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Remember when licensed music in games was cool?

D2M15 said:
I'd like to see (hear?) smartly licensed music in a wider variety of games, too. Which I expect will start happening soon, if only because they've been doing it in movies for years, and games want to be just like movies when they grow up!

I mean think about Yamaoka's music in Silent Hill. Sure, it's created specifically for the game, but you could probably release a completely unrelated CD of his works and, with the proper marketing, find an audience. People only think of using hard rock, metal, rap, shitty rock, shitty metal, and shitty rap in their games. Well, I guess there's some punk in there, too. :\ And shitty punk.

Music is just so diverse. Yes, even licensed music. I would like to hear how other styles of music might fight with certain games.
 
SEGA Touring Car is probably one of the better racers with licensed music, even though it's just one band.

ATV Offroad Fury was excellent in this regard as well. Though the game is somewhat dated (not much really, but it doesn't offer as much as the newer ones), I like to revisit it time and time again because of the kickass soundtrack.

Crazy Taxi, like WipeOut, was defined by it's music. I think it played a more important role simply because you'd recognize the playlist (that remains the same for the most part) and you'd know how far you (or another player) were by what track was playing.
 
I never really liked it. Just seemed lazy that they didn't come up with music on their own. I mean do you wanna fight Gannondorf in Zelda:TP to Linkin Park? No you want some damn Zelda music.

Okay I know that is an exaggeration, but I just feel thats games are supposed to be original works, in their entirety.

So yeah, stupid EA.
 
I always liked a lot of the licensed music in a lot of games that had it. GTA:VC was always good, I remember just aimlessly wondering around the city stealing cars just to listen to whats on the radio in Vice City :lol

Etro Anime - Danger was a VERY good track that was suited to the style of Digital Devil Saga. I had no problem with that the game even had me going out and search their VERY RARE cd.

Wipeout series always had good highspeed trance/techno that suited the game aswell. And who can forget Lumines, the soundtrack for the game was awsome IMO. If they pull off some sort of sequal to Lumines I hope they use licensed tunes again.
 
I'd love to see the next-gen GTA utilize shoutcast (or something equivalent) for the radiostations. Rockstar could set up ten radiostations set in the era where the next GTA will be set and broadcast live music that fit the game and didn't get repetitive. It'd probably be too expensive though - and the licensing of tracks would be a bitch...
 
Zaxxon said:
Wipeout XL had the greatest game soundtrack of it's time in my opinion. I actually ended up buying the soundtrack they sold in stores.
The PSX disc was the soundtrack, with track 1 being the game. All you had to do was rip tracks 2 and up if you needed a copy.

I think that was definitely a first for videogames. I don't know if they were the first to sell their soundtrack, but maybe the first western company to do so, and certainly it was the best.
...Not really. Squaresoft was selling the FF1+2 OST back in the 80s, so certainly not globablly. As for America, there's a Tommy Tallarico CD that I think was first(1994), with the FF3 US OST and other Square stuff coming a month later.
 
you gotta admit EA was the shit back when they put Soundgarden in Road Rash. Who didn't get pumped up hearing Rusty Cage.
 
I only like it when it's on context. See GTA.
Otherwise, i never found it cool to have liscensed music in games (and movies)
 
Hitokage said:
The PSX disc was the soundtrack, with track 1 being the game. All you had to do was rip tracks 2 and up if you needed a copy.

The album had tracks that didn't make it into the final game, though (like the Underworld remix of Leave Home), and different versions of ones that did. I went for about six months with nothing in my Discman other than the game disc or the soundtrack, although now I can't really listen to either. Or drink Red Bull.

Or get a perfect race on Phenetia Park with my eyes shut. Cursed old age!
 
Lemurnator said:
I fucking hated every Tony Hawk soundtrack with the exception of the first game and the one with TNT.

The thing the Tony Hawk games do well is tap into old punk and new hip hop.

I loved the fact that they had the Dead Kennedys on the soundtrack for the first game. Later, when they really started hitting the underground hip-hop scene, they did an excellent job.

I remember one of my younger cousins telling me that we was getting into this new band called The Ramones because of one of the Tony Hawk games. I didn't have the heart to tell him that they were almost all dead.
 
Remember Rock and Roll Racing? SNES-ised songs of lisenced music? Has one of my favorite songs which I cant remember the name of. 'Two Tickets to Paradise' was it?
 
Has there ever been a game with a polka soundtrack?

No, but they could probably slip this one in DOA.

Oh, I don't want her, you can have her
She's too fat for me
She's too fat for me
She's too fat for me
I don't want her, you can have her,
She's too fat for me
She's too fat
She's too fat
She's too fat for me
 
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