My Thoughts on King Of Kong

King of Kong was an entertaining film that game me a little more insight into the world of competitive gaming. The film was real and went in depth with the main competitors, Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell. King of Kong showed the affects gaming can have on and individual such as Steve Weibe, as well as their family and friends that support them. The film also gave me a view into the life of two very different gamers. King of Kong allowed me to see the conniving tactics as well as the dedication and emotional strain involved with gaming. Billy Mitchell is a conniving competitor that will manipulate any one or any situation to make the outcome in his favor. It seemed as if he had Twin Galaxy on his side from the very beginning. Twin Galaxy should have remained unbiased and allowed Steve Wiebe’s original high score to be honored. It was unjust for representatives from Twin Galaxies, which are also friends of Billy Mitchell’s, to be the sole decider of honoring the score. They shouldn’t have been allowed to take apart his machine and base the decision on Steve interacting with their nemesis. Billy Mitchell vs. Steve Wiebe was an example of competitive gaming at its fiercest. Steve Wiebe showed me an honest side of gaming. He allowed me to see his vulnerable side and dedication to his family as well as the game. His family supported him and wanted to see him achieve his goal of high score and solving the game. Usually when you saw Steve you saw his son right by his side and his wife and daughter not far behind. Billy Mitchell on the other hand always remained arrogant and self centered. He was only filmed once with his children and his wife didn’t appear until the end of the taping. Billy conspired against Steve from the moment he was made aware of the possible new high score in Donkey Kong. He used his contacts at Twin Galaxies to dishonor Steve’s score and cheat him out of the competition. Billy showed me the true reality of competitive gaming at it’s’ worst. He has no respect for competitive gaming, and he showed that several times by setting double standards. Billy was able to submit his high scores by video tape but didn’t allow Steve’s scores to be submitted unless he played at Fun Spot. When Billy was challenged to play live competition at Fun Spot he cowardly declined. Overall I feel Steve Wiebe is the ultimate champion of Donkey Kong and Billy Mitchell’s scores should be disputed. Billy should be held to the same standards as every other competitor. He should have to compete live for high scores or have his gaming console inspected for submissions of taped scores. In addition his opinion on validity of new high scores for Donkey Kong or any other game should not be considered when making a determination for competitions.
King of Kong showed me that competitive gaming is real and in some aspects an addiction of sort. The movie showed me different types of competitors and the affects or benefits gaming can have on individual. Some gamers compete for the sport, some compete for the ego, some compete for the strategy or completion but the common denominator in all is the dedication for the game.