You wouldn't castigate us for saying that many classic video games are loved and remembered not just for their gameplay and characters, but their memorable music. Why, just think of The Legend of Zelda's dum dum, da da da dadum, da da da da daaa da da da da da dadum! Or Sonic the Hedgehog's dada da da dee dum dum, da dada da dum dee dum dum. And who could forget Mega Man's dada dada dadee dum, dadum dadum dum daaa?

If you're a video gamer who appreciates everything from 8-bit beeps and boops to rousing orchestral scores, we encourage you to drag those big ears of yours to a Video Games Live concert. Created in 2002 by composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall, Video Games Live honors a wide range of games in -- thanks to its 50-show strong world tour -- a wide range of American and international venues. See a complete list of planned concert locales (including France, China, Taiwan, Scotland and Portugal) and dates after the break.

Marketing is all about knowing your audience -- what they'll respond to and what will turn them off. Going by that metric, it seems Sony's Phil Harrison wasn't quite a marketing genius at a recent rock concert.

Paul Rose, a.k.a Edge magazine's "Mr. Biffo," recounts on his blog the somewhat embarrassing tale of a Harrison-led PS3 charity auction in the middle of a Marillion festival in Holland. Harrison, who's apparently a friend of the British rock band, reportedly took over the auctioneering duties from the band's keyboardist, raising the bidding price from just above €100 to the €600 retail price as he did.

What followed was a debacle that Rose calls "one of the most awful things I have ever witnessed." According to Rose, Harrison was only able to get one bid out of the awkwardly silent two-thousand-plus strong crowd. What's more, Harrison reportedly "became increasingly desperate as it grew clear that everyone just wanted him to go away, and nobody was going to indulge his tasteless attempt at publicity."

It'd be easy to spin this as an example of the PS3's high price hurting it's saleability, but really it's just another example of marketing tone-deafness of Sony's part. These people were there to hear a rock concert, not to hear a marketing pitch from a Sony executive who wants them to throw down €600+ for a game system on an impulse. Sometimes, you just have to know when people don't want to be sold to.

Video Games Live continues to spread its musically inclined tendrils across the North American continent, with the announcement of 13 upcoming concerts in 10 different cities. If you can't make the GDC concert next month (featuring Nintendo's Koji Kondo), perhaps you'll find solace in the complete list of events presented after the break.

In addition, Video Games Live concerts are currently being planned for several European, Asian and South American venues. Keep an eye (and an ear) out for further announcements regarding international events.

Those of us this side of the pond may have been reading the various Video Games Live tidbits with a detached air of mild interest, but finally we'll be able to get in on the musical action. The concert of videogame music will be hitting London's Hammersmith Apollo on November 25th, and tickets went on sale last week.

We'll be there, so watch out for the Joystiq t-shirt amidst the crowds; now, if only the concert would do a UK or European tour for those of us aware that London isn't the only city on this continent.

Philly is racking up the video game concerts this summer. First, the Video Games Live concert at the Merriam Theater in June*, and now rival production PLAY! at the Mann Center tonight, 8:30.

Just to make the evening super special, the promoters added some music from the (better than you'd think) Prey soundtrack to the already impressive program. Other titles on the RPG-heavy lineup include Final Fantasy, Chrono Cross and Trigger, Morrowind, Kingdom Hearts, Shenmue, and more. Tickets are still available so if this is the first you've heard about it, get buying.

I'll be at the show tonight with (just a) couple oddly sized Joystiq shirts to give away so, if you can answer me who composed the music for Sonic Rush (don't answer it here!), you may get yourself a fancy tee.

*I promise I'll recount my very tardy VGL experience in addition to PLAY! so y'all can compare and contrast.

Tickets are now on sale for the two Video Games Live shows planned in conjunction with Gen Con Indy Friday & Saturday, August 11-12.

After a stop in Philly earlier this month, the VGL tour is moving on to Houston July 14th, Chicago August 5th, and then Indianapolis the weekend after that. More on reserving seats for the Hilbert Circle Theatre can be found on the official announcement page (via the pic to the right or the Read link below).

Judging by the reviews of the Philly show so far, Video Games Live sounds like it could be a lot of fun. If they keep providing public access to Guitar Hero II, they may have sold this blogger on going already. We hope Midwestern gamers not attending the Chicago show can make a pitstop in Indy to keep Tommy's show on the road. So, yeah ... rock on.

See also:

• Official VGL report from Philly (with some local links to boot)
• Video Games Live ticket purchases opened a bit early
• The official page for Gen Con Indy
• PS2 impressions: Guitar Hero II

The previously canceled but now resuscitated Video Games Live show is ready to play its third show to date at Philadelphia's Merriam Theater in Center City tomorrow night. Like their show at GDC in March, this one is tied to a popular event -- namely Wizard World Philadelphia -- giving them a built-in audience who've already traveled to the city.

The GDC show in San Jose sold out, no doubt as a result of the hoards of gaming geeks and industry insiders around, but there are still tickets available in Philadelphia (comic book geeks, what's up?). In addition to the great music, the pre-show festival includes a costume event and a special meet and greet. Philadelphia attendees include Marty O'Donell (Halo), Jason Hayes (World of Warcraft), Martin Leung (Video Game Pianist) and me!

Alright, maybe I'm not a celebrity, but I'll be there with a handful of Joystiq t-shirts so if you see me*, ask for one. If there's enough Philly readers going (c'mon guys!) it might even be fun to meet up before hand, play some Metroid Prime: Hunters, you know the deal.

*I'll be the tall guy with a Joystiq shirt on!

Are you in Chicago tonight for the big PLAY! concert tomorrow, but weren't willing to shell out $125 for the VIP meet-and-greet at the event? Well, you might be in luck (even if you're not attending), as a few famous folks from the concert will be on hand to sign autographs in Chicago proper for free tonight.

From 7 to 9 PM (presumably Central time) at the Tower Records store on 2301 N. Clark St., Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu, bilingual songstress Angela Aki (who wrote and sang the theme song for FFXII), and Principal Conductor and Music Director of PLAY! Arnie Roth will be signing autographs to promote the world-tour premiere of 'PLAY! A Video Game Symphony' and the CD for More Friends - Music from FINAL FANTASY.

While this blogger is sadly occupied with prior engagements tonight, gamers in the area are more than welcome to mob that Tower Records and cause the store's employees much consternation and bewilderment. If you don't have any imported CDs to sign, however, don't fret: the store's web site claims to have "some awesome Japanese imports available for you to purchase and have autographed at the event." Not only that, Angela Aki will be performing live as well. Score! Anybody wanna tell us how this evening turns out when it's all sung and done?

[Via The Daily Northwestern; image culled from Angela Aki's blog, Nobuo Uematsu's Squenix profile, and Arnie Roth's 2005 interview with IGN]

See also:

• Official page for Tower Clark Street (with details on the signing)
• Ticketmaster site for the PLAY! concert debut tomorrow
• Sonic and Chrono composers to join PLAY! in Chicago

Former cellmates Nullsleep and Bitshifter have announced plans to embark on a world tour, blasting their blend of bleeps, bloops, and blizzasts from Boston to Brussels and back again.

If you're not an 8-bit believer yet, nothing will win you over except trying it out for yourself. To that end, here are links (1, 2, 3, 4) to some MP3s these torturers of Gameboys, Famicoms and other old-school video game consoles have kindly provided for downloading.

If you like what you hear, check the tour page and maybe even drop a few dollars in the donation bucket to help make it happen.