Late pop star Michael Jackson’s impact on the world of gaming has been well documented, and more about the singer’s ties to Japanese publisherSegahave been unearthed thanks to an extremely unlikely flea market find. In the early 1990s, Jackson collaborated withSegaon an arcade title and motion simulator ride for use in their now mostly-defunct Sega World arcades. Essentially a twelve-minute cheesy sci-fi FMV sequence featuring the King of Pop, it’s an oddball piece of lost media that may thrill dedicated Sega aficionados.
Jackson was known to have been a gamer, and he actually appeared in numerous Sega-published video games like 1999’sSpace Channel 5and 1990’sMichael Jackson’s Moonwalker. Fans also suspected that he had some kind of involvement in the development of some of the earlySonic the Hedgehoggames. In June of this year, creatorYuji Naka quasi-confirmed Jackson’s involvement withSonic the Hedgehog 3. However, Jackson’s appearance in this once-lost arcade title represents a very different approach.
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Known asMichael Jackson in Scramble Training, this FMV sequence was intended for use as an arcade title and as a motion simulator movie that would have played in Sega’s once-numerous Sega World arcade locations. Unfortunately,Sega left the arcade business entirely in early 2022after five full decades in the industry, and all that had survived ofMichael Jackson in Scramble Trainingwas a grainy, incomplete recording of an arcade screen.
Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of one stalwart collector, the entirety of Michael Jackson’s off-the-wall interstellar adventure can be enjoyed on YouTube. Featuring voice acting from the King of Pop himself intercut with full FMV appearances, it’s the kind of thing that would have been right at home on the Sega CD next toNight TrapandCorpse Killer. Plus, given that Jackson’s most recent—and, in all likelihood, final—video game appearance was the 2011Just DancederivativeMichael Jackson: The Experience, this feels like a much more appropriate way to remember the singer’s contributions to gaming.
It’s been a weird year for Sega fans; the Blue Blur re-established himself as a titan of the silver screen, andSonic Frontiersdivided the fanbase while original character creatorYuji Naka was arrested and charged with insider trading. Though a playable ROM of the non-motion simulator version of the game has yet to be discovered, it’s nice to see the year conclude on a nostalgic note with the unexpected return of the wonderfully weirdMichael Jackson in Scramble Training.
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