At E3, "King of Kong" star Steve Wiebe took another shot at the "Donkey Kong" world record. Whether he makes it or depends on how well he keeps his cool.
Daniel Terdiman
Daniel Terdiman is a senior writer at CNET News covering Twitter, Net culture, and everything in between.
Steve Wiebe, the star of the documentary, "King of Kong: A fistful of quarters," in which he attempted, but failed, to set the world "Donkey Kong" record, is at it again. At E3 2009, he was hosted by TV network G4 in an attempt to finally break the current record of 1,047,200 points.
Here, Wiebe plays the game in front of G4's raucous crowd at E3.
G4 asked members of the audience watching Wiebe's attempts to hold out a sign that read, "Hammer Time," a reference to the hammers that "Donkey Kong" players must grab in the game that can help them smash oncoming hazards for additional points.
Watching a game of "Donkey Kong," one is reminded how well it holds up over time. Many of the arcade games from the '80s are still considered classics, and are regularly re-issued by their original publishers or others.
Things were going well for Wiebe when, suddenly, the power on his "Donkey Kong" arcade game went out, causing the video screens displaying the game to go haywire, and forcing him to temporarily stop his record attempt.
While he waited for his "Donkey Kong" machine to be powered back up, Wiebe joked with the G4 crew. For someone pursuing such a notable effort, he seemed very calm and collected.
