Racing Game Music

[tjmsrubegoldberg]

When it comes to racing games, it seems to be nearly as common for the music to consist of popular music at the time the game came out as for the soundtrack to consist entirely of original songs unique to the game. Generally this is rationalized by the idea of listening to the radio in the car while driving. Which style of music do tend to prefer for racing games? Do you think that one is more fitting than another for the genre as a whole?

While I have enjoyed some songs from games featuring popular music, I prefer when the soundtrack is original to the game. One series in particular with an extremely memorable original soundtrack is Mario Kart. The classic themes of Rainbow Road, Mario Circuit, and the various new and returning tracks in each iteration of the series never fail to impress. When I play games like the new Need for Speed games, the fairly conventional pop music doesn't really make an impact on me, and I usually turn the music down so that I can ignore it to focus on driving. For Mario Kart, I would never do this, because the music is almost as crucial to the experience as the visuals for me.

 

[TheViper]

I agree that games that come with their own original music seem to become classics. There are tons of classic games that came with its own original soundtrack. Now, you just have games throwing on any popular song at the moment. Sometimes I wish we could go back to where more effort went into making games.

 

[Denis Hard]

While I must admit that original music might be great there are a number of people who like the sound of pop music. Because it's 'trending' at the time the game comes out, someone who loves that music would like playing that game even if it's just because they want to listen to the music.

That said, I prefer pop music in the games I play. That's probably because I mostly play NFS and have got used to that.

 

[jurew2]

Agree with you on this one, I want to hear some new songs in the game I play and the music that is made especially for video games are something special. Some people don't like pop songs so they don't like the game as much as some other people for example, this is why it is the best to have some music made especially for this video game, it should suit the game (when suiting the game it probably feels good to the audience).

 

[Sparkster]

Yea, I like games that have their own original music too. Most of the time, when music by well known artists features in a game it's just a marketing ploy - the artist gets exposure from the game and the game gets exposure from the artist(s).

 

[spectre456]

I think I wouldn't mind music that fits well with the game instead of just having the most popular music at the time the game is released. Having a few songs from every era that makes you feel pumped for a race would make a lot of games very enjoyable. That said, I don't feel like the current state of things is so bad, I actually enjoy listening to popular songs while I race, I have discovered a few of my favorite songs like that.

 

[primalclaws1974]

I know exactly what you mean. I used to own and vigorously play the PlayStation One game "Test Drive Off-Road. The soundtrack for this game was almost the entire album by the band Gravity Kills. Several songs from the game became hits. The song "Guilty" particularly did well. I would not be able to play this game without the music from Gravity Kills.

 

[Ghost Rider]

I think music plays a large role on whether you would do well on a race or not. For me the adrenaline pumping music in some tracks make me drive a lot better and faster as compared to other tracks with music that is not so good. If course, the music should also match the atmosphere of the game. Like OP pointed out, I would not want to hear an Eminem song on any of the tracks no matter how good the song was.

 

[Sparkster]

Personally, I like a bit of heavy rock music or metal which I think is perfect for racing games - it gets the adrenaline pumping a bit!

 

[Sonjapunk]

In my opinion, I feel that music plays a large role on racing game. Playing a game with calm and quiet music won't get me into 1st place. I like fast & aggressive music for a racing games. Heavy metal, for example, is one of my favorite music genres for racing, but I think that Dubstep takes the crown. It's drops and huge bass seem to match the sound of a roaring engine. That's one of the reasons I like games which let you create your own playlist.

 

[Sparkster]

In my opinion, I feel that music plays a large role on racing game. Playing a game with calm and quiet music won't get me into 1st place. I like fast & aggressive music for a racing games. Heavy metal, for example, is one of my favorite music genres for racing, but I think that Dubstep takes the crown. It's drops and huge bass seem to match the sound of a roaring engine. That's one of the reasons I like games which let you create your own playlist.

Yeah, I agree that dubstep music works well for many racing games. I would never listen to it otherwise though. I'm more into having heavy rock or metal music in my racing games myself because that's the sort of music I already listen to anyway.

 

[utneqo7d]

Dude the music in Mario Kart is indeed incredible. The game wouldn't be that good if it weren't for the music. My favourite song of all mario kart music would be the N64 rainbow road remix from MK7, that old theme in the new game was really good, the remake was just amazing!

If they'd sell the Mario Kart 8 music on iTunes, it would be in the top 40, definitely!

 

[BRyze]

Personally I always preferred games that let me play my own music. Soundtrack doesn't really matter to me as long as everything else lines up well. Sure a nice soundtrack is cool but I'll probably be listening to a podcast in the background anyway.

 

[Wubwub]

I agree. Ever since games started using actual songs it has lost a bit of the charm but they still add a lot if the playlist is good enough. I also would prefer original music but licensed ones aren't too bad and I get to discover new songs that way too so that's a plus.

 

[BRyze]

Discovering new songs is basically the only benefit but after you've heard everything a few times there's nothing left to discover. After that I just switch over to my own music.

 

[troutski]

I like the racing games that basically offer an anthology of rock, pop, and hip-hop music as their soundtrack. I don't need an original soundtrack. Just give me some great music while I race, and I'll be fine.

 

[teabwoi]

I do like playing Mario Kart and hearing the original soundtrack and I do like playing some games that have the most popular music that is out right now. I just think it goes to the type of racing game that I am playing at the time.

 

[Wubwub]

Discovering new songs is basically the only benefit but after you've heard everything a few times there's nothing left to discover. After that I just switch over to my own music.

Very true. At first while the novelty is still strong, I enjoy it a lot, but after a while of hearing the same music, I lose interest and just substitute my own as well.

 

[Sparkster]

I think that's one of the bad things about computer/console game music - it's often very repetetive. For that reason, it can often get annoying fairly quickly and that makes playing the game seem more tedious. I have a few electronic tracks available on the internet - if anyone wants to use them in their game or app feel free to do so, as long as you credit me as the artist!

 

[Kamarsun1]

When it comes to racing games, it seems to be nearly as common for the music to consist of popular music at the time the game came out as for the soundtrack to consist entirely of original songs unique to the game. Generally this is rationalized by the idea of listening to the radio in the car while driving. Which style of music do tend to prefer for racing games? Do you think that one is more fitting than another for the genre as a whole?

While I have enjoyed some songs from games featuring popular music, I prefer when the soundtrack is original to the game. One series in particular with an extremely memorable original soundtrack is Mario Kart. The classic themes of Rainbow Road, Mario Circuit, and the various new and returning tracks in each iteration of the series never fail to impress. When I play games like the new Need for Speed games, the fairly conventional pop music doesn't really make an impact on me, and I usually turn the music down so that I can ignore it to focus on driving. For Mario Kart, I would never do this, because the music is almost as crucial to the experience as the visuals for me.

I think there should be a radio selection with every race game. There should be options from popular music as well as exclusive music just for the game, much like GTA, or something along the lines.