Forever Kings

November 1st, 2012 - In the years since the King of Kong, as a new champion has emerged and the water rises slowly but steadily around Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell's second and third place scores, a question has emerged: with so many great Donkey Kong players out there now playing in (or even beyond) their league, were Billy and Steve ever really that good? Or was this an illusory perception created by the two being "alone on the field?"

I've encountered disparaging remarks about the abilities of both players—how Billy and Steve are "no big deal" by today's standards; and even the insinuation that the game has "passed them by."

I burn a little whenever I see it.

The Future of Our Game

October 25th, 2012 - As we enter the final three weeks before the Kong Off 2, it might be a good time to assess the state of competition in the Donkey Kong community, and to look ahead at where we might be going.

I've written before about how the world record is approaching its end-point, but what about the top 20 in general?

Eminem's Donkey Kong Ambitions

On December 3rd, 2009, Marshall "Eminem" Mathers made the following tweet:

"I just want everyone to see my actual new high Donkey Kong score. Wiebe beware!"

The New Contenders

As documentaries go, The King of Kong was a big deal.

It has become a bona fide cult classic on video, not to mention one of the most critically-lauded films of 2007.

Millions of people have cheered Steve Wiebe on in his struggle for high-score recognition, and quite a few of those people have been inspired by Steve and the movie to take their shot at competitive gaming's most famous and coveted leaderboard.

Or so one would think.

Donkey Kong: Darling of the Media

"If you've seen the excellent documentary King of Kong, you'll know why we're doing this interview."
     - Fox Business anchor Brian Sullivan, interviewing Hank Chien

While it nearly always manifests with a curious guffaw, both the media and the general public have nonetheless always displayed an unmistakable fascination with the world of classic arcade game competition.