Guinness World Records 2011 Gamer’s Edition

What Gaming Character Are You? Find Out on New Facebook App!

LONDON (February 16, 2011) – Guinness World Records, the global authority on record breaking, announce the top 50 videogame characters of all time in the latest edition of their best-selling gaming book; Guinness World Records 2011 Gamer’s Edition.  Over 13,000 readers voted for their favourite character and the end result is a “who’s who” of the top heroes and villains from more than 30 years of video game history.

Unsurprisingly it was Nintendo’s Mario who was crowned the people’s favourite videogame character.  The little plumber, who made his debut as "Jumpman" in the 1981 arcade smash Donkey Kong, received over 10% of the vote. Another Nintendo stalwart, Link, from The Legend of Zelda (1986) finished runner up, followed by the mysterious super soldier Master Chief from the Halo videogame series (Microsoft, 2001).

Several omissions are sure to cause a stir. Mario’s younger brother, Luigi, fails to make the top 50.  As does Mortal Kombat’s spear-tossing legend Scorpion, Bio-Shock’s terrifying Big Daddies, and the loveable Lemmings.  Despite the questionable quality of recent Sonic the Hedgehog titles the little blue hedgehog has still managed to make the top 10, along with other video game icons including PAC-Man,   Final Fantasy VII Cloud Strife and Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft.

The most popular publisher is Nintendo with 11 characters in the top 50.  In second place Sony with 5 characters, and third comes Capcom with five. The best year for great characters was 1996, with five familiar faces in our top 50 making their first gaming appearance in that year, including Lara Croft and Pikachu

 “The world has seen so many pivotal characters throughout the history of gaming that asking our readers to narrow it down to just 50 was a challenge in itself,” says Gaz Deaves, Guinness World Records Gaming Editor. “Some of the choices on the list are obvious, some less so, but it’s sure to get gamers talking about their favourites.”

To celebrate the release of the top 50 videogame characters of all time Guinness World Records have released an Application on their Facebook page which allows you to find out what videogame character you most identify with.  The application uses a multi-choice questionnaire format to quiz the visitor on their personality type before making a final recommendation. Are you more Larry Laffer than Duke Nukem?  Find out here:

http://www.facebook.com/GuinnessWorldRecords

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND ARTWORK PLEASE CONTACT:

Damian Field

0207 891 4518

press@guinnessworldrecords.com

Notes to Editor:

Please find the full top 50 below. Information includes the publisher with the game and year of the character’s first appearance.

1.     Mario ( Donkey Kong, Nintendo, 1981)

2.     Link ( The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo, 1986)

3.     Master Chief ( Halo: Combat Evolved, Microsoft, 2001)

4.     Solid Snake ( Metal Gear, Konami, 1987)

5.     Cloud Strife ( Final Fantasy VII, Square, 1997)

6.     PAC-Man ( PAC-Man, Namco, 1980)

7.     Lara Croft ( Tomb Raider, Eidos 1996)

8.     Gordon Freeman ( Half-Life, Valve, 1998)

9.     Kratos ( God of War, Sony, 2005)

10.  Sonic ( Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega, 1990)

11.  Crash ( Crash Bandicoot, Sony, 1996)

12.  “Soap” MacTavish ( Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Activision, 2007)

13.  Nico Bellic ( Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar, 2008)

14.  Samus Aran ( Metroid, Nintendo 1986)

15.  Ratchet ( Ratchet & Clank, Sony, 2002)

16.  Nathan Drake ( Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Sony, 2007)

17.  Captain Price ( Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Activision, 2007)

18.  Kirby ( Kirby’s Dream Land, Nintendo, 1992)

19.  Marcus Fenix ( Gears of War, Microsoft, 2006)

20.  Pikachu ( Pokemon Red/Green, Nintendo 1996)

21.  Yoshi ( Super Mario World, Nintendo, 1990)

22.  “CJ” Johnson ( Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rockstar, 2004)

23.  Mega Man ( Mega Man, Capcom, 1987)

24.  Sam Fisher ( Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, Ubisoft, 2002)

25.  Shadow ( Sonic Adventure 2, Sega, 2001)

26.  Jak ( Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Sony, 2001)

27.  Duke Nukem ( Duke Nukem, Apogee, 1991)

28.  Dante ( Devil May Cry, Bandai, 2003)

29.  Naruto ( Naruto: Konoha Ninpoch, Bandai, 2003)

30.  Altair ( Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft, 2007)

31.  Zelda ( The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo, 1986)

32.  Sephiroth ( Final Fantasy VII, Square, 1997)

33.  Donkey Kong ( Donkey Kong, Nintendo, 1981)

34.  The Prince ( Prince of Persia, Broderbund, 1989)

35.  Ezio ( Assassin’s Creed II, Ubisoft, 2009)

36.  Leon S ( Biohazard/ Resident Evil, Capcom, 1996)

37.  Ash Ketchum ( Pokemon Red/Green, Nintendo, 1996)

38.  Guybrush Threepwood ( The Secret of Monkey Island, LucasArts, 1990)

39.  Spyro ( Spyro the Dragon, Universal, 1998)

40.  “Ghost” Riley ( Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Activision, 2009)

41.  Goku ( Dragon Daihikyoe, Epoch, 1987)

42.  Max Payne ( Max Payne, Rockstar, 2001)

43.  Jill Valentine ( Biohazard/ Resident Evil, Capcom, 1996)

44.  Princess Peach ( Super Mario Bros., Nintendo, 1985)

45.  Larry Laffer ( Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, Sierra, 1987)

46.  Augustus Cole ( Gears of War, Microsoft, 2006)

47.  Bowser ( Super Mario Bros., Nintendo, 1985)

48.  Eddie Riggs ( Brutal Legend, EA, 2009)

49.  Ryu ( Street Fighter, Capcom, 1987)

50.  Sackboy ( LIttleBigPlanet, Sony, 2008)