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In a colorful room on the second floor of her home, Linda Guillory MBA’04, a University of Texas at Dallas alumnus, keeps more than 2,500 vintage video game systems that she collected throughout her life. adult life. But what started as a hobby in 2003 quickly grew into a bigger goal: to be recognized by Guinness World Records.
“When I was a kid I always wanted to break a world record. My sister and I would pull out the book and look for things we could break a record in, like jump rope or the hoop,†said Guillory. “It was always on my mind, but I never thought I would break it for vintage gaming systems.”
In 2016, after 13 years browsing local thrift stores, pawn shops and eBay, Guillory applied for the world record title in two categories: Largest LCD Gaming System Collection and Largest Collection of playable game systems. But winning these titles was not easy. Guillory had to provide documentation and images for each game, as well as a description of the differences between each game in a cataloging process that took nearly three years.
“It was tough, but at the end of the day I loved it,†Guillory said. “Once I thought I could actually have a Guinness World Record, the days I wanted to be on vacation or do something else, I just pushed through.”
Finally, in 2019, Guillory and a host of volunteers officially counted every match recorded before the UT Dallas graduate was recognized by Guinness World Records with the two biggest collections titles.
“It was like light shining from the sky – just an amazing feeling,†Guillory said. “Words can’t even describe it.”
Guillory will be featured in Guinness World Records 2022, where she hopes her collection will inspire others to achieve similar goals. Guillory’s record-breaking journey took her all over the world in search of unique games, including the outskirts of Japan.
“It was tough, but at the end of the day I loved it. Once I thought I could actually have a Guinness World Record, on the days I wanted to be on vacation or do something else , I just passed. “
Linda Guillory MBA’04
Now responsible for assembly strategy for Texas Instruments Inc., Guillory has often traveled overseas in previous roles and received advice from colleagues in Japan on where to find more obscure video game systems.
“I would usually take about three days of vacation before I came back and would search all over Japan,†Guillory said. “I had wasted hours, but I didn’t care. I often came back with 25 to 60 games.”
These games, among many others, are displayed in cabinets of curiosities in the room which houses Guillory’s collection. In addition to the sets of the rare Tiger King Kong and Tiger Space Invaders tabletop systems, its collection includes the Coleco Tabletop Pac-Man, Digital Derby, Conic Basketball, Tandy Cosmic 2000 Fire Away, Actronics Grandprix Turbo, Epoch Galaxy II and Toytronic Soopa Doopa.
“I try to collect games from my childhood, so I focus on systems from the 1970s to the 1980s,†she said.
Guillory’s affinity for games extends beyond the joy and nostalgia of playing them. With an electrical engineering background, she also enjoys examining the makeup of games and solving problems when they arise.
“When I first started collecting, I mostly bought broken games because I loved to sit down and fix them,†Guillory said. “It gave me a feeling of calm.”
Although she achieved her goal of breaking a Guinness World Record, Guillory hasn’t stopped her search for games that make sense or bring joy to her daily life.
“It took me a while to accept that I was a collector,†Guillory said. “Now I like to look for the games that keep memories and that I always wanted when I was a child.”
This press release was produced by the University of Texas at Dallas. The opinions expressed here are those of the author.
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