Michael Jackson in video games
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(October 2012) |
There are at least ninevideo gamesthatMichael Jacksonhascomposed musicfor or are directly related to him.Segawas thedeveloperfor at least six of them: thearcadeandMega Drive/Genesisversions ofMichael Jackson's Moonwalker,Michael Jackson in Scramble Trainingfor arcades,Sonic the Hedgehog 3for the Mega Drive/Genesis, andSpace Channel 5andSpace Channel 5: Part 2for theDreamcast.The other three were produced by other companies:Moonwalkerforhome computersbyU.S. Gold,Michael Jackson: The ExperiencebyUbisoft,andPlanet Michaelby SEE Virtual Worlds.
Michael Jackson's Moonwalker
[edit]Michael Jackson's Moonwalkeris a franchise for severalvideo gamesbased on thefilm of the same namecreated bySega(forarcadesand theMega Drive/Genesis) andU.S. Gold(forhome computers) in1989and1990that incorporate the personage of and were co-developed by Jackson himself. The arcade version, home video games and home computer versions all differ in terms of gameplay, but the story and concept remain constant. The story, which is taken from theMoonwalkerfilm, follows Michael, using various music and dance related abilities, on a quest to save kidnapped children from the hands of the evil "Mr. Big". The games incorporated synthesized versions of the musician's hits, such as "Beat It"and"Smooth Criminal".The games have now achieved cult status[1]and are remembered for being a memorable point in Jackson's change to a different stage persona from "Thriller",to"Bad".
The game's development dates back to 1988, when Michael Jackson contacted Sega about developing a video game that would capture his persona. Sega and Jackson then began working on anarcade video gamebased on hisMoonwalkerfilm and "Smooth Criminal"music videoreleased that year. TheMoonwalkerarcade game was eventually introduced in 1990.[2]
Other Sega games
[edit]Michael Jackson in Scramble Training
[edit]Michael Jackson in Scramble Trainingis alaserdisc video gamereleased for arcades in 1993, running on Sega'sAS-1motion simulatorcabinet. It was aninteractive filmride featuringpre-rendered3D computer graphicsand allowed up to eight players to interact with the game. Michael Jackson providedvoice actingand occasionally appeared in live-actionfull-motion video(FMV) sequences, while some of his music was also used.[3][4][5]
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
[edit]Michael Jackson was allegedly involved in the music production ofSonic the Hedgehog 3.Conflicting accounts arose as to why he left the project, including the1993 child sexual abuse accusationsagainst him, or that he was unhappy with the sound quality of the Genesis which was generally considered inferior toSuper Nintendo Entertainment Systemand other competing game consoles of the time period. On June 23, 2022, former Sonic Team leader Yuji Naka confirmed that Michael's songs were in the released game.[6]Jackson was never officially credited within the game.[7]
Space Channel 5andSpace Channel 5: Part 2
[edit]InSpace Channel 5and its sequelSpace Channel 5: Part 2,Jackson appears as a fictional character named Space Michael (スペースマイケル, Supēsu Maikeru), whose likeness and voice is provided by Jackson.[8]In both games, Michael speaks in English, which is subtitled into Japanese in the Japanese version.
In the firstSpace Channel 5Michael uses his singing skills against a singing robot and joins Ulala in the fight against Purge after she rescues him from the Rhythm Rogues. Originally meant to be a one-time cameo appearance, Jackson had a more prominent role inSpace Channel 5: Part 2,where he became the new head of Space Channel 5. Whilst Ulala is distracted by a fake scoop, the headquarters are attacked, and Space Michael is kidnapped by Purge and the Rhythm Rogues. Ulala rescues him in a level featuring several of Michael's signature dance moves. He then joins Ulala in a confrontation against Purge.
The May 2007 issue ofEGMcontains a quote from series creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi concerning Jackson's involvement:
"We were in the middle of production ofSpace Channel 5,in 1998 or 1999. I got a call from the U.S. from my partner - the executive producer ofSpace Channel 5- and he said, 'Oh, Michael wants to act inSpace Channel 5.' I said, 'Who's Michael?' 'Who is Michael Jackson?' he said, 'TheMichael Jackson - therealMichael Jackson.'
My partner had shown him the 60-to-70 percent complete version, when it was almost at the end of the game. We had one month to finalize. But Michael wanted to do something, so we suggested that if he was OK with it, we could program the people in the game to do the Michael Jackson dance when taken over by aliens. he said 'yeah.' We initially had five aliens who danced. One of them became Michael Jackson. ",[9]
Michael Jackson: The Experience
[edit]Michael Jackson: The Experienceis amusic video gamebased on Jackson's music and songs. It was developed and published byUbisoftand Triumph International (subsidiary by The Michael Jackson Company LLC), and was released on November 23, 2010 for theWii,Nintendo DS,andPlayStation Portable.[10][11]Later it was released on other platforms:Xbox 360(compatible withKinect),PlayStation 3(compatible withPlayStation Move),Nintendo 3DS,PlayStation VitaandiOS.The game features many of Michael Jackson's hits, such as "Bad","Beat It","Smooth Criminal"and"Billie Jean".
Planet Michael
[edit]Planet Michaelwas a plannedMMORPGbased on Jackson's music. It was being developed by SEE MJ Virtual Worlds (The Michael Jackson Company LLC and SEE Entertainment) and was originally scheduled for release in 2011, but was eventually canceled.Planet Michaelwas to be based within theEntropia Universe.
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
[edit]Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2is a boxing game for the Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, PlayStation 2 (a North American launch title for the system), and Game Boy Advance. Michael Jackson is one of a number of celebrity characters unlockable through gameplay.
References
[edit]- ^"Remembering Michael Jackson's video game legacy".
- ^"News Digest –" Moonwalking "With Sega: Hot New 3-Player Video Coming Soon".RePlay.Vol. 15, no. 11. August 1990. p. 18.
- ^Horowitz, Ken (21 October 2016).Playing at the Next Level: A History of American Sega Games.McFarland & Company.p. 122.ISBN978-0-7864-9994-6.
- ^"Sega's Wild Ride".Wired.April 1993.Retrieved4 September2021.
- ^Williams, Leah J. (2 June 2021)."New Reports Have Everyone Fired Up For A Sega World Return".Kotaku Australia.Retrieved4 September2021.
- ^McWhertor, Michael (2022-06-23)."Michael Jackson Sonic urban legend finally put to rest by Sonic Origins".Polygon.Retrieved2022-07-07.
- ^Horowitz, Ken (2009-05-19)."Sega Legends: Michael Jackson & Sonic 3".Sega-16.Retrieved2009-12-17.
- ^"How Michael Jackson Willed His Way Into Sega's Space Channel 5".Siliconera.2012-02-28.Retrieved2021-08-18.
- ^Michael Donahue, "Forced Guests: Cameos that make us sceam 'Yessss!'" inElectronic Gaming Monthly226 (March 2008): 34.
- ^"Game will let you sing, dance like Michael Jackson".CNN.
- ^"Pop & Hiss".Los Angeles Times.
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