9 Crazy Video Game Conspiracy Theories People Actually Believe

6. Berzerk Caused The Deaths Of Two People

Berzerk video game
Stern Electronics

With the existence of grandiose eSports tournaments back in the 80s being the stuff of far-flung dreams, the only real option players had in regards to competing against their peers was by way of achieving an unbeatable high score that nobody else could ever hope to surpass.

Pac-Man and Donkey Kong may be the most famous examples of the craze, but they weren't the only ones. Enter Berzerk, a multi-directional shooter that became a mainstay of arcades until it was linked to the deaths of two unfortunate high scorers.

In 1981, Jeff Daily entered Berzerk's coveted top-ten list with a high score of 16,660 points. Just moments later, the 19-year-old succumbed to a heart attack and passed away. The following year, Peter Burkowski entered an arcade in Illinois and managed to break Bezerk's top-ten list twice in less than twenty minutes... only to collapse shortly after of a heart attack.

As Daily's score contained the supposed 'number of the beast', rumors started to fly that Berzerk was cursed by the Devil himself; anyone who recorded a score containing the numbers 666 would suffer a terrible fate.

The reality? Freak coincidence. Burkowski's scores were never recorded.

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Contributor

Joe is a freelance games journalist who, while not spending every waking minute selling himself to websites around the world, spends his free time writing. Most of it makes no sense, but when it does, he treats each article as if it were his Magnum Opus - with varying results.