Greatest New Videogame Guinness World Records Annouced in the New Guinness World Records(TM) 2011 Gamer's Edition!

LONDON, January 20, 2011 - The global authority on record-breaking, Guinness World
Records, announces the latest and greatest achievements in the world of
videogames in the new Guinness World Records 2011 Gamer's Edition released
today. Featuring a fascinating array of new record holders, the book
demonstrates the extent to which gaming is being embraced by people from all
walks of life young and old. Also announced today are the fascinating results
of a search to find the greatest videogame characters of all time.

The oldest gamer to make the book is 85-year-old John Bates
from Onalaska, Wisconsin, USA. The former high school principal hadn't played
a videogame until April 2009 when he received Wii Sports as a gift. John soon
became hooked on Wii Bowling, becoming so good that he went on to achieve the
Most Perfect Games on Wii Sports Bowling (2,850). John, who also bowls for
real at his local alley, said "The fundamentals of being good at 'virtual'
and 'real' sports are the same: You have to be focused, yet remain relaxed."

At the other end of the age spectrum is 9-year-old Ryota Wada
from Tokyo, Japan who has been recognised as the Youngest Gamer to Achieve a
Perfect 'AAA' Score on Dance Dance Revolution. Dancing since he has been able
to stand, Ryota said: "I am so happy to get the record. My school class are
so happy for me!"

Mitsugu Kikai (25) from Tokyo, Japan, is recognised for having
the Largest Collection of Super Mario Memorabilia (5,400 individual items).
Mitsugu's studio flat is covered wall to wall in everything Super Mario, a
product of keen collecting since he was a child. "I want people to see how
cool Mario is, how happy this little plumber makes people!"

Female gaming sensation Annie Leung (26) from San Francisco,
California, USA, is featured for achieving the Highest Score on Guitar Hero 3
for a Female (789,349 points). Annie, an inspiration to female gamers across
the world, said: "Being a female in gaming has been hard; there's harassment
and guys can under estimate you. I've had to work hard to prove that I'm just
as good as anybody out there."

Also included in the gaming Almanac are some spectacular
efforts from Brits, including Croydon's Ryan Hart who achieved the Most
Consecutive Victories Against Human Opponents on Street Fighter IV (169);
Primary school teacher Chris McGivern from Horsham, West Sussex, broke the
record for the Longest Marathon Playing a Dance Game, an incredible 13 hours
33 minutes 56 seconds; and British acting legend Christopher Lee who became
the Oldest Voice Actor in a Videogame at 87 years old when he featured in
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days last year.

Other wacky new records from Gamer's Edition 2011 include the
Most Swearing in a Videogame (The developers of the 2005 PS2 game Scarface
earned its 18-rating with over 5,000 expletives); the Most People to Sing to
a Karaoke Video Game (10,490, achieved by the crowd at Los Premios 40
Principales, Madrid, Spain); and the Most Popular Facebook Game (Launched in
June 2009, farming simulator FarmVille quickly became the most popular
application in history with 60 million monthly active users).

Guinness World Records Gaming Editor, Gaz Deaves, said: "It's
been another great year for gaming, with incredible records broken by players
from all walks of life. Gaming has become a hugely important part of popular
culture and this year's Gamer's Edition reflects just that."

Also revealed are the results of a poll conducted by Guinness
World Records to find the Best Videogame Character of All Time. Over 13,000
gaming fans voted and, in the end, there was only one winner, Mario, with
over 10% of the vote. In second was Link from the popular Legend of Zelda
(Nintendo, 1986) series, and taking third spot was the genetically engineered
super soldier, Master Chief, who made his first appearance a decade ago in
Halo: Combat Evolved (Microsoft, 2001).

Nintendo dominated the chart with eleven characters in the top
50. In second place was Sony with six characters, and third came Capcom with
five. The poll reveals that the best year for great characters was 1996, with
five familiar faces in the top 50 making their first gaming appearance in
that year, including the UK's very own Lara Croft (seventh in the chart). The
original gaming star, Pac-Man (Namco, 1980) came sixth in the poll, and Sonic
the Hedgehog (Sega, 1990), who rivalled Mario for gaming supremacy in the
90s, finished in a disappointing tenth.

Note to Editors:

A picture accompanying this release is available through the PA
Photowire. It can be downloaded from www.pa-mediapoint.press.net
or viewed at www.mediapoint.press.net or
www.prnewswire.co.uk.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, A REVIEW COPY, AND FEATURE OPPORTUNITIES
CONTACT: Damian Field: +44(0)20-7891-4518 press at guinnessworldrecords.com