Fallout speedrunner 'Tomatoanus' had to change his name for Games Done Quick

(Image credit: Bethesda Softworks (via Tomatoanus))

Tomatoanus is not, as you might first think, the slang name for a disease that television commercials will soon be telling us that we're all likely to suffer from as we get older. It is, in fact, the name of a Fallout speedrunner whose accomplishments include beating Fallout 1, 2, 3, 4 and New Vegas in less than 90 minutes—collectively. 

(According to Eurogamer, he also holds the speedrunning-to-sex record, although I don't know if that one is officially tracked anywhere.)

Despite those accomplishments, Tomatoanus ran into a problem while registering for the next Games Done Quick charity event. As he explained in this statement, his applications were being considered by the same criteria as all others, but GDQ, "a professional organization representing a charity," told him that it couldn't have the name "Tomatoanus" floating around on its website.

Tomatoanus said he understands and accepts GDQ's decision, and has reached a compromise by submitting his runs as Tomatoangus instead. It means he won't be able to link his Twitch account to his runs because he's leaving that as Tomatoanus, but "I'm fine with this," he said. "I would rather keep the username I have on Twitch than change it for a chance at growing my stream from the event."

It all seems a bit silly to me—Tomatoanus is more ridiculous than offensive, and the Fallout series is rated M across the board—but everyone seems satisfied with the handling of the matter, and its ultimate resolution. "Through the whole thing, GDQ was very transparent and quick to respond with any questions I had, and I applaud them for that," he wrote.

For the record, Tomatoanus did not submit his sex speedruns for GDQ consideration, but you can check them out below. The next Games Done Quick event is scheduled to run January 5-12, 2020. 

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.