[OrangeMango]

Is there any reason to believe that cheating is something that started recently? Is there any reason to believe that the ROM loaded on every single original Donkey Kong cabinet is exactly the same? Is there any reason to believe that the components on every single original Donkey Kong cabinet perform the same?

If you look at the sports world you have, more or less, the acceptance that cheating happens, the components change, training regimens change, etc. Professional baseball has comprehensive statistics dating back to the 1860s and the result is that people have divided the sport into eras, and when you compare players in different eras you don't look at the stats alone, you compare how they performed relative to their peers, etc.

A "high score" list that ignores the reality of change is worthless.

[mingw__]

Is there any reason to believe that cheating is something that started recently?

No, and no one involved has suggested this.

Is there any reason to believe that the ROM loaded on every single original Donkey Kong cabinet is exactly the same?

Yes, unless otherwise documented by MAME.

Is there any reason to believe that the components on every single original Donkey Kong cabinet perform the same?

Yes, based on literally thousands of hours of video footage.

[OrangeMango]

> Yes, based on literally thousands of hours of video footage.

Well that's fantastic! Probabilities can be established for all sorts of in-game occurrences and the probability of this dude's game being legit or not.

Not only that, but the gamer ability can then be separated from the randomness of the game on any particular play! Are all the high scores the result of aberrations in the game, or because the player is just that great???

[jccalhoun]

If I recall correctly from King of Kong, for at least some people they do inspect the machines to see if they are original. There are tons of rom hacks and modded machines.

I recall in the documentary that they came to inspect Steve Weibe's machine (I think there was controversy because they just came in to his garage and started looking without asking first and they didn't seem to give Billy the same scrutiny.)