In Ready Player One, how was Wade Owen Watts able to complete a perfect game of Pac-Man in his first try when it usually takes years to do?

Question

In Ready Player One, Wade Owen Watts completes a perfect Pac-Man game to earn the quarter artifact that turns out to be an extra life. Whats amazing about this is that he completes this in his first attempt!

It usually takes years for anyone to be able to pull off a perfect game! Is there any in-universe explanation how Owen did it on his first try?

And no, Owen did not try before:

Because I knew Halliday loved the game, I’d already done a fair amount of research on Pac-Man. But I’d never managed to play a perfect game. Of course, I’d never really made a serious attempt. Up until now, I’d never had a reason to.

Answer 1

He didn't do it on his first try at THAT place. It doesn't say it was his first try ever. He, like all gunters, played all sorts of 80s games so he could be as best prepared for the hunt and challenges as possible. There was probably a reference to Pacman in the Manuscript, after all, it is legendary game. It made sense for every gunter to play and get good at as many 80s games as they could get their hands on. He never played a perfect game, but he played Pacman before. It is his knack. Some gunters are better researchers, Wade is 80s game player.

Here's the quote on First Gate:

“And you just walk in here and nail it on the first try!” She started pounding her fist into the center of her forehead, and I realized she was pissed at herself, not me. “Listen,” I said. “It really was luck. I’ve got a knack for classic arcade games. That’s my specialty.” I shrugged. “Stop hitting yourself like Rain Man, OK?” She stopped and stared me. After a few seconds, she let out a long sigh. “Why couldn’t it be Centipede? Or Ms. Pac-Man? Or BurgerTime? Then I’d probably have already cleared the First Gate by now!” “Well, I don’t know about that,” I said.

Another quote:

I had several false starts. I would play for an hour, or even two; then I’d make one tiny mistake and I’d have to reboot the machine and start all over. But I was now on my eighth attempt, and I’d been playing for six hours straight. I was rockin’ like Dokken. This game had been Iceman perfect so far. Two-hundred and fifty-five screens in and I still hadn’t made a single mistake. I’d managed to nail all four ghosts with every single power pill (until the eighteenth maze, when they stop turning blue altogether), and I’d snagged every bonus fruit, bird, bell, and key that had appeared, without dying once.

He has a knack for video games, he played Pacman before, he extensively researched Pacman and it took him 8 tries at that place before he played the perfect game. And that perfect game took 6 hours; previous 7 tries took between two hours and 6. Which means he was trying to win it seriously for almost whole 24 hour day!