Michael Jackson's Moonwalker - Legacy

Legacy

Jackson later would go on to have a cameo role in Sega's Space Channel 5 and Space Channel 5: Part 2 music/rhythm games for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. Jackson also appeared as a secret character in Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2.

The Jackson sprite is also an iconic part of web-culture, appearing in several Newgrounds animations and flash games, mostly the Mega Drive/Genesis version. The arcade version was used in one of VH1's I Love the '90s then-and-now commercials, showing the arcade Jackson sprite standing in front of the girl sprite, while she runs off screaming and a cage drops on Jackson and imprisons him.

In the June 2007 issue of Game Informer magazine, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker was number 8 on the "Top 10 Worst Licensed Game Ideas (ever)" in the Connect section but GameSpot added Moonwalker into the Hall of Greatest Games of all time.

Since Jackson's death, interest has grown in the game, and since the original ports of the game are so rare, brand-new sealed copies can run on auction websites as high as $13,999.99. The Sega Genesis runs on eBay as high as $72.50 new.

A week after Jackson's death, game developer David Perry revealed that he was working with the singer on a console title called Michael Jackson: The Experience. The Wii and Nintendo DS versions were released by Ubisoft in November 2010, and the Xbox 360, PS3, and PSP versions were released in April 2011.

The game has a PEGI rating for the Wii's Virtual Console, hinting that the game will eventually be released by Sega Europe on the Virtual Console. This will be the very first time the game has ever been ported out of its original systems. No versions have been confirmed, however, according to supported systems, it could either be for the Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System/Game Gear, arcade version or more than one of them.