Billy Mitchell must be pissed. The certified "Video Game Player of the [20th] Century" has lost the Donkey Kong world record -- again -- to longtime rival Steve Wiebe. Wiebe nudged Billy's July 31 record of 1,062,800 points with a masterful 1,064,500-point effort, achieved on August 20 and confirmed today by score authority Twin Galaxies. The two rivals memorably starred in the 2007 documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.
Hank Chien, who ever so briefly enjoyed the limelight, falls to third on the all-time leaderboard.
[Pictured: Billy Mitchell; photo credit: Joshuah Bearman]
Reader Comments (67)
Posted: Sep 20th 2010 6:02PM JasonA said
This is interesting.
As soon as Hank Chien beat the two main guys (Billy and Steve), suddently Billy and Steve were able to beat their old records and Hank to bump Hank back down to number three.
It's like sprinting records. A top speed can stay on top for a while because mentally, everyone assumes it's unbeatable. And then one person will beat it and then a bunch of other people start beating it too.
As soon as Hank Chien beat the two main guys (Billy and Steve), suddently Billy and Steve were able to beat their old records and Hank to bump Hank back down to number three.
It's like sprinting records. A top speed can stay on top for a while because mentally, everyone assumes it's unbeatable. And then one person will beat it and then a bunch of other people start beating it too.
Posted: Sep 20th 2010 6:36PM ChuckBartowskiX said
Yeah! Steve wiebe!
Posted: Sep 20th 2010 6:59PM McDuckScrooged said
who cares ?
Posted: Sep 20th 2010 7:29PM frenzy said
@A Sandwich I did laugh at this.
Posted: Sep 20th 2010 7:33PM Bruce Wayne said
Billy Mitchell looks like a total douche bag. Steve Wiebe is awesome.
Posted: Sep 20th 2010 8:10PM Nook said
I freaking love it!
Now just to wait for the return shot.
Now just to wait for the return shot.
Posted: Sep 20th 2010 8:36PM (Unverified) said
He should try to be King of a haircut that's less than 35 years out of date.
Posted: Sep 20th 2010 8:58PM CaptainProtonX said
I won't hate on Billy. I think he's very much a force of nature like Galactus.
Frankly, who was ever this excited about Donkey Kong before the greatness of King of Kong?
To the heroes and the villains, good on you. Thanks for keeping us entertained.
Frankly, who was ever this excited about Donkey Kong before the greatness of King of Kong?
To the heroes and the villains, good on you. Thanks for keeping us entertained.
Posted: Sep 20th 2010 9:09PM greyseal said
Is there a theoretical maximum score? There must be, if the game reaches a kill screen.
Can we just not hear about this anymore until someone earns the max?
Can we just not hear about this anymore until someone earns the max?
Posted: Sep 20th 2010 9:31PM vinzerx said
@greyseal If I understand kill screens correctly, they allow you to play continuously until your luck runs out and the game freezes, which happens randomly. So going by that understanding, there probably isn't a theoretical maximum score.
I'm open to corrections for people who have more info regarding kill screens than I do.
Reply
I'm open to corrections for people who have more info regarding kill screens than I do.
Posted: Sep 20th 2010 10:32PM JBurG1887 said
He looks like Niko Bellic from GTA4.
Posted: Sep 20th 2010 11:21PM spin cycle said
Watched Chasing Ghosts again a week ago. If you liked King of Kong, you gotta see this movie.
Anyway, as much as I like Wiebe, Billy Mitchell is the real deal and he's hilarious to watch because he takes all this stuff so seriously.
Anyway, as much as I like Wiebe, Billy Mitchell is the real deal and he's hilarious to watch because he takes all this stuff so seriously.
Posted: Sep 20th 2010 11:53PM benheck said
Billy Mitchell gave me a bottle of his hot sauce which is quite good on pizza.
Posted: Sep 21st 2010 12:10AM pennyman said
Ahh seems like only yesterday we were interview Steve about breaking a million on DK in public!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNGto0tJml4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNGto0tJml4
Posted: Sep 21st 2010 6:45PM davebo said
These video game wizards from yesteryear don't impress me. Is there any way Thresh can get his quake 1 character into donkey kong and just rocket jump to the top and nailgun kong to death to shut both these guys up? youtube is chock full of videos of japanese kids displaying mind-boggling hand-eye coordination in video games. These two just sit on a stool for hours on end playing Donkey Kong. How can you have a video game grudge spanning decades and not consider maybe picking up a game that allows deathmath?
Posted: Oct 6th 2010 5:21PM Open Water Swim said
Congratulations once again Steve! You deserve to be the World Record Holder. I would like to see you beat your World Record again before anyone else has a chance! You can do it!
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