In this episode we look at the birth and rise of music in video games. From the earliest sounds and melodies to the first fully formed continuous music to be pioneered in the arcade games from Namco. We meet Junko Ozawa, one of Namco’s…
In the second episode of Diggin' in the Carts we take a look at the "bubble era", where inflated stock and real-estate prices in Japan meant that 8-bit technology was soaring: and so was the creativity it inspired. The Konami sound team…
As the ’80s give way to the ’90s, 16-bit technology arrives and video games become more vivid and more dynamic than ever before. A generation of young composers who grew up inspired by the game music of the previous generation take video…
By the beginning of the ’90s, video game sales became colossal worldwide and a war erupted between the two biggest companies in the business: Nintendo and Sega. Although Sega had their flag firmly planted in the arcades in the ’80s, the…
Almost a decade before names like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest started to make an appearance around the world, role playing games were already a big deal in Japan. In fact, they were so important that games companies were employing the…
Since 32-bit and CD technology spelt the end of the chip era in the '90s, video game music has never been the same. These days, unlike the distinctive early soundtracks of Sega and Nintendo, games are more likely to feature “real” music;…
