The much ridiculed gamer Billy Mitchell, the apparently arrogant star of the 2007 documentary King of Kong, has reclaimed his title as the highest scorer in Donkey Kong. In the process, he’s also set the world record for Donkey Kong Jr.For the record, his scores were 1,062,800 for Donkey Kong, after two hours 42 minutes, and 1,270,900 for Donkey Kong Jr, after three hours, 58 minutes. Once he beat his competitor’s score, he put the game down. Kotaku reports:Mitchell said that he originally intended to beat the Donkey Kong score, then decided to go after the Donkey Kong Jr. mark on the spur of the moment. "I remember a lot of celebration; hugs, kisses and a lot of hooting and hollering," Mitchell said. "Once that died down, stood there looking at Donkey Kong Jr. and thought 'there's one more thing I have to take care of'."But how are these scores verified, and who keeps the records in the vicious high stakes world of competitive gaming? Last year, Motherboard show Oral History of Gaming visited Walter Day, the man behind the Twin Galaxies National Scoreboard, which is the central clearinghouse for all top scores. Day not only told us about how Twin Galaxies tracks Donkey Kong scores, but explained how transcendental meditation changed his life.Hey Billy, you listening?
