[[quoteright:350:[[Manga/TheIdolmasterCinderellaGirlsTheater https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mortal_kombat_973.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[Series/TopGearUK How hard can it be?]]]]

->''"I've been playing guitar for fourteen years, so it's actually less than I've been playing video games. I had a go on the ''VideoGame/GuitarHero III'' earlier, and I don't really want to tell you the result I got."'' [[note]]He failed on Hard at 2%, which is about ''10 seconds'' into the song.[[/note]]
-->-- '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eul8oprrjU0 Herman Li,]]''' (on playing "[[ThatOneBoss Through the Fire and Flames]]" on ''VideoGame/GuitarHero III: Legends of Rock''), Music/DragonForce

When someone does something in a video game they, of course, [[IKnowMortalKombat become an expert at it in real life]]. If [[IKnowMortalKombat you know Mortal Kombat]], then you can mop the floor with even the most seasoned fighters after practicing on your MurderSimulators (or so the MoralGuardians say) and [[TaughtByTelevision if you watch]] ''Series/{{MacGyver|1985}}'' you can get right to work on HomemadeInventions.

However, when you already have the talent in question and try to play the game, you may find that you don't really know how. A lethal fighter gets tripped up on the controls, or a pro guitarist can't handle the simplified button-pushing. Maybe RealityIsUnrealistic, or perhaps it's because you're the skill equivalent of a StrawVulcan and cannot accept a version that's been simplified for the RuleOfFun. Either way, you have no choice but to admit, "I don't know Mortal Kombat." If you won't admit it, you might just be one of those StopHavingFunGuys, instead.

Compare YourCostumeNeedsWork.

----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* In ''Manga/MobilePolicePatlabor'', police mech pilot Noa proved a total failure at a HumongousMecha video game ''because'' she was so used to the real thing.
* ''VideoGame/FatalFury: The Motion Picture'':
** A scene with [[TheHero Hero]] Terry Bogard trying and failing to play a FightingGame at an arcade, to the amusement of a little girl watching who tells him that her baby brother is better than him. Possibly a subversion: the sound/voice effects heard in the game are ''Andy's''.
** There's also one side-story in an artbook which has him losing to a kid [[ShoutOut while they're playing]] ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting''.
** [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TerryPlaysAOFs.jpg This official picture]] depicts a similar scene; but curiously, Terry seems to be complaining at the ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting'' demonstration screen, rather than to some actual gameplay event. Funnily enough, right next to him is John Crawley (an ''AOF'' character) getting his ass whupped at... ''Fatal Fury 2''.
* An episode of ''Anime/FullMetalPanicFumoffu'' shows Sōsuke playing a shooting game in an arcade. He does pretty well at first but runs out of virtual ammo and, [[ChildSoldiers unable to wrap his brain around]] the concept of [[RecklessGunUsage "firing" offscreen to "reload,"]] gets flustered and [[HypocriticalHumor shoots several holes in the screen with his real gun instead.]]
* A story in both the manga and the anime of ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' has Ranma, currently in female form, trying to persuade a lazy and rather spoiled kid named Yotaro to start playing outside. When s/he asks how much fun sitting around playing video games all day could be, he turns over the controls for a vertical scrolling shooter game. Ranma brags that his/her superior reflexes means it will pose no challenge... and is promptly wiped out. Genma proves to be better, even in panda form. Over a dozen volumes later in the manga, Ranma is seen schooling Miss Hinako in a ''[[ShoutOut Street Fighter]]'' clone. Must have trained in the meantime.
* In the ''Anime/TenchiUniverse'' TV-anime, the [[UnwantedHarem Nakama]] eventually recruit two legendary MagicKnight warriors to help them. A while afterward, Sasami is shown thoroughly trouncing the BOTH of them in a Fighting Game. The ending actually expounds that one of them started calling her "Sensei", entering her tutelage to learn ''[[IKnowMortalKombat Mortal Kombat]]''. To be fair, as the other points out: "Well Azaka, we didn't have toys like this in our day."
* Expert gunslinger, bounty hunter and former assassin ''Manga/BlackCat'' is really not good at first-person shooters. Not even arcade ones with flash guns.
* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'': lead wizard Negi tries and fails at playing a magic-based trading card/arcade game based around the same dodge-and-incant tactics he uses in battle. Oddly, the one who beat him was the demonic-beast/warrior class fighter Kotaro, who just happens to be better than Negi at games (Negi won the fight they had later that day, avoiding the pit-falls he encountered in the game). Negi did, however, do extremely well at the game before Kotaro showed up, so much so that the girls couldn't believe it was his first time playing.
* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'': Even though he's inherited Genkai's Spirit Wave and technically surpassed her as a martial artist by defeating Toguro when she failed to do so, Yusuke still loses to her almost all the time at a fighting game.
* During one of the festival chapters of ''Manga/ToLoveRu'', highly skilled assassin Golden Darkness got ''very'' upset when she couldn't succeed at certain contests involving coordination and aim ... while Rito won with ease.
* Ritsu of ''Manga/KOn'' is apparently very bad at the BlandNameProduct version of Drum Mania. Though it's acknowledged in canon that she's not very good at keeping time, she's not a bad drummer by any means.
* Zigzagged in one chapter of ''Manga/CaseClosed''. Ran, who is a very adept karate practitioner, tries her hand and fails an arcade fighting game (that uses arm and leg braces such that your movements are command inputs). Then, drawing on her experience, she beats the AI opponent using real life moves. But then, an avid gamer challenges her and defeats her before she could even react. He flatly tells her that "being a good fighter does not correlate to being good at games." Of course, said gamer happens to be the AssholeVictim-du-jour...
* In ''Manga/DreamEaterMerry'', Merry, who is incredibly strong and a brilliant fighter, loses to Yumeji all the time in a fighting game.
* In ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'', Hellish Blizzard challenges Saitama to a challenge, where her group and Saitama's group play a fighting game. Saitama gathers [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "Demon Cyborg" Genos, "Silverfang" Bang, and King]] to help him out. It turns out that while Saitama has the game and plays at an upper intermediate level, Genos and Bang turn out to be completely useless as they have never played a video game before and are baffled at what's going on onscreen--Bang needed Saitama to remember who he's playing as, whereas Genos accidentally destroyed the controller without realizing it thinking that pushing the buttons harder makes the attacks stronger.
* Played with in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders''. Jotaro has to play a video game with Terrence D'arby, whose stand ability is [[YourSoulIsMine stealing the souls of people he beats in a video game]]. Jotaro is permitted to choose the game from among any of the games D'arby owns, and he chooses a baseball game. It quickly becomes apparent that Jotaro has never played a video game before. Jotaro says he picked the baseball simulator because he knows the rules to baseball. So it's not that Jotaro is actually ''good'' at baseball (or at least, not without cheating. His [[GuardianEntity stand]] would make any team he's put on unbeatable), just that he knows enough about baseball that he thinks he'd be ''slightly'' better at it than any other game he could've chosen.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In ''ComicBook/TopTen'', Girl One (playing herself) keeps dying while playing the ''Top Ten'' videogame. Naturally, this is [[spoiler:foreshadowing of her real death]].
* ''ComicStrip/KChronicles'': Keith Knight did a strip about the humiliation of being a cartoonist and losing at ''TabletopGame/{{Pictionary}}'' to his friend, a nurse. He then gets revenge by beating her in ''TabletopGame/{{Operation}}''. There is also mention of a private detective who jumped in front of a steam roller after losing at ''TabletopGame/{{Clue}}''.
* ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'': Ninjette sucks at video games about ninjas, despite being a ninja herself. (To be fair, she was doing pretty well up until the camera turned on her.)
* During the ''Return of Superman'' saga, Superboy mentions at one point that he finally beat the ''Return of Superman'' game... as Steel, because when he tries to play as Superboy he's always dead by level three.[[note]]Funnily enough, [[VideoGame/TheDeathAndReturnOfSuperman the actual game]] gives you different characters for different levels, and you play as Superman himself for the last one.[[/note]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In ''Fanfic/AeonEntelechyEvangelion'' when Toja (race-lifted Toji) beats Shinji, the latter tries to use his hand-to-hand combat training to defend himself, only to realize that said skills are strictly attuned to him being in the EVA, and gets another punch to the face.
* Played with in the ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'' fanfic, ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9371756/1/Virtual-Reality-Ensues Virtual Reality Ensues]]'', in which the girls of Anglerfish Team try to play a video game. Miho and Hana struggle due to being used to real tanks, Mako takes to it quickly as a result of being an InstantExpert and watching Miho and Hana's mistakes, Saori does decently as a result of not having much contradictory experience to overcome, and Yukari does well as a result of having played before.
* In ''Fanfic/BoldoresAndBoomsticks'', Ghira Belladonna is so enraged when he hears about The Breach that his outburst interrupts the game of chess between Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood. Ironwood is relieved by this, as his years of real life tactical experience do not translate to him being good at chess.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/GlassOnion'' reveals that famed gentleman sleuth Benoit Blanc is terrible at murder mystery games. He makes for an awful ''VideoGame/AmongUs'' imposter, and has a deep dislike towards ''TabletopGame/{{Clue}}''.
* In ''Film/TalladegaNightsTheBalladOfRickyBobby'', the title stock-car racer attempts a driving video game, and loses badly (and to add insult to injury, his biggest rival is the GameOverMan). In this case, though, it's used to show how traumatized he's become; he's so overcome by fear of racing that he can't even play a racing video game, much less compete in an actual race.
* In ''Film/{{Wasabi}}'', Jean Reno's secret agent character gets his butt handed to him by a Japanese highschool student playing a series of arcade games, causing a bunch of high-schoolers to laugh at how silly he's doing. Yakuza thugs then attack the arcade, and Reno proceeds to blast them all to bits in a manic gunfight as the shocked high-school students looks on. With little coin "bling!" sound effects added to each hit, [[RuleOfFunny just for giggles]].
* Lampshaded in ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation'', when Roadblock states that he can't understand how Duke can be so good in battle yet so bad at the FPS they're playing.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Played completely straight in ''Literature/{{Corpies}}'', Titan is terrible at video games, including superhero fighting games. It doesn't help that the Titan playable character in the game that Hexcellent manages to get him playing is way weaker than he really is for balancing reasons.
* Played with in ''[[Literature/ForgottenRealms Crusade]]'', the third volume of the ''Empires'' trilogy: King Azoun IV of Cormyr is a terrible chess player who can never beat his wife, Queen Filfaeril. [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny He nevertheless manages to defeat Yamun Khahan]], the Tuigan emperor, in an actual war, despite being outnumbered by more than three-to-one, commanding a much less experienced army, and despite the fact that the Khahan himself is a recognized military genius. When he returns home, is able to win about one game out of four against his wife.
** Note that Yamun Khahan wasn't quite free to choose the times and places, but tried to make the best out of the previous defeat. Filfaeril, on the other hand, not only is a daughter of one of the most competent wizards in her world, in the free time she "unofficially" runs [[HeroSecretService a personal intelligence network]].
* ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' notes that his friend [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure the Lord General]] is rather poor at [[VariantChess Regicide]] despite being a master tactition and...well...the [[FourStarBadass Lord General]]. He speculates that this is due to a combination of Ciaphas playing mind games with his opponents and the fact that a real war involves much more complications to consider.
* In the ''Literature/ModestyBlaise'' series, Modesty is a skilled fighter with a wide variety of weapons, including swords. ''A Taste for Death'' has a scene establishing that she's never been able to get the hang of fencing because she learned real sword-fighting first and it's so ingrained that she can't handle the arbitrary rules and restrictions that were added to make fencing a sport. In particular, she can't adapt her thinking to the fact that in fencing a phase is over as soon as the first hit is struck, because she knows in her bones that a real fight would keep going and who made the first hit wouldn't matter nearly as much as who made the last.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* In ''Series/TopGear'', Jeremy Clarkson failed to complete a race on a track he knew in real life on ''Gran Turismo''. He put this down to the fact that the track in the game wasn't quite a perfect representation, and it was missing a couple of corners. Plus the price of failure would have been time in hospital, as opposed to simply pressing restart. Not to mention the fact that Leguna Seca's infamous chicane turn (a very steep downhill S-turn with sharp corners) has ''killed'' people who didn't treat it seriously. Two other points: Clarkson's time in the game is perfectly doable IRL (they acknowledged this in the episode) and the chicane's entrance is just over the crest of a hill; it's not easy to enter it fast.
* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'''s Ron Swanson, a lifelong hunter, is intrigued by a ''VideoGame/BigBuckHunter'' arcade game at the local roller rink, and is beyond furious that he is initially quite bad at it. Ultimately subverted in that he's frustrated enough that he goes back and plays it until he gets good and earns the high score.
** In another episode, where the staff makes presents for Leslie, he discovers that, somehow, he finds building gingerbread houses infinitely more difficult than building regular houses. So Ron lets [[TheDitz Andy]] build the gingerbread house and instead [[spoiler:builds a scale model of the city council chambers (which, as a master craftsman, he can do on a whim), and announces his intention to help Leslie run for councilwoman]].
* In ''Series/GeneSimmonsFamilyJewels'', Music/{{KISS}} tries to play "Detroit Rock City" on ''VideoGame/RockBand 2'', but fails after only a few seconds.
* A ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' skit featuring Tom Brady had him unable to throw a football into a hole at a carnival game, even when Granny could do it with no problem.
* In ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'', John Connor has been trained since infancy in combat tactics, firearms and military strategy. He can't play a FPS to save his life (he can beat the game's obnoxious owner bloody, though).
* ''Series/ThePeripheral2022'': Played with in the case of Burton, a retired SuperSoldier who scrapes together a meager income by playing virtual reality combat simulators. Whenever he gets stuck or needs help, he turns to his sister, who is way better than him but has no real-world combat training whatsoever.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/FZeroGX'': In his ending, Draq is [[BreakingTheFourthWall playing the game itself]] and crashes before the finish line.
* Tytti Norrbuck from ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' is known as the herald of the Elemental Lord of Water... yet in a BeachEpisode, she prefers to stay on land... because [[SuperDrowningSkills she can't swim]]. Not only that, but considering where she's from (Finland) as well as the fact that the title of her theme song ("From the Land of Water and Ice") refers to it, you'd think she would've gotten around to learn how to at some point in her life.
* Similarly in ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'', Morrigan's ending shows the succubus losing against a random child in the title game. And boy, does she look angry.
* In Ken's ending in ''VideoGame/XMenVsStreetFighter'', it is shown that Ken was actually playing the game with his son... and getting his ass handed to him. It's interesting to notice why:
-->'''Ken:''' Son, you've improved! How'd you get so good?\\
'''Mel:''' Daddy, I watched you and copied your moves!
* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', challenging Samantha Traynor to a game of chess will always result in [[PlayerCharacter Shepard]] losing, despite [[TheAce Shepard's]] legendary prowess in leading real battles. When Shepard complains that the game doesn't reflect real-life tactics very well, Traynor retorts that real soldiers don't move on an 8-by-8 square grid.
* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', Michael De Santa will sometimes be playing [[GameWithinAGame Righteous Slaughter]] with his son Jimmy when you switch to him. Despite being a OneManArmy in the story, he's apparently very bad at playing shooters himself, judging by the fact that he [[RageQuit throws the controller and storms away]] after a few seconds.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has an example similar to ''Franchise/MassEffect'''s, with Robin, a [[TheStrategist gifted tactician]], failing at a game of chess in their support with Virion, because they try too hard to apply [[NoCasualtiesRun their philosophy for real battles]] unto the game, while their opponent has [[CombatPragmatist no such qualms]]. [[note]] And Virion explicitly rebukes the idea that he's a better tactician than Robin because using chess rules in real combat would simply destroy morale. The chess board resets, lives don't. [[/note]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Trauma Center|Atlus}}: Second Opinion'' invokes this trope in its congratulatory message for clearing all of the {{optional|Boss}} X operations, warning you that you shouldn't dive straight into real-life surgery just because you cleared the game out, and that if you actually ''are'' a certified and trained surgeon, that you shouldn't tell your patients how much you struggled at a medical simulation game.
* The protagonist of ''VideoGame/Persona5'' shows himself to be [[ImprobableAimingSkills impossibly good]] with firearms when dungeon crawling, firing off ridiculously flashy, laser accurate shots with a single hand. In the Tower Confidant, which revolves around him [[IKnowMortalKombat learning new gun skills from a kid who is an expert at a light gun arcade game]], he's absolutely hopeless at the video game.
* As shown in the page image from the ''[[Manga/TheIdolmasterCinderellaGirlsTheater Cinderella Girls Theater]]'' spinoff, Miyo Harada from ''VideoGame/TheIdolmasterCinderellaGirls'' struggles to comprehend arcade racing games despite having an extensive background with automobiles and motorsports.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/MegaTokyo'' Largo defeated Junpei, an actual ninja in ''Mortal Kombat'' in order to get visa to Japan. Junpei immediately started calling him l33t Master and following him around expecting tutelage. It's still Junpei who saves Largo from any actual danger, however.
* [[http://www.misfile.com/?page=217 Vash]] from ''Webcomic/{{Misfile}}'': "Give me a break. Smiting people with my real sword is WAY more intuitive than these stupid controls." Ash is similarly afflicted as far as driving games go. Amusingly enough, they both lose to the same person.
* Jenny Breeden of ''Webcomic/TheDevilsPanties'' has been trained in at least two kinds of dance. Guess what she can't play to save her life.
* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' filler has [[http://egscomics.com/?date=2005-06-17 Elliot]] and [[http://egscomics.com/?date=2003-03-24 Ellen]] losing a FightingGame to Grace. Justified, since Grace is [[LightningBruiser superhumanly fast]], far beyond the good reaction Ellen got from SupernaturalMartialArts. Adapting for any locomotions on the fly [[RequiredSecondaryPowers as a descendant of freeform shapeshifters]] probably helps too.
* Inverted, then subverted by [[http://terminallance.com/2012/03/13/terminal-lance-185-experience/ this strip]] from ''Webcomic/TerminalLance'': Abe, a Marine, ''is'' good at first-person shooters, but ''not'' because of his military training.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In the Website/TVTropes roleplay ''Roleplay/WeAreOurAvatars'', [[VideoGame/DeadRising Frank West]] [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=i9k31ypluou9s5j9d2w7n23k&page=22184 played a game of]] ''[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 Superhero Works Vs. Capcom 3]]'' against [[WebAnimation/BowsersKingdom Hal the Koopa]]. He mostly {{button mash|ing}}ed his characters to a draw in that match. He also was surprised that he was in the game and picked fighters Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and Frank West.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Randy from ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' is a talented guitarist who can't play ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' to save his life, even when it's the same song he apparently knows by heart. Then again, using guitar strings is a lot different than using buttons.
* Corey of ''WesternAnimation/{{Grojband}}'' tries his hand at the VideoGame/GuitarHero-esq game Solo Shredder. Even though he's a wiz at real guitars, he finds himself unable to play the game's guitar-controller because the controller has buttons in lieu of strings.
* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': While Danny is the best fighter in his [[PowerTrio trio of friends]] in real life (due to his ghost powers), Sam is the most skilled by far in the video game they like to play, one which involves combat.
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' has Batman's female SecretKeeper friend Max demolishing a martial arts master at an arcade. He turns into a StalkerWithACrush.
* You'd think that kid genius/mad scientist Dexter from ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' would have no problem with the scientific technology known as video games, but his big sister Dee Dee always beats him.
* While Wyatt from ''WesternAnimation/{{Sixteen}}'' is an experienced guitarist, he fails miserably when he tries to play a ''VideoGame/RockBand''-like game. It is discussed that since the finger movement is fundamentally different, [[DamnYouMuscleMemory guitarists usually have a hard time adapting]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' is very different from actually playing a guitar.
** Herman Li, guitarist of [=DragonForce=], couldn't play through his band's song, "[[ThatOneBoss Through the Fire and Flames]]", on Hard level in ''Guitar Hero 3'' (see RealityIsUnrealistic), even though he's actually played the game plenty.
** Before him, Troy van Leeuwen, lead guitarist of Music/QueensOfTheStoneAge admitted to being unable to complete "No One Knows" in the original ''Guitar Hero''. [[ThatOneLevel They have nothing to be ashamed of]], but...
** Tom Morello, guitarist for Music/RageAgainstTheMachine, Music/{{Audioslave}} and The Nightwatchman said in a radio interview getting beat by the daughter of producer for ''The Nightwatchman'' album in ''Guitar Hero 2'' led him to get himself added as a boss in ''Guitar Hero 3''. He even mentions it in his making-of video in the game itself.
--->"I have the game at my house, and 11-year-old kids can beat me at my own songs, so that's a very humbling experience."
** Scott Ian, the rhythm guitarist from Music/{{Anthrax}}, was also unable to complete his band's song "Madhouse" in ''Guitar Hero 2'' on Easy difficulty.
** [=DragonForce=]'s other guitarist, Sam Totman, has said that he can't even beat "Smoke on the Water".
** A Brazilian magazine asked a guitarist, a musical producer and a ''Guitar Hero'' fan for a small tournament. The final had the fan with over 90% and the producer at 80%.
** The lead developer of the Konami '''published''' ''Rock Revolution'' had failed the Ramones song "Blitzkrieg Bop" at the 2008 E3, after having just gotten through playing the song with a Ramones tribute band.
** As [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAgutrkFjBQ this video]] shows, Music/JonathanCoulton (who wrote "Still Alive" for the ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' soundtrack) failed to get through it singing in ''VideoGame/RockBand'' when he was first announcing its release for that game.
** The band Music/{{Rush|Band}} appeared on the ''Series/TheColbertReport'' and played their song "Tom Sawyer" in ''VideoGame/RockBand''. They [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btcvSWoQWV0 failed]] at 31%. Alex Lifeson is noticeably playing his guitar the way he would play the ''actual'' song, [[DamnYouMuscleMemory instead of hitting the beats according to color]].
** There is a video of Music/{{Megadeth}}'s Dave Mustaine screwing up his band's song "Hangar 18" on ''Guitar Hero 2'''s Easy, even though he's been playing it at live shows for 18 years or so, on a French video game show. This trope and rhythm games are absolutely made for each other.
** There is a clip on G4 from a gaming event where the Music/BarenakedLadies played "One Week" on ''VideoGame/KaraokeRevolution''. Ed Robertson cried, "'Lousy'?! I ''wrote'' this song!"
** Music/RingoStarr [[http://www.plasticaxe.com/2009/09/08/overheard-ringo-starr/ admits]] having trouble playing as his virtual self in ''Music/TheBeatles: Rock Band''. Note that drumming in those rhythm games is more accurate to actual drums than playing plastic guitars.
** Music/{{Paul|McCartney}} has also admitted to having trouble with the game. He admitted that he once had to tell his grandkids, "Listen, you may beat me at ''Rock Band'', but I made the original records, so shut up."
** Music/{{Disturbed}} says during one of their Music as a Weapon festivals, (which, inspired by Ozzfest, happened to have gaming tents) they were convinced by a few fans to try out their own songs on ''VideoGame/RockBand''. They failed miserably.
** Music/DefLeppard's Phil Collen and Rick Savage [[http://www.timesleader.com/entertainment/Imagine_rock_legends_Phil_Collen_and_Ric_06-23-2011.html failing on video game instruments]].
** Perhaps the low point for vocals fans is hearing that Jon Music/BonJovi [[http://www.forbes.com/2011/05/17/celebrity-100-11-jon-bon-jovi-kanye-west-bieber-still-rocking.html can't succeed in singing his own song]].
* One famous low point in Creator/{{Sega}}'s history was when they bragged about how realistic their sequel to ''[[VideoGame/MonacoGP Super Monaco GP]]'' was (to their credit, for 16-bit standards, it ''was''), showcasing it with their sponsored championship level race car driver - none other than [[UsefulNotes/FormulaOne Ayrton Senna]]. He crashed.
* Kevin Federline (once a backup dancer for Music/BritneySpears before he married her) was challenged to play an arcade game that required you to dance in a specific pattern to the music. He failed miserably. It's interesting to note that trained dancers tend to do ''worse'' at games like ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution''.
* Joseph D. Kucan is not an army leader, [[ButIPlayOneOnTV but he plays one in]] ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer''. He has admitted in an interview that he sucks at RealTimeStrategy games.
* Speaking of ''Franchise/MortalKombat'':
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF1eTHrxIyc Here's a match between Shang Tsung and Johnny Cage's actors playing the very characters they have portrayed in the second game.]]
** However, Elizabeth Malecki, the first actress to portray Sonya Blade [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A8RswV_Y84 fared quite better in a match against Daniel Pesina (again) in the match of the genesis port of the first game]].
* Creator/SylvesterStallone mentioned in a talk show that he played the ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}'' [=PS2=] game against his son, and lost pitifully. While he played as Rocky and his son as Spider Rico, one of those side characters whom Rocky defeated easily in the actual movie.
* To some accounts, UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte was an extremely poor chess player.
* Mike Tyson claimed that he never beat Glass Joe in ''VideoGame/PunchOut''. To say nothing of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfEOHcGFchY fighting himself.]]
* Not quite a video game, but the Air Force has found that actual trained aircraft pilots are less-than-ideal pilots of ''[[AttackDrone drones]]'', largely because their inability to feel the G-forces and other physical feedback they're used to leads them to over-maneuver. Pilots trained in simulators and, ironically, [[IKnowMortalKombat video games]] are more used to flying without such feedback.
* From the staff behind the ''VideoGame/{{BEMANI}}'' series:
** Yoshitaka Nishimura, aka DJ YOSHITAKA, the director of the ''VideoGame/ReflecBeat'' series, is an aversion. He has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1ANh5bzCfQ demonstrated proficiency]] at the very game series he directs, and has a player profile with an ID of 1.
** Jun Wakita, aka wac, is a straight example: At JAEPO 2013, he tries the EX chart to one of his own songs, "Ongaku", which is known as one of the hardest charts in the entire series. [[EpicFail A huge emphasis on "tries"]]; his fans got quite the laugh out of it.
* When former astronaut Ed Lu played ''VideoGame/KerbalSpaceProgram'', his very first rocket crashed in less than 30 seconds. He did eventually manage to make it to space, but never did get into orbit. Although lasting 30 seconds before crashing is still better than many KSP players can claim, it's certainly a far cry from what he's done in real life.
* Sada Shugi, one of the members of kiki* (one of the real life musicians providing songs in ''VideoGame/ShowByRock''), [[https://www.facebook.com/sada.shugi/videos/838111626265026/ failed his own song]] at 8 star (hardest) difficulty within a few seconds.
* Keith Elwin, 5-time {{pinball}} world champion, tried playing the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem port of the pinball machine ''Pinball/HighSpeed''. He got a GameOver in less than 60 seconds. This includes the time the game took to add up his score.
* Creator/PierceBrosnan claims he once played ''VideoGame/GoldenEye1997'' and shot himself in the foot.[[note]]Not literally, of course, since [[FirstPersonGhost you can't even see your feet]] during gameplay.[[/note]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMf6Rh4iJWY When he played a round]] against Creator/JimmyFallon, it ended very badly for him.
* Michael Vick, the infamous Atlanta Falcons quarterback who was famously a GameBreaker in ''[[VideoGame/MaddenNFL Madden 04]]'' with his 95 speed rating and 97 arm strength rating, admitted that he actually wasn't any good at playing himself in the game. In 2017, [[https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/michael-vick-atlanta-falcons-super-bowl-li he wrote]] "The only person on the entire planet who wasn't unstoppable while playing as Michael Vick — was me. Michael Vick."
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