Billy Mitchell’s reign as the new king of “Donkey Kong” was a short one.
Steve Weibe is once again the king of Kong.
Weibe wracked up a score of 1,064,500 points to reclaim the throne. Weibe, a schoolteacher who was featured in the documentary “King of Kong” (again, if you haven’t seen it, you should), sent in a video-taped submission that shows him setting the new record.
On the Twin Galaxy’s web site, Weibe wrote:
“Ever since video tape submissions were reinstated for Donkey Kong, I’ve had it in mind to make a run at the record,” says the newly verified record holder. “Being a school teacher, I just didn’t have the time during the school year, so once school got out, I quickly set up a camera and started taping my games.”
“I played at least one game a day during the summer stretch, which is about two months long. Around the 4th of July, I came down with a virus that affected my vision and balance. My mom joked that it was from too much Donkey Kong. I thought that the record might not happen this summer, but on the last day before returning to school, I was able to get that one game I was waiting for.”
“Much like previous times when I’ve broken a video game record, it seemed surreal that all the time and effort I put into the game had finally paid off. I started playing in the morning and didn’t have much luck, so I took a break and ran some errands with my kids. I came back a few hours later and had to restart about five times before I hit the record game. I played at a pace that I knew would just be enough to break the record, so coming down to the final rivet screen, I knew it was going to be close.”
“I think many people had written me off since I had come up short at so many live record attempts, and I understand that. But, I always believed that I could still do it and so did a lot of people who supported me. Looking back, I would say that if the record came too easy, then it wouldn’t mean so much right now, so I’m glad I went through the struggles I did. It makes it that much sweeter.”
The title of King of Kong has changed hands several times this year. Weibe’s world record fell in August to newcomer Hank Chien. Then a few days later, Mitchell took back the title.
Now Weibe is again the champion of all things Kong.
How long do you think Mitchell will wait before he tries to reclaim his throne?
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