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What the 2007 photographs appear to show
In a February 3, 2023 report, Ars Technica’s Kyle Orland described photographs David Race had made public the previous month. The pictures came from the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers’ “80s Arcade Night” in July 2007, where Mitchell claimed a score of 1,050,200 points. Twin Galaxies recognized the performance as a record at the time. Ars Technica’s report and photographs show a cabinet with a tall joystick topped by a red ball; the report contrasts it with the short joystick and black ball it says original upright Donkey Kong cabinets were shipped with.
That visible difference matters because testimony in Mitchell’s case described the event machine as original. Ars reported that former Twin Galaxies referee Todd Rogers testified it was “an original Nintendo Donkey Kong Arcade machine as I have known since 1981.” The photographs appear inconsistent with that description of the control, but an image of a cabinet at the event does not independently identify the machine on which the scored play occurred.
How the joystick fits into the larger score dispute
The joystick photos concern the appearance of a cabinet at a live event. The broader dispute also involved separate technical claims about video recordings. The 2021 California Court of Appeal opinion identified three scores at issue:
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| Score | Date | Label used in the opinion |
|---|---|---|
| 1,047,200 | December 28, 2004 | “King of Kong score” |
| 1,050,200 | July 14, 2007 | “Mortgage Brokers score” |
| 1,062,800 | July 31, 2010 | “Boomers score” |
As recounted by the court, Twin Galaxies’ 2018 decision found that the King of Kong and Mortgage Brokers tapes were not produced by direct-feed output from an unmodified original arcade printed circuit board (PCB). It said it lacked enough direct evidence to make a definitive determination about the Boomers performance. Mitchell disputed the allegations and offered witness declarations and other evidence about the live performances and hardware.
The court was considering an anti-SLAPP motion, not deciding after trial whether the scores were legitimate or whether cheating occurred. It expressly did not weigh the credibility or comparative strength of the competing evidence. The opinion describes the procedural stage and allegations; it is not a trial finding resolving the factual dispute. Read the California Court of Appeal opinion.
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What happened to the lawsuit and score listings
Mitchell and Twin Galaxies settled the defamation lawsuit in January 2024, before trial. The settlement was not a court determination that the photographs proved cheating or that the scores were valid. Ars Technica reported that Twin Galaxies subsequently placed Mitchell’s scores in “The Original TG Historical Database,” a legacy snapshot, while they remained absent from its current Donkey Kong scores page.
Those are different listing contexts: a historical archive and the current scores page. Neither status, on its own, resolves the underlying dispute. Mitchell said after the settlement, “I am relieved and satisfied to reach this resolution after an almost six-year ordeal and look forward to pursuing my unfinished business elsewhere,” and added, “Never Surrender.” Ars Technica reported the settlement and listing status.
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