Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
The Guinness Book of World Records has certified a Texas man as the lucky fellow who has the largest video game collection in the world. Antonio Romero Monteiro has even the biggest of bundle fanatics beat with his collection of disks and cartridges dating back decades. In total, Mr. Monteiro owns 20,193 video games. That’s a little under one-fifth of the total number of games that are currently on Steam, except this madman actually owns physical copies for most of these titles.
Texas news station WTVY reports that Mr. Monteiro found out the good news this past Monday from The Guinness Book of World Records. The longstanding collection of strange world records sent two people out to count Mr. Monteiro’s video game collection by hand. There were so many titles that it took the two Guinness representatives an entire week to get an accurate count. The record page states that he officially earned his place in history on February 2, 2019.
Mr. Monteiro estimates that he has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on his collection with some individual titles costing several hundred dollars
A goodly portion of the collection is in still-wrapped and unopened condition.
Source: https://techraptor.net/content/guinness-video-game-collection
(Score: 5, Funny) by EJ on Wednesday March 20 2019, @01:42PM
That's not even half of my unplayed Steam collection.
(Score: 1) by shrewdsheep on Wednesday March 20 2019, @01:50PM
... so he earned a second Guiness World Record at the same stroke? Longest time to determine a World record... but wait that makes a third: highest number of World records gained in one go... (go figure) ...
First man to gain an infinite number of world records!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 20 2019, @02:06PM
(Score: 5, Touché) by PiMuNu on Wednesday March 20 2019, @02:11PM (3 children)
... because the copy protection relies on lookup from a long-dead server.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by looorg on Wednesday March 20 2019, @02:23PM (2 children)
This is actually an interesting question, in essence he might own 20,193 boxes with something in them but they may or may not actually be playable games. If a game isn't playable is it really a game? Some of them might depend on long-dead servers, require hardware/machines that are no longer available or the media they are stored on might no longer actually work (floppies, tape, cartridges, cd etc doesn't last forever). Shouldn't one has to verify (as in install/run/play) that he actually has 20,193 GAMES and not just as many fancy boxes? Just having the boxes might be a record in itself but that is perhaps besides the point.
They may come in different segments here, if they are really old there won't be any on-line components to rely on but the media might be so old it doesn't work anymore and he might not have the hardware to run them. There might be a segment from as noted the 2000's and a few more years that do require an online component that is no longer available.
I'm really starting to doubt he actually has 20,193 playable games. I think he just has the worlds largest collection of fancy game-boxes -- that may or may not actually also contain a playable game.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday March 20 2019, @03:41PM
Considering, he's doing it as a collectible kind of thing, he's not likely to be trying to play any of them, or anyone else for that matter. It's like comic book collecting, at a certain point, it's not for reading. From a game history perspective, ideally, the games would be preserved in a way that would allow future generations to experience the pleasure/horror of playing the games. What this guy is doing, isn't likely to be anything like that. As part of what makes the titles collectibles are that they are in their original sealed packaging.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 4, Funny) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday March 20 2019, @04:37PM
Schrodinger would say that that he does and he does not have the largest collection.
And by extension he then has the largest collection of cats in the world, too. You won't know until you open the boxes!
(oookay, okay. He would say the state of the collection is undetermined. Spoilsport!!!)
This sig for rent.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by nobu_the_bard on Wednesday March 20 2019, @03:00PM (2 children)
Why though? You can't actually play 20,000 games. He hasn't even opened most. It's just to have them?
You can't even research them, they're just baubles on organized shelves.
And probably >70% of it is shovelware, besides...
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Wednesday March 20 2019, @03:45PM (1 child)
Well, first imagine you had piles of money.
Then second, imagine you wanted the respect of nerds, for some fucking reason.
Third, imagine you had no meaningful hobbies.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday March 20 2019, @07:25PM
BOW before your new leader!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday March 20 2019, @03:02PM (3 children)
And when they say that, I don't think video games. This guy doesn't have the biggest ranch. Doesn't have the biggest Oil field. Doesn't have the biggest, or highest apartment -- or Sky Scraper. Doesn't have the biggest sign. Doesn't have the biggest Bank Account or Stock Portfolio. Doesn't have the biggest airplane or yacht. And doesn't have the biggest "whatever." O.K. But, video games, really? Sad that he settled for that. Never settle!!!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 20 2019, @03:09PM (2 children)
Another thing he doesn't have is the biggest... ego.
:)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 20 2019, @03:43PM (1 child)
And apparently has a small doohickey... since he can't find a girlfriend and instead plays games.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 20 2019, @07:58PM
Does he have small hands?
(Score: 1) by ensigndna on Wednesday March 20 2019, @06:05PM (1 child)
LOL
(Score: 5, Touché) by EJ on Wednesday March 20 2019, @06:10PM
Maybe you should shower?