Media Files

Billy Mitchell:
 
interview on MTV

Here's an edit, from the occasional MTV feature True Life, of the part covering Billy Mitchell in the 'I'm a Gamer' episode that originally aired on March 13, 2003.  He covers his Pac-Man accomplishment, his business, future plans, and we even get a glimpse of his wife Evelyn.  Oh, and he just had to tease Roy Shildt with a shot of him and two buddies wheeling a Missile Command machine into a private gameroom.

Doris Self:
 
interview on CBS

This terrific feature appeared on the CBS morning show (after many delays) in the Summer of 2005.  Doris was interviewed both at Funspot (during the 2005 annual tourney), and at her Florida home.  You'll see her playing bridge, and even hear Billy Mitchell (with son Billy Jr. in tow) gushing over her skill.  This video is especially poignant now, given her untimely passing in October 2006.

Ground Kontrol:
 
news coverage / interview on Fox 12

Over the same long weekend that the annual Funspot tournament was going on in 2004 (June 4 - 6), Ground Kontrol arcade in Portland Oregon (along with two other locations) was holding an event where gamers were invited to try for records on classic titles.  The arcade is featured in this clip, and gamer Perry Rodgers is interviewed.

Jeffrey Yee:
 
interview on Starcade

Most of you have no doubt heard the deal about Jeffrey 'Liar' Yee (as some have called him).  At just eight years of age, he claimed to have multiple scores over 5 million on Pac-Man, and even received a letter from President Ronald Reagan congratulating him on his 'achievement'.  Right...  Well, you get to hear him talk about his bogus scores on this video clip, from an episode of the 80's show Starcade.

Jon 'Evil Exidy' Jamshid:
 
news coverage / interview on News Channel 8

Talk about stupid local governments with nothing better to do but hassle people... Famed arcade collector Jon Jamshid (known as 'Evil Exidy') went to the 'news guys' to help him publicize an injustice that befell him from the Lakeland, Florida Code Enforcement Department.  Fortunately, he won a reprieve, as you'll see.

Kelly Tharp:
 
news coverage / interview on Fox43

When Kelly went to Challenge Arcade to go for the Q*bert marathon record, he got a lot of attention, including this news interview.  While some of the report is wrong (Kelly didn't get the world record, recorded or not), it's still interesting coverage, and a documentation of gaming history.  Oh, BTW, his final score was 19,966,580 points, after 44 and a half hours of play !

Turbo Sub contest:
 
news coverage on News4

This rare footage was donated to CAGDC by forum member Jason Spindler ('Spindaddy').  Featuring some of the California greats from the mid-80's (such as Phil Britt, Jeff Peters, and Mike Sullivan), there's some terrific footage of game play, and the atmosphere of a classic arcade from yesteryear.

Bryan Wagner:
 
CAGDC interview

The third place winner of the East Coast Arcade Championships event, hosted by Challenge Arcade, near Reading, PA, was Bryan Wagner.  In this interview, he talks about the event, plus: his planned Burger Time marathon; his incredible simultaneous dual wr marks that he set during the 2006 Funspot event; and he even demonstrates his prowess at Donkey Kong 3.

Frank Lupia:
 
CAGDC interview

This interview is with the ultimate winner of the East Coast Arcade Championships event - Frank Lupia.  He talks about Pengo, his favorite title, plus his preference for the classics.  Also, he gives a great demonstration of how to play Pengo.

At the time of the interview, Frank was in 3rd place, but managed to raise that to first by the end of the event.

Ryan Moss and Nick Moyer:
 
CAGDC interview

Here's a double-scoop for everyone - you get to hear from both Ryan Moss (right), and  Nick Moyer (who ended up placing 4th and 3rd, respectfully, in the East Coast Arcade Championships event).  They both discuss their favorite games, their contest success, and Ryan makes a fantastic notation on what is really the most important thing about these events - making friends !

As a bonus, we get to see the lovely Kasey Kehler (an arcade regular) turn red, and there's some discussion about the second edition of the 2007 CAGDC Tournament.  Last but not least, each of the guys shows his favorite game in the arcade - Nick likes House of the Dead, and Ryan is dedicated to DDR (as he aptly demos).

Crystal Castles:
 
900,869 point game by Frank Seay

Here's the only existing 900K+ Crystal Castles game on tape, played by current world record holder Frank Seay.  For all the details on this rare video, go to this page on my web site, and, to purchase a DVD with this video, and four other much longer ones featuring the game, go here.

Dig Dug:
 
4,501,150 point game by Ken House

This new world record beat the existing one by the great Donald Hayes.  In a 3 hour, 29 minute effort, Ken House beat Don's score, and also barely topped the 4.5M mark.  Not to be outdone, Donald came back less than two months later, and topped this score, with 4,595,010 points.

Gauntlet Legends:
 
promo video by Midway

Even tho this clip was made from play on the DreamCast, it looks so identical to the arcade version that I had to include it here.

Joust 2:
 
2,655,600 point game by Dwayne Richard

This clip is from the game in which CAGDC Hall of Fame member Dwayne Richard smashed the old world record on Joust 2 by a factor of five (!), scoring a superb 2,655,600 points.  Not only did he get personal satisfaction by adding more 'weight' to his résumé, but, the icing on the cake was that he won $2500 for doing it !  Go here for all the details.

Millipede:
 
10,627,331 point game by Donald Hayes

The great Donald Hayes really outdid himself on an epic 8 hour game of Millipede, where he dusted the old world's record convincingly; outscoring the old record by more than half, he made an incredible 10,627,331 points in total.  This clip gives you an idea of his great skill, and you can get more info on this page of my web site.

Missile Command:
 
1,967,830 point game by Tony Temple

You've heard all about this record score, and know about the controversy regarding the previous world record listing by Roy Shildt too, perhaps.  Well, see for yourself the incredible skill of Tony Temple, aka 'TT', in this well-edited series of clips showing various waves that occurred during his world record run.

Space Bugger:
 
game play demo

This clip features a demonstration of the game play on the rare arcade title Space Bugger.

Star Wars:
 
20,891,403 point game by Brandon Erickson

This is a clip from Brandon Erickson's personal best Star Wars game, in which he made a superb 20,891,403 point score, on just six shields in total !!  For more details, go to this page.

Super Puzzle Fighter II  X:
 
game demo by Kasey Kehler

Kasey Kehler, an arcade regular at Challenge Arcade in PA, demos her abilities on the great puzzle game Super Puzzle Fighter II  X during the East Coast Arcade Championships event in 2006.

Tapper:
 
3,162,125 point game by Greg Erway

Here's a clip from a truly remarkable game.  Greg Erway played for almost 6 hours, and made it all the way into level 364, with a total of just 5 men !!  On this TGTS game, he even beat his old 5-man score - on his first man !!  Talk about over-achieving !  Around the middle of this clip, you'll see a flash, and then shortly after, hear a "Nice" comment; that was from me (Mark Alpiger), when I was observing his game, and taking photos.  One of the best is this one.

Note: Greg created the neat intro screen for this vid, but actually put the wrong date on, by accident - it should show 2005 for the year, not 2006.

The Glob:
 
133,834 point game by Mark Alpiger

Yours truly (Mark Alpiger) recorded this segment from my world record game of The Glob while wrapping up a trip to Challenge Arcade.  I was there to run my inaugural gaming event, the 2006 Classic Arcade Gaming (dot com) Tournament.  The day after it ended, and before I left to head back home, I stopped by the arcade, and tried out a few games of 'Glob', just to see if I could make a decent score.  Well, a world record is usually always decent, and this is no exception, tho I was shooting for a bit higher, as you'll hear on the tape.  You'll also hear arcade owner Joe LeVan noting some accomplishments to me about a game of Pole Position II that he was playing nearby.

Note the incredible speed of the enemies on the two levels I play (10 and 11); remarkably, they even get noticeably faster a few levels higher !  Well, a final interesting note - there's a timer bar at the bottom of the screen, and when it reaches the end, you lose a man.  That almost happened on the screen the vid starts out showing, and explains my exasperation at the end of this level, since I had to push my way onto the final elevator, and still barely finished in time.

Tron:
 
Grid bugs (I.O. Tower) screen by David Cruz

This clip was recorded by David Cruz, the current official world record holder on the game Tron.  He expertly shoots the insidious grid bugs, in order to enter the I.O. Tower, which is the goal of this screen.

Tron:
 
Recognizer tanks screen by David Cruz

Here's another clip that was recorded by David Cruz, the current official world record holder on the game Tron.  Though there is no sound, he shows his method of dealing with the tanks, which involves moving to an 'alcove' safety area of the screen.

The Spindler arcade:
 
a tour of Jason Spindler's home
arcade in Mount Vernon, Indiana

You get the complete tour of the J-cade (as Jason calls his arcade collection) in this video, along with some commentary from both Jason, and Mark Boolman, who drove 3 hours to attend the October 'arcade party'.
 

Mark Alpiger:
 
footage at the Drexel Gateway
theater in Columbus, Ohio

My nephew Nick, who accompanied me to see The King of Kong movie, shot footage of my entering the Drexel Gateway theater, and I just had to do it - I decided to start things out in a 'mock' way, as you'll see.  Well, after that, it was all real, including the security guard who stopped our taping.  Oh, well, you'll still get to see a little of the theater, plus the funny beginning to the clip.

ECAC 2006:
 
CAGDC coverage

Here's a view of contestants, and the owners of the host arcade, at the East Coast Arcade Championships event. We get to see Nick Moyer take on Pole Position II, and Bryan Wagner throw down on Bust-A-Move, plus a look at Joe and Susan LeVan doing their duty at the arcade.

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood:
 
Mister Rogers Talks About GAMES

featuring: Donkey Kong

Whodathunkit ?  That nebbishy sweater-wearing television icon that we all have made fun of is actually a gamer ??  Well, perhaps not, but he did do a show that featured a talented youngster, and the famous title Donkey Kong.  As a bonus, you even get to see inside the machine when the attendant empties out the coin box.

After seeing this, you may wonder who really is the 'King of Kong' - it could just be the man in the sweater...  Not !

Seinfeld:
 
The Frogger

featuring: Frogger

If you've never seen this episode, then you've missed out.  Besides interesting side stories, the one that's focused on in this clip is classic - in his youth, George Costanza made an incredible 863,050 point score on Frogger, and the machine with the score is still in the same pizza place where he set it a decade earlier.  He buys it, and is involved with complicated plans (and people) in an attempt to preserve the score while the game is moved to his place.  In this clip, he has the daunting task of moving the game across a busy street, and realizes that it's time to truly show his skill...

The King of Kong -
A Fistful of Quarters

movie trailer

Here's a terrific trailer for the KoK movie that really shows the gamut of what appears in the film - 'back in the day' event footage, modern day players at Funspot, Billy Mitchell (at his best, and at his cockiest), Steve Wiebe (shown mostly as the underdog), comments from Steve and Billy's friends, and more.

The King of Kong -
A Fistful of Quarters

tv commercial

I was lucky to get this clip.  Franz Lanzinger, designer of Crystal Castles, and a friend of mine, sent it to me after his TIVO caught it airing in the San Francisco area.

As expected, this is sort of a trimmed-down version of the trailer, with the addition of movie reviewer comments.  One stand-out difference is (as pictured to the right) my scene (taken during the 2006 Guinness event in Pompano Beach, Florida) where I demonstrated playing Crystal Castles with my foot !