Kotaku: Billy Mitchell

The The King of Kong Remake Is Still On, but May Go Mockumentary

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 17:40:00 EDT

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The high score battle between Donkey Kong pros Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell was immortalized in 2007's The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. And for the past four years, there's been talk of that movie being remade, further fictionalized in a film adaptation of a film. More »

The Three Kings Of Kong Finally Meet And Do Battle

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 01:40:00 EDT

Forget 2007 documentary The King of Kong. That was a struggle for Donkey Kong domination between just two men. The Kong Off, held last week, was a struggle between sixteen of the world's (well, North America's) best player. More »

Record Holder Says "I'm Playing Donkey Kong So I Can Get Laid"

Owen Good — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 07:00:00 EDT

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Hank Chien, the plastic surgeon who is the two-time (and current) world high score champion in Donkey Kong, is the subject of a documentary getting its second screening tomorrow. More »

Billy Mitchell Opens an Arcade

Owen Good — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 14:00:00 EST

Billy Mitchell, who supplied every villainous stereotype short of twirling his mustache in "The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters," has opened an arcade at Orlando's airport under the film's branding - with good guy Steve Wiebe gracing the entrance. More »

Plastic Surgeon Topples Hot Sauce Man, Algebra Teacher To Claim Donkey Kong Throne

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:40:00 EST

In the battle between three men over who is the world's best Donkey Kong player, a New York plastic surgeon has claimed a fresh victory. Will this barrel hopping high score war ever end? Not any time soon. More »

The King Of Donkey Kong Country Returns References

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 18:30:00 EST

Nintendo's Donkey Kong Country Returns makes homage to on-again, off-again Donkey Kong high score champ Billy Mitchell, Steve Wiebe's nemesis in the documentary The King of Kong. How so? See the patriotic neckwear worn by this giant monkey idol? More »

Wiebe: Still Points Available In Race To Donkey Kong's Max Score

Owen Good — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 23:30:00 EST

The infamous "kill screen" sets a limit to the highest possible score in Donkey Kong. Steve Wiebe, who reclaimed the world's No. 1 in September, says the game still has about 100,000 points to go. More »

The King Of Kong Once Again The King Of Kong

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EDT

The Donkey Kong high score record has been shattered three times this year with Steve Wiebe recapturing the title from his King of Kong rival Billy Mitchell. More »

Technically, Billy Mitchell Never Set The Donkey Kong Jr. Record

Owen Good — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 19:30:00 EDT

The notorious arcade champion Billy Mitchell was certified as the new world record holder in Donkey Kong Jr. at his induction to the International Video Game Hall of Fame last month. But Mark Kiehl had already beaten his score. More »

Billy Mitchell Again Is Champion Of Donkey Kong — And Jr. Too

Owen Good — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EDT

On the day he was to be enshrined with the inaugural class of the International Video Game Hall of Fame, Billy Mitchell was once again certified as the world record holder in Donkey Kong - and also Donkey Kong Jr. More »

New Kong King's Record Chase Almost Dethroned His Toilet

Owen Good — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:30:00 EDT

The newly minted world record holder in Donkey Kong didn't have a lot of space in his high-rise condo. So when he brought home an arcade cabinet, one of three things had to go: sofa, fridge, or commode. More »

Video Game Hall of Fame to Enshrine First Class in August

Owen Good — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:30:00 EST

Less than a year after it was first conceived, the International Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum at Ottumwa, Iowa has announced its first class of enshrinees, who will be inducted during a four-day gala event in August. More »

Wiebe Reclaims Donkey Kong Jr. World Record

Owen Good — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:20:00 EST

Steve Wiebe, featured in the acclaimed documentary "The King of Kong", has reclaimed the world record high score for Donkey Kong Jr. after briefly surrendering it to an Oklahoma man. More »

The King Of Kong Becomes 'Bones' Murder Mystery Fodder

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:40:00 EST

This week's episode of crime procedural Bones tells the tale of Billy and Steve, competitive gamers vying for the "perfect score" on a classic arcade game. But unlike documentary The King of Kong, one of these gamers winds up... murdered! More »

Infinite Bits: Miami's First Video Game Convention

Mike Fahey — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:20:00 EDT

Next weekend in Miami you can enjoy live music, tournaments, world record competitions, special guests, a costume contest, and a video game museum at Infinite Bits, South Florida's "first major video game convention." More »

Pac-Man World Record Broken

Mike Fahey — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:40:00 EDT

The official Pac-Man world record has become a little less attainable, as the sixth person in history to achieve a perfect score in Namco's arcade classic is also the fastest to date. More »

Billy Mitchell Denies and Denounces Taunting Tweets

Owen Good — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EDT

Some unsportsmanlike tweets attributed to Billy Mitchell are 100 percent fake, says the Donkey Kong world record holder. More »

Iowa Town to Announce Plans for Game Hall of Fame

Owen Good — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:40:00 EDT

Billy Mitchell, the world record holder in Donkey Kong and one of gaming's original stars, will be in Ottumwa, Iowa today as the city announces its intention to create a video games hall of fame. More »

The League of Legendary Gamers Fight Hunger At E For All

Mike Fahey — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EDT

By their powers combined, they are Captain Sitting Around In A Chair! Five of the country's "legendary" names in gaming are converging on the E for All Expo in the name of ending hunger, once and for a little while! Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel, Billy Mitchell, Justin Wong, Todd Rogers and TriForce will be taking on all comers at E for All next weekend, with the price of admission being one perishable food item to be donated to the Los Angeles Food Bank for the upcoming holiday season. Each gamer is playing a specific game - FatalONEty has Doom 4, Billy "Hot Sauce" Mitchell on Donkey Kong, Justin Wong is rocking Marvel VS. Capcom 2, Todd Rogers will be on Gorf (hell yeah), and finally TriForce takes it tiny with Tetris DS. More »

Billy Mitchell Manages to Make Himself Look Like an Even Bigger Ass

Brian Crecente — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:30:00 EDT

We've covered Donkey-Kong perfectionist documentary The King of Kong in painful detail, talking about Billy Mitchell's trash talking, the making of the movie More »

K2: Billy Mitchell As A Hunter Killer Robot

Mike Fahey — Fri, 30 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT

If you thought The King of Kong was story of a desperate man out to protect his record, wait until you get a load of K2: The King, The Kong, and the Ugly, a G4 original production. More »

Major General Hammond Invokes Pac-Man

Mike Fahey — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:20:14 EDT

U.S. Major General Jeffery Hammond, delivering a press briefing on the progress of the 4th Infantry's efforts in Iraq, revealed the inspiration behind their current strategy for dealing with Al Qaeda operatives and Shiite extremists.

"I believe they have been degraded, we continue to PacMan, like the video game, away at their efforts, at their different levels," Major General Hammond said.

While it's nice to see a video game reference made by high-ranking military officers, I have to wonder exactly what this means. I get this bizarre mental image of an overhead view of the streets of Baghdad, fruit carts spilling into the streets and the military struggling to pick up the produce for extra points. Are we the ghosts, or are we Pac-Man himself? Are power pellets sanctioned under the Geneva Conventions? With so many questions, one thing remains quite clear - we need to air drop Billy Mitchell into the war zone immediately, hot sauce and all. More »

Arcade Gaming Making A Comeback

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:00:26 EST

I. Love. Arcades. Seems I'm not alone! Forbes has a short piece about the retro arcade revival going on in the States. While some Americans are content to play retro titles on emulators and whatnot, there is a growing number of gamers who want a realer experience. And with the US arcade scene limping along, some are getting their gaming fix by purchasing retro game cabinets for home use. Says Rick Kirby of coin-op supplier Betson Enterprise: More »

The King Of Kong Is Now On DVD. If you missed...

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:00:00 EST

The King Of Kong Is Now On DVD. If you missed the theatrical release of the Donkey Kong score-off documentary The King of Kong, you now have a chance to catch it on DVD. The film, which chronicles the high score struggles of chronic weeper Steve Wiebe and the dastardly tactics of the ultra-patriotic Billy Mitchell can probably be had from fine retailers and/or Netflix as of today. It's a gripping, if somewhat manipulative, good time and a worthwhile primer for the Hollywood adaptation. More »

Kinnear of Kong

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 04:00:04 EST

The King of Kong was so good that it deserves a Hollywood remake. Or something. So, if we were casting the role of school teacher challenger Steve Wiebe who tries making a go at arcade hero Billy Mitchell's Donkey Kong record, we'd say Greg Kinnear would make a fine choice. But what does Greg Kinnear think? More »

King Of Kong Creators Working On Film Adaptation

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 00:30:00 EDT

Didn't think a documentary about two guys trying to set a Donkey Kong world record would be fun? Pfft. Idiot. King of Kong, the story of Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe's quest to be #1 in the world at Donkey Kong, is winning people over. Them and their money. So creators Ed Cunningham and Seth Gordon are working on more than the DVD release of the doco: they're writing a draft for a film adaptation. A proper film, with real actors. More »

King of Kong Trash Talk

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 03:00:39 EDT

At the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers (yes, I know), arcade champ Billy Mitchell posted the top Donkey Kong score. Previously, he lost it to unknown Steve Wiebe. But now that Mitchell has reclaimed his crown, what does Wiebe say?

I knew he wasn't going to take this lying down. And he knows I won't let him get the record and just go away quietly. So I'm going to start firing up the game again... So like I said, the saga continues. I know I can get a higher score than what he posted, and I plan on putting it to a level where he can't break it.

Take THAT!! Wiebe even offered Mitchell a chance to go head-to-head on the machines. We wait with bated breath. More »

Mitchell Reclaims Donkey Kong Record

Brian Ashcraft — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 00:00:35 EDT

The game? Donkey Kong. The location? The Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers in Orlando, Florida. Arcade champ Billy Mitchell has reclaimed the top DK score with a record breaking 1,050,200 points. This comes weeks before documentary The King of Kong gets released. The doc follows Steve Wiebe who claims the Kong high score. More »

King of Kong Speaks

Kim Phu — Wed, 30 May 2007 14:40:00 EDT

The King of Kong documentary has been making the rounds this year in various film festivals around the US and now there is a controversy over how one of the movie's "characters" was portrayed. In the movie, two men (Billy Mitchell and Steve Weibe) are trying to be crowned the King of Donkey Kong. Mitchell has held the title of the highest score in Donkey Kong up until recently, when Weibe and a documentary crew set out to challenge it. More »

Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championships

Mike Fahey — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 11:20:06 EDT

Start cultivating your mullet and break out the American flag neckties, cause it's on baby! Microsoft and Namco have announced the first Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship, allowing gamers around the world to finally prove that the only sauce Billy Mitchell brings is teh weaksauce. More »