King of Kong now King of Cons

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Billy Mitchell, an arcade virtuoso whose symphonies with the joystick once won him the title "Video Game Player of the Century," has been cast down from the heights of the high score lists. The organization that tracks video game world records announced Thursday that it is removing his records and banning him from future leaderboards.

Twin Galaxies has concluded — after an investigation lasting more than two months — that Mitchell set some of his best-known records on improperly modified software, not the original, unmodified arcade games mandated under the organization's rules.

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But at the same time, we've got some news for viewers who haven't tuned in to the cutthroat world of competitive Donkey Kong since the film's release: Both titans have been tossed from the top tier, like so many barrels loosed from the arms of an angry ape. The AV Club noted in February, at the time the claim was filed, that neither man was even in the top 10 of Twin Galaxies' expert skill index, and Wiebe occupies a still-respectable 13th on the list as of this writing.

Mitchell's name is already nowhere to be found.

And it appears this ruling has already begun to affect Mitchell's other coin-op wonders, including his perfect score in Pac-Man in 1999 — once recognized by Guinness World Records as the first ever recorded — and his highest score in the game.

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