Video-game champion going for a record – in West Seattle


Watch live video from John McAllister Joust Marathon on Justin.tv

If you check out that feed, you can’t really tell where it’s happening – you’ll just see a video-game screen and hear some voices – but it’s potentially video-game-playing history, and it’s happening in West Seattle, according to what WSB contributing researcher Katie Meyer has turned up. The player is 41-year-old John McAllister, who’s set records before for video-game playing/scoring (earlier this year, it was Asteroids); he’s going for a record playing Joust. The game machine’s owner is a well-known figure in the gaming world, known online as SanTe, and his home near Westwood Village is said to be where the Joust machine is hooked up to a PC, streaming what McAllister’s been up to. He’s going for the highest score ever, which means he has to pass 107,000,000 points and then some, a record set 25 years ago. Various gaming writers have been mentioning this (here’s one update from a few hours ago). Unless something goes awry, McAllister should break the 25-year-old scoring record in a few more hours. If you look at the screen, by the way, the score doesn’t reflect the official total – Katie explains that it rolls over every 10 million points – he’s approaching 100,000,000 at last report.

10 Replies to "Video-game champion going for a record - in West Seattle"

  • Mookie October 22, 2010 (3:04 pm)

    He’s played for around 48 hours straight so far. That’s…dedication. (He lasted 57 hours when he set the world record score in Asteroids!)

  • D.C. October 22, 2010 (3:09 pm)

    Wow, let’s hope the weather doesn’t cause a power outage before he finishes!

  • Mookie October 22, 2010 (3:11 pm)

    No worry, because the arcade cabinet and the streaming computer are hooked up to power backups, just in case!

  • moxilot October 22, 2010 (3:13 pm)

    how many lives does that dude have?! I’ve seen him die a ton of times already. Good luck!!

  • Mookie October 22, 2010 (3:16 pm)

    He earns extra “lives” for each 20,000 points he earns, so he stockpiles a couple hundred in reserve, which allows him to take the occasional quick break.

  • moxilot October 22, 2010 (3:32 pm)

    So he’s ‘dying’ while he’s in the bathroom? That’s crazy! I’m not sure how sitting here and watching another person play video games ranks amongst ‘Laziest Things Possible’, but this is pretty entertaining. I’m lovin’ the sound of buttons mashing. This brings me waaaaaaaaaay back.

  • Smitty October 22, 2010 (3:36 pm)

    Me too. Donkey Kong(table top version) was my main dish though, with a side of Tempest……..

  • mpento October 22, 2010 (4:49 pm)

    You know it is just a myth that being a good video game player will get you money for nothin’ and the chicks for free. A hard lesson to learn :(

  • sam October 22, 2010 (9:11 pm)

    many things related to video games equate to laziness but I imagine watching another person play video games vie live streaming is right up there, to answer your question. but it is cool to hear the arcade buttons.

  • austin October 23, 2010 (8:08 am)

    That’s a long time to be awake.

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