Danny Johnson, a 14-year-old from Texas, is the latest gamer to break a world record in Activision’s Guitar Hero III, earning himself an endorsement deal in the process.

Johnson managed to pull down 973,954 points on Dragonforce’s "Through The Fire And Flames" during a "media-sponsored" event at a Best Buy in New York City, topping the previous record of 899,703 set by Minnesota’s Chris Chike, reports The New York Times.

Key to Johnson’s success was carefully planned use of the game’s Star Power points multiplier and months of strenuous practice, which included the destruction of "about 80 plastic Guitar Hero controllers."

"When you’re hitting that many notes and playing that fast, it just terrorizes the controller," Johnson’s father remarked.

His virtual shredding skills (displayed in the above-right home video) earned Johnson an endorsement deal with "gaming team and event promoter" eMazingGaming.com, not to mention a write up in the New York Times — a point that should illustrate the growing popularity (or, perhaps, perceived novelty) of competitive gaming.

Leaving a Broken Record (and Guitars) in His Wake [New York Times]

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