The medley of video games and music makers is considered to be ‘a perfect marriage’. If you’re a passionate gamer and raver, read on…
Record labels and musicians are looking to video games as a means to make alluring music along with promoting it. The proof of this is in the numbers. In 2012, Activision’s Call Of Duty:Black Ops drew in $650 million of profits in the first five days of its release alone. In its first month, Red Dead Redemption of Rockstar Games sold five million copies!
A track that featured prominently in Call Of Duty: Black Ops was ‘Won’t Back Down’ by the distinguished rapper Eminem. Video games have a unique and tremendous reach in terms of scale. They are extremely repetitive because people are playing the same thing for hours on end. You could get multiple exposures for your music if you have the right placement.
French house legend and old time friend of Daft Punk, Kalvinsky, has just released a highly dramatic and badass video game! It is the first ever video game that’s been based on a record. The game’s scene is set on the metropolis of Downtown LA. You can play the character of Kalvinsky in a retro-style arcade ambiance. Looking at the trailer below, you cannot help but compare it to a Grand Theft Auto game where you’re driving plush cars and beating the crap out of brutes. Among several other features, you can also enjoy an amazing 16-bit pixel retro play mode, drive Kavinsky’s exemplary car and of course, hear the game soundtrack produced by Kavinsky himself.
Musicians have always found it a profitable experience to explore the gaming zone. Even the notoriously prominent Canadian producer Deadmau5 had his track ‘Professional Griefers’ featured in the game FIFA 13 and its soundtrack. Another game was Michael Jackson’s ‘Moonwalker’. Although the game wasn’t very successful, it contained classics such as ‘Bad’, ‘Beat It’ and ‘Billie Jean’. Other artists to have sampled this trend include Britney Spears, Aerosmith and INXS. This relationship between music and games is never going to terminate. Video games have evolved from the ‘80s arcade novelties to big budget productions. And yet, this ever-flourishing industry hasn’t even scratched the surface in terms of its potential for musicians. This avenue is only going to get bigger by the day!
Here’s a riveting preview of Kavinsky’s new video game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axWyEObMwgk