Hungarian video game marathon player breaks Guinness World Record with Gran Turismo 7

Szabolcs Csépe :

Below is the interview with a 5-time Guinness World Record holder called GrassHopper from Kecskemét, Hungary. He specialises in video game marathons — hence he illustrated the road it took him to get to this successful 90-hour attempt on the 29th of June (2023), driving in Gran Turismo 7.

How do video game marathons work?

In general, almost all types of video game genres have their own category opened for applications, with 24 hours as the minimum baseline (unless your chosen category has a record holder already). The rules are fairly simple and most of them are identical, because there are no game specific requirements (but for example, playing in a racing simulator has some extra rules to follow). In a nutshell: as long as your chosen game is played as intended, you are doing fine. Taking breaks to visit the washroom or even sleeping is fully allowed and the clock is still counting - as long as you have enough resting time to spare. In order to gain such, one has to play the game for a full hour (uninterrupted), which results in 10 minutes to be spent away from the display - and these well deserved resting times can be stacked for strategic purposes too!

Here are GrassHopper's three records since 2021:

• in March of 2021, he first took the 'Longest video marathon playing a NARUTO game' title with 28 hours

• at the beginning of 2022, another marathon came by, playing a Puzzle (TETRIS EFFECT) game with 32 hours

• finally in July of 2023, his third record resulted in a special triple title set with 90 hours, including the following → Longest videogame marathon playing a racing simulator game + Longest videogame marathon playing a racing game + Longest videogame marathon playing a simulation videogame

What are the rules and requirements for attempts?

In general, the certification process of Guinness World Records is strict about the rules of event preparation and evidences, thus the video game marathon categories are no exception. After record application registration and (optional) conciliation, the rules must be understood fully — among the most highlighted requirements, it is needed to provide video captures and documentation with 100% completeness, plus the recording of the whole event with as many independent witnesses and viewers as possible! There is no requirement regarding gameplay, only to perform physically while abiding the rules for rest breaks. To briefly clarify, I would like to disperse one of the biggest misbeliefs: an ad-hoc live streaming session does not serve as a record attempt — it is at least required to provide a full body camera view and local/on-line witnesses with their faces shown. During certification at Guinness World Records (GWR in short), all provided evidences and documentation are examined thoroughly and the smallest mistake can invalidate the attempt — one happened to me too during my first application in 2020.
 

What were the goals of the previous marathons?

Briefly, I would like to reflect on my previous record attempts with their simple goals: during my NARUTO marathon, the ultimate goal was to defeat 1000 opponents in Survival game mode (with one Health bar, without losing a single match) — this took about 28,5 hours and I stopped as planned; the Puzzle/TETRIS record was aimed to reach exactly 32 hours, 32 minutes and 32 seconds, to match the celebration of the 32nd anniversary of the NES release of TETRIS. The Gran Turismo 7 marathon time was ever achieved by only 3 people (with different video game genres) more than 10 years ago — for now, I am satisfied with the 90 hours. With such video game achievements (including the world of speedrunning), I find it important that the readers understand the goal or context within — without them, just looking at the numbers can be valued very differently.

What about the witnesses?

In order to provide more comfort and simplicity, I hosted all witnesses locally in a guest house, once all required equipment were moved there safely. With all the helping personnel, about 20 people participated in this project — besides being eye witnesses, they spent their time with discourse, board games and of course, some video games too.
 

What are the most interesting details?

The goal of this marathon was to introduce all cars (474 at the end of June, 2023) in the Gran Turismo 7 simulator on the 96 years old Nürburgring Nordschleife track — one lap per car during a 96-hour long charity live streaming event. The plan was almost fulfilled, but in the end, 440 laps and 9100+ kilometres were driven during the record attempt. The 20 832 metre-long track (not counting the Grand Prix section) is also known as 'The Green Hell' — it is being infamous for its complicated (and often dangerous) layout. My preparation took 4 months including daily physical training (for upper body, arms, shoulders and neck) and driving practice, since it was compulsory to use racing simulator hardware (wheel, pedals, manual shifter and seating) — before the record attempt I took part in 1400 laps of racing around the Nordschleife track.

What were the most memorable rides?

During the marathon, and after those 4 long days, I can surely say that I have driven all cars at least once around the Nordschleife to date. The track features 300 metres of elevation difference between the lowest and highest points of the ~21 km long tarmac — thus there were some really enjoyable rides! My top 3 favourites were definitely the Aston Martin Vulcan '16, the Honda RA272 '65 and the Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth '87. To share something else that I will remember for a long time: during one of the nights I unfortunately experienced one of the darkest moments that tired drivers fear the most on highways. I closed my sleepy eyes just briefly, and one moment later I crashed into a car up front first, then into a wall at the side of the track. Lessons: learned!

How does one find extra leisure time?

I have spent about 10 hours in total with resting between race sessions, and I managed to squeeze in some free time to attain the Saturday's weekly cup #177 of 'Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training' — I have participated in nearly all of these cups so I really did not want to be left out during my marathon. :)
 

What is next?

Currently, I do not have an idea in mind for the next grand achievement, however, I am always working on different video game record projects. For example, I am holding (and aiming for) new short, physical speedrun world records in Ring Fit Adventure: https://youtu.be/fbaxQidMJYE

​

Sources:

 

• Official page; 1 of the 3 aforementioned new records >> https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/668936-longest-videogame-marathon-playing-a-racing-simulator-game

• Hot lap from the 90-hour marathon >> https://youtu.be/9bLOlCWSy98

• Shared on Twitter >> https://twitter.com/K1CS1K/status/1724571377359827072

• The full list of cars (as of 29th June, 2023) was shared here >> https://cryptpad.fr/pad/#/2/pad/view/DRtQ+P8aIEZ4GbQbqtD+xk4pj1o81060WozQaUfoX7s/embed/

• All mentioned video game marathon Guinness World Records from Hungary are listed here >> https://kecskemet.co/hirek/esemeny/magyar-guinness-rekord-videojatekkal-2021

Contact information (Szabolcs 'GrassHopper' Csépe):

• e-mail: [email protected]

• Twitter/X: https://x.com/K1CS1K

• Twitch.TV: https://www.twitch.tv/K1CS1K