It’s been over a year now since the king of pop passed away – doesn’t time fly? Despite this period of time, Ubisoft is keen to clarify some points on their upcoming game ‘Michael Jackon: The Experience’.
They are claiming that it is not a cash in, and that the game was well into development before Jackson’s death. UK marketing director for Ubisoft –  Murray Pannel – had the following to say;
“The truth is that we were engaged with Jackson and the Jackson family long before his death.
By all accounts he was very pro-actively looking for a partner that he felt could bring value – and Ubisoft seemed to fit the bill very well.
So this isn’t something that’s been jumped on since his death – we’ve been working on this, despite the fact that we announced it quite recently, for a long time.
It’s well advanced in terms of the formats it’s working on – we know how big he is, how loved he is by his fans and how successful he’s been as an artist. Hopefully we can bring that to millions more gamers as well.”
The game will be available for Kinect on for Xbox 360, PS3 Move, PSP, Wii and DS towards the end of the year.
Source: GI.biz
Quinlank
“So this isn’t something that’s been jumped on since his death – we’ve been working on this, despite the fact that we announced it quite recently, for a long time.”
Is there any info on when development actually started on this game yet? I’d certainly be interested to see how true this is.
For some reason all I can think of here is Sega’s words after MJ’s death when they were bombarded with requests to re-issue the Mega Drive Moonwalker game as a downloadable, where they basically said releasing a video game to cash in on someone dying is in poor taste. I just think that when even Sega are speaking against shameless cashing in, you know there’s something there to take heed of.
tonycawley
Development may well have started after his death, but that doesn’t mean anything. If they were planning the game with him and his team when he was alive, then all they’re doing is carrying on with their plan. Start of actual development doesn’t mean anything here does it?
AddictedAndy
I used to play that game in the Arcade, it was pretty awesome! I’d buy it if they released it
minerwilly
Well put Quinlank and Sega , im not a fan of Jacko’s music and for what its worth I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole “kids” thing was nothing more than some terrible people trying to blackmail him and cash in .
I know that if he had touched one of my kids i wouldnt have accepted an out of court settlement .i’d have wanted him locked up firstly so he was safe out of my way and secondly so the world would know just what he was.
Anyway i hope he has found peace , sad that he went so young and that people around him managed him so badly .
jikomanzoku
A theme park has gotta beat a puppy and a bag of sweets any day.
And though I would like to think I’d be in your camp, of seeking justice over compensation, a settlement to some families could completely change their lives without the stress of a court case.
Just offering up the flipside.
Oh and sega could have released it for free as an homage :)
gazzagb
Its not a ‘game’, its an ‘experience’ :P
I reckon it will get shocking reviews, yet people will still buy it.
bunimomike
Much like his music.
ProjectJAY
When was the last time you saw MJ’s music get a shocking review? Well, other than maybe Invincible but I thought it was good…
bunimomike
Damn. I’ve been rumbled!
Rob92
If it makes me dance like MJ then I’ll be happy :)
I had a go on Just Dance recently at a party and actually it was really fun. Yes I understand from a gamers point of view there isnt really much ‘to do’ but why cant a game just be fun?
If Just Dance 2 makes the hop to PS3 and Move, I may just get it.
Rocket_345
“If Just Dance 2 makes the hop to PS3 and Move, I may just get it.”
its safe to say i wont be joining you as i would never be able to get on my PS3 ever again
iAvernus
Allot of people will buy this, if it’s good or not. It’s a bit of a novelty to have something named after the “king of pop”…well IMO.
max3091
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! SURE IT’S NOT
Kovacs
Maybe it’s just the twisted fiend inside of me, but having the words “jumped on” and “death” in the same sentence just makes me feel a tad queasy.
Danza Di Fuoco
Sure….. aren’t Ubisoft cashing in on poor Wii/DS games thats no surprise then
Foxhound_Solid
Interesting to see what this game pans out to be, I mean Jacko was a Genius, so if he was directly involved with this it could be better than we all expect…probably wont be, but still, quite interesting….