Everyone who watched The King of Kong (well, nearly everyone) left it feeling satisfied that good had triumphed over evil. Mild-mannered schoolteacher Steve Wiebe had reclaimed his high score in Donkey Kong from nefarious villain Billy Mitchell, and all was right with the world. That is, till they realized that in the time it took to release in theaters, the mulleted hot sauce salesman had already beaten his score. Oops.
Over the years Wiebe has attempted a few live events, including a truly exciting (snicker) live webcam at E3 last year, and the title has changed hands a couple of times. Just this March newcomer Hank Chien managed to get a top score, only to have it taken back by Mitchell in July. But now Twin Galaxies, the videogame scoring organization made famous in the film, has announced that Steve Wiebe has managed to claim a whopping 1,064,500 points and reclaim his crown. That’s 1,700 more points than Mitchell’s best.
Is this the end of the feud? Of course not. The film has elevated the high score of the game to arguably the most important in videogamedom, if there is such a thing, and everyone wants a piece of it. Sure, King of Kong might have been as fair and balanced as certain news organizations but it damn sure was entertaining, and everyone likes to see David best Goliath. Kudos to you, Wiebe!