13 year old becomes first player to beat Tetris

A 13-year-old American, known by the streamer name Blue Scuti, has become the first person ever to conquer Tetris, pushing the more than three-decade-old classic Nintendo video game into a “kill screen.” Willis Gibson exclaimed, “Please crash,” while strategically arranging the puzzle pieces descending down the screen. Moments later, his wish came true as the game froze, prompting him to repeatedly exclaim “Oh my God!” The video capturing this achievement was uploaded to YouTube on January 2nd 2024.

Gibson achieved groundbreaking feats in Tetris, setting world records for the overall score, level attained, and total number of lines, as reported by 404 Media.

“This is unbelievable,” exclaimed Vince Clemente, CEO of the Classic Tetris World Championship, in remarks to Reuters. “Developers didn’t think anyone would ever make it that far, and now the game has officially been beaten by a human being.”

According to Clemente, Tetris had previously been conquered only by an artificial intelligence computer program.

Willis employed a “rolling” controller technique, which gained popularity in 2021. This technique allows a player to manipulate the directional pad, or D-pad, at least 20 times per second to move the blocks, surpassing the previously favored “hyper-tapping” method, as highlighted by 404 Media.

Originally released in 1984, Tetris swiftly became a global sensation, challenging players to rotate and conjoin seven different falling block shapes. Conceived by Alexey Pajitnov at the Moscow Academy of Science during the Cold War and developed into a business by gaming entrepreneur Henk Rogers, Tetris has exhibited remarkable staying power across generations.

According to The Tetris Company, Tetris holds the title of the best-selling video game of all time, boasting 520 million copies sold.