14 DAY TRIAL // Could Sony be preparing Michael Jackson-themed videogames for the PlayStation 3 and the PSP in the near future? Rob Stringer, who is the chairman of the Columbia Epic division of Sony, was quoted as saying that “There may be theater. There may be films and movies. There may be computer games.”
The remark comes after Sony entered a huge deal with the Michael Jackson Estate, worth more than 200 million dollars, which allows the company to use both released and unreleased material created by the pop star in a variety of medium, including, apparently, videogames.
Of course, the big possibility is that Michael Jackson's music, both the already known albums and the tracks not released at the moment, will be featured in a music game, something likes Sony's own SingStar. A special edition of the title might be dedicated to the pop star and downloadable content could be delivered through the PlayStation Network.
Sony also plans to launch the PlayStation Move motion tracking system during the fall and if its capabilities are integrated with SingStar, then players could actually complete complex performances similar to Michael Jackson’s, dancing at the same time as singing his hits.
The famous artist already has a videogame to his name. During 1989 and 1990, SEGA put out a number of versions of Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, a game based upon the movie of the same name in which the rising pop star (at that time) was trying out his acting fortune.
The plot sees Michael on a quest to save a group of children who have been abducted by Mr. Big. The idea behind the videogame, which arrived both on arcade machines and on home consoles and the PC, was to enact several music videos created for the singer in the form of videogame levels with the music playing in the background.