High scores in video games are a big deal. I’m not talking getting your initials on the screen at your local arcade – I mean globally recognized and recorded scores. Just look at all the gaming leagues around now and it’s easy to see it can be big business. But even back in the day there was some glory to be had being one of the few to get the highest high score in a chosen arcade game. And last week, one of the kings lost his crown. 

If you follow video game news you’ve probably heard about this already. Billy Mitchell, holder of the highest Donkey Kong score ever and one of the few to play a perfect game of Pac Man, was stripped of his place in the record books. Twin Galaxies, the organization that records high scores on classic arcade games, determined that Mitchell had used an emulator to play Donkey Kong and not original arcade hardware, as required by their rules. Following that lead, Guinness World Records removed Mitchell from their high score listings, as they used Twin Galaxies as their confirmation.

Mitchell has stated that he will soon prove everything was done “by the books”. But the fact remains that he did get the high scores – he’s not being accused of cheating in that regard, at least. All things considered, dropping him from leaderboards on a technicality shouldn’t be a big deal. But it gives his place in gaming history a black mark that’s going to be difficult to erase.