Steve Wiebe Donkey KongLast year, when video game athlete Steve Wiebe tried to recapture the world-record score for "Donkey Kong," everything seemed to go wrong. Kill screens to a power outage prevented him from achieving victory over Billy Mitchell, gaming's Dennis Rodman, thanks to his portrayal as an underhanded player in the critically acclaimed documentary "The King of Kong."

But he's about to get an even greater recognition for his lifetime of gaming: induction into the International Video Games Hall of Fame. He'll share the honor with 27 other legends of gaming ... including Mitchell. (Maybe they'll hang his plaque in the men's room.)

Wiebe spoke to Asylum from his home in Redmond, Wash., about his pending Hall of Fame, which takes place next month in Ottumwa, Iowa, alongside other legends such as gaming guru Nolan Bushnell and "Donkey Kong" and "Mario Bros." creator Shigeru Miyamoto. He also discusses his latest run-in with Mitchell.

Wiebe first received word of his induction into the Hall of Fame following his failed attempt to reclaim the "Donkey Kong" record last year at the E3 Expo, where the G4 network broadcast Wiebe's day-long effort to recapture the record on the Web and on its cable network.

"It felt great because even though I came up short for the record," Wiebe said, "[Twin Galaxies founder and referee Walter Day] honored me with a framed poster on the broadcast."

He hasn't given up the good fight for the top spot on the "Twin Galaxies" scoreboard, he said. He currently ranks third on the "Donkey Kong" scoreboard with 1,049,100 points and second on the "Donkey Kong Jr." scoreboard with 1,190,400 points.



"I want to get the 'Donkey Kong' record," he said. "I don't know if I'll ever quit playing. Every time I think I'm done, something else comes up. I've been playing this summer, and I came pretty close. I'll go for the 'Donkey Kong Jr.' record, and I'm hoping I can get the 'Donkey Kong' record before the Video Game Hall of Fame [event]."

Wiebe will be in Iowa for his induction ceremony next month along with his fellow inductees, including his rival Mitchell. He said he hasn't talked to him much since the documentary went mainstream, but he has come across him at a few events. Their exchanges have been relatively friendly but short.

"I saw him at a couple of events and when we came across each other, there was a photo shot that we were both in and we shook hands," Wiebe said. "We didn't have any conversation. I'm not mad at all with him. I don't know if he's upset with me. I know he doesn't like how he was portrayed in the movie, but he's also capitalized on it, too. He's got his hot sauce."