The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters 2007

A middle-school science educator and a thriving hot sauce entrepreneur engage in an intense competition to secure the Guinness World Record for the iconic arcade game, Donkey Kong. This thrilling saga begins back in 1982, a time when LIFE Magazine gathered the most talented gamers for a memorable photo session that would grace the center spread of their annual Year-In-Photos edition. Among the notable invitees was Billy Mitchell, who would later earn the remarkable title of “Gamer of the Century.”

At this celebrated event, Mitchell, already the World Record holder on Centipede, had set his sights on dominating Donkey Kong. With the eyes of the 20 best gamers in the world on him, he achieved an astonishing score of 874,300 points, a benchmark that many believed was unbeatable. However, fast forward to 2003, when Steve Wiebe, a 35-year-old family man who had recently lost his job at Boeing, discovered a new passion in Donkey Kong. He stumbled upon Mitchell’s record online and became determined to break it.

In the quiet hours after tucking his wife and kids into bed, Steve dedicated himself to mastering the game. Night after night, he practiced tirelessly, eventually surpassing Billy’s previously set record and achieving the seemingly impossible feat of 1,000,000 points. With his newfound fame, Steve Wiebe rapidly transformed into a local celebrity in his hometown of Seattle, WA, and simultaneously rekindled his passion for teaching. This resurgence of confidence allowed him to regain the respect of those who had once doubted him.

Meanwhile, back in Hollywood, FL, Billy Mitchell was not ready to concede defeat. He concocted an elaborate strategy to reclaim his former glory and retake the Donkey Kong record he had built his reputation upon. Following this tumultuous shift in dynamics, a captivating rivalry ensued as Steve and Billy embarked on a cross-country quest to determine who would set the ultimate high score to be featured in the 2007 Guinness World Records book. This fierce battle would evolve into The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, a journey that revealed profound lessons about fatherhood, the meaning of champion spirit, and ultimately, the realization that winning isn’t everything; sometimes, being a true winner is about the journey itself, and the relationships built along the way.