Billy Mitchell is Banned

[R.Cade]

You guys don't understand "cult of personality". I've seen it many times, it defies logic and explanation, but it's real.

[+save2600]

[Flojomojo]

He looks like one of those sleazy car dealers you'd see on television during the Late Late Movie.

 

mitchell_suit.jpg

 

I think he looks like a televangelist, especially with that flock of people around him. Redneckify Joe Butcher and you get Billy.

 

He's a parody of himself, like Hasselhoff without the looks, Shatner without the wit, West without the charm.

 

I'll be straight with you guys (and gals)... there's really only three people I've ever looked up to as an idol or role model or whatever you want to call it. The first two are Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson, and the third is Billy Mitchell. ...

 

Larger-than-life legends that little people lacking in self-confidence can look up to and draw inspiration from, so maybe one day they might be great too.

 

Carl Sagan was a great communicator of science. Neil Degrasse Tyson is, too. If you're gonna look to celebrities as "idol or role model or whatever you want to call it," I think you could do a whole lot better than Billy Mitchell. There are plenty of self-confident people in the public eye that don't have his kind of baggage. He's a salesman, and what he's selling is himself. If he inspired something good in you, that's great, but I suspect that happened in spite of his character, not because of it.

[+frankodragon]

 

I think he looks like a televangelist, especially with that flock of people around him. Redneckify Joe Butcher and you get Billy.

 

 

Kind of like WWE's Brotherly Love without the red face and glasses.

 

[Great Hierophant]

The old Twin Galaxies had all the hallmarks of an old-boy's net. Cliquish, tolerant of double standards, unwelcoming toward newcomers, flawed judging and verification methods and increasingly falling behind the times.

[CPUWIZ]

A.) I have never visited the site.

B.) If people wouldn't constantly talk about this guy, I would have never known him.* So, thanks for that, another face I don't want to see.

C.) Kardashian syndrome.

 

* Actually, Namco brought him to Tokyo Gameshow, whilst I was working there and I had no clue who that was.

[+x=usr(1536)]

You guys don't understand "cult of personality". I've seen it many times, it defies logic and explanation, but it's real.

 

Just call him Supreme Leader and you'll be OK. Anything else and you'll be dragged out of your house and shot in the street.

[MotoRacer]

 

Just call him Supreme Leader and you'll be OK. Anything else and you'll be dragged out of your house and shot in the street.

 

The Supreme Leader...... is dead!

 

Long live the Supreme Leader.

[BassGuitari]

 

Living Colour is a great band!

[mbd30]

A.) I have never visited the site.

B.) If people wouldn't constantly talk about this guy, I would have never known him.* So, thanks for that, another face I don't want to see.

C.) Kardashian syndrome.

 

* Actually, Namco brought him to Tokyo Gameshow, whilst I was working there and I had no clue who that was.

 

I knew who he was because of King of Kong.

[pacman000]

Heard of him from his perfect Pac-Man game. Disappointed that's being ignored, since most seem to agree it was legit.

 

On a side note, does anyone have a news article from when Billy Mitchel got that score? There used to be a link to Twin Galaxie's official press release in DMOZ, but the press release was taken off line years ago. I'd like to find it & add it. Already added a new article about his ban:

https://curlie.org/Games/Video_Games/Action/P/Pac-Man_Games/

[Andromeda Stardust]

I don't see why Twin Galaxies should be involved in eSports (modern software) in any capacity. Companies whose games are predominantly played in competition should have someone or a small team on payroll to over see goings on to ensure nothing is amiss. Would be part of marketing.

Arcade scores and esports aren't quite the same thing. Esports is like a tennis match or soccer game where teams or individuals go head to head. Doesn't matter if it's 1 vs 1 fighter or team red vs team blue fps deal. Humans compete directly against humans, and typically most tournaments have some sort of elimination bracket or round robin, just like an olympic event would.

 

Arcade/console high score runs, as well as speed runs are literally human vs machine. So while there is competition in a sense as far as leaderboards go, the human players are never truly competing directly against one another. Generally it's less of a spectator sport and more of an endurance test for the competitor. Speed runs can be entertaining to watch, but many high score runs are long and boring.

 

I wish speedrunning and score attacks could be under the same umbrella. Currently there's speed demos archive for live speedruns, tas movies for emulator recorded speedruns, and twin galaxies for high score records. I've never really seen too many tas score attacks (fastest 999999 in tetris doesn't count) but I think a tas score attack on donkey kong would be entertaining just to see how far the envelope can be pushed with luck manipulation, basically making fireballs and barrels bow to jumpman's will.

[atarilovesyou]

I'll be straight with you guys (and gals)... there's really only three people I've ever looked up to as an idol or role model or whatever you want to call it. The first two are Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson, and the third is Billy Mitchell. Throughout this whole accusation process I've been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, because in spite of his portrayal as the villian in King of Kong he's actually a darn nice guy and I've always found him to be something of an inspiration.

 

He's got this larger-than-life persona that, while slightly intimidating, just exudes greatness and self-confidence. To some people that may make him seem like a bit of a dick, but I've always wished that I could be that cool, collected, and self-confident whenever I've gone into a high score competition. And watching Billy Mitchell play and listening to his presentations on competitive classic gaming taught me a few things, namely to always "Believe that you can do it" and "Never give up", as he would say.

 

I took his messages to heart and as of last month I just hit 50 world record high scores on HighScore.com. I know they're unofficial records and nothing as prestigious as holding a Twin Galaxies of Guinness world record, but they still mean something to me and I'm not sure I would have had the guts to even try if it wasn't for Billy Mitchell's inspiration.

 

So yeah... maybe he cheated somewhere along the line or maybe he didn't and this is all one big witch hunt, but I'd still like to think the best of him and I appreciate all the inspiration he gave me. If he truly did no wrong then I'm glad to see him out there at conventions defending his integrity, and regardless of how this all turns out I still think that the world needs people like Billy Mitchell in it. Larger-than-life legends that little people lacking in self-confidence can look up to and draw inspiration from, so maybe one day they might be great too.

Jin, you're better than Billy Mitchell. You don't need, nor have ever needed a guy like him for inspiration...there are just so many more people out there to choose from. You don't have to sacrifice integrity for anything, and Billy's tactics were never necessary to win. You've got all you need within yourself.

 

On a side note, kudos for Sagan!...I don't think Tyson could hold his calculator, but that's just me. It's just my opinion of course, but I always loved Sagan's calm approach. He was the same on Cosmos as he was in interviews. Not so with Tyson, whom I find gives off an elitist type of arrogance at times. That was never the case with Sagan. I wish he were still here!

Edited April 20, 2018 by atarilovesyou