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The former “King of Kong” Billy Mitchell is officially firing back at video game leaderboards website Twin Galaxies for stripping him of his world record high scores in the arcade version of Donkey Kong. Mitchell made a name for himself due to his expert play of the Nintendo classic back in the ’80s, and again rose to prominence in 2007 with the release of the documentary King of Kong. Mitchell is practically synonymous with Donkey Kong at this point, making his ejection from the record books quite notable when it occurred.
The controversy arose in 2018 when TwinGalaxies launched an investigation into Mitchell’s high scores alleging that he did not obtain them using authentic Donkey Kong arcade circuitboards. Twin Galaxies holds that Mitchell used emulattion software called MAME to achieve the feat, which the website believes delegitimizes Mitchell’s achievements. Two high scores were ultimately removed, with Guinness World Records announcing it would also be removing Mitchell’s accomplishments from its records as a result of the investigation.
According to an Ars Technica report, Mitchell filed a lawsuit in April of 2019 accusing Twin Galaxies of libel for its actions. Mitchell says that by declaring his records null, the site has at the very least implied he is a “cheater.” Twin Galaxies for its part claims that it has made no such assertion and that it was simply offering its opinion regarding the veracity of Mitchell’s scores. “The site’s statements regarding Mitchell weren’t legally defamatory” is the basis for Twin Galaxies’ move to have the case thrown out, also citing that “public participation” would be an unfair factor in any trial.
It’s a fascinating lawsuit, which you can read more about at the link below. In the meanwhile, we’ll continue to report on the battle between Mitchell and Twin Galaxies as the story develops. Let us know what you think in the comments and on social media!
Source: Ars Technica
