If George Leutz hasn't gone completely Ahab already, I'd advise him to let go of the Q*Bert world record. His latest assault on the mark, whose 33 million score is believed to require more than 70 hours of nonstop gameplay, ended in exhaustion after 57 hours, 40 minutes on a single quarter at the joystick. His final score was 26,721,915.
It was Leutz's third attempt to overtake the mark of 33,273,520 set in 1983 by Canadian Rob Gerhardt. The first, in April, ended when someone kicked a power cable to a machine elsewhere in the arcade where Leutz had been playing, creating a surge that reset the machine after 30 hours of work. Leutz's second bid, in May, ended when he was overcome by fatigue at the 54-hour mark.
The 28-year-old record survived another serious challenge when marathon gamer Rick Carter, noted for scoring a billion points in Nibbler fell apart at 59 hours, with a score of 28 million.
Scott Patterson, who carried a live stream of Leutz's attempt at Richie Knucklez arcade in Flemington, N.J., suggested that this could be Leutz' last try at the mark. While I sympathize with Leutz considerably, I also think it's time for Dr. Henry Jones to gently tell Junior to let go of the Grail.
Fatigue brings New Year's Q*bert record attempt to early end [Arcade Game Examiner]