Twin Galaxies is a
social media platform
Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the creation, sharing and aggregation of content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongst virtual communities and networks. Common features include:
* Onlin ...
and
video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
database. Twin Galaxies is the official supplier of video game records to ''
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...
''.
History
In mid-1981,
Walter Day, founder of Twin Galaxies, Inc., visited more than 100 video game
arcades over four months, recording the high scores that he found on each game.
On November 10, 1981, Day opened his arcade in
Ottumwa, Iowa
Ottumwa ( ) is a List of cities in Iowa, city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,529 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. Located in the state's southeastern section, th ...
, naming it Twin Galaxies.
On February 9, 1982, Day's database of records was released publicly as the Twin Galaxies National Scoreboard.
Twin Galaxies' first event formed state teams from the top players in
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
and
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, facing them off in a "California Challenges North Carolina All-Star Playoff." The teams played in 17 different games in
Lakewood, California, and
Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. California defeated North Carolina 10–7 over the weekend of August 27–30, 1982.
In September, 1982, the book "Defending the Galaxy" is released—and declaring Twin Galaxies as the "Video Game Capital of the World," and describing the California/North Carolina contest just held.
On November 30, 1982,
Ottumwa mayor Jerry Parker declared the town "Video Game Capital of the World", a claim that was backed up by
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad,
Atari
Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...
and the Amusement Game Manufacturers Association in a ceremony at Twin Galaxies on March 19, 1983.
Beginning in the summer of 1982, ''Video Games'' magazine and ''
Joystick
A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Also known as the control column, it is the principal control devic ...
'' published high-score tables taken from Twin Galaxies' data. Additional high-score charts also appeared in ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'', ''Videogiochi'' (
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
), ''
Computer Games
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
'', ''Video Game Player'' and ''Electronic Fun''.
On January 8–9, 1983, Twin Galaxies organized its first world championship, which was filmed by
ABC-TV's ''
That's Incredible!'' and aired on February 21, 1983.
[Twin Galaxies' Coronation Day Crowns Video's Best of '83 - RePlay Magazine, February 1, 1984](_blank)
In March 1983, Twin Galaxies was contracted by the Electronic Circus to assemble a professional troupe of video game high-scorers. Though the Circus was scheduled to visit 40 cities in North America, its Boston inaugural performance lasted only five days, closing on July 19. The players selected by Twin Galaxies for the Circus are believed to be history's first professionally contracted video game players.
On July 25, 1983, Twin Galaxies established the first professional
U.S. National Video Game Team. The USNVGT toured the United States during the summer of 1983 in a 44-foot
GMC bus filled with arcade games, appearing at arcades around the nation and conducting the 1983 Video Game Masters Tournament, the results of which were published in the 1984 US edition of ''
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...
''.
In 1988, the Guinness Book of World records stopped publishing records from Twin Galaxies due to a decline in interest for arcade games.
On February 8, 1998, ''Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records'' was published. It is a 984-page book containing scores compiled since 1981. A second edition was published as a three-volume set in 2007. A third edition was published in 2009.
Founder Walter Day left Twin Galaxies in 2010 to pursue a career in music, and since then ownership of Twin Galaxies has changed hands several times. In 2013, Twin Galaxies began charging a fee for score submissions.
In March 2014,
Jace Hall announced that he was the new "Head Custodian and Caretaker of the TWIN GALAXIES organization". On April 28, 2014, the full Twin Galaxies website, including the high score database and forum content, came back online.
US National Video Game Team
The US National Video Game Team was founded on July 25, 1983, in
Ottumwa, Iowa
Ottumwa ( ) is a List of cities in Iowa, city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,529 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. Located in the state's southeastern section, th ...
, by
Walter Day and the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard.
Events
Video Game Film Festival
Twin Galaxies organized the first Video Game Film Festival on June 2, 2001, at the
Funspot Family Fun Center in
Weirs Beach, New Hampshire, as a vehicle to document the cultural impact that video games have exerted on society.
Console Video Game World Championships
Twin Galaxies conducted the first Console Video Game World Championship during Twin Galaxies' 1st Annual Twin Galaxies' Video Game Festival at the
Mall of America,
Bloomington,
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, on the weekend of July 20–22, 2001. This event is also known as the Console Game World Championship and had originally been planned for March 24–25, 2001, at the Sheraton Dallas Brookhollow Hotel in
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, but was moved forward to the Mall of America event.
The second Console Video Game World Championship was held the weekend of July 12–14, 2002, at the 2nd Annual Twin Galaxies' Video Game Festival at the Mall of America.
Classic Video Game World Championship
Twin Galaxies conducted the first "Classic Video Game World Championship" on June 2–4, 2001, at the
Funspot Family Fun Center in
Weirs Beach,
New Hampshire
New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
. The winner of this renewed video game contest was Dwayne Richard, with Donald Hayes coming in second place. This event was descended from the Coronation Day Championships that were conducted by Twin Galaxies in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, and 2000. The 2nd "Classic Video Game World Championship" was conducted on the weekend of June 30 – July 2, 2002. The winner was Dwayne Richard, with Donald Hayes again coming in second place.
In July 2001 and 2002, Twin Galaxies conducted the annual Twin Galaxies' Video Game Festivals at the Mall of America.
On August 15, 2005, Walter Day and the staff of Twin Galaxies led a contingent of US and UK video game players to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, where they delivered an eight-foot-tall (2.4 meters) proclamation that proposed a "London vs. Paris" Video Game Championship.
On September 24, 2005, the
US National Video Game Team revived and formed a New England Chapter with Walter Day as the national team captain and David Nelson of
Derry, New Hampshire, as the chapter captain.
Iron Man Contest
In the first week of July 1985, Twin Galaxies conducted the 1st Twin Galaxies Iron Man Contest. The goal of the Iron Man competition was simple: competitors had to continue playing their game for as long as they could. If anyone passed 100 hours, they would be awarded a $10,000 prize from the Sports Achievement Association.
The winner of the contest was 18-year-old James Vollandt, who carried his ''
Joust
Jousting is a medieval and renaissance martial game or hastilude between two combatants either on horse or on foot. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism.
The term is derived from Old French , ultim ...
'' game for 67½ hours. The game malfunctioned at around 58 hours, wiping out all of his 210 extra lives. However, he earned back forty of them. He left the game voluntarily with a record-breaking score of 107,216,700 points, a record that stood until 2010 when John McAllister broke the record over a live streaming video on justin.tv.
Media
In 2007, a film about Twin Galaxies and video game champions released in the 1980s, ''
Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade'', was screened at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023.
The festival has acted ...
.
''
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters'', a feature documentary about retro arcade gamers, and the competition between
Billy Mitchell and
Steve Wiebe, in which Walter Day and Twin Galaxies feature prominently, was released in theaters on August 24, 2007. The documentary was critical of Twin Galaxies' handling of challenges to long-established top scores and suggested that its organizational structure is rife with conflicts of interest.
''Frag'', a feature documentary about modern professional gamers, was released on DVD on August 1, 2008, by Cohesion Productions of Cedar Falls, Iowa. The first ten minutes of the documentary covered Twin Galaxies' role as the pioneers of organized video game playing back in the early 1980s.
''
Man vs Snake: The Long and Twisted Tale of Nibbler'', a feature documentary about the video game
Nibbler, was released worldwide in 2016. The film includes Twin Galaxies' history and the competition for high scores. Walter Day is featured throughout the film.
Cheating controversies
Records by both
Todd Rogers and
Billy Mitchell were invalidated by Twin Galaxies after investigations determined that the scores were not genuine. Rogers was revealed to have entered fake records into the database either by himself or by his friend who was a referee at Twin Galaxies, whereas Mitchell was found to have used an
emulator
In computing, an emulator is Computer hardware, hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run sof ...
to reach certain scores despite claiming to have played on an original arcade machine, which is a violation of the Twin Galaxies rules.
Poster gallery
Since August 1, 1982, Twin Galaxies has been producing stylized posters to document gaming events.
Twin Galaxies' Gallery of Posters, 1982-2008
Though the first dozen posters issued in the early 1980s had printing runs of 500–1,000 copies each, the posters created in later years have been issued as limited editions with only 2024 copies produced.
Twin Galaxies contests and events
See also
* Time attack
* Speedrun
Speedrunning is the act of playing a video game, or section of a video game, with the goal of completing it as fast as possible. Speedrunning often involves following planned routes, which may incorporate sequence breaking and exploit glitch ...
References
External links
*
Twitch channel
{{Speedrunning
Esports teams based in the United States
Online game databases
World record databases
Video game culture
Video game organizations
Companies based in Iowa
Ottumwa, Iowa
Esports organizations
Speedrunning
Organizations established in 1981
Esports websites