madworld
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Trailer remixers, stop the Mad(World)ness
Look, we're happy that Gary Jules' version of Mad World has been propelled to popularity through last month's Gears of War teaser ad. It's a kick-ass song. But just because it's a good song does not mean you can throw it over any video game trailer and suddenly turn that trailer into a work of art.A quick YouTube search shows the song being pasted over footage for everything from Counter Strike and Killzone 2 to Final Fantasy X-2 and Assassin's Creed, and that's a few of the videos posted so far this week. The latest effort, a splice over the recent Halo 3 advertisement [thanks BrotherEstrapol], actually matches up pretty well to the music, and changes the austere original into an emo love-fest quite effectively.But enough is enough. This meme has been run into the ground so effectively that we think every gamer with an Internet connection is now fully aware of the emotive potential of matching "Mad World" to video game footage. From now on, instead of wasting space on YouTube with endless remixes, lets just agree that anyone who wants to can mute any YouTube trailer and play the clip of their choice in iTunes. OK?
Halo 3 ad: It's a mad (ring) world
Sure, most of us were satisfied with a badass Halo 3 commercial, but for some, it just lacked the emo panache of the famous Gears of War "Mad World" ad. Well, fear not, true believers, for 360 Fanboy reader, BrotherEstapol, has ripped the Mad World music and slapped it onto the Halo 3 commercial, creating a Frankensteinian delight the likes of which you've never seen. Honestly, the song is so hauntingly memorable that Microsoft could probably use it for every sixty second ad they produce and get away with it. And now for the challenge: it's time for some Halo 3 ad remixes. We already have tons of them for the Gears of War ad, and we wouldn't want the Chief to feel left out. In fact, while you're at it, try sticking Mad World into other 360 ads and see what happens. Maybe it's like Dark Side of the Moon and The Wizard of Oz. If you come up with anything good, send us a link and we'll post it.
Mad World: Gears ad propels song to #1 on iTunes
It appears the Gears of War "Mad World" advertisement has done more than just augment sales of the game. The somber 2001 Gary Jules and Michael Andrews cover of Mad World, originally released by Tears for Fears in 1982, hit number one on the iTunes top sales charts yesterday, according to fan site Gearheads of War. As of this writing, the song is number 12 (direct link) on the iTunes charts. The only other prominent placement of the song currently is an episode of CSI that premiered in late September. Did a gaming commercial really have that much influence on download sales? The use of licensed songs in video games has a long background, with many unknown bands seeing spikes in record sales due to their placement in games such as Madden NFL. How might this coerce music industry big wigs to court game developers into using their songs? Recorded for the mind-screwing film Donnie Darko, the cover of Mad World was the 2003 UK Christmas number one single. In a sad twist of irony, the Tears for Fears song never hit number one. But no worries, they did pretty well for themselves.[Via Gaming Bits]
Sing, sing a song for GoW
If you walk around singing that Mad World song because you can't get it out of your head, this "Gears of War Idol" contest, sponsored by Unscripted 360, is for you.[Thanks DeaconBlade 360]
