The Story Behind King Of Kong
From arcade days to the big battle...
BY Sep 8th 2009 9:09AMFILED UNDER: Features
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One of the best films ever made about video game rivalry is Seth Gordon's The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters.
It delves into the real-life battle between smug gaming prodigy Billy Mitchell and obsessed everyman Steve Wiebe as they vie to win the world record high score on classic arcade machine Donkey Kong.
So let's go back... way back to a time before the Wii. Even before the PlayStation and even the Sega Megadrive. Back to the time of Kong...
1. Early years
The King Of Kong grew originally from director Seth Gordon's own memories of days spent shoving coins into arcade machines at Funspot, a paradise for gamers in New Hampshire.
"I spent my summers going to Funspot, the arcade featured in the film growing up, and I knew how awesome that place was and I tried to go back there during college whenever I could. It's just a special place to me. I was aware that these gamers were playing there."
In the early 1980s, there were few options for home gaming - Pong and the early Atari systems were trickling into homes and there was no Internet for players to swap trash talk and trade achievements.
Funspot was one of places where hardcore joystick-bothers could gather to battle demonic enemies or - in the case of Donkey Kong - help plumber Mario overcome a barrel-tossing giant ape and rescue a princess.
Like any activity where scores are kept, the likes of Kong and Missile Command generate bitter rivalries between button-hitting experts, with some players spending hours and hundreds of dollars into the cabinets.
These days, the arcades are slowly disappearing, and many of the games are a lot more complicated, but the battles continue.
Not a bad subject for a documentary. Which is why Gordon set out to make a film based on the hardcore game-jockeys...
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Print Comments (1)
1: MrScary says
Funspot!!!!! I used to go there too!!! That place was awesome!!! Ware's Beach, NH. Haven't been there in 25 years, will have to check it out again the next time I'm up there. Wow, that brings back memories of blowing hundreds of $$$ on Donkey Kong Jr. and Centipede.
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