Steve Wiebe

Steven J. Wiebe (pronEng|ˈwiːbi, born c. 1969) is a math and science teacher at Finn Hill Junior High, a school in Kirkland, Washington. A competitive gamer, Wiebe was the first ever to achieve over a million points in the arcade game "Donkey Kong" and has the second-highest score (1,049,100) ever reported.cite web | title = Twin Galaxies: "Donkey Kong" high scores | publisher = Twin Galaxies | url = http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=22&pi=2&gi=3852&vi=22 | accessdate = 2007-09-10] (Wiebe held first place until Billy Mitchell retook the title on June 26 2007 with 1,050,200 points.) Wiebe also holds the top score record in "Donkey Kong Junior" (on a "Double Donkey Kong Boardset") with 1,004,000. [cite web| title = Twin Galaxies: Steve Wiebe | url=http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=22&p=29305|publisher=Twin Galaxies|accessdate=2008-05-01] He is one of the primary subjects of the 2007 documentary, "". [cite web|title='Kong' star struggles to win high score lead and respect|url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20070831-9999-1c31kong.html|publisher=San Diego Union Tribune|accessdate=2007-08-31] [cite web|title=Steve Wiebe's Game Plan|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20052595,00.html|publisher=Entertainment Weekly|accessdate=2007-08-31] [cite web|title=Steve Wiebe, ‘King of Kong,’ on Living the Dream|url=http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2007/08/king_of_kongs_steve_wiebe_1.html|publisher=New York Entertainment|accessdate=2007-08-31]

Television appearance

Steve Wiebe was interviewed about the documentary "" on the "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" [cite news |title= The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson | publisher=CBS |format= |work= ] and on G4's "Attack of the Show". [cite web|title=One on One with Steve Wiebe|url=http://www.g4tv.com/attackoftheshow/theloop/61637/One-on-One-with-Steve-Wiebe.html|publisher=G4 TV|accessdate=2008-05-28] He also voiced his own cartoon character on "Code Monkeys" in the episode "The Great Recession".

Current status of championship

Steve Wiebe is continuing to pursue his previously held title as the holder of the highest score in "Donkey Kong". Recently, Wiebe has made three well publicized attempts at regaining the Donkey Kong title. They are:

On August 19, 2007, at the Alamo Draft House in Austin, TX, Steve scored 695,500 points while Twin Galaxies Founder Walter Day served as the official referee. [cite web|title=Steve Wiebe Reaches 695,500 points during Donkey Kong World Record Attempt|url=http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=19&id=1488|publisher=Twin Galaxies|accessdate=2008-03-14]

On March 6, 2008, in Las Vegas, Steve 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, Steve 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 Steve Wiebe). Again, Steve performed under the supervision of Twin Galaxies Founder Walter Day, who noted: "Possibly the biggest challenges Steve had to overcome were the loud nightclub music, the chaotic environment and the late hours." [cite web|title=Steve Wiebe Tries Twice But Falls Short|url=http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=19&id=1585|publisher=Twin Galaxies|accessdate=2008-03-14]

On July 17 2008, Steve 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. [cite web|title=Twin Galaxies Monitors Steve Wiebe Donkey Kong Attempt for Guinness World Records|url=http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=19&id=1634|publisher=Twin Galaxies|accessdate=2008-07-19]

References

External links

* [http://www.ignoremagazine.com/features/sethgordon/index.php Article on the "King of Kong" mentioning Wiebe and interview with director] at "Ignore" Magazine.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b-QK8TxeXk Steve Wiebe tells movie goers not to talk trailer] at YouTube
* [http://blogs.msdn.com/mswanson/archive/2008/03/23/donkey-kong-at-mix08-behind-the-scenes.aspx Behind the scenes at one of Steve's record-breaking attempts] at M Swanson's Blog