mamoru-samuragochi
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Capcom has 'no plans' to take action against fraudulent composer
Capcom does not plan to take action regarding composer Mamoru Samuragochi's recent admission that he outsourced his credited Onimusha and Resident Evil: Director's Cut soundtracks to a third party, the company confirmed in a statement to Eurogamer this week. "We at Capcom were truly surprised by Samuragochi's recent admission," a Capcom spokesperson told Eurogamer. "However, as both soundtracks involved are no longer in circulation, we have no plans to take action of any kind." Samuragochi admitted to hiring a ghost composer to create the majority of his credited work over the past two decades, citing a degenerative condition affecting his hearing. The admitted ghost composer, Takashi Niigaki, later claimed that Samuragochi lied about his hearing loss, alleging that the composer "cannot even write musical scores." Samuragochi addressed Niigaki's allegations earlier this week, claiming that his hearing partially returned within the past few years. "In recent years I have started to be able to hear a little bit more than before... since about three years ago I can hear words if people speak clearly and slowly into my ears," Samuragochi said in a written statement. "It is true that I received a certificate proving I had a hearing disorder and that I couldn't hear anything up until three years ago." [Image: AFP]
Teacher claiming to be Resident Evil ghost composer says Samuragochi isn't deaf
Part-time music teacher Takashi Niigaki said during a televised press conference in Tokyo that he was the ghost composer for Mamoru Samuragochi, the musician credited with scoring Resident Evil and Onimusha, among numerous famous symphonies. Samuragochi, known as "Japan's Beethoven," admitted this week to hiring a ghost composer as far back as 1996, a move he attributed to degenerative hearing loss that left him deaf by age 35. During the hour-long press conference, Niigaki said he didn't believe Samuragochi was deaf, and he "cannot even write musical scores." "I've never felt he was deaf ever since we met," Niigaki said, as reported by AFP. "We carry on normal conversations. I don't think he is (handicapped). At first he acted to me also as if he had suffered hearing loss, but he stopped doing so eventually. He told me, after the music for the video games was unveiled, that he would continue to play the role (of a deaf person)." Niigaki said he had been paid 7 million yen ($70,000) over 20 years of working with Samuragochi, during which he composed 20 pieces. Niigaki said he tried to end this working relationship "a few times," but he claimed Samuragochi threatened suicide if Niigaki stopped composing for him. When Niigaki learned a Winter Olympic hopeful, Daisuke Takahashi, would figure skate to a piece credited to Samuragochi, Niigaki severed ties, he said. "I am an accomplice of Samuragochi because I continued composing just as he demanded, although I knew he was deceiving people," Niigaki said. [Image: AFP, Yoshikazu Tsuno]
Resident Evil, Onimusha soundtrack creator hired a ghost composer
Japanese musician Mamoru Samuragochi has admitted to hiring a ghost composer to assist in scoring the soundtracks for Onimusha, Resident Evil: Director's Cut, and other works that he previously claimed to have written himself. Samuragochi, whom Time magazine once described as a "digital-age Beethoven," suffers from a degenerative hearing condition that worsened as demand for his composing talents increased around 1996. The condition led Samuragochi to commission an unnamed artist to compose more than half of his credited work in the years since. Samuragochi continued to claim credit for commissioned music after becoming completely deaf at the age of 35. His notable commissioned works include "Symphony No.1, Hiroshima" and a sonata accompanying figure skater Daisuke Takahashi at the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. "Samuragochi is deeply sorry as he has betrayed fans and disappointed others," reads a statement issued by Samuragochi's lawyers. "He knows he could not possibly make any excuse for what he has done." [Image: Capcom]
