Steve Wiebe
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Steven J. Wiebe (pronounced /ˈwiːbi/, born c. 1969) is an algebra and advanced algebra teacher at Finn Hill Junior High, a school in Kirkland, Washington. A competitive gamer, Wiebe was the first person to achieve over a million points in the arcade game Donkey Kong and has the second highest score (1,049,100) ever recorded.[1] Wiebe also holds the top score record in Donkey Kong Junior with 1,139,800 points.[1] He is one of the primary subjects of the 2007 documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.[2][3][4]
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[edit] Media appearances
Wiebe was interviewed about the documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters on the The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson[5] and on G4's Attack of the Show.[6] He also voiced his own cartoon character on Code Monkeys in the episode "The Great Recession". He also appeared as "Jim" in the film Four Christmases, which was directed by Seth Gordon, the director of The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.
Similarly to his DK rival Billy Mitchell, Steve Wiebe was also put in a TOPPS Allen & Ginter baseball set, Wiebe being featured in the 2009 edition of the baseball product. [7]
[edit] Current status of championship
Wiebe is continuing to pursue his previously held title as the holder of the highest score in Donkey Kong. Recently, Wiebe has made six well-publicized attempts at regaining the Donkey Kong title. They are:
On August 19, 2007, at the Alamo Draft House in Austin, TX, Wiebe scored 695,500 points while Twin Galaxies Founder Walter Day served as the official referee. [8]
On March 6, 2008, in Las Vegas, Wiebe played in front of a fluctuating crowd of 1,900 party attendees in the TAO Nightclub in the Venetian Casino during Microsoft's MIX08 event. During that attempt, Wiebe achieved two scores: first scoring 929,800 points and reaching the "Kill Screen" and then 579,300 points on the second try. According to Twin Galaxies records, this is the sixth time someone had reached the "Kill Screen" during a public gaming performance (3 times by Billy Mitchell and 3 times by Wiebe). Again, Wiebe performed under the supervision of Twin Galaxies Founder Walter Day, who noted: "Possibly the biggest challenges Wiebe had to overcome were the loud nightclub music, the chaotic environment and the late hours." [9]
On July 17 2008, Wiebe made his third attempt to break the Donkey Kong high score at the Twiistup 4 event in Santa Monica, but was unsuccessful on two consecutive attempts, scoring 340,500 and 466,100 points.[10]
In October 2008, at the 2008 E for All Expo, he scored 1,000,200 in front of a large crowd. This is only the third time a 1 million point score has been achieved in public.
On April 24, 2009, Wiebe took command of the Donkey Kong Jr. title, eclipsing both Mitchell and previous record holder Icarus Hall with a score of 1,139,800 points. [11]
On June 2 2009, Wiebe reached a score of 923,400 points at E3 2009 during his first attempt that day. On his second attempt, he reached 653,700. A third attempt was interrupted by a brief power failure. After power was restored, Wiebe made a fourth attempt in which he reached 989,400 points before the kill screen ended his final attempt. These attempts were broadcast online via G4TV.[12]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Twin Galaxies: Steve Wiebe". Twin Galaxies. http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=22&p=29305. Retrieved on 2009-05-30.
- ^ "'Kong' star struggles to win high score lead and respect". San Diego Union Tribune. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20070831-9999-1c31kong.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
- ^ "Steve Wiebe's Game Plan". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20052595,00.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
- ^ "Steve Wiebe, ‘King of Kong,’ on Living the Dream". New York Entertainment. http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2007/08/king_of_kongs_steve_wiebe_1.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
- ^ "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson". CBS.
- ^ "One on One with Steve Wiebe". G4 TV. http://www.g4tv.com/attackoftheshow/theloop/61637/One-on-One-with-Steve-Wiebe.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
- ^ http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310154175976&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123
- ^ "Steve Wiebe Reaches 695,500 points during Donkey Kong World Record Attempt". Twin Galaxies. http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=19&id=1488. Retrieved on March 14 2008.
- ^ "Steve Wiebe Tries Twice But Falls Short". Twin Galaxies. http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=19&id=1585. Retrieved on March 14 2008.
- ^ "Twin Galaxies Monitors Steve Wiebe Donkey Kong Attempt for Guinness World Records". Twin Galaxies. http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=19&id=1634. Retrieved on 2008-07-19.
- ^ "Steve Wiebe Takes Donkey Kong Junior World Record With Score of 1,139,800". April 24 2009. http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=19&id=1728. Retrieved on April 25 2009.
- ^ Chris Higgins. "Live, Breaking News: Steve Wiebe Tries to Recapture Donkey Kong Record". Mental Floss. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/26090. Retrieved on June 2 2009.
[edit] External links
- Steve Wiebe at the Internet Movie Database
- Article on the King of Kong mentioning Wiebe and interview with director at Ignore Magazine.
- Steve Wiebe tells movie goers not to talk trailer at YouTube
- Behind the scenes at one of Steve's record-breaking attempts at M Swanson's Blog
- King of Kong 2 Trailer
- Video of his E3 2009 record-breaking attempts
