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RIP, Moonwalker

The King of Pop passes at age 50.

And thus comes a (temporary, at least) end to nearly 30 years of Michael Jackson jokes. TMZ is reporting that Michael Jackson has died after suffering cardiac arrest earlier today. As weird and sordid as his life story became, Thriller will remain a significant piece of pop music perfection to me, and there's never been a hint of irony in my assertion that Michael Jackson's Moonwalker is one of my favorite games for the Sega Genesis, or any console. His impact on music and pop culture in general cannot be understated.


UPDATE:
TMZ, and by extention, myself may have jumped the gun on this one. I know this ain't exactly hardcore video-game news, but stay tuned for confirmation...
UPDATE #2: OK, there's confirmation from the LA Times and CNN . That's gonna do it, folks.
UPDATE #3: I'm not going to suggest that anyone ignore the fact that the past 15 years or so of MJ's life have been defined by controversy, inexplicable behavior, and some pretty damning testimonials about his potentially unsavory tastes, but arguing about it on the internet doesn't seem terribly productive. Instead, I hope we can all find common ground in the fact that there's no shortage of evidence that I'm an idiot.
 

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Ninjakid7396

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Edited By Ninjakid7396

A sad day for all of music RIP

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AllanIceman

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Edited By AllanIceman

I never thought hearing Classic Michael Jackson on the radio could actually make me sad.  RIP The King of Pop.

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CL60

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Edited By CL60

It's all just his opening for a Thriller tour.

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RandomHero666

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Edited By RandomHero666
@regularassmilk said:
" All the people who are saying "Blam I'm glad that pedophile is dead blam blam blam", have some respect for the dead, let alone a huge pop culture icon. One of the greatest entertainers ever. He was never proven to have molested those kids anyway. "
As much as i like Michael Jackson's music and even his quirky ways.
He fails as a human being, destroying his body with surgery, bleaching his skin and generally having no self respect.
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TheFreeMan

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Edited By TheFreeMan
@RandomHero666 said:
"bleaching his skin"
Didn't he have a disease which fucked up his skin?
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RandomHero666

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Edited By RandomHero666
@TheFreeMan said:
" @RandomHero666 said:
"bleaching his skin"
Didn't he have a disease which fucked up his skin? "
Possibly, but the disease he claims to have affects only patches, so he should only have patches of wpaler skin.
And his kids are white.. i guess the post mortem & blood tests will prove.
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Black_Rose

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Edited By Black_Rose

Now we just have to wait for the obvious South Park episode where the kids go to heaven/hell and meet him.

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Kyle

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Edited By Kyle

I don't understand why everyone is sad. The Michael Jackson you knew and loved died YEARS AGO!!!

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George_Hukas

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Edited By George_Hukas
@Kyle said:
" I don't understand why everyone is sad. The Michael Jackson you knew and loved died YEARS AGO!!! "
Exactly..
The man was a heroin addict and he killed himself. I love this "accidental death" business. I'd be suicidal too if I was $500 million in debt.

And don't tell me to respect the dead. I respect him as a musician but that's where it stops. People think because he was successful at one point in his life it nullifies his poor decisions.
You should be mad at everyone around him who supposedly "cared", his assistants, doctors etc. but didn't want to jeopardize their access or paychecks.

Its okay if you don't agree, you may just be seduced by celebrity narcissism.
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darthincredible25

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Even though I am not a pop music fan, I can say that he was the best in the music industry and the standard for entertainment. He will be missed and his later life should not be that last thing we remember about him.

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Starsimon

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Edited By Starsimon

That Sega Genesis game looks wicked

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Starsimon

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Edited By Starsimon

+ R.I.P MJ

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jakob187

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Edited By jakob187

Dood, between Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson, the celebrity deaths have been CRAZY!!!


Sad to hear that MJ is no longer with us.  Yeah, the dood had his controversy (although I personally believe that anyone who had custody of his kids and also wrote Thriller and Bad couldn't be a child molester), but he wrote some fantastic fucking albums, and watching him dance was basically mesmerizing.

A sad loss for an industry that needs more dedicated artists to their craft.  He'll be missed.

The big question I have is what's gonna happen with his kids.  Given that they were living a nomadic life, now they'll have to go to their mothers and basically stay put in one place.  It'll be odd and sad for them.  Moreover, on my way to work today, I actually thought about "man, I can't imagine how Tito, Janet, LaToya, and the rest of the Jackson crew feel right now".  I mean, MJ was IMMORTAL, man!!!

Well, it just means that he's going to rise from the grave with an army of the undead to slay us all with killer dance moves!!!  I'll be waiting.  = D
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Civraz

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Edited By Civraz

I didn't believe it. I've been listening to MJ basically non stop since i got home from work yesterday. It's terrible. He was a musical genius, not to mention EXTREMELY talented...

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MichaelBach

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Edited By MichaelBach

RIP

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jakob187

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Edited By jakob187
@RandomHero666 said:
" @TheFreeMan said:
" @RandomHero666 said:
"bleaching his skin"
Didn't he have a disease which fucked up his skin? "
Possibly, but the disease he claims to have affects only patches, so he should only have patches of wpaler skin.
And his kids are white.. i guess the post mortem & blood tests will prove."
He had non-segmentational vitiligo.  Segmentational affects patches of skin, while non-segmentational can go further.  That's how he met one of his wives.  Either way, he did end up bleaching his skin as one point in order for all his skin to be the same color.
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clintlandon

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Edited By clintlandon

Anybody notice that Xbox Live put up the Thriller Music Video for free in honor of Jackson? I thought that was pretty cool of them.

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MrKlorox

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Edited By MrKlorox

He truly was the King of Pop, just as Elvis was the King of Rock. Thriller (Jacko?) truly is the new Elvis.

Speaking of one-word nicknames, what will Michael Jackson's be? Thriller? Jacko? Vitiligo?

Either way, Jackson will remain evidence for reason to continue genetic disease research just as the bones of Joseph Merrick (aka the Elephant Man) he bought. Things seem so symbolic in retrospect.

(Sorry if I come off as a dick, that is not my intention.)

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CallMeRotten

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Edited By CallMeRotten

Hah Ryan's "smoove" vocals for Billie Jean weren't too bad.

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Wolverine

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Edited By Wolverine
@clintlandon: Thanks for letting us know. I'm going to download it right now.
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MrKlorox

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Edited By MrKlorox

He truly was the King of Pop. Much like Elvis was the King of Rock .. I guess that's why he married Elvis's daughter. What will Jackson's one-word name be? Thriller? Jacko? Vitiligo?

Regardless, Jackson will remain an example for the support of genetic disease research... much Like Joseph Merrick's (the Elephant Man) bones are; which Jackson owned. Things seem pretty symbolic in hindsight. I wonder who gets The Beatles rights now?

Ah well, here's a tribute: Death's Symbolic. Excuse the audio quality.

  
(I'm not trying to be a dick... just offering my two cents, which may rightfully be perceived as dickish)


I don't mean to dwell
But I can't help myself
When I feel the vibe
And taste a memory
Of a time in life
When years seemed to stand still

I close my eyes
And sink within myself
Relive the gift of precious memories
In need of a fix called innocence

When did it begin?
The change to come was undetectable
The open wounds expose the importance of
Our innocence
A high that can never be bought or sold

Chorus:
Symbolic acts - so vivid
Yet at the same time
Were invisible

Savor what you feel and what you see
Things that may not seem important now
But may be tomorrow

Do you remember when
Things seemed so eternal?
Heroes were so real...
Their magic frozen in time
The only way to learn
Is be aware and hold on tight

I close my eyes
And sink within myself
Relive the gift of precious memories
In need of a fix called innocence

When did it begin?
The change to come was undetectable
The open wounds expose the importance of
Our innocence
A high that can never be bought or sold

(chorus)

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slinky6

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Edited By slinky6
  
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MrKlorox

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Edited By MrKlorox
@slinky6: You know how much talent a songwriter has by how many curse words he can rhyme. But yeah, as stated before, the Michael Jackson we prefer to remember died a LONG time ago.
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NoDeath

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Edited By NoDeath
@slinky6 said:
"
  
"
Damn, you beat to posting it! Its quite true though
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corgorav

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Edited By corgorav

Im not a fan of his but I definitely respect his memory as the king of pop. Also, I feel sorry for him, for what he had to endure in his later years but still admire how well he seemed to take it in some of the interviews, public shots etc.

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slinky6

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@MrKlorox said:
" @slinky6: You know how much talent a songwriter has by how many curse words he can rhyme. But yeah, as stated before, the Michael Jackson we prefer to remember died a LONG time ago. "
his talent is in how funny and true his song is.   people who had previously bashed jackson at every opportunity possible are now calling him a legend.   I never gave a fuck about michael jackson and I still don't.
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Kou_Leifoh

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Edited By Kou_Leifoh
  
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Black_Rose

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Edited By Black_Rose

Sorry for bumping this thread but I found something that might be worth to look at for Jackson's fans and I didn't want to do a whole thread or blog for this.

This video made me cry like three times, it's so bizarre yet so beautiful, especially the music.

  

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deactivated-60339640361ae

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If something should be posted on a gaming site it should the the most awesome Michael Quest http://www.darkintellect.com/altron/mf/

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DarkGamerOO7

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Edited By DarkGamerOO7

So I was on GameSpot Forums when the I entered the Michael Jackson is Dead thread and found this:

Then a few days ago on Youtube I found thisvideo:

I know the Youtube video is more or less  just a coincidence but still freaky but what about the Michael Jackson one? isn't that a tad...to specific to be a coincidence?

Seriously though what da hell?

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Aquinas

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Edited By Aquinas

All questions about his personal life aside, (keeping that to myself to avoid getting caught up in all the trolling going on in here) he was a musical talent likes of which we are only able to see and hear once every fifty years or so at best.  It's his music that he will be remembered the most for.  RIP, MJ.  You were a big part of why the 80's were so awesome for me.

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Black_Rose

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Edited By Black_Rose
@DarkGamerOO7 said: Dude...that's creepy D:

Also...Death Note exists...confirmed.
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Wolverine

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Edited By Wolverine
@DarkGamerOO7 said:
" So I was on GameSpot Forums when the I entered the Michael Jackson is Dead thread and found this:

Then a few days ago on Youtube I found thisvideo:I know the Youtube video is more or less  just a coincidence but still freaky but what about the Michael Jackson one? isn't that a tad...to specific to be a coincidence?Seriously though what da hell? "
Both of those links are pretty freaky.
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bcrt2000

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Edited By bcrt2000

Surprised I haven't seen any mention (at least not in the last 5 pages) of MJ's involvement in writing the Sonic 3 soundtrack. SEGA claims all of his music was dropped completely during the late stages of development (when the molestation allegations came out), but many of MJ's production team is still credited and quite a few tracks bare a strong resemblance (not just in terms of sound but chord progression) including one that was released a few years after Sonic 3 came out. Digital samples were dumped from the ROM and at least 3 of them are directly from released MJ songs. When certain team members are asked they deny it, others say no comment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbVM-l2Oku4

http://sonicresearch.org/basement/?p=mj_s3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNGAJXL5q0E

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bluemanrule

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Edited By bluemanrule

This is the saddest thing I've heard this year.  He was my musical idol and I will definitely miss him.

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TwoOneFive

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Edited By TwoOneFive

damn, what a dick move on SEGA's behalf to drop excellent music simply because someone was accusing him of something. 

they clearly werent thinking right. 


Jacksons kids are now apparently the owners of around 200 un published Jackson songs- damn that guy could right- and so i can't wait to hear them for years to come long after his passing. 
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bcrt2000

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Edited By bcrt2000
@TwoOneFive said:
" damn, what a dick move on SEGA's behalf to drop excellent music simply because someone was accusing him of something. 
they clearly werent thinking right. 


Jacksons kids are now apparently the owners of around 200 un published Jackson songs- damn that guy could right- and so i can't wait to hear them for years to come long after his passing. 
"
SEGA officially dropped MJ but all signs point to his music being in there still. The PC version of the Sonic Collection is where they changed around 6 songs, all of which were rumoured to be by MJ, but since then all releases have not replaced those songs. Even recently Naka-san didn't deny it (said he'd tell all when the time was right) and SEGA's condolence statement hints at it too.
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Wolverine

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Edited By Wolverine
@Black_Rose: Wow that was sure one quality video.
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CrazedJoker

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Edited By CrazedJoker

RIH (Rest In Hell.) Moonwalker (Child Molester.) I do like Smooth Criminal though!

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smaddeys

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Edited By smaddeys

YOU ARE THE KING OF MUSIC, YOU WILL BE MISSED, PRAYER TO FAMILY AND KIDS

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mike

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Edited By mike

I hear that since Michael Jackson's autopsy revealed such a high plastic content, they're going to melt him down and make some Lego blocks out of his body so little kids can play with him for a change.

Too soon?

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Keyser_Soze

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Edited By Keyser_Soze
@MB said:
" I hear that since Michael Jackson's autopsy revealed such a high plastic content, they're going to melt him down and make some Lego blocks out of his body so little kids can play with him for a change.Too soon? "
Fuck yo couch.
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RedSox8933

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Edited By RedSox8933
@MB said:
" I hear that since Michael Jackson's autopsy revealed such a high plastic content, they're going to melt him down and make some Lego blocks out of his body so little kids can play with him for a change.Too soon? "
Yeah, WAAAY too soon.