The past couple months i have been spending all my music time listening to game soundtracks. Now i'm a member of the Escapist and on the forums a thread was started about how video game music is generic and can't stand on it's own. (the OP went as far as saying that video games would be better with pop music being used instead, like in a lot of shitty teen movies)
Now of course i disagreed with a massive size post but it did make me curious about whether or not VGM OST's could really sell as well as mainstream music. I listen to a lot of OST's, some of my favorites being from:-Ys Seven-Star Ocean: Till The End of Time-Chrono Cross-Vomitron (cover band)and of course tons of chiptunes as well.So my question is, how often do gamers listen to VGM when not playing games? And would you be willing to pay money for VGM OSTs? Or go to a kickass concert like this?
My iTunes library is almost nothing but VG music. I think VG music has a small niche and thus wouldn't sell as well as mainstream music.
Of course, this is depending on what game's soundtrack is being sold. Stuff like the games you listed, sure, but when it comes to the times of pre-redbook audio, it's an iffy situation. Most people would question why stuff like this are on a CD. (Not counting the fact they're also available as digital albums or as bonuses along with the game they're from)That being said, a lot of game soundtracks I like are only being sold online and are Japan only. So I'm stuck with either importing or gamerips. Also, whatever sounds fine to me in-game can certainly be listened to outside of it.EDIT:I like HL2 and Black Mesa's soundtrack.
Game music has it's niche, I believe, just like every other kind of music.The niche is pretty small compared to most popular music genres though.Although I'm sure you could find a lot more genres with even smaller demographics.Like noise music.Edit: Dammit Daggerhog you stole my word.I happen to like the Final Fantasy soundtracks because they're all composed by the same guy. For me personally the composer is going to be a much greater factor than it being a videogame soundtrack.
Another point, the fact I'm usually concentrating on something else while I'm listening to music perhaps makes videogame soundtracks a good source material, as by design they're not overly distracting. But I'm just guessing there.Hmm true that the amount of people seem small who would listen to VGM but… i get the feeling that it isn't nearly as small as you think it is.
just look at this video on Youtube. over 2 million views, and another one has 5 million views. That's a lot of people, enough to make an album go platinum.i think there is an untapped market here for VGMs. Also in Japan it is actually far more common for VGMs to go live in concert. And like Daggerhog said, most VGMOSTs are sold on Japanese sites and such. I don't know for sure but i'd say that it must be much more popular in Japan, so why not in the US or other countries with large amounts of gamers?I don't think there is a lot of nongamers listening to chiptunes. There's a MASSIVE fanbase for them, but probably all those people have picked up a game at once in their life.
Some of my favorite game soundtracks are
DX:HRArkham CityWitcher 2 (like 46 amazing fuckin' tracks, my goodness)FF7FF8Halo CEBulletstormMass Effect 1-2-3Killzone 2-3DissidiaGears of War 2Oh, and the music from EarthBound. I could never forget those tunes.Anyways, game music is well… music. Of course it can stand alone, and would anyway, just because you like it.Here're some of mine.
Note that nostalgia most likely is a factor why you like the VGM you listen to. Just saying.
Can you feel nostalgia for something you've just discovered?
Because the soundtrack to Dustforce is excellent.