Hank Chien Sets New Donkey Kong World Record

by Michael Small | March 10, 2010 at 01:29 pm

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35-Year-Old Hank Chien Sets New Donkey Kong World Record

The world record score for the arcade game Donkey Kong has been beaten by 35-year-old Hank Chien, a plastic surgeon based out of Queens.

It took Chen just 2 and a half hours to rack up the 1,061,700 points needed to upset the previous record of 1,050,200.

New York City's own Hank Chien, a 35-year-old plastic surgeon based in Queens has just been crowned the Lord of the Barrels -- having just set a new world record in the classic arcade game Donkey Kong.

Chien's score, 1,061,700 points racked up in just 2 hours and 35 minutes was verified by Twin Galaxies, the official keepers of DK records since 1981

King of Kong

Chien started playing Donkey Kong after watching the 2007 documentary The King of Kong, which featured two of the top Donkey Kong players competing for the world record. In the documentary, rivals Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell are shown competing in the highly competitive world of Donkey Kong. At the end of the film, Wiebe set a world record, which Mitchell later beat.

New world-record holder Chien says he played for a little over a year before beating the record, saying he advanced quickly and that helpful hints from professional players aided him.

He also said his skills as a plastic surgeon aided him, saying that the hand eye coordination needed for his profession was a benefit, although he was quick to add that good video game players don't necessarily make good surgeons.