If You Wanna Spice Up Your Life, All You Need is a PS1.
Last week, I broke open the vault of pop culture meets old school gems when I did a small piece on the Elvira, Mistress of the Dark computer game series. Now, I’m about to introduce you to one of the most unnecessary but anthem inducing titles of 1998. Stop right there and say hello to one of the biggest girl groups in musical history and their addition to the world of video games.
It’s OK if you weren’t alive or aware of your surroundings in the late 90’s. That’s absolutely one of the best things about being a gaymer – almost every story and every mass-produced console is available online or at your local used video game store. While Final Fantasy VII, Donkey Kong Country and Super Mario 64 were dominating the market, one adventure went largely unnoticed by the public and fell into obscurity.
I’m talking about Spice World: The Video Game. Oh, yes. You read that correctly – the five piece British girl group received their own video game adaption at the peak of their success; right before Geri Halliwell aka Ginger Spice vacated the band. If I remember correctly, the Spice Girls were so huge, in fact, that they also were the recipients of their own brand of lollipops. Their game was largely marketed at the emerging female gamer demographic, but for every gay man out there, this was a guilty must-have.
The goal of Spice World: The Video Game is to prepare the Spice Girls for a massive, live televised performance. You get to play as whichever character – Scary, Sporty, Baby, Ginger or Posh – strikes your fancy and you are in charge of the whole gig; from song selection and lyric choice to choreography and camera angles. At the end of your mission, your game produces the performance and you get to watch what you created.
Instead of cut scenes, players are rewarded with behind-the-scenes footage of the girls in action and previous interviews with the press. And just in case you were wondering, yes, Mel B., Mel C., Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell and Victoria Beckham lent their voices and likenesses to this game.
I can’t find any positive reviews of Spice World: The Video Game and I don’t think it sold well based on PS1 standards at the time. Luckily, the Spice Girls probably didn’t notice it burning a hole in their wallets. Between 1996 and 2000, the women sold over 40,000,000 albums worldwide spawned by nine #1 singles in the UK and numerous top tens in other countries.
Recently, the Spice Girls came together for a thirteen city reunion tour and rumor has it they sold out every single show.
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