Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert’s review of The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters gave the film three out of four stars but criticized how few people actually cared about arcade gaming and the absurdity of intensity adults give to video games meant for children or teens. Ebert comments, “This isn’t fun for these men. A world championship is at stake, and only gradually do we realize how very few people give a damn.” The review focuses on the two rivals and describes them as if in preparation for a boxing match. I’m not convinced by Ebert’s argument that video games aren’t meant for adults or to be played religiously since today’s popularity of video games rivals and sometimes surpass sales of Hollywood films with titles like Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, and Pokemon selling millions of copies while gaining billions of dollars in revenue. Ebert keeps referring to other sports though in describing the conflict between Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell. For instance, Ebert references the streak Barry Bonds set in Major League Baseball (MLB) while defeating former record holder Hank Aaron in comparing Wiebe’s struggle to beat Mitchell’s record. The two instances both involve grown men competing for a title, one in which is baseball and the other in which uses videogames in a sports-like way.