DECATHLETE

FORMAT Saturn ■ DEVELOPER Sega ■

YEAR 1996 ■

ORIGIN Japan ■ LOCALISED FOR USA ■ REASONS Cultural, Commercial ■

■ It’s fair to say that while it was a very enjoyable game, the arcade version of Decathlete failed to account for racism. While the Jamaican representative Femi Kadiena was broadly fine, the British athlete was a collection of stereotypes – a black man with exaggerated lips, a huge afro and a specialism in throwing events such as the javelin. Worst of all, he was named Robin Banks, a pun suggesting a criminal activity. It was clear that this couldn’t stand and he was renamed Jef Jansens for the home Japanese and European release, titled Athlete Kings. Sega Of America felt that this measure didn’t go far enough, and that it’d be better to cut him from the game altogether – leaving this version with only seven characters. Another character was cut from the North American release – the hidden character Mankichi Kazami. This Japanese athlete was the star of the manga series Decathlon, and thus a sensible tie-in for a game like Decathlete. With no recognition abroad, it wouldn’t have made sense for Sega to maintain the licence for international releases, and he was also cut from the European release.