While the Final Fantasy XIII soundtrack is due out in just one week in Japan, it’s been reported by numerous sources that long-time Square Enix composer Masashi Hamauzu has left the building, following in the footsteps of Junya Nakano who just left a short time ago. I can’t say I’m overly surprised, as Hamauzu is extremely talented and will likely be in high demand after his work on Final Fantasy XIII, but I am taken aback by the timing. I figured he’d at least wait until the game was released outside of Japan. He’s going out with a bang, however, having scored the biggest title of his life.
So what does this mean for him and for Square Enix? First it means that we’ll hopefully be hearing a lot more of Masashi Hamauzu in the future. Second, with this announcement, that leaves composers Naoshi Mizuta, Kumi Tanioka, Tsuyoshi Sekito, and Takeharu Ishimoto to handle all of Square Enix’s music. Perhaps we’ll see more outsourcing in the future, although Square Enix has a history of bringing back its former composers in a freelance capacity.
Are you surprised by this news? Are you looking forward to the Final Fantasy XIII soundtrack and whatever Masashi Hamauzu will be working on next?
[SEMO via Siliconera]
Tags: Final Fantasy XIII, Masashi Hamauzu, News, Square Enix
He and Nakano are pretty good buddies, right? I guess if that’s how things unfolded, can’t really say it was a huge surprise.
So I heard.
Hopefully he works on SE games again though.
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Woah. wow. hum, that is really weird. It’s something I should have expected but I started seeing him as someone who’s work was starting to get the respect it deserves in the company.
Is he really going freelance? I would never want him to stop working. Is there a way to interview him? I think he’d make wonderful work for maybe MistWalker. Wow, he is one of my favourite composers of all time, I haven’t even heard his last work and he’s gone.