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Billy Mitchell (gamer)
Encyclopedia
| Famous Scores | |
|---|---|
| Pac-Man Pac-Man is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,... |
3,333,360 |
| Donkey Kong | 1,062,800 |
| Donkey Kong Jr. | 1,270,900 |
| BurgerTime Burgertime is a 1982 arcade game created by Data East for its DECO Cassette System. The game's original title, Hamburger, was changed to BurgerTime before its introduction to the US. The player is chef Peter Pepper, who must walk over hamburger ingredients located across a maze of platforms while avoiding... |
7,881,050 |
Billy L. Mitchell, born July 16, 1965, in Holyoke, Massachusetts
Holyoke, Massachusetts
Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range of mountains. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 39,880...
, is best known for recording high scores in classic video games from the Golden Age of Arcade Games
Golden Age of Arcade Games
The golden age of video arcade games was a peak era of video arcade game popularity, innovation, and earnings. Although there is no consensus as to its exact time period, most sources place it around the early 1980s.-Overview:...
. He has been claimed by some as the "greatest arcade-video-game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
player of all time". His achievements include the first perfect score in Pac-Man. He owns the "Rickey's World Famous Restaurant" chain, based in Hollywood, Florida
Hollywood, Florida
-Demographics:As of 2000, there were 59,673 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of...
. He uses the same brand to sell a line of hot sauces, "Rickey's World Famous Sauces".
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters documentary
The 2007 documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of QuartersThe King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is a 2007 American documentary film that follows Steve Wiebe as he tries to take the world high score for the arcade game Donkey Kong from reigning champion Billy Mitchell...
tells the story of newcomer Steve Wiebe
Steve Wiebe
Steven J. "Steve" Wiebe is a two-time world champion of the video game Donkey Kong, most recently holding the title from the 20th of September, 2010 to the 10th of January, 2011 with a high score of 1,064,500 points. Wiebe was the first person to achieve over a million points in the game, with a...
's attempt to surpass Billy Mitchell's high score at the game Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong (video game)
is an arcade game released by Nintendo in 1981. It is an early example of the platform game genre, as the gameplay focuses on maneuvering the main character across a series of platforms while dodging and jumping over obstacles. In the game, Jumpman must rescue a damsel in distress, Lady, from a...
, which Mitchell had set in 1982.
Mitchell is never shown playing the game in the film, though he states the importance of playing in public, saying, "To me, most important is to travel to a sanctioned location, like Funspot
Funspot Family Fun Center
Funspot Family Fun Center is a video arcade and self-declared "classic gaming museum" founded in 1952 by Bob Lawton, and located in the village of Weirs Beach in Laconia, New Hampshire, USA. It includes over 500 games, an indoor golf center, a 20-lane ten-pin and candlepin bowling center, cash...
that makes it official; if tomorrow Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No...
golfs a 59, big deal. If he does it at Augusta
Augusta National Golf Club
Augusta National Golf Club, located in Augusta, Georgia, is a famous men's golf club. Founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts and designed by Alister MacKenzie on the site of a former indigo plantation, the club opened for play in January 1933. Since 1934, it has played host to the annual...
, that's where it counts." However, throughout the film Wiebe traveled to various locations such as Funspot and even Mitchell's home town to play him publicly, and each time Mitchell refused. More controversy arose when at Funspot, Wiebe set the Donkey Kong live score record and was given official recognition, something he did not receive for sending in a tape in which he scored the first million point game on record. A few hours later, a tape submitted by Mitchell in which he scored over a million points was accepted, and Wiebe lost his record. In Mitchell's hometown later on, Wiebe waited for four days to play Mitchell, who showed up one day and refused to play against Wiebe. In the film, Wiebe, while playing the game says hello to Mitchell. Mitchell didn't respond. As he's walking away from Wiebe, Mitchell says, "There's certain people I don't want to spend too much time with." Mitchell offered no explanation for his behavior towards Wiebe but did later explain that at the time of filming, he had not played video games for "more than a year", and that the filmmakers had not given him enough advance warning to train for a public record-breaking attempt. Seth Gordon
Seth Gordon
Seth Gordon is an American film director, producer, and film editor. He has produced and directed both film and TV for various film and television studios, including PBS, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the United Nations 1% For Development Fund...
, the film's director, in referring to Mitchell's character says that Mitchell "is a true puppet-master", "a master of information-control" and that there was a lot of "stuff we couldn't include because of inter-state telephone rules."
At the film's conclusion, Wiebe beats Mitchell's score to gain a new Donkey Kong record on tape to claim both the live and taped records.
On July 26, 2007, in celebration of the film's release and the 25th anniversary of Mitchell's first record-setting performance, Mitchell again played in public and retook the Donkey Kong record with a score of 1,050,200, though that score was surpassed on February 26, 2010 by Hank Chien, who was temporarily the record holder at Donkey Kong. However Billy Mitchell reclaimed his title once again on July 24, 2010. On September 20, 2010, Steve Wiebe once again took the title with a score of 1,064,500. As of February 27, 2011, Hank Chien
Hank Chien
Hank Chien is a three-time world champion of the video game Donkey Kong.He currently holds the record with a score of 1,090,400 achieved on February 27, 2011 at Funspot....
re-took the record with a score of 1,090,400
Notable scores
- First person to achieve a perfect Pac-ManPac-Manis an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
score of 3,333,360, achieved July 3, 1999 at Funspot Family Fun CenterFunspot Family Fun CenterFunspot Family Fun Center is a video arcade and self-declared "classic gaming museum" founded in 1952 by Bob Lawton, and located in the village of Weirs Beach in Laconia, New Hampshire, USA. It includes over 500 games, an indoor golf center, a 20-lane ten-pin and candlepin bowling center, cash...
in New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. As of September 2010, this is the only championship Mitchell holds, sharing it with 5 other players. - Achieved a score on Donkey Kong Jr. of 957,300 in 2004. Score beaten by Steve Wiebe on February 14, 2010 with a score of 1,190,400http://tg.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=22&pi=2&gi=126&vi=24
- Achieved a score on Donkey KongDonkey Kong (video game)is an arcade game released by Nintendo in 1981. It is an early example of the platform game genre, as the gameplay focuses on maneuvering the main character across a series of platforms while dodging and jumping over obstacles. In the game, Jumpman must rescue a damsel in distress, Lady, from a...
of 1,050,200 in 2007. Score beaten by Steve Wiebe on September 20, 2010 with a score of 1,064,500 - Achieved a score on BurgerTimeBurgertimeis a 1982 arcade game created by Data East for its DECO Cassette System. The game's original title, Hamburger, was changed to BurgerTime before its introduction to the US. The player is chef Peter Pepper, who must walk over hamburger ingredients located across a maze of platforms while avoiding...
of 7,881,050 in 1984. Score beaten by Bryan L. Wagner on September 5, 2005 with a score of 8,601,300 - Achieved a score on CentipedeCentipede (video game)Centipede is a vertically-oriented shoot 'em up arcade game produced by Atari, Inc. in 1980. The game was designed by Ed Logg along with Dona Bailey, one of the few female game programmers in the industry at this time. It was also the first arcade coin-operated game to have a significant female...
of over 10 million points. - Recaptured the world records for both Donkey Kong (1,062,800 points) and Donkey Kong Jr. (1,270,900) on the weekend of July 24, 2010. These records were lost to Steve Wiebe on September 20, 2010 (1,064,500 points) and Mark L Kiehl on September 9, 2010 (1,307,500 points) for Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. respectively.
Honors
On January 14, 1984, he was selected as one of the 1983 "Video Game Players of the Year" by Twin GalaxiesTwin Galaxies
Twin Galaxies is an American organization that tracks video game world records and conducts a program of electronic-gaming promotions. It operates the Twin Galaxies website and publishes the Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records, with the Arcade Volume released on June...
and the U.S. National Video Game Team
U.S. National Video Game Team
The U.S. National Video Game Team was founded on July 25, 1983 in Ottumwa, Iowa, USA by Walter Day and the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard.-Members:Walter Day was the Team Captain and the first five members chosen by Twin Galaxies for the team were:...
.
On September 17, 1999, he was proclaimed the "Video Game Player of the Century" while at the 1999 Tokyo Game Show. In a ceremony on the Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
stage, company founder Masaya Nakamura presented Mitchell with an award commemorating the first "perfect" game on Pac-Man.
On November 24, 1999, he offered $100,000 to the first person who could get through Pac-Mans "split-screen level".
On June 21, 2006, MTV selected Mitchell one of "The 10 Most Influential Video Gamers Of All Time."
Mitchell placed eighth in the Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
Pac-Man World Championships on June 4, 2007.
In 2008 Mitchell became the first video game player to be honored with a Topps Allen & Ginter trading card.