US Army,
SILVER SPRING, Md: The America's Army PC game, which lets players explore Soldiering, has been recognized with five records in the upcoming Guinness World Records 2009: Gamer's Edition.
The second installment of the “Gamer's Bible,” began hitting book-store shelves Feb. 4, featuring the definitive collection of video game records, facts and trivia. The first edition of Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition was published in February 2008, and received critical accolades from gaming industry reviewers.
Guinness World Records is the universally recognized authority on record-breaking achievement. First published in 1955, the annual Guinness World Records book is published in more than 100 countries and 25 languages and is one of the highest-selling books under copyright of all time with more than 3 million copies sold annually across the globe.
In this year's Gamer's Edition, the America's Army PC game received awards in the following categories:
• Largest Virtual Army — In January 2007, America's Army recruited its 8 millionth registered user; at the same time, the actual U.S. Army had just 519,472 Soldiers on active duty. This makes the virtual America's Army 15 times larger than the real thing. Today the game has more than 9.7 million registered users.
• Most Downloaded War Video Game — According to official estimates, America's Army, in all its various iterations, has been downloaded more than 42.6 million times. It is also the most downloaded game from Fileplanet.com, itself one of the most popular gaming download sites on the Internet. The most recent version of the game was downloaded almost 2.4 million times between January and July 2008.
• Most Hours Spent Playing a Free Online Shooter — According to the U.S. Army, as of August 2008, gamers have spent more than 230.9 million hours playing the PC version of America's Army. Gamers from more than 60 countries have played America's Army since it was launched in 2002.
• Earliest Military Website to Support a Video Game — The Web site americasarmy.com is the first military Web site to support a video game series. America's Army is also the first multi-platform game to receive a government-licensed trademark.
• Largest Traveling Game Simulator — The Virtual Army Experience is a highly modified version of America's Army that includes six life-size vehicles surrounded by multiple flat screens, with room for up to 50 participants. Mounted in the vehicles are modified light-gun weapons. The teams inside each vehicle, which shakes in reaction to nearby explosions, are tasked to drive supplies to a beleaguered group of aid workers in dangerous territory. The exhibit takes up 19,500 square feet.
The U.S. Army recently announced the upcoming America's Army 3 game will be released later this year. AA3 will be rated T for Teen by the Entertainment Software Rating Board. AA3 will use the state-of-the-art Unreal Engine 3. America's Army game developers promise to bring the most popular trademark gameplay features from the previous versions to an all new level in AA3.
Highlights of AA3 include authentic weapons and technologies, realistic training and exciting gameplay missions. AA3 will provide players new insights into the Army and Soldiering, officials said, adding it will make the game easier to play, easier to install and easier to download.
(Lori Mezoff writes for the America's Army PC team.)
