Don't invade my geekdom
February 27, 2010
I haven’t played a Final Fantasy Game since the NES but I’m interested in FFXIII for one reason. Leona Lewis (British Singer) is contributing a song called “My Hands” as the English release theme. If you saw Avatar, you probably remember Leona singing “I see you”. No? Okay, I’m not a big fan either but her involvement in gaming kind of got my attention when I started reading post after post of critics saying, “Leona was paid to say she liked the game”. To this I say duh! Geeks around the world shouted foul as they stared annoyingly at a video showing Leona playing FFXIII with less than genuine giggles, smiles and comments about how she just wanted to explore the world of Final Fantasy.
Games are increasingly using popular artists to contribute to soundtracks. It’s not all 8-bit or Orchestras anymore. Gaming is serious business and there is plenty of money flowing for the right song that gets you feeling all emotional as you look longingly into Snow Villiers eyes. What I don’t understand is why anyone would care if Leona did or didn’t play the game. Gamers seem to get incredibly irate when they sense someone is invading their geekdom with false love for their hobby. It’s actually not that hard to believe that she may have enjoyed the game. From what I have seen, FFXIII looks like it’s filled with beautiful characters and inspiring scenery. What’s not to like?
As a self-proclaimed geek, I understand that it may annoy some gamers when people are making a buck off gaming disingenuously. I don’t want to be deceived anymore than the next geek. However, this is a business, just as advertising is a business. The girl has to make a living. I rather enjoyed seeing her play the game. It was kind of like watching my wife play an MMO for the first time. It was kind of funny how they kept focusing in on the 360 Controller as if trying to say, “Look she knows how to use this thing”.
During a live streaming chat a while back I asked one of my favorite Chip-tune artists called Unicorn Kid what games he plays. He replied, I don’t really play games and said he was never much of a gamer. This seemed really strange to me. 8 -bit and Chip-tune was inspired by early sounds from console games of the past. I chalked it up as UK jumping on a music trend that had not been fully fleshed out. He saw an opportunity to make music in a genre that was pretty wide-open. Hat’s off to a non-gamer for getting a record deal playing tunes that was inspired by early gaming. I don’t feel cheated or deceived at all. I love the music and I frankly don’t care how it arrived in my iPhone.
“My Hands” isn’t the last emotional love song that you’re going to hear as you watch the trailer of your next big addiction. Leona certainly isn’t that last artist you are going to see enjoying a 2 minutes sit-down in a studio playing “The video games”. Have a little more tolerance and understand it’s a business and it’s not an assault on your character when a one of those civilians decides to make a living contributing to your gaming experience - consider it a gift!
www.PacifierMusic.com
Games are increasingly using popular artists to contribute to soundtracks. It’s not all 8-bit or Orchestras anymore. Gaming is serious business and there is plenty of money flowing for the right song that gets you feeling all emotional as you look longingly into Snow Villiers eyes. What I don’t understand is why anyone would care if Leona did or didn’t play the game. Gamers seem to get incredibly irate when they sense someone is invading their geekdom with false love for their hobby. It’s actually not that hard to believe that she may have enjoyed the game. From what I have seen, FFXIII looks like it’s filled with beautiful characters and inspiring scenery. What’s not to like?
As a self-proclaimed geek, I understand that it may annoy some gamers when people are making a buck off gaming disingenuously. I don’t want to be deceived anymore than the next geek. However, this is a business, just as advertising is a business. The girl has to make a living. I rather enjoyed seeing her play the game. It was kind of like watching my wife play an MMO for the first time. It was kind of funny how they kept focusing in on the 360 Controller as if trying to say, “Look she knows how to use this thing”.
During a live streaming chat a while back I asked one of my favorite Chip-tune artists called Unicorn Kid what games he plays. He replied, I don’t really play games and said he was never much of a gamer. This seemed really strange to me. 8 -bit and Chip-tune was inspired by early sounds from console games of the past. I chalked it up as UK jumping on a music trend that had not been fully fleshed out. He saw an opportunity to make music in a genre that was pretty wide-open. Hat’s off to a non-gamer for getting a record deal playing tunes that was inspired by early gaming. I don’t feel cheated or deceived at all. I love the music and I frankly don’t care how it arrived in my iPhone.
“My Hands” isn’t the last emotional love song that you’re going to hear as you watch the trailer of your next big addiction. Leona certainly isn’t that last artist you are going to see enjoying a 2 minutes sit-down in a studio playing “The video games”. Have a little more tolerance and understand it’s a business and it’s not an assault on your character when a one of those civilians decides to make a living contributing to your gaming experience - consider it a gift!
www.PacifierMusic.com
