Man sets new Donkey Kong record

Drewcifer · Post by **Drewcifer** » 2003-07-18 02:35am

Man sets new Donkey Kong record
Thursday, July 17, 2003 Posted: 11:59 AM EDT (1559 GMT)

REDMOND, Washington (AP) -- Steve Wiebe now rules as the Donkey Kong king after setting a new world record with more than 900,000 points in the classic video game.

The victory was a solitary one.

A few times a week, after his two young kids had gone to bed and his wife, Nicole, was busy working, the 34-year-old would head to the garage and turn on the video camera that would prove his score.

He diligently set to work maneuvering Mario to dodge objects thrown by an angry ape.

"Since I'd been trying so long, it wasn't like I jumped out of my chair or anything (when I got that score)," he said.

Record stood for 20 years

Finally last week, the Redmond resident broke an 879,200-point record set last year by a New York man, which edged past one set nearly 20 years ago by Billy Mitchell, a Florida man generally consider the Don of the Arcade Game. Mitchell's mark was 874,300.

Wiebe scored 947,200 points in the 22 levels of the game. He sent a videotape documenting his feat to Twin Galaxies, the definitive scorekeeping organization for gamers.

The record was big enough news to video-game enthusiasts that they crashed the organization's Web site, said Robert Mruczek, chief referee at Twin Galaxies.

"If you beat a gamer with the caliber of Billy Mitchell, that's a feather in your cap," he said. "They're the cream of the crop when it comes to video gaming."

Hooked on Kong

Despite all the points, Donkey Kong is not a game players can win. It ends with what's known as a kill screen, a final level that's impossible to beat. Even if a character could run headlong through the course with no obstacles, it never could make it in the time allotted.

Wiebe has been hooked on the game since college.

Mitchell, 37, says he only counts his scores if they're played in a public venue, and he won't say if he can beat his cross-country competitor. He'll only say that he's planning something big and unprecedented in response to Wiebe's win.

Nintendo smiles

The competition is just fine by Nintendo, which created Donkey Kong.

"We always smile when we hear about these kinds of things," company spokeswoman Perrin Kaplan said. "Donkey Kong means 'stubborn monkey' (in one rough translation from Japanese), and the fact that (Wiebe) was able to achieve this many points against a stubborn monkey says something."

Wiebe said he'll keep striving for the million-point mark, then retire.

The former Boeing engineer and computer-software tester plans to head back to school to become a high-school math and science teacher.

link

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2003-07-18 02:56am

Well, it's nice to set goals for yourself.

Isn't that what all mothers tell your children?

Enforcer Talen · Post by **Enforcer Talen** » 2003-07-18 02:59am

god, but these people need a different hobby.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2003-07-18 03:13am

Enforcer Talen wrote:god, but these people need a different hobby.

What, like Frogger?

Post by **Dalton** » 2003-07-18 04:19am

DPDarkPrimus wrote:
Enforcer Talen wrote:god, but these people need a different hobby.
What, like Frogger?

Or debating Star Trek vs. Star Wars.

Seriously, I think it's cool that this guy puts his family before his hobby. More power to him. I wish him the best of luck.

Post by **Gandalf** » 2003-07-18 06:00am

DPDarkPrimus wrote:
Enforcer Talen wrote:god, but these people need a different hobby.
What, like Frogger?

Well, if Seinfeld taught us nothign else, it's that Frogger can be applicable to RL.

Eleas · Post by **Eleas** » 2003-07-18 03:46pm

Gandalf wrote:
DPDarkPrimus wrote:
Enforcer Talen wrote:god, but these people need a different hobby.
What, like Frogger?
Well, if Seinfeld taught us nothign else, it's that Frogger can be applicable to RL.

...what's Frogger?

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2003-07-18 03:49pm

Eleas wrote:
Gandalf wrote:
DPDarkPrimus wrote: What, like Frogger?
Well, if Seinfeld taught us nothign else, it's that Frogger can be applicable to RL.
...what's Frogger?

Frogger is basically a game where you are this frog determined to get to the safe lily pads on the other side.

In your way is the highway, log snakes and gators.

Eleas · Post by **Eleas** » 2003-07-18 03:52pm

Ghost Rider wrote: Frogger is basically a game where you are this frog determined to get to the safe lily pads on the other side.

In your way is the highway, log snakes and gators.

Ah. Thank you.