10 Video Games That Were MASSIVE Jokes

7. I'm Sorry

pyst gaming
SEGA

One of the benefits of living in a functional democracy is that you can develop a video game satirising the actual president's embroilment in a corruption scandal, and not wake up with your head missing.

It was precisely this sort of political freedom which led to SEGA's 1985 arcade hit, I'm Sorry, surely the first game in which you play as a living politician (the title is itself a pun on the Japanese word sōri, meaning 'prime minister').

The player assumes the role of disgraced former Japanese PM Kakuei Tanaka, whose indictment in the Lockheed bribery scandal led to his complete political downfall prior to the game's release. The aim is to gather as many gold bars as possible - a not-so subtle dig at Tanaka's avarice - whilst avoiding bizarre enemies including Madonna, Giant Baba, and Michael Jackson (making this effectively the first of Sega's loose MJ 'trilogy').

Capturing both the public spirit and the enduring craze for Pac-man like maze games, I'm Sorry was something of a success as a tabletop coin-op in bars across Japan. Oddly, it was localised for the US market, but when time came for SEGA to pick a new North American mascot a few years later, they went with Sonic rather than a shamed Japanese politician.

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Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.