Factual error: As the camera pans across the room to where Cooper is playing The Claw you can see the arcade game Burger Time being played in the background. The game flyer shows the date as July 26th 1982. Burger Time was not released until August 31st. (00:03:35)
Factual error: At the start of the 1982 Arcade competition (right after Dan Aykroyd says "start your gaming"), a man imitates a move from the "karate kid" (the crane kick). The movie Karate Kid came out in 1984 (2 years after the competition). (00:06:11)
Factual error: The main character from the video game "Paperboy" is among the alien invaders in the final battle; since that game was first released in 1984, he shouldn't be there, because the probe the aliens received featuring video game footage was launched into space in 1982.
Factual error: When the younger Brenner and Cooper are at the arcade, one of the games shown being played is Q*bert. Q*bert wasn't first released in the US until October 1982 and at the end of the scene, Cooper shows Brenner a paper for an upcoming arcade game championships dated July 26th 1982.
Factual error: The character of Max Headroom was introduced in 1984, and would not have been on a probe from 1982.
Factual error: The movie includes aliens that move and function like pieces from Tetris. The government sent the probe in 1982, but Tetris came out on June 6, 1984, two years later.
Factual error: When Sam and Will walk into the venue hosting the 1982 Worldwide Vieo Arcade Championship you can see some kids playing on a Zaxxon machine. Zaxxon was released in December, 1982.
Answer: The rules were violated when Eddie used cheat codes during the "Pac-Man" round in order to have an unfair advantage over the aliens; this is similar to how Xbox achievements and/or PS3/4 trophies are disabled when cheat codes are active.
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