Video games and the music industry have not only helped each other survive but thrive on entirely new levels. Since the 90s, when licensed soundtracks became widespread in video games, series like Grand Theft Auto, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Wipeout have become just as notorious for their music as they are for their gameplay.
For gamers worldwide, gaming remains a viable option of discovering new favorite bands or delve through new musical genres. Who didn’t learn about a good new song or developed a strong attachment while playing a game they love?
Believe it or not, video games are now an important part of marketing plans for managers and musicians alike. Currently, music is being used in gaming platforms like Twitch to set the right tone and environment for gaming. Even more, this completely changing livelihoods and uplifting musicians to become the next generation’s stars.
Both industries are doing a lot to ensure steadfast success among the youth culture, and it only seems to thrive.
Gaming Helps People Discover New Music
According to a 2019 study, there is an estimated 15 million people worldwide that have smartphones, and as the Internet and 5G are further introduced in states like China and India, there will be millions of more user will be able to leverage the Internet and smartphones to enter the global gaming ecosystem.
As gaming becomes an essential part of the social landscape, both musicians and brands are asking quite similar questions around the best strategies to tap into the gaming community. They’ve managed to bring together video games, brands and music to countries all over the world. At the same time, it seems like every artist is now looking to get into the gaming experience. We’re talking here about Major Lazer, Post Malone and many others who recognize the authenticity in the gaming environment and have a huge appetite for gamming since most of us, if not all, grew up in the era of Sega, Nintendo and PlayStation.
With gaming platforms like Twitch, it gets easier for brands and artists to reach new digital touchpoint while creating new means to help support initiatives around music releases. What’s more, it offers musicians and brands an opportunity to connect with audience overseas and in domestic markets. Undoubtedly, 2021 is an incredibly exciting time for any artist or young kid to get into video games.
Gaming Replaces Music as the Most Important Aspect of Youth Culture
Games have been mainstream for decades. However, in 2020 their place in pop culture feels somewhat more critical – to gaming and the music industry alike, partly because of the desperate marketers hunting for opportunities in a landscape of cancelled events. Indeed, the lockdown was part of this. Yet, like many other trends, the pandemic hasn’t sparked this particular trajectory so much as intensify it. Months before the lockdown, the video game industry has prevailed as the most popular form of entertainment among teenagers.
This was well-known since November 2019 when a consumer intelligence agency reported that a controversial YouTube podcaster PewDiePie won the same attention as – and higher appreciation than – super-athlete LeBron James among the U.S Z generation.
Being in the spotlight has some disadvantages as well. The long-expected hit was Cyberpunk 2077. Starring Keanu Reaves and featuring an experimentation series of soundtracks with Sophie, Grimes and Nina Kravitz, this sci-fi role-playing piece needed a staggering $317m to develop.
Video Games came to exceed within striking distance the largest Holyrood production budgets. Despite all the buzz and cash, Cyberpunk 2077 flopped, receiving complaints about poor performance on older Xbox consoles, seizure-inducing graphics and culturally insensitive content.
We’re currently witnessing a cultural shift. Video games are replacing music as the lynchpin of emergent social scenes, and it makes some of us slightly uncomfortable. Where metal and hip hop were once vessels of styles, fantasy and cyberpunk gaming genres inspire a new generation.
A huge question most people in the music industry are asking how the younger generations are discovering music. If you take a quick survey, you will find that epic music download is receiving great appreciation thanks to video games. Notable streaming platforms like Twitch are playing a critical role in the way millennials and Gen Z discover content, as such, they’re constantly adapting their consumer personas to merge platforms with activities like sports watching, music streaming and video games.
Those in the industry need to recognize the influence gaming has in day to day life as well. Take Esports teams – they’re filling arenas, and there are literally so many ways to implement entertainment and music that have yet to be explored. That’s another opportunity for brands to be first in certain productions or try certain activations. It’s an exciting time for brands worldwide to tap into an environment that is growing exponentially. According to Statista, the U.S retail revenue reached $ 7.7 billion in December last year. Esports alone seem to have discovered a more progressive approach to revenue generation than the music and film industry. It only makes you think that the entertainment industry has a lot to catch up on and learn from the gaming sector.
Whenever you’re playing a video game, you’re engaging three main senses: touch, hearing, and sight. Gaming allows you to better control these senses with touch as the least active one.
Our actions as gamers determine the visual interaction, which means the sound is the only sense you can control in order to augment your gameplay skills.
The difference between a T.V, movie and a modern game is that you can filter your own experience and action on the screen.
You’re becoming more engaged in gameplay, as such, creating a memorable experience. Artists can fill this gap by helping the gaming industry marche even more engaging games through music that brings the kind of gaming experience most players seek.