In a move that is sure to please fan’s of competitive speed running, Nintendo of America has tapped former Donkey Kong world champion Steve Wiebe to promote Lego’s new “Donkey Kong” arcade cabinet.
You are not alone there, Steve 🫣#LEGODonkeyKong #LEGO pic.twitter.com/8Qg1r720EX
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) July 23, 2026
In a 90-second advertisement posted across social media, we see Steve walking around his house like he’s on an A24 set having scary memories of his time training to conquer Donkey Kong’s high score challenge. While time has vindicated his struggle, especially with the fall of Billy Mitchell’s DK legacy, it seems Steve still has some bad memories from his time playing. At the same time, the ad ends with Steve proclaiming that he’d do it all over again because of his love for the game. Donkey Kong’s allure is too strong to resist.
If you’re out of the loop, Steve Wiebe came into public consciousness thanks to the 2007 documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. After losing his job in the early 00s, Wiebe would purchase a Donkey Kong arcade cabinet and chronicle his journey to breaking the then-current world record high score. In 2003, he would send a tape to former gaming authority Twin Galaxies with a score of 947,200. A few months later, Wiebe became the first player to surpass the one million point mark on Donkey Kong. However, the story didn’t end there. Former champion Billy Mitchell challenged Wiebe’s achievement, sparking one of the most well-known and controversial rivalries in competitive gaming history. Years later, Mitchell’s record-setting scores were removed from the Twin Galaxies leaderboards following an investigation into how they were achieved, though Mitchell has continued to dispute those findings and has successfully challenged some related claims through legal action. The controversy remains one of the defining chapters in the history of competitive Donkey Kong.
Anyway, this new commercial is remarkable for the simple fact that Nintendo got Wiebe to promote it after years of controversy. While Wiebe would later break Mitchell’s disputed score legitimately, he’s mostly been quiet in the intervening years. With Nintendo putting him in this commercial, it shows that they recognize not only integrity, but the power of struggle that video games can push us through. Wiebe’s story is commendable, and it’s nice to see it recognized here, even if it’s for a commercial product.
Anyway, the Lego DK set will be available on August 1, 2026, for a price of $199.99. It features 1,367 pieces, and is apparently a mostly functional game of Donkey Kong. Pre-orders are open right now at Amazon and LEGO.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
