Video game composers need to be worshipped in the west as well...

[Peter_20]

I understand that video games are accepted as a serious medium in Japan, and the same goes for video game music: people would pay to watch orchestras with Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda and company, and they're loved by pretty much everyone.
Meanwhile, many countries in the West refuse to accept video games in any shape or form, and the older generation tends to think of video game composers as dull nerds that lack talent, and only compose blip-sounds.

I've always found this very frustrating, and I look forward to the day when the Japanese composers actually are taken seriously; and their orchestras should be introduced as "video game music from Japan" so the prejudiced crowds know what they're listening to. :D

[edczxcvbnm]

Let me know when movie composers get that same sort of worship with concerts and stuff :P

[Renmiri]

You guys should have seen Uematsu and others get a standing ovation on a full concert hall here in Chicago last year. They were threated like rock stars :D

[Karellen]

I don't really know how much I blame symphony orchestras for choosing Beethoven and Strauss over video game background music.

[Hazzard]

You guys should have seen Uematsu and others get a standing ovation on a full concert hall here in Chicago last year. They were threated like rock stars :D

Coincidental enough, the Black Mages are basically rock stars...:p

[JKTrix]

Naturally, rock stars have guaranteed support in their hometown. Uematsu and FF are fortunately popular enough to be able to branch out into 'the west' and get some good recognition. There was a tour in the US in '05 called 'Dear Friends (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear_Friends:_Music_From_Final_Fantasy)' where they went to various cities performing music from Final Fantasy.

Today, there is "Video Games Live (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Games_Live)" which takes music from various video games (not limited to Japan) and performs them in concert.

That said, the culture is different in Japan. In entertainment, particularly in anime as far as I know, there are "live events" that feature the voice cast of the anime. These are pretty popular events (naturally based on the anime's popularity), so there is already the idea of 'if they like your stuff, they'll come out for it'.

In the US (and I know the OP is not from the US) they're starting to spread that. Not so much for anime outside of conventions, but for games. For the Xbox360 games Dead Rising and Lost Planet, Capcom's Keiji Inafune was in new york signing copies of the game. It's a far cry from a full blown Mega Man concert (Inafune created Mega Man as well), but closer to the real-life fanservice that those kinds of events are.

That's what it really boils down to, fanservice. If there are enough fans to warrant something like this happening and to continue supporting it, then it's more likely to happen. Korea can have huge Starcraft tournaments in national stadiums--where people pay decent amounts of money just to spectate in the stands--with fireworks and million dollar prizes and such like that, because Starcraft is freaking huge in Korea. To use Korea again, they can hire Yoko Kanno (who is Japan's best composer*, sorry Uematsu) to make music for their game (Ragnarok 2) and then fly her to Korea to have a huge concert, because Ragnarok is freaking huge (and Kanno is a freaking goddess). Sufficient fanbase is the key.

Right now, "Video Games Live" is a pretty major project. It is a worldwide thing, with the most recent performance being in London. From what I understand it's very successful. By incorporating several different games instead of just FF, they have a much wider fanbase to draw into their crowd. I wouldn't worry about adults 'not taking it seriously', they have their audience and it's obviously not all-inclusive.

*opinion, duh

[Sephex]

I was at the Dear Friends concert in Chicago in 2005. It was ****ing awesome.

[Old Manus]

I thought it was obvious. Nobuo Uematsu isn't as good as the likes of Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, etc. Besides, most video game music is designed to just be ambient background stuff, not grand symphonies. It generally doesn't go hand in hand with an orchestra.

[Vivisteiner]

^Yeah, I think he's better. Mainly because he is able to use modern equipment, which the likes of Mozart could never use.


Speaking of Mozart, Ive sung and played in a lot of his music, and I think its definitely overrated. Uematsu is better.

[Jessweeee♪]

I would die if someone were to come to Corpus Christi! I'd have to force my family to go, of course...well, my grandparents, at least n.n

[Heath]

I thought it was obvious. Nobuo Uematsu isn't as good as the likes of Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, etc. Besides, most video game music is designed to just be ambient background stuff, not grand symphonies. It generally doesn't go hand in hand with an orchestra.

I agree entirely. When I listen to music by Uematsu, Mitsuda or whomever, it's always in the background because that's what I see the music as. As pleasing to the ear and impressive as it is and despite the presence of grander tracks like FFVIII's The Oath (not a terribly great example, but first one off the topic of my head) and FFVII's Bombing Mission, which I have seen videos of performed live, it's generally background stuff. Compare listening to something like The Planets by Holst to computer game stuff; I think I'd be more inclined to go see a performance of the former, to be honest, as would most people.

Not to take anything away from the music because it's of a very high standard, I just don't think you can directly compare the music because a) it's written for a different purpose and b) composers like Mozart, Beethoven and the like are much more popular and loved by a wider audience than computer game music. While forums like this certainly show that there is a strong following for computer game music, it simply doesn't compare to that of classical compositions.

[Renmiri]

You guys should have seen Uematsu and others get a standing ovation on a full concert hall here in Chicago last year. They were threated like rock stars :D

Coincidental enough, the Black Mages are basically rock stars...:p


Naturally, rock stars have guaranteed support in their hometown. Uematsu and FF are fortunately popular enough to be able to branch out into 'the west' and get some good recognition. There was a tour in the US in '05 called 'Dear Friends (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear_Friends:_Music_From_Final_Fantasy)' where they went to various cities performing music from Final Fantasy.

Today, there is "Video Games Live (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Games_Live)" which takes music from various video games (not limited to Japan) and performs them in concert.

I was at the Dear Friends concert in Chicago in 2005. It was ****ing awesome.

Yeah I went to the first Video Games Live last year. It was called Play! at the time. It had FF, Mario. silent Hill, Shenmue and many other composers there. It was awesome!!


I would die if someone were to come to Corpus Christi! I'd have to force my family to go, of course...well, my grandparents, at least n.n

There weer many parents and grandparents with their kids on the audience, including myself. My kids loved it :love:

[Mirage]

I understand that video games are accepted as a serious medium in Japan, and the same goes for video game music: people would pay to watch orchestras with Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda and company, and they're loved by pretty much everyone.
Meanwhile, many countries in the West refuse to accept video games in any shape or form, and the older generation tends to think of video game composers as dull nerds that lack talent, and only compose blip-sounds.

I've always found this very frustrating, and I look forward to the day when the Japanese composers actually are taken seriously; and their orchestras should be introduced as "video game music from Japan" so the prejudiced crowds know what they're listening to. :D

The average japanese person lols at geeks just as much as in the 'west'.

[Slothy]

I thought it was obvious. Nobuo Uematsu isn't as good as the likes of Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, etc. Besides, most video game music is designed to just be ambient background stuff, not grand symphonies. It generally doesn't go hand in hand with an orchestra.

I agree entirely. When I listen to music by Uematsu, Mitsuda or whomever, it's always in the background because that's what I see the music as. As pleasing to the ear and impressive as it is and despite the presence of grander tracks like FFVIII's The Oath (not a terribly great example, but first one off the topic of my head) and FFVII's Bombing Mission, which I have seen videos of performed live, it's generally background stuff. Compare listening to something like The Planets by Holst to computer game stuff; I think I'd be more inclined to go see a performance of the former, to be honest, as would most people.

Not to take anything away from the music because it's of a very high standard, I just don't think you can directly compare the music because a) it's written for a different purpose and b) composers like Mozart, Beethoven and the like are much more popular and loved by a wider audience than computer game music. While forums like this certainly show that there is a strong following for computer game music, it simply doesn't compare to that of classical compositions.

I disagree with your comment on it just being background music. Personally, I find as much value in the tracks by themselves much of the time as I do in listening to them in the scenes they accompany. Yes these themes often have to be repeated often, and loop endlessly, but I think it's rather elitest to claim that that somehow makes them inferior. Many themes done by Uematsu, Jeremy Soule, and other video game composers can convey as much emotion and feeling, and stand on their own as well as any "traditional" composition.

Frankly, to say that one is superior to the other is just plain ignorant. It's music, and more importantly, music created for a different purpose than what the likes of Mozart or Beethoven did. You can't say Uematsu and the like aren't as good, when they obviously create great music. Music is subjective, and more importantly, you do a disservice to people like these who sometimes literally compose more than 100 songs per game, of greater variation in style and feel than most people could manage.

[Heath]

I disagree with your comment on it just being background music. Personally, I find as much value in the tracks by themselves much of the time as I do in listening to them in the scenes they accompany. Yes these themes often have to be repeated often, and loop endlessly, but I think it's rather elitest to claim that that somehow makes them inferior. Many themes done by Uematsu, Jeremy Soule, and other video game composers can convey as much emotion and feeling, and stand on their own as well as any "traditional" composition.

Frankly, to say that one is superior to the other is just plain ignorant. It's music, and more importantly, music created for a different purpose than what the likes of Mozart or Beethoven did. You can't say Uematsu and the like aren't as good, when they obviously create great music. Music is subjective, and more importantly, you do a disservice to people like these who sometimes literally compose more than 100 songs per game, of greater variation in style and feel than most people could manage.

I don't think I said Mozart or Beethoven was superior, did I? If I did, I certainly didn't mean to. I'm a big fan of Uematsu's work, but the point I was making was to that to the casual music lover, who may not have necessarily heard of Uematsu but would have heard of Mozart, they're probably more likely to pay money to listen to Mozart than Uematsu. I'm a huge fan of the work of Uematsu and Yasunori Mitsuda and I don't consider it inferior in the slightest. I was doing no disservice to them at all, I was merely stating that in my opinion they have limited appeal and are unlikely to be performed as regularly as more famous composers in the West.

Just because I tend to listen to their music in the background is no insult to it either. The fact that I listen to their music as regularly as I do is a tribute to how much I like their music and whether I listen to it in the background or not doesn't mean it's emotionless. When I say they don't compare, I was on about the audience for classical music vs. the audience for computer game music. I said I'd be more likely to pay to listen to some Holst partly because something like The Planets is much shorter than an entire soundtrack and I think is a rather well rounded suite, whereas I might be disappointed certain tracks were left out of a Final Fantasy performance.

[aquatius]

YouTube - saxes playin final fantasy (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zztTpDaPbI4)

[Markus. D]

Until a majority of the Western composer's music can compare to the Eastern Composers... :]


Motoi Sakuraba n_n

[Mr Cactuar]

When Uematsu has composed Aerith's theme, One Winged Angel, To Zanarkand and many other pieces, you cannot say that he isn't worthy of world recognition.

The man is a genius.

[Slothy]

I disagree with your comment on it just being background music. Personally, I find as much value in the tracks by themselves much of the time as I do in listening to them in the scenes they accompany. Yes these themes often have to be repeated often, and loop endlessly, but I think it's rather elitest to claim that that somehow makes them inferior. Many themes done by Uematsu, Jeremy Soule, and other video game composers can convey as much emotion and feeling, and stand on their own as well as any "traditional" composition.

Frankly, to say that one is superior to the other is just plain ignorant. It's music, and more importantly, music created for a different purpose than what the likes of Mozart or Beethoven did. You can't say Uematsu and the like aren't as good, when they obviously create great music. Music is subjective, and more importantly, you do a disservice to people like these who sometimes literally compose more than 100 songs per game, of greater variation in style and feel than most people could manage.

I don't think I said Mozart or Beethoven was superior, did I? If I did, I certainly didn't mean to. I'm a big fan of Uematsu's work, but the point I was making was to that to the casual music lover, who may not have necessarily heard of Uematsu but would have heard of Mozart, they're probably more likely to pay money to listen to Mozart than Uematsu. I'm a huge fan of the work of Uematsu and Yasunori Mitsuda and I don't consider it inferior in the slightest. I was doing no disservice to them at all, I was merely stating that in my opinion they have limited appeal and are unlikely to be performed as regularly as more famous composers in the West.

Just because I tend to listen to their music in the background is no insult to it either. The fact that I listen to their music as regularly as I do is a tribute to how much I like their music and whether I listen to it in the background or not doesn't mean it's emotionless. When I say they don't compare, I was on about the audience for classical music vs. the audience for computer game music. I said I'd be more likely to pay to listen to some Holst partly because something like The Planets is much shorter than an entire soundtrack and I think is a rather well rounded suite, whereas I might be disappointed certain tracks were left out of a Final Fantasy performance.

I was replying to you and Old Manus which may have caused some confusion (he blatantly said Uematsu was inferior to the likes of Mozart). I also apparently misunderstood what you meant by calling it background music. It's one thing to say it's something you have playing in the background, but quite another to say it's simply background music (as in for a game, meant to go a long with a scene and little else). I also seem to have misunderstood your comment about preferring to pay to listen to something like The Planets in concert, though I will point out that worrying about some songs being left out is no different than worrying that your favourite band will leave out some classics in concert. It doesn't make the concert any less enjoyable or worth paying for.

For what it's worth, my opinion on this vs. more traditional, well known composers is this: I hate many of the traditional well known composers like Mozart or Beethoven. If given the chance, I'd listen to Uematsu for the next 100 years straight over listening to five minutes of the others. It's not that I don't appreciate and respect the talent and skill those people had to do what they did, but I've never heard anything from any of them that truly grabbed my attention and stuck out as something truly amazing and enjoyable. In fact, I tend to get so bored listening to them that I'd rather be stabbed in the eye. I find Uematsu's ability to traverse many styles, structures and themes far more interesting, and a hell of a lot more enjoyable (maybe I'm just more of a fan of modern music though). Will the general public ever be familiar with his music? Maybe when he's dead, but that doesn't mean that his music (and the music of other great game composers) isn't worthy of their attention.

[Peter_20]

I don't really know how much I blame symphony orchestras for choosing Beethoven and Strauss over video game background music.You sound pretty biased in this post.
I for one don't know if I would choose one short intro theme for a movie to a magical opera from Final Fantasy 6.

[Rase]

Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. Just so happens some strokes are much bigger than others.

[Loony BoB]

Some people design their music specifically to be listened to with no distraction. Some people design their music to be listened to repeatedly for hours on end while (more often than not) focusing on other things - ie, a video game plot/fight/whatever. It's also worth noting that you get a lot of rock in the middle of gaming music, while you don't get so much of that in a symphony orchestra (obviously - not many people would go to a symphony orchestra to see a rock concert!). So again, it's two different fields that are, well... different. I imagine that Japan has composers who don't deal with gaming and, for all I know, they get more classical album sales than the gaming industry does.

[Mirage]

obviously - not many people would go to a symphony orchestra to see a rock concert!

well, there's S&M by Metallica :p.

[Vivisteiner]

Personally, I think that the only reason you view Uematsu's work as background music is because you hear it as background music. If Uematsu arranged his best scores differently, they would make, and do make great music. More entertaining than most classical composers.


Eg, Ive performed in Holst's The Planets (someone mentioned it), and listened to it. But while its impressive, if you collected Uematsu's best, it would be outgunned IMO by sheer melodic quality.

Uematsu does awesome melodys.


@Gyrus: What pieces? I dont recognise.

[Old Manus]

No matter how much you say video game music isn't background music, it is, essentially, background music. I wouldn't expect the likes of dramatic crescendos and other techniques, and I rarely hear it.

edit: therefore not as exciting to listen to

[Mr Cactuar]

YouTube - Tour de Japon - At Zanarkand (Final Fantasy X) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYecLvwOiVA)

That is why Nobuo Uematsu is just as good as western composers and past composers. Watch related videos to see songs you may prefer.

If you try to say that sounds like/is just background music, your ears are broken.

[Vivisteiner]

^Beautiful.


No matter how much you say video game music isn't background music, it is, essentially, background music. I wouldn't expect the likes of dramatic crescendos and other techniques, and I rarely hear it.

edit: therefore not as exciting to listen to
But thats only because they make it into background music. If you adjusted the music dynamically, and in various other ways, it would become good orchestral music. Something like Aeris' theme could easily be played by a full orchestra as a proper piece. They just tone the music down for the purposes of not distracting from the game. And also, there are a helluva lot of pieces needed for a long RPG. Of course quite a few of them wouldnt be up to concert standard. But we're talking about the best pieces.

[Peter_20]

No matter how much you say video game music isn't background music, it is, essentially, background music. I wouldn't expect the likes of dramatic crescendos and other techniques, and I rarely hear it.

edit: therefore not as exciting to listen toThen please explain to me how I was able to hear my first Nobuo Uematsu compositions and love them without even knowing they were from a video game.

You also need to explain to me why everyone in my family instantly loves the melodies and enjoy them without even knowing they are "background music".

If the entire Aria di Mezzo Carattere opera is "background music", then Mozart's best compositions are background music as well.

And HERE are som other examples on great stand-alone music:

Prologue
Final Fantasy Main Theme
Theme of Love
Terra's Theme
Cloud's Theme
Aeris' Theme
One Winged Angel
Eyes On Me
To Zanarkand
Suteki Da Ne

...etc etc etc.

[Old Manus]

I never said they weren't any good, I was giving the reason why it isn't played in orchestras.

[demondude]

Mold anus has a point guys.
And the argument that nobue is better then mozart is BS.

[Mr Cactuar]

His point is that video game music isn't played in orchestras outside of Japan much because it's just background music and isn't as good as music from past composers.

Watch the video that I posted above and the related ones and tell me thats 'just background music'.

[Slothy]

Mold anus has a point guys.
And the argument that nobue is better then mozart is BS.

No, it's personal opinion. Mozart positively bores me so if anyone asks me whether Nobuo is better, I'm not going to say no he isn't. I personally like his music a thousand times more.

Also Old Manus, video game music has been played by orchestras. You say there's little variety in terms of crescendos, dynamics, etc, but I say this is a problem only with older games which use Midi data playing sounds directly on the soundchip (and even then, it's not totally true that that's a problem with SNES games and on). You'll find plenty of dynamic variation in songs before and especially after the move to CD sound. Unless you're still looking to the original Mario Bros. as your idea of what video game music sounds like then the idea they don't feature thematic and dynamic variation is crap.

The reason it's not played by orchestras (aside from the fact that most of them have their pompous heads up their butts) is that most just aren't familiar with video game music, and there's a huge stigma around it in the West. Many people still think of game music as being like the original Mario Bros. There's also the fact that many of Uematsu's songs simply aren't arranged for orchestra, but so many have later been arranged for orchestra that the point is rather moot.

[Loony BoB]

Dude, nobody has said they are just background music. They said they were designed as background music. Gaming music is, well in RPGs at least, designed to be able to be listened to over and over and over and over for hours on end. It is supposed to compliment the game rather than to be more important than the game.

I like a lot of gaming music. I listen to it without playing the games, I listen to it amongst my other classical music. However, my points still all stand. It is designed to be background music (which, defined, means music to play in the background, not "music only good enough to be in the background").

There are a lot of things that you have to keep in mind with it, too. Music composed for symphony orchestra played in a theatre can have more of a full 'story' to it, whereas most background music is purely a feeling or a single theme. A key comparison would be the 1812 Overture when compared to, well, anything. Maybe if you throw all the different gaming music together you get the story - like in an album - but a single song when not restricted by "what is this going to be the background music for" can do a lot more.

And, again, I'll bring up the point that gaming music is also more varied than one might think. Rock and roll features regularly. You can't compare that with Mozart.

Finally, there's the age we live in. Is Mozart the latest big thing right now? Hell no. Back then, composers could make a name for themselves. I'd argue that there is not a single American or British composer that writese their own symphonies is more successful these days than Nobuo. I certainly don't know any. No, literally. I don't even know any composers that are still alive right now outside of gaming composers. Maybe he would have been very famous in past centuries. We're in a new age now, and you don't get famous with flutes and a lot of string.

[Peter_20]

Mold anus has a point guys.
And the argument that nobue is better then mozart is BS.Oh noes, I like Nobuo Uematsu's music better than t3h Mozart!
That's HERESY!

:rolleyes2

But seriously, sure, there are great compositions from these guys as well, but the only ones I've really liked so far are a handful of well-known Mozart compositions, "Air" by Bach and "Morning Mood" by Grieg; and I actually consider these songs to be "one single type of feeling".

Again, listen to the opera from Final Fantasy 6 - that IS a full story.

[Loony BoB]

I don't even have any Mozart. I prefer Brahms, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and the like.

Finally I can think of two composers, but they both specialise in cinema rather than "music for nothing but music". Tan Dun and Gabriel Yared... both wonderful, particularly the latter.

[Karellen]

Aria di Mezzo Carattere isn't a full opera. It's just 3 exerts from a larger work that doesn't actually exist.

[Old Manus]

His point is that video game music isn't played in orchestras outside of Japan much because it's just background music and isn't as good as music from past composers.

Watch the video that I posted above and the related ones and tell me thats 'just background music'.That isn't background music, that's an orchestra playing an arrangement of background music.

Though I do agree that video was sufficiently awesome, it would take a while to convert a track consisting mainly of synth to at least 5 instruments in an orchestra. It doesn't lend itself well.

Also

Aria di Mezzo Carattere isn't a full opera. It's just 3 exerts from a larger work that doesn't actually exist.
Yes.

[Vivisteiner]

Why dont you read what I said?

If you took the music from the games and played them in their current form, then sure, it wouldnt make good concert music. But all it requires is an arrangement, based upon the core 'background' music already composed and it would make great music. And the hard work is developing the main tune and introduction of instruments. Not the translating it into orchestra. Its really not that hard.


He's better than Mozart IMO. And Ive listened to and played a lot of Mozart. Mozart was at a disadvantage. He didnt have as much advanced equipment or instruments at his disposal. And thats why I think Uematsu's music has more flare.

[Old Manus]

If you took the music from the games and played them in their current form, then sure, it wouldnt make good concert music. But all it requires is an arrangement, based upon the core 'background' music already composed and it would make great music. And the hard work is developing the main tune and introduction of instruments. Not the translating it into orchestra. Its really not that hard.Yet it requires more effort on the part of the conductor, the composer, and the orchestra.

It doesn't lend itself well.

[Vivisteiner]

^True. But not much.

It only needs a few tweaks and a few added motifs.


I think a lot of the pieces do lend themselves well. Some, obviously, dont. They fit a more rockish sound.

[Loony BoB]

He's better than Mozart IMO. And Ive listened to and played a lot of Mozart. Mozart was at a disadvantage. He didnt have as much advanced equipment or instruments at his disposal. And thats why I think Uematsu's music has more flare.
Yes. People with more assistance from advanced equipment and instruments are clearly worse off. It's not like such things can be automatically timed using a compu--

[Vivisteiner]

^What?

Learn to read.

[Old Manus]

What he's getting at is the fact that Mozart managed to create great music without any equipment apart from a pen and paper, and how it's more impressive ('flare') with hindsight.

[Vivisteiner]

^Another point is that Uematsu was influenced off many styles that were created after Mozart's death. For example, One danger Passed has distinct reggae influences. (Love that song). Tantalus' theme has jazz.

[scrumpleberry]

The thing is that the music is doing a different job. Mozart's thing is stand-alone. Uematsu's is meant to be one component of a piece which is to be enjoyed with other factors.

[Slothy]

Ok, this is getting a little ridiculous now. I think the point some people are missing from the first post isn't the idea that video game music should played by orchestras necessarily, but that it certainly deserves to simply be enjoyed by a wider audience. Regardless of arguments about whether or not game music should be played by orchestras or not (though many songs suit orchestra quite well in their original arrangement, synth or not), these are great songs by talented individuals. Do they necessarily tell a "story" as some traditional composers did? No, but then it was never created to tell a story. The script tells the story, the music is often there to evoke the right emotion or mood, and the best game music does it very well, even without having the game accompany it. Both have different and equally valid purpose behind them, and both are equally deserving of recognition for a great many reasons.

I don't think the topic creator ever really had a problem with game music not being played by orchestras in concert all over the Western world, so much as they have a problem with how little credibility it seems to have over here. Regardless of how many of us may enjoy listening to game music, soundtracks aren't exactly easy to buy in North America, and it's still very much a relatively small, niche market over here. Going back to the second post in the thread:


Let me know when movie composers get that same sort of worship with concerts and stuff :P

I can already walk into any CD store and browse various movie soundtracks. When I can do that with game soundtracks then we can talk about who should get concerts.

[Mr Cactuar]

Ok, this is getting a little ridiculous now. I think the point some people are missing from the first post isn't the idea that video game music should played by orchestras necessarily, but that it certainly deserves to simply be enjoyed by a wider audience. Regardless of arguments about whether or not game music should be played by orchestras or not (though many songs suit orchestra quite well in their original arrangement, synth or not), these are great songs by talented individuals. Do they necessarily tell a "story" as some traditional composers did? No, but then it was never created to tell a story. The script tells the story, the music is often there to evoke the right emotion or mood, and the best game music does it very well, even without having the game accompany it. Both have different and equally valid purpose behind them, and both are equally deserving of recognition for a great many reasons.


But it can tell the story. Think of Aerith's theme. You can see how that tells a story on its own but when it goes along with the game, it still tells the story. Can you imagine the parts where it is played in FF7 without music, or with something different? Same goes for to Zanarkand. And One Winged Angel.

The original poster is correct guys, they should be thought of as much. I'm not saying it will happen soon but it should be happeneing. Really this is the whole "Video games are art" debate.

[Peter_20]

One thing that buggers me as well is the fact that even some video game fans deny the fact that video game music = music.
Some people tend to seriously believe that video game music differs from all other music, which is so extremely wrong, IMO.

And I can say this countless times, lots of my acquaintances can instantly tell what kind of story a good video game soundtrack is trying to tell.
And as for the whole "Mozart had to manage with a pen and paper" thing:
Nobuo Uematsu usually writes his music in front of the piano, and it's usually of the classical sort; and his best work is classical music, enough said.

[NeoCracker]

STOP IT! YOU PEOPLE HAVE CAUSED MANUS TO POST MORE THAN ONE SEIROUS POST IN THIS THREAD ALONE! WHATS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!

And Nobuo's music is awesome.

[Peter_20]

Of course Mozart is unique in the sense that he started writing music pretty much after he was born; but such details don't mean tuppence to me: the only thing that has meaning is what they actually compose.
And I can frankly say that I mostly prefer Nobuo Uematsu to Mozart, because Nobuo Uematsu's music has got more "colour" to it, if you follow me, whereas Mozart's music tends to feel a bit "dry", although it does still sound beautiful.

Being synesthestic definitely is an advantage when reading this post. XD

[Vivisteiner]

One thing that buggers me as well is the fact that even some video game fans deny the fact that video game music = music.
Some people tend to seriously believe that video game music differs from all other music, which is so extremely wrong, IMO.

And I can say this countless times, lots of my acquaintances can instantly tell what kind of story a good video game soundtrack is trying to tell.
And as for the whole "Mozart had to manage with a pen and paper" thing:
Nobuo Uematsu usually writes his music in front of the piano, and it's usually of the classical sort; and his best work is classical music, enough said.
No. Nobuo often uses technological equipment. And I dont blame him, because its an easier way to compose overall.

www.nobuouematsu.com (http://www.nobuouematsu.com)

Look at the FAQ. Says he used Roland B something or other.

[Old Manus]

STOP IT! YOU PEOPLE HAVE CAUSED MANUS TO POST MORE THAN ONE SEIROUS POST IN THIS THREAD ALONE! WHATS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!

And Nobuo's music is awesome.I just went to see the doctor, I'm on prozac now.

Also turns out I have ADHD

EDIT: and OCD
EDIT2: oh what the hell, I asked him to slap Asperger's on me too

[Peter_20]

One thing that buggers me as well is the fact that even some video game fans deny the fact that video game music = music.
Some people tend to seriously believe that video game music differs from all other music, which is so extremely wrong, IMO.

And I can say this countless times, lots of my acquaintances can instantly tell what kind of story a good video game soundtrack is trying to tell.
And as for the whole "Mozart had to manage with a pen and paper" thing:
Nobuo Uematsu usually writes his music in front of the piano, and it's usually of the classical sort; and his best work is classical music, enough said.
No. Nobuo often uses technological equipment. And I dont blame him, because its an easier way to compose overall.

www.nobuouematsu.com (http://www.nobuouematsu.com)

Look at the FAQ. Says he used Roland B something or other.Oh well, melodies aren't created by tools, so it doesn't really matter.

[Loony BoB]

If you want the genuine answer as to why he isn't more well known or why he's not considered to be as successful, here are a few more thoughts.

1. Time. The Beatles wouldn't be as famous as they are if they sang reggae and if Charlotte Church stuck to opera she'd be not much more famous than Hayley Westenra (if you just said 'Who?' then that emphasises the point). Is classical music "the latest big thing"? No. Not at all. If Nobuo moved to France at a young age and orchestrated in the ages of Mozart, maybe he would have been as big as Mozart. Mozart probably doesn't make the Billboard 100 right now. We're in an age where classical music will not make you a superstar.

2. Sales. Exactly that. Stores won't stock what people won't buy. Gamers don't often buy the soundtracks of the games they purchase. Certainly far less often than movie-goers buy soundtracks of the movies they see, that's for sure. The soundtracks get advertised because the movie gets advertised. Let's take Cold Mountain as an example - not a massive movie by any means, but it has an orchestrated soundtrack by Gabriel Yared. It got over a million admissions in Spain alone. Final Fantasy VII sold 9.8 million worldwide (including International version). Maybe, what, one in a hundred FFVII fans got the soundtrack? I imagine by the fact that the US made well over ten times the amount that Spain did on their respective opening weekends for Cold Mountain means that Cold Mountain's already outdone FFVII and, to top that off, it's going to sell more soundtracks due to the movie-goer:soundtrack buyer ratio being better than the gamer:soundtrack buyer ratio. And there's the reasoning for that. I also read the other day that despite the increase in sales etc, the number of people actually playing video games is in decline. Crazy, but hey, if I read it it must be true :p

I had a three. Crap, where did it go. Oh, wait, maybe it was the ratio thing. Okay I'll just assume it is because I hate spending ages trying to remember things. Hooyay!

Oh wait it just came back to me.

3. Gamers are more likely to illegally download music than movie-goers are.

[Vincent, Thunder God]

To add to Loony Bob's points, only a few of Nobuo Uematsu's works have been recorded with live instruments (such as FF 4 Celtic Moon), let alone a full orchestra (such as FF 6 Grand Finale), and their existence is relatively unknown even among FF fans.

All of Mozart's works have been recorded and re-recorded in a full orchestra and are very well-known.

And yes, a lot of videogame composers need more recognition. Case in point, Peter McConnell, Michael Land and Clint Bajakian, who contributed to such great works as the Monkey Island series, Grim Fandango, etc. It's all superb, but it's hardly well-known. It's not as if the names of the composers of game scores are talked about like those of movies, and nowhere near as much as the famous composers of yore, but some at least deserve the former.