The Sound Of Gaming

Anyone that knows me should have worked out by now that I love soundtracks. Film, TV and Videogame soundtracks are abundant in my music collection and there is more to come. Now, snigger if you want, but my favourite genre of music is classical/soundtracks, which is why I have been particularly disappointed with the lack of music hitting the dedicated part of the Playstation Store.

Yesterday evening I downloaded the Killzone 2 soundtrack from iTunes after a post on the EU Playstation Blog revealed that it was now available. This was great news and so much simpler; I had to import the God of War 2 soundtrack (at great expense), because I’m guessing not many publishers see it as a wanted or viable option. The Halo 3 soundtrack was epic and easily available depsite the fact that I’ve never even played a Halo game in my life.

I struggled to get hold of the Black soundtrack, which was even more frustrating seeing as the music was composed by one of my favourite’s – Michael Giacchino. If you don’t recognise his name, he’s the guy behind such soundtracks as Lost, Fringe, Mission Impossible 3, Star Trek (2009) and Pixar’s latest, Up…to name just a few.

Listening to Joris de Man’s score for Killzone 2, I can’t understand why devleopers and publishers would make it so difficult for fans to purchase these amazing pieces of work. One of the main reasons I was so excited about the US God of War 3 Ultimate Edition was the inclusion of all three soundtracks. Brilliant! I just pray to Zeus that we here in the EU get a similar package. Gerrard K Marino’s music is nothing short of amazing and really adds to the game.

Just as John Williams, among others, have added to a film’s popularity with some of the most iconic pieces of music in history, I feel that games are also offering stunning themes and atmospheric music that should be just as available as the soundtracks from other media. The PSN has a dedicated section which is not being utilised properly and surely it’s a good thing if it brings in more revenue. You’d think first party titles from Sony would be easy to find what with Sony having a record label too.

I can’t be the only person out there interested in these products, can I?