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Why is Elon Musk boasting about his video game ranking?

Elon Musk, left, recently admitted to paying people to "boost" his video game scores. Billy Mitchell, right, once held world records in classic arcade games such as "Donkey Kong."
AP
Elon Musk, left, recently admitted to paying people to "boost" his video game scores. Billy Mitchell, right, once held world records in classic arcade games such as "Donkey Kong."

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has boasted about his video game prowess. But The Washington Post recently reported that the tech billionaire’s achievements on the games “Diablo IV” and “Path of Exile 2” are deceptive. Musk admitted in messages to paying strangers to play for him.

Why would someone with a direct line to the president, and billions to throw around care about video game scores?

On Cincinnati Edition, we discuss the quest for video game glory, how records are broken and disputed, and we dive into the obsessive world of retro video game collecting and competing.

Guests:

  • Ricky Henry, multimedia designer and homebrew developer
  • Michael Thomasson, videogame historian and author of "Controversy: Downright Despicable Games"
  • Joe Stith, organizer, Louisville Arcade Expo

This segment includes select music from Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue).

Ways to listen to this show:

  • Tune in live at noon ET M-F. Call 513-419-7100 or email talk@wvxu.org to have your voice heard on today’s topic.
  • Catch the replay on 91.7 WVXU and 88.5 WMUB at 8 p.m. ET M-F.
  • Listen on-demand. Audio for this segment will be uploaded to this page by 4 p.m. ET., or subscribe to our podcast.
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