And that reason comes in the form of none other than Segata Sanshiro, the mascot of the Sega Saturn. The guy is epic, even video games couldn't produce something like him. Just look.
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Japanese ads can be quirky, but not many touch on the level of surreal 'I can't believe they went there' gimmicks.
This explains how Japan proceeded to the stage of the World Cup that they did in 2002.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jUzI...ata%20sanshiro
This explains why Japanese people play video games more than they play sports. And I will tell you from first hand experience, Japanese high school kids are really into their extra curricular after school sports.
Trust Japan to send the opposite message to the rest of the world. Sports are for losers, play games.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0F9A...ata%20sanshiro
And this is how Akuma performs his raging demon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obLni...ata%20sanshiro
The evidence is pretty clear. Segata Sanshiro is crazy awesome. What do we think?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joNwYPdEBTc