EEG News

Game Music Symphony Selling Out

It's funny, this story is about five years old -- but video games have just gone mainstream recently, so we can't get too worked up about the old guard missing out.

The symphony, which is playing music from the Final Fantasy series, is apparently selling out its performances, according to this article.

It's not surprising, though. When I was at Wired News, I wrote a few stories about the tens of thousands of people who purchased the soundtracks from this game in particular -- and games in general. I even befriended some of the folks who helped game musicians get their work considered for the Grammys.

Then, a few years ago -- I was just reliving this moment with the public relations woman who helped set this up -- I had the opportunity to talk with Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) and John Carmack (Doom) about creating not only ambient sounds for video games, but also cohesive soundtracks that are made up of thousands of tiny clips which can be played in random order.

The point, since I'm rambling, is this: well-crafted game music takes a horrific amount of time and thought -- and the idea that people may pay to see it only makes sense because of the craftsmanship involved.

Sounding the Alarm -- Game Sound Quality Slagging

The Adrenaline Vault has a piece -- it's a little old at this point having been published in June -- that touches on the reduced role of high-quality audio in video games, which is surprising to me since game companies are actively recruiting music and soundtracks from music studios.

In fact, a few years ago -- after spending a few days at Skywalker Ranch -- I wrote a story for Wired News about the increased emphasis of sound quality in games -- both in terms of ambient sounds and soundtracks.

And every year at SXSW, I speak with game companies that are continually looking to partner with record labels.

But this piece raises an interesting point about the internal hardware for PCs -- which is the root cause, according to this author, of the sound problems:

"Part of the explanation might be that although there’s fierce competition between two companies in the computer video realm (nVidia and ATI), in the PC sound board market, Creative Labs has a virtual monopoly, due at least in part to aggressive techniques such as lawsuits or buyouts to take care of most potential competitors."

Rockin' With the GameBoyzz

Here is why technologists believe that putting restrictions on how people use gadgets and gizmos is a bad thing.

A Polish group called the gameboyzz orchestra project uses the Nintendo Game Boy mobile device to create music – or something akin to it.

"The aim of the Gameboyzz Orchestra Project is to create irony in the electronic music scene with our low tech hardware and relatively simple software in a world dominated by ever more advanced digital music processing and creation technologies."

My favorite part of the site – the info section, which is divided into levels, complete with high scores. You really just have to see it.

Music In Games

For the last two years, I've participated on the Music In Games panel at the SXSW Music festival in Austin, Texas. My message has been the same each year: indie rock bands should be calling video game companies, offering to score interactive entertainment and give their tracks away to anyone who is interested.

The reason: digital citizens will reward bands with loyalty and sales, and give musicians a fighting chance to make some money off sales, build their own careers, and avoid the pitfalls of major labels and Clear Channel. It's not a glamorous life, but digital media has now given any artist more options.

Each year, there are dozens of folks who stay after the panel, offering up their business cards, and asking for help. It's crossed my mind to start a consulting business (and my lawyer buddy Duff doesn't understand why I don't), but there's a better solution.

Check out Psychobaby, a music label that popped up last week at the Austin Game Conference.

Listen, these guys could be completely bonkers. I don't know a thing about them – but they put out a VIDEO GAME MUSIC SAMPLER disk at the conference with 17 tracks that are either in video games now, or available for use in games.

AT&T & Blizzard Strike Gaming Deal

AT&T is teaming up with Blizzard Entertainment to deliver a high-quality broadband experience for the World of Warcraft massively multiplayer game set to debut later this year.

"As we prepare to launch our first massively multiplayer online game, we know that secure, fast and reliable hosting services are essential to support the World of Warcraft community and satisfy the expectations of online gamers," Paul Sams, Blizzard's senior vice president of business operations, said in a written release.

"This hosting solution will deliver the speed, reliability and security that we and our multiplayer audience have come to expect from Blizzard games."

Blizzard, in fact, has built its company around offering secure – and free – playing environments at Battle.net for its multiplayer games. It's a very compelling strategy, and one that could likely lead to big partnerships with broadband providers striving to differentiate themselves from competitors.

With broadband providers desperately searching for content for walled-garden home pages that can only be accessed by subscribers and steroid-driven services to convince people to upgrade, Battle.net taps directly into the highly sought after market of 18-34 males.

However, the play space isn't just for finding games. It's also the central hub of the Blizzard community, where fans are encouraged to post in forum chats, upload art renderings from game, and read the latest news about Blizzard.

Oakenfold Joins EA's Bad Bond Cast

DJ Paul Oakenfold has signed on to produce the original score for Electronic Arts' latest James Bond title, Goldeneye: Rogue Agent, one of the most original 007 game in years.

Oakenfold joins Christopher Lee, who plays the baddie from The Man With the Golden Gun Francisco Scaramanga, and Judi Dench, who reprises her role as M. Not every character was lucky enough to get a big Hollywood star. Bond villains Xenia Onatopp, Oddjob, and Dr. No will simply appear in the game as digital avatars.

What makes the game special is that players will actually get a chance to see first hand the underworld Bond battles.

GoldenEye: Rogue Agent goes where no previous James Bond game has dared to tread, giving players the chance to cross over to the dark side of the Bond universe to experience life as a high-rolling, cold-hearted villain.

Players encounter such legendary allies and enemies as Oddjob, Dr. No, Goldfinger, Scaramanga, Xenia Onatopp, and Pussy Galore on globe-spanning missions of vengeance and demolition.

Playstation's New Musical Score

Slashdot has an interesting post today about Sony's Playstation 2 DJBox system, which has only been released in Japan.

As Slashdot points out, there is a movie link at the bottom of the page that launches a slick Windows Media Video commercial trailer that walks viewers through the functionality of the entire system. It's definitely worth a view, particularly for those who believe that these game consoles are poised to become the central component of every home entertainment system.

One of the coolest features, though, is the ability to virtually cut and scratch albums, using turntable avatars powered by the PS2 controller.

Game Sounds Album Released

A new album hit the stores that includes breaks and sounds from classic video games, according to this GameGirlAdvance post. Yosumi Records is set to release Video Game Breaks:

THE BIGGEST COLLECTION OF VIDEO GAME SOUND EFFECTS & BREAKS ON RECORD!!! Containing Sounds & themes from classic Video Games like Spy Hunter, Ms. Pacman, Galaga, Zelda, Metroid, Defender, Double Dribble, Rygar, Mr. Do, Popeye, Qbert & future classics like NBA 2K2, Soul Caliber, Tomb Raider, Crazy Taxi. & many more...

This album wouldn't be complete without Sounds from Street Fighter 2, & Mortal Kombat. All essential sounds from "Hadoken" & "Sonic Boom" to "Finish him" & "Fatality"

As a bonus we included Hot Instrumentals Like "Super Brooklyn" & "Hellbound" & 2 new Exclusives. We even included sounds from AOL. This break collection will not disappoint.

Final Fantasy, The Concert

The Final Fantasy series has influenced the way video games look and sound over the last two decades. Its cinematic anime look and classically scored soundtracks have helped push the vidgame industry forward.

The music is so popular that Square Enix, the company behind the game, releases the soundtracks as seperate products, which are quickly gobbled up by fanatic players. And, like any successful music property, once the CDs start selling, a concert tour won't be far behind.

On Wednesday, Square Enix issues a press release that announced the first ever live U.S. performance of this music during the popular Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Square Enix U.S.A., Inc...will present the first FINAL FANTASY® symphony concert in the U.S. on Monday, May 10, 2004, at the prestigious Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Calif. The performance will feature music from Square Enix’s world-renowned FINAL FANTASY video game series, performed by the acclaimed Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.