I just got done watching the King of Kong, a movie about an underdog no name game player making a name for himself in the gaming empire. A little bit of background on Donkey Kong, Billy Mitchell was the original high score record holder of the Donkey Kong. Billy Mitchell kept telling everyone to be recognized for the game score it would have to be in person. No one has ever seen Billy Mitchell publicly set a score.
Billy Mitchell got under my skin by creating outrageous comments on being the best but when challenged in public environment he could not be found for comment. Steve Wiebe sent in a video of his game achievement and the score was officially set as the high score. A little time later people came to his house and ripped apart his machine when he was not there. They ripped it apart and took pictures of the machine and said the score was invalid. The machine was perfect but Billy Mitchell’s influence over the classic gaming community made them say that it was invalid.
Steve did not give up but went to a classic Video Gaming tournament and wanted to prove he could get a highscore. At the tournament Steve obtained the new high score for Donkey Kong. He had witnesses, public machine and official referees that declared the high score. I know this sounds like all peaches and lollipops but the story should end there but it doesn’t. During the tournament Billy Mitchell sent in a tape, without being there that he got the highscore. They reviewed the tape and noticed inconsistencies but still rewarded him with the new title.
Nine Months later there was a tournament and Steve Wiebe went but did not beat the score on the tape. This arcade was 10 miles away from Mitchell’s home and he refused to play Donkey and did not appear interested or in my opinion really scared to play someone that was better than him. Steve was finally honored as a classic gamer and a few months later he beat Mitchell’s highscore on tape. Steve Wiebe officially holds the highest score on tape and publicly for Donkey.
