While Portland Star Wars aficionados were arriving at cinemas around town last week, one local fan was attempting to breaking a world record. By the time the first lightsaber-touting geek had begun waiting in line, Brandon Erickson, the classic gaming marathoner profiled by Willamette Week last March, had already been standing in front of an arcade console for dozens of hours.

In an effort to beat the all time record for Atari's Star Wars, Erickson committed himself to a nearly three day marathon at Ground Kontrol, the classic video arcade in Portland's Chinatown. The record, which has stood at a staggering 300 million points since 1983, was going to require nearly three straight days of continuous play. Imagine a more grueling "Hands on Hard Body" competition and you begin to get an idea on the level of commitment required to make a serious go at this record. The impressive feat was also part of an effort to raise money for Portland Public Schools.

Erickson dropped a quarter in the machine at noon on the 16th and lasted 54-hours before giving in to exhaustion and extremely difficult gameplay. He was forced to give up his game on the 18th, just a few million points shy of his goal. The run landed him in second place in the record books at Twin Galaxies and managed to raise over $800 for PPS.