"Less is more" does not apply here: gaming world record for 444 consoles on one TV

The gaming room of Ibrahim Al-Nasser from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia looks more like a museum. Hundreds of consoles from the entire history of video games are stacked up almost to the ceiling on various shelves. There are 444 of them, as Al-Nasser reveals in a video that can be seen on the website of the "Guinness Book of Records". And the special thing about it: all these consoles are functional and connected to just one television. This makes Al-Nasser the holder of the world record for the most video game consoles connected to a TV.

I have six consoles on my TV shelf, from the NES to the PS2 to the Switch. This always leads to astonished looks from visitors. But only the Switch is connected, the rest are decorative paperweights. The consoles remind me of the old days, but I wouldn't think of using them again.

With his huge collection of consoles, Al-Nasser obviously sees things differently. But a TV only has a limited number of inputs and plugging in different consoles is awkward. That's why he started working on a setup that allows him to operate different consoles on a single TV using switches and converters. Switches make it possible to switch between different sources without having to reconnect cables.

This turned into a project: not just a few consoles should be ready to play on the TV at any time, but all of them. His goal: to become the record holder for the most consoles connected to a TV. His record was officially set in March 2024.

Good planning and plenty of switches

While the new consoles are connected to the TV via HDMI, older consoles required completely different interfaces. His collection also includes a Magnavox Odyssey from 1972, which is considered to be the first console ever to be connected to a TV. It was connected to the TV via the aerial cable. Some modern televisions no longer have the inputs required for some old consoles. Converters are therefore required to convert the signal.

More than twelve HDMI switches and more than 30 RCA switches are in use. In order not to lose track, Al-Nasser keeps a list that shows him which slot on which switch is assigned to which console. In the video, the games fan demonstrates the launch of several older consoles such as Playstation 1, Super Nintendo and Neo Geo.

Special planning is also required to set up the consoles. Al-Nasser categorised the consoles according to their interface and size and then planned their installation. Al-Nasser highlights the management of the many metres of cable as another challenge. It is important to him that as few cables as possible are visible. He used all the options available on the market to achieve this. Unfortunately, the video does not provide a look behind the scenes of his cable management.

A gaming room like a museum

In addition to the TV consoles, the room also contains arcade machines and handhelds that do not require a TV. Putting all these consoles in one room certainly requires some "Tetris" knowledge.

"Forever and ever" his favourite console is the Sega Mega Drive (known as Sega Genesis in North America) from 1989, which he proves with a kiss on the top of the console. The most famous game on this console was "Sonic the Hedgehog".

At the end of the video, Al-Nasser emphasises that the setup of his retro empire took him a long time. However, he is very happy that the result was recognised as a world record.