Jim Scott
DNAinfo Senior Editor
MANHATTAN — The newest "King of Kong" is from Manhattan, but he would rather be breaking arcade records than swatting at planes atop the Empire State Building.
Hank Chien, 35, a Manhattan plastic surgeon, broke one of the most coveted records among classic arcade game players by setting a new world record for Donkey Kong.
"I have been pursuing this goal for quite some time, so it was very exciting for me to finally achieve it," Chien told the Examiner.
He posted 1,061,700 points in 2 hours, 35 minutes and reached the "kill screen", which doesn't allow the game to continue.
While Donkey Kong has been around since the early 80s, the prestige of the record reached new heights after the release of the documentary, "King of Kong: A Fist Full of Quarters" in 2007.
"The King of Kong piqued my interest in the game and after watching the documentary I started to play seriously in November 2008," Chien told the site.
The movie chronicled the quest of gamer Steve Wiebe's effort to break the record held by video game legend Billy Mitchell.
Chien's score topped the 1,050,200 points set by Mitchell at a live gaming event in Florida in July 2007. The record-breaking score was verified by the organization Twin Galaxies, which has been keeping track of gaming records since 1981.
Chien lives in Manhattan with his brother, who knows firsthand how dedicated he was to besting the elusive record.
"Mostly I'd like to thank my roommate/brother for putting up with the Donkey Kong machine that's occupying the majority of our living room in our tiny Manhattan apartment and blocking our balcony door," Chien told the Examiner.
Chien plans on pushing his Donkey Kong score up even higher before aiming for another gaming record.