Retro-gaming record-breaker, hot-sauce magnate, patriotic necktie connoisseur... and now coin-op entrepreneur. Is there anything Billy Mitchell cannot do? Well, sure: Mitchell, longtime holder of the world record for the high score on Donkey Kong, can't catch a break from fans of Seth Gordon's 2007 documentary, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. But the movie's Mitchell would rather be rich than be loved ? explaining his new Kong-themed video arcade in the Orlando International Airport.

Gordon's movie, the best film ever made about videogames, cast Billy Mitchell as a preening scumbag, manipulatively protecting the record from loveable sad-sack Steve Wiebe. Mitchell's�argued�that the documentary misrepresents him, playing up his villainy and exaggerating the antipathy between himself and Wiebe. However, decorating his new arcade with King of Kong regalia shows a measure of reconciliation with the role Gordon has cast him in ? provided it'll move quarters.

This video tour of the King of Kong arcade may surprise many: the joint has a decidedly new-school flavor, with dedicated cabinets like Terminator: Salvation taking precedence over absent old-school titles like Pac-Man or (ahem) Donkey Kong. Still, if there's two things Kong stresses in the Billy Mitchell character, it's his reluctance to offer others a stab at his records (the Kong title is currently held by rival Hank Chien) ? and his willingness to hew to a profitable bottom line.

Source: via Arcade Heroes

Feb 11, 2011