Twin Galaxies, the website that monitors and rules over gaming's top scores, today announced that a new Donkey Kong champion has been crowned.
Plastic surgeon Hank Chien has rocketed into first place, racking up a score of 1,061,700 points in 2 hours 35 minutes, and ending on the legendary kill screen that prevents players from progressing any further.
This score-smashing display was performed on an original Donkey Kong arcade machine in New York, and was verified by Twin Galaxies officials David Nelson of New Hampshire and Eric Akeson of Washington state.
Chien has stolen the record from Billy Mitchell by beating the hot-sauce salesman's high-score of 1,050,200 points. Mitchell's controversial rise to fame and continued rivalry with gamer extraordinaire Steve Wiebe (whom we recently interviewed) have been chronicled in popular documentary King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.
This is huge news for the gaming community, who have followed the unfolding drama over who holds the all-important top-spot for years. We want to hear your reactions to this game-changing news in the comments below.
Comments 42
Okay, so is the front page gonna be spammed with this guy now so we can ask him questions?
Everytime I see these articles about Billy Mitchell, expert of Donkey Kong, I think of this guy.
@Namo Yes.
Plastic surgeon and Donkey Kong world record holder? This guy has some golden fingers.
Well.... I did make an entry on the forums.
But here's my reaction that I wrote back at DSiHub.com - http://dsihub.com/apps/buzz/view.php?id=57
So it's not enough to be successful, rich, and most likely have lots of hot chicks (because he is a plastic surgeon and you know how some girls are about that job), but he also has to break world records on videogames.
Some guys just make me wanna punch myself in the face!
Who knew Daniel Dae Kim could also play videogames!
@Namo you really don't like this world-record thing, huh? Personally, i think it's nice for a little competition in any video game (as long as you enjoy playing them).
Here come a new challenger.
Dumb Kill Screen. :/
Anyway, yay! New high score! X3
I for one do care - because Billy Mitchell can **** himself!
Wow, did this dude just come out of nowhere and take the record? Kinda funny...
Congrats to the newcomer, and Im sure Steve will be breaking your record in the next year. I hope so.
Wow, so now Steve Wiebe will be now challeging this guy for the record @ the GDC. Good luck Steve!
Wow. A hot-sauce salesman holds the high-score, then is pwned by a plastic surgeon who will soon be pwned by a drummer.
Crazy!
I guess Billy Mitchell has to get back to work now.
There's a ceiling to the score possibilities in Donkey Kong. I wonder how close they are getting. Impossible to really know, but eventually one of these scores is going to be so close to impossible to beat that it might just be over.
@7.Joroen
@12.Egg miester
Racism meter is going through the friggin' roof! And I'm one to promote talk about different races/cultures without walking on ice. I'm not that sensitive to these things.m But...
Daniel Dae Kim!? Are these the first two people with Asian features you have ever seen? lol. There are almost no similarities between the two.
Asians have had games longer? What on Earth are you talking about? Video games didn't start in Asia. And a person can only being playing games as long as they have been alive. So...
congrats Hank! incredible! now Steve needs to beat 2 scores at GDC.
@17 - "There's a ceiling to the score possibilities in Donkey Kong."
Really? I was under the impression that the only ceiling is the kill screen & thus you could pretty much just sit on level one jumping barrels and getting 100 points each forever if you had the skill...
For his patients, his reliability raised over 500%.
@Popyman - pretty much, apparently he only started playing the game in November 2008... so not even 18 months yet!
@WiiLovePeace - nope, there's a countdown timer on each level and if it hits zero, then you lose a life. It's actually that function that causes the "kill" screen, you can read about that here and why it triggers.
looks like the sauce man ain't so hot! BURN
This guy has ice water in his veins!! He smoked the old record!
in my best announcer voice:
CHALLENGER APPROACHING
A New Foe Has Appeared
lolinator
So, there's a new record breaker, huh? That's cool.
Wow. A two-man battle for the score is immortalized in film, only for a third guy to come out of NOWHERE and take the title of "King of Kong." Crazyville, man!
Commence meltdown!
In all seriousness, I think his profession helped a lot with the record.
@Jeroen - Who said anything about Daniel Dae Kim? This guy doesn't look anything like him.
I suppose everyone is keen on making the top record for Donkey Kong nowadays, Swik.
Wiebe has been owned.
And now for King of Kong 2.
WOw
...Now he should try Pac-Man.
The Mother of all coincidences. You interview the former DK champion, and now someone has taken his place.
So, will Steve Wiebe still be able to claim the record at GDC? What will Billy Mitchell do now that his title has been snatched away from him? Who is this plastic surgeon-turned-record holder, and is he a target for both men? Find out next time on the next action packed episode of "I Wanna Be King of Kong!"
No matter who has the highest score, I still really admire Steve Weibe. He was just a really cool, genuine guy in King of Kong, and I hope he can one up this guy.
@Aaron Sullivan: I'm Asian myself. Most of the time only someone non-asian would point out the apparent 'racism' in remarks like that.
Lighten up a little, I don't need a lecture.
Namo, if you think one article about a guy is "Spammed all over the front page" then you haven't been to the WiiWare forum and the 3,643 threads on Mega Man 10 ranging from "Who's your favorite robot master" to "How yellow was your urine when you first played Mega Man 10?"
Question is, what constitutes a perfect score? In Pacman, it is 3,333,360pts. Donkey Kong is a bit more subjective.
This is great news. Really cool to see someone else get into the mix of this High Score race. Great stuff.
ugh...so much drama
Kill screen!!!
Great!! ANYONE that beats Billy Mitchell is my hero....What's up with a grown man that still goes by the name of "Billy"...he's such a tool....
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