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

[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

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

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

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.