By: Matt Klinman
Did Katy Perry Steal Her Halftime Show From This Sega Game?
We all loved Katy Perry ‘s halftime show, but some viewers couldn ‘t help but notice the similarities between Katy ‘s visual aesthetic and the polygon-rich video games of the early ’90s like Virtua Fighter, Virtua Racer, and Virtua Cop.
Perhaps Katy didn ‘t think anyone would notice, but she seems to have ripped off her entire show from a little-known video game for the Sega Genesis 32X from 1994 called Virtua Tiger. Take a look.
The game features familiar fighting-game mechanics and state-of-the-art graphics for the time. In it you play as a Tiger fighting for his life in a fighting tournament. Your first opponent? A sea of orbs. Look familiar?
The similarities don ‘t end there. After you paw the balls away, guess who Virtua Tiger faces off against next? Yep, a bunch of chess pieces, exactly like what happened in Katy Perry ‘s supposedly original halftime spectacular
Now, sure, this could be a coincidence. All these ideas seem to make sense for what Katy Perry would do during an all-stops-pulled-out Super Bowl halftime megashow ‘ but remember how Lenny Kravitz joined Katy Petty for no reason to sing “I Kissed A Girl?” Well check out this level of the game.
While it may have made no sense for Kravitz to join Perry during the Super Bowl, it made perfect sense for Kravitz to rock out with Virtua Tiger. The release of Virtua Tiger in 1994 coincided with the promotion of Kravitz ‘s third album, Are You Gonna Go My Way. In the game, Virtua Tiger head bangs to the tune and then is expected to maul as many fans as he can by the end of Kravitz ‘s blistering guitar solo.
That ‘s right, Katy Perry is a complete fraud. Everything she did she owes to a CGI video-game tiger in 1994. And what is most appalling is that she thought she could get away with it. Well not on our watch. Katy Perry, YOU HAVE BEEN CAUGHT AND DEEMED A FRAUD!
Unlike Katy Perry ‘s halftime show, Virtua Tiger was not a success. Many critics blasted the games graphics, saying, “the tiger looks more like a lion.” But that doesn ‘t mean Perry shouldn ‘t be held accountable for what she has stolen.
We are hopeful that she will apologize and maybe, 22 years later, the amazing game Virtua Tiger will finally get its due.
