Unless you've been competing in a Starcraft lock-in all week, or living under a rock in the sub-Saharan desert somewhere, then you heard the news that Michael Jackson died yesterday in Los Angeles. As strange as the guy was in his later years, he made an indelible mark on the world of music which carried over into the world of gaming.

If you were an arcade rat back in 1990, then you probably spent time playing, or at least listening to Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, which featured the singer doing battle against baddies and rescuing children by performing dance moves and using "Dance Magic" powers, i.e. spinning around and screaming "HOOOO!". Yes, for real. The game featured simultaneous three-player action, and includes a robotic MJ that appears when Jackson meets up with Bubbles the Chimpanzee.

True story -- and there's more. Read on after the break for more about Moonwalker and a video clip of vintage arcade play, along with the other video games Jackson appeared in.

[Thanks for suggesting this, Judd and Niko]

27 years after the release of Data East's original, Namco Networks has declared BurgerTime once again. BurgerTime Deluxe (not to be confused with the Game Boy game) recasts the arcade classic as a casual PC game, which primarily means replacing the arcade game's pixels with awful 3D models. Deluxe adds enemies like lemons and zucchini for some reason, includes minigames, and replaces the repetitive BurgerTime music with equally repetitive, but less catchy, music. Oh, and Peter Pepper talks to you all the time.

It still mostly plays like Burgertime, which is the only reason Data East hasn't risen from its grave in the form of a zombie Karnov and destroyed the world with fireballs. You can try it yourself for free for one hour (Burgertime Deluxe, that is, not destroying the world as a zombie Karnov).

And now for a bit of BurgerTime trivia: Data East released two arcade sequels to BurgerTime, called Peter Pepper's Ice Cream Factory and Super BurgerTime.

Want to make your game system or computer less convenient, but infinitely more awesome? X-Arcade has announced that "in celebration of its hometown Pittsburgh Penguins recent Stanley Cup Victory," it is offering a version of its X-Arcade Mame Cabinet for $799, down from its usual $999. That's a great deal (relative to the normal cost)!

The cabinet includes a 2-player X-Arcade stick, though if you're crazy enough to buy this kind of stuff, you'll probably want to swap out your own Sanwa sticks and buttons. You'll need to provide your own game system or PC, your own monitor (or add one for $425), and your own speakers, unless you use a TV with speakers. Of course, with your all-Rush mixtape, you won't even need arcade audio.

[Via Arcade Junkies]

This week, Japan gets two arcade games -- both of which have titles starting with the letter G, and both of which are already available on Virtual Console as ports. Galaga '88, Namco's cute, brightly colored, fireworks-filled sequel to Galaga, is definitely something we'd consider double-dipping for. Both the arcade version and the TG16 port (Galaga '90) are great, and the port includes a bit of extra content. And is it okay to like Golden Axe? Because we like Golden Axe.

On the WiiWare front, Hudson launches its second downloadable FPS for the Wii. Unfortunately, it's the dire-looking Water Warfare.

Virtual Console:

• Galaga '88 (Arcade, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
• Golden Axe (Arcade, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)

WiiWare:

• Bang Bang Kids (1-2 players offline, 2-8 online, 800 Wii Points)

The Xbox 360 Arcade pack just got a bit more useful. The mysterious 512MB Arcade unit seen yesterday is real! Microsoft confirmed to Eurogamer that it has doubled the memory on the "Jasper" motherboard of the hard-drive-free system. However, of course, not all of that space will be available to the owner: "The Xbox 360 system software uses some of the included 512MB memory;" Microsoft's statement reads. "Less storage will be available to users."

The on-board storage was originally introduced to house the New Xbox Experience upgrade. According to Microsoft, this extra storage doesn't portend any new functionality: "We want to offer consumers a bit more memory at the same low price so they can enjoy more experiences on Xbox LIVE."

Space Harrier (Arcade, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)
We say: Way superior to the Sega Genesis port; fun on-rails shmup
Virtual Console-savvy readers likely remember this video for Space Harrier. Well, that's the bunk Sega Master System version (fun as it may be), and this week, the real deal arcade version arrives. It's superior in just about every way to the Sega Master System version already on the service (including price, sadly). So, if you're going to drop that $8 you earned from mowing lawns and shaving pets on Space Harrier, make sure it's the superior arcade version here.

Konami has released a new trailer of its coin-op Metal Gear Online spinoff Metal Gear Arcade, showing us not only gameplay footage, but a few shots of the sit-down arcade cabinet that houses the game, including one shot of four cabinets connected. The machine uses a 3D display combined with 3D glasses for what the trailer calls "Integral Vision."

See the trailer after the break. And to see Integral Vision for yourself -- kinda -- check our gallery for a few 3D stereograms of the game. You're free to print them out and look at them through a stereoscope, or make animated Wiggle Vision images out of them.

[Via GameSetWatch]

It's a little known fact that here at Joystiq we have a pretty extensive collection of coins, both big and small. It's a source of pride, but even so we're just as eager as you are to empty our piggy banks in the name of Hideo Kojima and his mysterious Metal Gear Arcade. The project was one of E3's most enigmatic announcements, with few details offered to accompany our baffled looks and gaping maws.

Now some news about the game comes from Famitsu's latest issue -- but you might want to sit down for this. No really, as the mag reports that Metal Gear Arcade will be played sitting down while wearing 3D glasses and using a "special controller that allows for separate movement and viewpoint controls." The game will also support both solo and 16-player co-op matches. It sounds like we'll be trading these quarters for yen when Metal Gear Arcade targets Japanese arcades later this year.

One of Konami's pre-Guitar Hero arcade music games may be on its way to the US, according to a trademark found by Superannuation. On May 20th, Konami filed a US trademark for the name "pop'n music" for use in video games.

Pop'n Music is an extremely cutesy music game that uses a series of nine large buttons as its input; players hit those buttons in response to falling notes in nine columns. Its colorful graphics and big buttons betray its origin as a "casual play" music game, however, like all Bemani games, Pop'n Music has become ridiculously difficult over the years.

If the game does come out as an arcade or console release in North America, Konami will have dozens of games' worth of songs to choose from. Which probably won't matter, as music games rely entirely on licensed popular music now. Oh, well. After the break, check out an appropriately insane Pop'n video.

[Via Superannuation]

Don't feel left out, Wii and DS fans. While Sega satisfied 360, PS3 and PC fans' curiosities with details and screenshots of Aliens Vs Predator, the company has also announced a new title to be released late this year for both the DS and Wii: Jambo! Safari. The game is actually a remake of an ancient Sega arcade title, with "modern graphics and deeper gameplay, suited to today's Nintendo consumers."

These new features include customizable characters and vehicles which you'll use to run your safari park and aid distressed animals. The DS version has been completely reworked with the stylus in mind and the Wii version will feature lasso gameplay which makes full use of the Wii Remote. There are also two-player co-op elements and four-player party games. Expect to hear more about this game soon.

We've known for a good while now that Billy Mitchell's arch enemy, Steve Wiebe (our hero!), would be competing for another Donkey Kong world record at E3. What we didn't know was that Stride Gum would be investing $10,001 in quarters -- and a year's supply of "the world's longest lasting gum" -- if the star of King of Kong can accomplish the task.

The official statement from Stride says, "Reward will be paid provided Wiebe successfully beats Billy Mitchell's current record of 1,050,200 during a single game of Donkey Kong at E3 2009." We'll be there, cheering him on and giving Walter Day high fives in the background. If we see a kill screen, we'll be sure to tell everyone that we possibly can within the immediate vicinity. Would you expect any less?

In a continued attempt to put its classic, excavatory arcade game Dig Dug on every piece of consumer electronics known to man, Namco recently tossed the title into the infinite expanse known as the iPhone/iPod Touch App Store. This particular version, titled Dig Dug REMIX, features 256 levels, as well as the titular Remix mode, which adds a few power-ups and some high octane Trance beats to the standard game (probably). It's on the App Store right now for $5.99 -- perhaps that seems a tad costly, but hey, that's inflation for you.

We are really sorry about that one.

Games have come a long way since joystick jockeys first spent hours dropping quarters into Space Invaders. Now on the heels of Space Invaders Extreme's XBLA debut, series' creator Tomohiro Nishikado has spoken out on the state of games today, observing that originality has suffered despite advances in technology.

"I think the focus on unique concepts and gameplay has waned with the evolution of technology," commented Nishikado in a recent interview. While the iconic game designer praised new tech for allowing developers to create most anything they can imagine, he called out the industry for churning out "replicated gameplay formats and concepts," adding that "people are growing tired of playing the same thing." We'd be hard pressed to argue the point, though with games like Noby Noby Boy and Rhythm Heaven (a game Nishikado calls "excellent"), we still think there is a spark of originality out there. What about you?

After spending some quality time perusing the classic arcade collection amassed by the FunSpot and the American Classic Arcade Museum, we had a chance to speak with one of the museum's founders, Gary Vincent.

An employee at FunSpot since the '80s, Gary was instrumental in creating an environment where classic arcade machines were preserved for future generations. Sitting next to the mini-golf course that helped to launch FunSpot in the early 1950s, we discussed the origins of the museum, how technology has both helped and hurt the arcade scene and the process of bringing a classic back to life.

New Hampshire may be synonymous with annual biker rallies and kick starting Presidential primaries, but in our industry it's known as the mecca for classic video games. FunSpot, home of the American Classic Arcade Museum, sits comfortably near Laconia, New Hampshire, a small town that welcomes families looking for a wholesome adventure away from home -- and droves of gaming enthusiasts, of course.

The American Classic Arcade Museum is a non-profit organization committed to the promotion and preservation of coin-operated games and their associated history. The museum acts as the first floor to the three-storey mecca called FunSpot, established in 1952 by Bob Lawton and named "Largest Arcade in the World" by Guinness World Records in 2008. We recently had an opportunity to tour the giant complex, which sports a bingo hall, mini-golf, 20 lanes of 10-pin bowling, and over 300 arcade machines ranging from the first coin-op to modern day Daytona racers.

Check out the highlights of our visit after the break, and make it a point to stop by the place if you're ever in Laconia. It's the only safe way to travel back in time.