. The logic was you could carry over the men from the first game
because you didn't really die by player error. When the Guinness contests started
up this was banned.
Frenzy had a leeching trick, but even so getting 1.9 million is going to take
a heck of a long time. I talked to Sanders several times, he no longer claims
1.4 million.
Mark
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FirebrandX
Referee
Location: Denton, TX
Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2002 11:45 pm Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was always told it is impossible to get past the split screen, which would
mean players were adding games together for their scores on Pac Man as well.
As far as Steve Sander's 1.45 million on Donkey Kong, if it took several sessions
to break him from claiming that, he should publicly apologize and admit to lying.
Since so many bogus scores were submitted by players during the mid 80's, there
should be a loser's club for those fools. In fact, we should create a "Hall of
Shame" page the shows a list of all known bogus scores and their owners. The
suspects in question must then publicly apologize to have honor restored to them.
_________________
SSX Racing Champion
Current favorite game: Star Wars Battlefront on the PC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RCorcoran
TG Board of Directors
Location: Glendale, AZ
Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2002 1:15 am Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I love it when people say they have cleared the split screen on Pacman and
scored over the known max of 3,333,360... It does tickle me so...
Can I add up ALL the scores I've achieved on Pacman and submit them as
ONE score?!?
Sheesh....
_________________
Ron "Mr. Atari" Corcoran
Twin Galaxies Chief Editor
A couple of decent scores here and there...
SPQR - Senatus Populus Que Romanus
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
permafrostrick
Referee
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2002 4:24 am Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have seen it done..but can't comment further.
Mark, an inp of that might very well be possible if that $10k offer sponsored
by whoever it was in the past is still on the table.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tommi
Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2002 7:52 am Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FirebrandX wrote:
I was always told it is impossible to get past the split screen, which would
mean players were adding games together for their scores on Pac Man as well.
As far as Steve Sander's 1.45 million on Donkey Kong, if it took several sessions
to break him from claiming that, he should publicly apologize and admit to lying.
Since so many bogus scores were submitted by players during the mid 80's, there
should be a loser's club for those fools. In fact, we should create a "Hall of
Shame" page the shows a list of all known bogus scores and their owners. The
suspects in question must then publicly apologize to have honor restored to them.
Hall of Shame, heh, nice idea, for our personal fun...Do you really think someone
would publicly say: Yes I cheated in a videogame 20 years ago! Or I Lied my score,
I'm a liar! lololol lol
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
cubeman
MAME Editor
Location: Oshawa Ontario Canada
Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2002 11:49 am Post subject: Pacman and scores
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok guys, of course I don't condone false scores or misrepresentation.
But I have to say Steve Saunders never lied about his scores to me. This was
long after all the classic contests. Steve is retired from video games now.
Basically he explained he _thought_ he could get higher scores but he made the
claim before the kill screen was discovered on Donkey Kong.
Now regarding the pacman claims, if anyone thinks they can clear the split screen
without reprogramming the roms, or hitting rack advance (in other words normal
game-play) I would suggest going to http://www.perfectpacman.com and sending
Bill Mitchell an email. Bill offered $100,000 in the summer of 2000 for proof
of this feat and no one came forward. Well, actually I think there were some
email claims but no hard proof. I'm sure Bill will want it done at Funspot or
some other public location.
It sounds like such a good promotion I'm tempted to go to the television networks
and try to raise the money, just to see what would happen.
Mark
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tommi
Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2002 12:12 pm Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hmmm... That 6 million score proves that there really is a way to get past
kill screen
I will be experimenting with mame, propably collect my hundred grand next
Funspot then!
Nice explanation for the dk score though
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FirebrandX
Location: Denton, TX
Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2002 1:56 pm Post subject: Re: Pacman and scores
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
cubeman wrote:
But I have to say Steve Saunders never lied about his scores to me. This was
long after all the classic contests. Steve is retired from video games now.
Basically he explained he _thought_ he could get higher scores but he made the
claim before the kill screen was discovered on Donkey Kong.
Oh of course not. Nobody ever really "claims" they got a bogus high score. It
was all just a misunderstanding based on "well I might could get 1.45 million
Donkey Kong, so let's have that listed under my name". Sounds like a great deal
he gets out of that. So this means players were allowed to estimate high scores
based on what they REALLY got. This would explain why players were "scoring"
6 million on Pac Man at the time...
_________________
SSX Racing Champion
Current favorite game: Star Wars Battlefront on the PC
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artz
Location: Spring, TX USA
Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2002 2:11 pm Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I believe this link shows a picture of him above the Donkey Kong machine
in the Life magazine article on Twin Galaxies.
http://www.actualentertainment.com/lifes.htm
Wasn't the Tempest score also bogus? I'm not a big Tempest fan, so I don't
know what the limit on scoring for this game is.
Last edited by artz on Sun Dec 29, 2002 2:32 pm; edited 1 time in total
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artz
Location: Spring, TX USA
Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2002 2:29 pm Post subject:
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cubeman
MAME Editor
Location: Oshawa Ontario Canada
Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2002 2:39 pm Post subject: Re: Pacman and scores
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FirebrandX wrote:
cubeman wrote:
But I have to say Steve Saunders never lied about his scores to me. This was
long after all the classic contests. Steve is retired from video games now.
Basically he explained he _thought_ he could get higher scores but he made the
claim before the kill screen was discovered on Donkey Kong.
Oh of course not. Nobody ever really "claims" they got a bogus high score. It
was all just a misunderstanding based on "well I might could get 1.45 million
Donkey Kong, so let's have that listed under my name". Sounds like a great deal
he gets out of that. So this means players were allowed to estimate high scores
based on what they REALLY got. This would explain why players were "scoring" 6
million on Pac Man at the time...
No, he didn't really get a "great deal" since anyone can go back into the old
video game literature and double check the scores. My point was he eventually
came clean. I'm not defending bogus scores. He made some mistakes and admitted
to them. I didn't talk to Steve until after the year 2000, which is ages afterwards.
Do I wish video game scores were checked more carefully? You bet. But looking
back at the history of it all I can see some of the mistakes were honest, and
some weren't. I know a lot of the top early 80's players are retired, and have
no interest in playing anymore, and of course there's quite a number of players
still at it.
Yes, I was very disappointed in the accuracy of score reporting by the media of
the time. A lot of people treated the whole idea of tracking scores frivolously.
That was my main reason for becoming involved with TG, to try to improve the
accuracy of the process.
Mark
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tommi
Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2002 2:56 pm Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
artz wrote:
I believe this link shows a picture of him above the Donkey Kong machine in
the Life magazine article on Twin Galaxies.
http://www.actualentertainment.com/lifes.htm
Wasn't the Tempest score also bogus? I'm not a big Tempest fan, so I don't
know what the limit on scoring for this game is.
Where to find same picture, but bigger. Funny to see 80's geeks
------
The games have their critics, of course. Physicians claim that maneuvering a
joystick too many hours can lead to "video elbow" and "arcade arthritis." the
mental side effects can be equally serious, according to U.S. Surgeon General
C. Everett Koop. "There's nothing constructive in the games," says Koop.
"Everything is kill, destroy, zap the enemy." Retorts TEMPEST virtuoso Leo
Daniels, "I think Koop is a quack."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MKM
TG Advisor
Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2002 9:49 pm Post subject: Re: Pacman and scores
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
cubeman wrote:
Ok guys, of course I don't condone false scores or misrepresentation.
But I have to say Steve Saunders never lied about his scores to me. This was long
after all the classic contests. Steve is retired from video games now. Basically
he explained he _thought_ he could get higher scores but he made the claim before
the kill screen was discovered on Donkey Kong.
Well, I think I can get 5 million on Donkey Kong. Can I have a world record,
false fame, false book deals too?
I agree that he should have come clean with this immediately. Plus, who the heck
was allowing "estimate" high scores?
_________________
Please send me a Private Message to get my email for TG/game questions.
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TRIVIA - TG Scoreboard (Sep. 3, 1982)
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Author Message
RMRUCZEK
TG Board of Directors
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posted: Mon Dec 30, 2002 6:24 pm Post subject: Worse, Still !!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello all:
Yep...those were the days...when seeing a 12M on Tron, 10M on Pacman, 8M on
Donkey Kong and 4M on Frogger were common events.
There's one very interesting thing about the scores back then...in many cases,
100% mastery of the title did not occur back then, so no bonafide jedi-master
of the title (what a hyped up term, but you get the point) could be on-hand to
dispute the score and explain why it is not possible. My guess is that because
of the lack of such absolute mastery by a single reputable player, no one could
Actually, a few players of this calibre did exist...Bill Mitchell was one of
them, for example...so some semblance of order was possible, but with magazines
all gung-ho about printing higher and higher scores, I have to wonder how many
would have had the guts to print retractions, or put unverified asterisks, or
the like, next to some claims.
Just a thought.
Robert
_________________
Robert T Mruczek
Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee
Star Wars classic arcade marathon champion
rmruczek@doremus.com (work E-MAIL)
******************************
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berzerk1
Guest
Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2003 11:16 pm Post subject: 1982 classic scores
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I think a lot of these games are of course too high
but there are some that are easily within reach. Take
frenzy for example I played one game that turned over
at 1,000,000 points. Frenzy has a bonus of extra man
every 5,000 points. Somewhat same as asteroids. This
game took me 10 hours to play so that's about 100,000
points per hour. I could have gone on but the arcade
was about to close. In this case a score of 1,900,000
19 hours is definately possible. I think the highest score
on TG database is over 4,000,000 possible but difficult.
Phil Y.
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