Classic Video Aces Gather at Weirs Beach

By Josh Rogers on Wednesday, June 6, 2001.

listen: No audio currently available. Order on CD (pdf).

An international field of video game enthusiasts gathered over the weekend at Weirs beach for the Funspot-Twin Galaxies classic video game world championships. NHPR's Josh Rogers took in the action and files this report.

The fifty-odd contestants vied on games from the seventies and eighties ? the so-called golden age of video arcades. Over the course of 4 days Donkey Kong, Centipede, Ms. Pac Man and the like swallowed some 15,000 tokens in a quest for high scores and world titles. While competition was fierce, camaraderie was high. Cheers often punctuated the din of the cavernous arcade as rivalries were joined and records fell.

Until then, champions will have to settle for bragging rights??Dwayne Richard of Calgary, Alberta is the 2001 world champion.