Over the last several months, the saga of Billy Mitchell has taken many turns, such as most recently being accused of allegedly conspiring to send false tapes to Twin Galaxies. Many are tired of the ongoing issues and would rather Mitchell just go away, but there is more to the story that most do not realize. While Mitchell has allegedly cheated to get his scores, there is another part as well, and that is that people who legitimately achieved milestones in video games before have been forgotten and gone unacknowledged.
Cat DeSpira has been chronicling the past of gaming and has found numerous pieces of news from decades ago that discussed other gaming champions and competitions from before Mitchell and his friends’ rise. This seems to indicate that if Mitchell really did do what was alleged, it was not just making himself look good, but caused many legitimate feats to be lost to history. Much of gaming history has been buried sadly and there is a great effort to find more information about what actually happened in those days. A good example of this can be seen here, as was found through research using old newspapers for information.
The alleged actions of Mitchell also apply to those close to him like Todd Rogers and so on. It comes across almost like a movement to push people who earned victories out of the spotlight in order to get the attention on themselves. As seen in the King of Kong, Steve Wiebe, was denied his record due to actions that have since been declared to be inauthentic by many. How many others then, were denied their rightful place in gaming history due to the alleged actions of Mitchell and company. Many who are familiar with this era now feel that there are many untold stories that could be lost forever due to being pushed out of the spotlight. We know now that competitions existed before the time Twin Galaxies claimed they started, and mist competitions were not centered on games like Donkey Kong at all.
While many are frustrated Mitchell remains in the news, the fact is that those who were allegedly affected by him do deserve a chance to be known again. As mentioned, Cat DeSpira among others has been bringing light to this era of gaming and I would encourage you to check out her site here. In the end, it seems the saga is far from over for now, especially as Mitchell is still fighting with every chance he has. Perhaps one day the full truth will be brought to light, but that will take much effort.
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