The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.

Last night on the G4 channel, I saw the documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. It's about the controversial, current contention for the world record high score on the Donkey Kong arcade game. I was fascinated by this glimpse into the classic, arcade, game subculture.

We are introduced to Billy Mitchell, named the Video Game Player of the Century, holding world records in several classic arcade games. He's arrogant and over-confident and has a solid clique of gamers on his side. Then comes Steve Wiebe, a soft-spoken, middle-school, science teacher who attempts to claim the new world record high score. Controversy ensues as claims of fraud force the players to meet at an official arcade location called Funspot. The tension and repressed animosity is unbelievable, and makes for a good story.

I know most people who are not into video games will make fun of this documentary. But, I really admire these gamers and am glad to see another geek subculture film akin to the Trekkies documentaries. It's at least a validation that there are other like minded geeks and nerds out there that take their hobbies seriously.