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Game fans have known for decades now that the vast majority of games have incredible soundtracks. That goes for games from the early days all the way up to now. It’s taken the rest of the world a bit of time to recognize this fact, but nowadays, more people than ever are enamored with the world of videogame music.

The latest stamp of approval comes from BBC Proms, an eight-week Summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually. The Proms has been going on for multiple decades now, but 2022 marked the very first time the concert included a tribute to the music of video games.

In an interview with Games Industry, multiple game composers commented on the significance of the Proms showcasing game music to the rest of the world. David Wise, composer behind Donkey Kong Country and Yooka-Laylee, had this to say.

The cultural significance of video game music scores is a phenomenon on a global scale. Gamers have listened to these themes since their childhood, and nothing evokes nostalgia more than listening to a full orchestra and choir playing your favourite score which formed the backdrop to so many childhoods.

Pokémon, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Chronos from so many more great video games, with the soundtrack from Journey, composed by the incredible Austin Wintory, being the highlight of this year’s event for me.

With so many internationally acclaimed video game composers emanating from the UK, I look forward to this event highlighting the incredible talent we have closer to home for future shows. History in the making for the Proms, with a tiny slice of video game music history to set the stage for so many more epic video game future proms.

[David Wise]

To see comments from other big-name game composers, make sure to check out the full interview.

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