Although it contributed significantly to the success of the Game Boy (there was even a film on the subject released this year), Tetris was also one of the bestsellers of the NES, or “the Nintendo” as many still call it. But despite selling millions of copies, no player had managed to complete the game – or at least no one had been able to prove it. However, the classic Tetris, as it is also called, still has many players today and even a very active e-sports scene.
But 34 years after the game's release (November 1989 in the US, February 1990 here), a teenager managed to surpass the machine.
Willis Gibson, better known by the nickname Blue Scuti, is a 13-year-old American who is already very active in the competitive scene. Despite his young age, he regularly takes part in tournaments and championships. As can be seen from his player profile on the Tetris wiki, he always achieves a high rank or wins the trophy. He was even a semi-finalist at the Classic Tetris World Championship last October.
On December 21, 2023, Blue Scuti managed to crash Tetris while broadcasting his game and attempting to break the world record. In fact, this version has no real ending. Every ten lines the game increases one level and speeds up until level 29. Then the levels continue to increase, but the maximum speed is reached. Except this young prodigy managed to ace the game. After eliminating 1511 lines and reaching level 157, the screen locked: the game code could no longer continue. A feat that only an AI had achieved before him.