E3 2010

Game Music

E3 2010: We’re Finally Done

June 22, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on E3 2010: We’re Finally Done Share this E3 2010: We’re Finally Done

E3 ended a good five days ago, but we’re only finishing up now. It’s been a productive event–the most productive of any event we’ve covered on OSV, actually–and I’m still trying to catch up on sleep. I’ve been feeling for awhile that videogames in general have been in sort of a slump, although it’s arguably been a good time for game music. I’m now more hopeful on the actual gameplay side of things, although who knows what the promise of motion controls and 3D technology will mean for music in games.

We do have one more piece dealing with E3 that will hit on Thursday night. Yes, our podcast. We’ll be talking about what we saw and heard at the event as well as discussing some tidbits that didn’t make it into our posts. You’ll want to check it out. In the meantime, you’ll want to catch up on anything you may have missed this past week, including our chats with Yuji Naka about game music, David Cox about Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, and Tetsuya Nomura about Kingdom Hearts 3D as well as our coverage of the Nintendo and Ubisoft press conferences.

Aside from that, please feel free to let us know what impressed you the most at E3, and we’d love to hear your feedback on our coverage of the event. Were there gaping holes in our coverage? Would you like to see us do more event coverage like this in the future? Your wish is our command!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming!
Game Music

E3 2010: Now You Can Move Your Fat Body Freely With Konami’s DANCEMASTERS

June 22, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on E3 2010: Now You Can Move Your Fat Body Freely With Konami’s DANCEMASTERS Share this

Yes, that was a line directly from Naoki Maeda about their new Kinect dancing game, DANCEMASTERS. We saw the return of both Naoki Maeda and Konami Japan’s PR representative and talented translator Thomas Nagano at Konami’s press conference, and I can’t stress enough just how funny Naoki is in person.

We were fortunately able to catch a few minutes with the duo after getting some hands-on time with DANCEMASTERS. While I felt like an idiot playing the game (I constantly mix up my right and left with these games), I did have fun, and am excited about some of the revelations that Naoki had about the title during our chat.

Read our brief discussion with Naoki Maeda after the jump. (more…)
Gear

E3 2010: Headsets Galore Coming Your Way

June 21, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 3 Comments Share this

E3 is an insanely busy place. With all the new games, press conferences, appointments, and parties, it’s sometimes easy to forget the boothes featuring the latest and greatest gear. Everything from new mice and keyboards to plastic peripherals for your motion-controlled games to gaming headsets can be found on the show floor, and we thought it would be a good opportunity to tell you what’s coming up from some of the companies that were on hand at E3.

We have impressions of headsets from Tritton Technologies, Turtle Beach, NOX Audio, and SteelSeries for you after the jump! (more…)
Game Music

E3 2010: Ivy the Kiwi? Impressions and Music Details

June 21, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on E3 2010: Ivy the Kiwi? Impressions and Music Details Share this

We met Yuji Naka a few days ago and asked him about his thoughts on game music, but his main purpose at E3 was to promote his upcoming game, Ivy the Kiwi?, which is due out this summer from XSEED. While we got our first hands-on with the game at E3, we also learned who is responsible for the game’s music and whether or not there will be a soundtrack release in the future.

With the game set to release on the Wii and DS in just a matter of months, it’s time to find out what Sonic creator Yuji Naka has in store for us this time around. Hit the jump for our impressions. (more…)
Game Music

E3 2010: Rock Band 3 Is The Real Thing

June 21, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this E3 2010: Rock Band 3 Is The Real Thing

While Rock Band 3 announcements were hitting our mail boxes back home as E3 started, we unfortunately didn’t get to check out the title until the very end of the show. The reason that this is unfortunate is because after our on-stage demonstration from the Harmonix team ended, the floor closed down and we were unable to get our hands on the game. We do, however, have a summary of many of the new features in the game that has me actually excited for a rhythm game again, which hasn’t happened in some time.

Want to know what’s new in Rock Band 3 and why you should care? Join us after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

E3 2010: Yuji Naka Reveals His Favorite Game Soundtracks

June 19, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

We’re of course huge fans of Yuji Naka. His work on Sonic the Hedgehog is legendary, and even his last project, Let’s Tap, had an amazing soundtrack and very unique gameplay mechanics. For this reason, we’re greatly looking forward to his next title, Ivy the Kiwi?, which is due out on Wii and the DS this year. While our coverage of Ivy the Kiwi? will be coming in the next couple days, we did want to share what Yuji Naka had to say when we asked him about the music in his games.

Oh, and we also find out what his favorite soundtrack is from the game’s he’s worked on. Join us for our brief chat after the jump! (more…)
Game Music

E3 2010: Kenji Yamamoto Skips Metroid For Donkey Kong Country

June 19, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 7 Comments Share this

So, we’ve been posting about the Metroid: Other M soundtrack and how Kuniaki Haishima is working on the title instead of Kenji Yamamoto. Everyone has been wondering what Kenji Yamamoto has been up to, until now!

In an E3 interview with IGN, Retro Studios mentioned that they were continuing their collaboration with Kenji Yamamoto on Donkey Kong Country Returns after their joint work on the Metroid Prime series. I was initially surprised that Retro Studios was handling the game, but even more so at this news. But I must say that I am even more excited about this game after hearing it.

Are you surprised by the news? Do you think Kenji Yamamoto will be up to the task or arranging themes from one of the most highly regarded soundtracks in the industry?

[via Nobuooo]