MTV VMAs to recognize best game soundtrack & score

by James Ransom-Wiley { Aug 2nd 2006 at 2:40PM }

During this year's Video Music Awards, MTV will present two new coveted 'Moon Men' for "Best Video Game Soundtrack" and "Best Video Game Score."

Not to take anything away from the (actual) composers who were nominated, but we were pleased to see that Electroplankton got a nod for best score. As for 'best game soundtrack?' No clue. We haven't listened to one of those since Microsoft introduced the built-in custom soundtrack back in 2001. Oh snap!

The complete list of nominees follows...

Best Video Game Score
Hitman: Blood Money (Jesper Kyd)
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (Tom Salta)
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (Leon Willett and Even 'Magnet' Johansen)
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Jeremy Soule and Julian Soule)
Electroplankton (User Generated Soundtrack)

Best Video Game Soundtrack
Fight Night Round 3
Burnout Revenge
NBA 2K6
Driver: Parallel Lines
Marc Ecko's Getting Up

Vote here.

Tags: MTV, score, soundtrack, VMA

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Scott @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:48PM

How does Shadow of the Colossus not make the score nominees?

anakenobi @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:49PM

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion should win.

Regarding the soundtracks, I believe those games don't have what it takes. It's basically the same music you find in ordinary racers/action games.

NEWS FLASH! snk delays support for PS3 until 2010!!!

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=10315

DeezNuts420 @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:49PM

What about Condemned. It had some of the CREEPIEST music ever!

PayTheMan @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:50PM

Is it just me or is the best video game soundtrack category composed of games that only appeal to the mainstream MTV watcher?

bv @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:50PM

Elder Scrolls for sure.

Belcho @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:52PM

I absolutely love custom soundtracks on the 360. It was one of the reasons I bought it. About the only game I wouldn't use custom soundtracks on is Splinter Cell. The music in that game just fucks with you. Get very climactic like something’s going to happen. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. Very suspenseful.

miannone @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:53PM

I think this is a 2005 game, but one game where the music really stood out to me (in a good way) was Killer 7.

IslandLife @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:55PM

What I don't understand is why don't Japanese games with the exception of Electroplankton, ever get any recognition in these 'Faux' awards. WHERE THE HELL IS SHADOW OF COLOSSUS???... Stupid Awards.

IslandLife @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:03PM

@anakenobi

Wait a minute. You mean to tell me that there won't be any lame King of Fighter rehashes that'll push the cell to the limit with cutting edge 16bit low-res graphics. Wow, that'll really hurt Sony, especially since they contributed sooo much to the success of the PS2!

NEWS FLASH!! No one cares

airpolgas @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:05PM

"Is it just me or is the best video game soundtrack category composed of games that only appeal to the mainstream MTV watcher?"

You're not familiar at all with MTV, are you? The channel that features "Best Fight" and "Best Kiss" on their Movie Awards? Do you seriously think they cater to anyone BESIDES the MTV crowd?

GSI @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:05PM

Why isn't SotC on the list? B/c Mtv wouldn't know GOOD music if it bit it in the ass.

...and WHY THE F__K is "Getting up" on that list? That game was crap.

KR @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:12PM

Christ some of you guys are annoying "OMG NO SHADOW O F TAH COLOSSAS." Shut up already, no one cares. It's MTV, and you shouldn't care either.

I'm at least glad to see that they divided the "score" and "soundtrack" categories seperate.

GSI babbles out: "...and WHY THE F__K is "Getting up" on that list? That game was crap." Probably because game quality is irrelevant - this is an award for the SOUNDTRACK. UGH.

When does school start up? I'm tired of all these kiddies posting.

justagirl @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:13PM

I think GSI hit the nail on the head! Music Television my a**!

*sigh* I remember when MTV used to be cool... head-bangers ball anyone?

Comtar @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:19PM

You know now that people mention it, looking over the list, it seems all of them are X-box or X-box 360 games. Except for one, and the one doesn't have an actual soundtrack.

Mal F4cti0n @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:26PM

FUSE!!!!

'F MTV and their Real World and Laguna Beach. Sh8T, do you remember the 360 unveiling, what, they had all of 8 seconds of video game footage.

MTV caters to the 8 to 18 year old demographic nowadays. And they like their boy and girl bands, they wouldn't know good music unless MTV told them it was good.

BTW, new Thom Yorke album rocks!!! Also, my new fav bands, "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah" and "Rogue Wave".

Gorvi @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:30PM

Those of us who can remember when MTV was cool are no longer part of their target audience...

anakenobi @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:32PM

To IslandLife:

You DID care! ;)

Random Quotes of the day: “PlayStation 3 will be a huge money loser in the beginning,” said Masafumi Oshiden, who helps look after more than $1 billion for Merrill Lynch Investment Managers Co. in Tokyo. “I think Wii will sell better than the PS3.”

“If the PS3 doesn't sell well, Sony won't be able to recoup the investment in five years,” said Kazuharu Miura, an analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd. And that, he says, will hurt profitability for much of the group.

murph @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:44PM

where the $%@!(#$! is Guitar Hero? winner. game over.

airpolgas @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:55PM

Right on the head of the nail, Gorvi! Imagine an MTV playing music videos ALL DAY, only to be broken by some channel ID fillers (which were entertaining in their own right), only to be followed by MORE Music Videos. Those were the days.

Fenris @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:59PM

justagirl,

Headbangers Ball was great, 120 minutes was my favorite on sunday nights. I think it was after The Young Ones (a british comedy). MTV really used to have something for all music tastes.

Not any more. They turned into a big bucket of suck they turned into.

Fenris @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:02PM

Welcome to the redundancy department of redundancy.

sigh, guess I should proofread my comments

Baboon @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:03PM

@ Murph

This is MTV. Of COURSE they are not going to support anything Rock.

F@*^ing MTV. Does anyone even care what they think? Honestly? Let's just laugh at their choices for soundtrack, which, suprise suprise, contains nothing but the crappy pop/rap music they peddle themselves.

Gorvi @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:06PM

I'm not sure why any of us bother getting worked up about any of these 'award shows' anymore. The Spike's, G4's, MTV's, etc.... are all so out of touch with what the hardcore gamers like, it's not even funny. Sadly though, this is probably not too far off from what is actually now the voice of the 'average gamer'.

jabbertrack @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:44PM

fuck MTV indeed

Mal F4cti0n @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:44PM

Atari to hold off on PlayStation 3 titles until 2007

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=18712

anakenobi and IslandLife,

here is some more news to support your argueing. GO AT IT!

caselog1c @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:47PM

Nobody sees the problem with its the Video Music Awards? How are these music videos?

Rootbeer @ Aug 2nd 2006 5:56PM

WHAT NO TOMMY TALLARICO NOMINATION

HE SCORED "EARTHWORM JIM 2" AND "COOL SPOT"

cringer8 @ Aug 3rd 2006 2:59AM

Before this post, I hadn't really looked into Electroplankton too much. Now, after visiting the web page, I really, really want this game. I can see it being more addictive than crack (for me). What a terrific idea.

32_footsteps @ Aug 3rd 2006 8:23AM

Guys? Before we think about anything else...

Remember that Viacom is the parent company behind MTV. Viacom is also the parent company of Spike TV. Both are considered part of the MTV family of networks.

Now, with that on the table, who is surprised that crappy games got nominated for anything while a game that was truly mind-blowing (for the category offered) wasn't considered?