A Lil' Diddy

If you told someone 10 to 15 years ago that the music industry would be huge in video games they probably would have laughed at you. Music has come along way from the simple polyphonic tunes of Mario Bros. Although classic, the music from that time was simple and repetitive.

These days to have a blockbuster game you need to have a blockbuster soundtrack to go with it. It is that important to have a great theme that is recognizable. It is no longer a simple polyphonic sound but has grown to even be a symphonic sound. With games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, music is hitting it big in the video game market. Such video game music that made it big using the sound of a symphony are games like Halo, Metal Gear Solid, Civilization and Advent Rising. Songs like these have been traveling around the states on a tour called Video Games Live with sell-outs and encore shows.

Recently the Hollywood Music Awards (HMA's) included a new category for the first time in their ceremonies. This new category is for video games with awards given to "Best Original Score," "Best Original Song," and "Outstanding Music Supervision." This is the first time video game music has been recognized equally with movies and television. This years winners are as follows:

Best Original Score
Wataru Hokoyama - Afrika (Afrika)

Best Original Song
Azam Ali - Logan's Shadow (Siphon Filter: Dark Mirror)

Outstanding Music Supervision
Steve Schnur - Madden NFL 2008 (Electronic Arts)