We’ve got a defamation lawsuit coming up if anybody wants to watch. The Tiger King of video games errr notable arcade gamer Billy Mitchell is suing internet game scoreboard, Twin Galaxies. Back in 2018, Twin Galaxies banned and stripped Mitchell of his scores after an extensive investigation resolved that he achieved his Donkey Kong record on non-original hardware. Mitchell is now suing for defamation in an effort to have his high scores reinstated.
I don’t think this lawsuit is just about a high score. With that score came fame, money, credibility, etc. Now that all of these things were taken away from him, he feels he was wronged and will try to untarnished his name in a court of law. A great deal of his personal worth is based upon holding those records, the hot sauce business isn’t THAT hot, and his sauce isn’t particularly spectacular. It is fairly obvious, that there is something funny going on with the way Mitchell achieved his records. He depended on a friendly official at Twin Galaxies to allow him levity others clearly would not have been allowed or had their scores accepted. And when placed under the microscope, the “images and artifacts” seen in Mitchell’s video score submissions did not hold up to reasonable scrutiny.
As a fact, he did use an emulator rather than a legitimate arcade machine. An arcade machine and emulator have different ways of processing the code which can lead to subtly different games. At a normal level of play, these differences are so minor as to be unnoticeable, but when you’re competing over one to two point differences, they are enough to make it a big deal. He didn’t use real arcade hardware, it doesn’t count. It doesn’t matter that he didn’t “cheat” per se, just that it is not real Coke.
If Twin Galaxies wants to get rid of his high scores, that’s fine, and perfectly understandable. To ban him for life, though, in bird culture, that is considered a dick move. I would say that he at least deserves a chance to get those scores back legitimately. Make him use a proper cabinet and surround him with people who will ensure everything is on the up and up.
The King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters is one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen. The self-seriousness on such a patently non-serious issue is just PERFECT. Billy Mitchell ranks as one of my top ten villains in movie history and the recent legal action reinforces the narrative of film. He’s slimy, underhanded, and deceptive when it comes to competition with his rivals, but he’s still trying maintain this good public-facing image by doing things like propping up the importance of live competition and helping a charming old lady take her place on Q-Bert worldwide leaderboards. I really think all of this is just setting the stage for King of Kong 2. The world needs a Billy Mitchell produced documentary of his rise from the pixelated ashes of the Phoenix to reclaim his gilded Donkey Kong throne. Forget all that, Justice for Wiebe.
-Dagobot
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