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Ace Attorney orchestra awesomeness meets Gyakuten Kenji trailer
The Ace Attorney series is dear to our hearts, so when any information crosses the intertubes regarding Capcom's lawyering games, we foam at the mouth like rabid raccoons. Today's tidings regard both the Gyakuten Meets Orchestra concert, which took place in Tokyo, and the upcoming spin-off title starring Miles Edgeworth. As much as we love Gyakuten Saiban and its music, we obviously weren't able to able to drag ourselves to Japan for what we're sure was an awesome concert. From what we understand, though, the CDs that you see so deliciously stacked in the video above will be made available for purchase on July 16th. Do want. Also in the video (around the 4:00 minute mark) is a trailer for Edgeworth's game, called Gyakuten Kenji in case you haven't been keeping up (for shame!). The trailer is mostly just moving versions of screens we've already seen, but it also features a new character that will be showing up Check after the break to see some promotional photos for Gyakuten Kenji, some artwork from the event (want!), and some Gyakuten Saiban swag, including an orchestra-themed tumbler (want want!) and even Snackoos (want want want!). %Gallery-20451%
Absolut Quartet: robots making music with ping pong balls and brandy glasses
Prepare to be amazed. Thank the good lorf for embedded video because any words used to convey our awe in Dan Paluska's and Jeff Lieberman's ping pong ball hurling, robotic Absolut Quartet orchestral machine would fall limp upon your liquid crystal cells, rods and cones. Should have sent... a poet. Video after the break.
Symphonic Orchestra sounds like a nice game for music lovers
Kando Games is developing a title called Symphonic Orchestra for the Wii, DS, and PC. We're currently most excited about the Wii version, though, because the use of motion controls will turn the Wiimote into an excellent conductor's baton. Details on the game are sparse, but we do know that it will allow you to "play and learn" classical music. Tracks include pieces from Bizet's Carmen and Beethoven's 9th Symphony, to name a few. It may not be Wii Music, but Symphonic Orchestra might be the next best thing. As per usual, though, we'll just have to wait and see what develops.
SMG video update: Powerups, galaxies, and a live orchestra
The Super Mario Galaxy media frenzy continues with a bucketful of new videos. Naturally, we're emptying that bucket over your head, partly to douse you with fresh movies, but mostly for comedic effect.You'll find the streaming clips in the Japanese site's powerups and galaxies sections, yelling out with orange word balloons, "New!" You can watch them past the post break, too. Also on the list of updates for today, the third volume of Iwata Asks (Super Mario Galaxy edition) has some great footage of a live orchestra recording one of the game's songs while Koji Kondo and Shigeru Miyamoto watch, an overturned tea table likely nearby. According to the interview, 28 tracks in all have been recorded by the orchestra.It's likely just us -- in fact, we're sure of it -- but there's something about Super Mario Galaxy's main theme that reminds us of the Perfect Strangers opening credits, particularly the part where the song crescendos, "Staaanding tall!" Also, the action-platformer's music makes us break out into the "Dance of Joy" whenever we hear it, causing us to jump into the arms of anyone nearby. It's really quite embarrassing for everyone involved.
Anyone can be Mozart in Wii Music
Revealed today in the torrent of wonderful Nintendo news comes new footage for Wii Music, which you may remember has been in the works at Nintendo for quite some time. In fact, up until today, we were calling it Wii Orchestra. Yup, that's the game.This latest footage of the game has us incredibly excited. It looks like a more fleshed out and fun version of the music creation seen in Mario Paint back on the SNES. We can't wait to lay some tracks down.
Moving from Christ to Lair: creating the music
The London and Royal Symphony Orchestras don't just work for anyone. Composer John Debney, who worked on films such as "Passion of the Christ" and "Sin City" was given almost unprecedented musical freedom when he was asked to score Lair. In a recent PlayStation.blog entry, he notes: "Creating new, original themes for this primal world has been one of the most stimulating experiences of my career, something I will look back on and cherish. The overall tone of the work can best be described as operatic, ethnically rich, lyrical, elegant and, at the same time, tragic." The musical landscape looks to be quite complex!And he also offers a sample [Download MP3] of one of the tracks from the game. In typical Factor 5 fashion, it is incredibly epic. No, it's not from some big-budget movie ... this will be coming from your PS3 when the game comes out next month.
Leaked BlizzCon VGL sheet music points North
This might be the closest thing we've heard to news about the next expansion yet-- an anonymous tipster sent us a note that the Video Games Live orchestra, scheduled to play in the final concert at BlizzCon, has received their sheet music for the show, and hidden within the pages is three pieces called "Northrend 1, 2, and 3."That track doesn't appear in the Warcraft III, World of Warcraft, or Burning Crusade soundtrack lists at all. Warcraft 2's soundtrack was released as mp3 tracks by Blizzard, and Northrend doesn't appear there, either. So unless this is an old midi track from Warcraft or Warcraft II, odds are that we're looking at a brand new piece of music, and that players will be headed to Northrend very soon.Now, of course when you think Northrend, you have to think Arthas. Blizzard has said in the past that a full raid of level 80 players would be needed to beat him (at least), so if we are going to Northrend in the next expansion, we may be looking at yet another 10 level cap raise. Then again, just because Northrend opens doesn't mean the cap is going up yet. And of course, even if we do go to Northrend, there's no guarantee that it will be the only new land in the expansion, so you Emerald Dream dreamers can still hold out hope.But I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that at some point during BlizzCon (my guess is still during the opening ceremony), we're going to hear more about the big continent to the north.
Conjecture Countdown: 6 days to go
Even with a diminished E3, there's no controlling the wave of rumors that hit the Internet every year before the show. Why fight it? From now until E3 hits, we'll be posting one piece of wild speculation every day. Some may be patently ridiculous, and others just might turn out to be true. Even some of the ridiculous ones might turn out to be true! Rest assured, everything will be totally made-up and unfounded. Except, of course, when we speak about all the ass Reggie is going to kick. That part? Totally true.Rumor: It's not just Super Smash Bros. Brawl -- none of the Nintendo-developed or published games will be playable, except for a 30 second demo of Wii Music.
Osu! Tatakae! Nodame Cantabile!
We've already helped a student pass his exams in Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, and then we reunited a little girl with her dead father in Elite Beat Agents, so what's the next challenge on our rhythm-gaming plate? Turning our eyes towards Namco Bandai Games' Nodame Cantabile, it looks like we'll be conducting music with a ragtag class of students. The Nintendo DS has been home to many manga/anime licenses, so it's no surprise seeing the shoujo series appear on the handheld. Judging by what we've seen so far, the game plays like a simplified version of Ouendan. Players tap a series of floating notes in time with the music, filling up a "life" gauge with each successful hit. Missing a beat depletes the gauge, ending the level when the gauge is emptied. A flash demo of the game has been put up to promote Nodame Cantabile DS, and you don't even need to know any Japanese to play! Check it out after the post break. [Via NeoGAF]
Chicago Sinfonietta arranges concerto for ringtones
It seems that ringtones of every frequency have skyrocketed up the list of popular pet peeves (at least in boardrooms and lecture halls), but the Chicago Sinfonietta went against the grain by kicking off its 20th anniversary season with a piece that would drive interviewers, ministers, professors, and less-than-understanding managers insane. David Baker, a music professor at Indiana University, crafted the "participatory Concertino for Cell Phones and Orchestra" after symphony director Paul Freeman conjured the idea of having attendees blast those monophonic jams on cue in order to create an abstract form of musical art. Utilizing colored signals resembling a stoplight, guests were armed and ready to emit whatever ringtone they pleased, and the cacophonic barrage of high-pitched beeps reportedly formed a euphonic medley that only an artist could appreciate. While we aren't sure if this newfangled form of music will ever hit the iTunes Music Store, catching it on Verizon's V CAST service might not be too far fetched.
Video Games Live adds Halo 3, Civ IV to repertoire
Video Games Live is heading to the Hollywood Bowl and bringing with them a few pages of sheet music from the Halo 3 score, as well as music from Civilzation IV. Guests at the September 21 show include guitarists Steve Vai and Dweezil Zappa, as well as electronica artist Brian Transeau (BT).For those of you with old-school tastes, the original Lucas Arts composers will be giving "a rare special acoustic performance." The press release promises, among others, pieces from Grim Fandango and the Monkey Island series. Sure, there's Halo 3, but we're more geeked out by the thought of Lucas Arts compositions.Ticket prices range from the very low ($3.00) to the very high ($65.00) and are on sale now.
Phoenix Wright orchestra samples
Some snippets of the orchestrated Phoenix Wright soundtrack releasing in Japan have hit the net and like the responsible Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney junkies that we are, we've already got them downloaded, loaded into the mp3 player and are listening to them right now. We also burned a CD for the car. You can find the mp3 files under the GYAKUTEN MEETS ORCHESTRA header after clicking the read link.Another interesting little tidbit of news is that Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is currently the number 5 best seller in Amazon's videogame category. We enjoy seeing such success (say that 5 times fast!) for the spiky-haired lawyer, not only because it increases our chances of getting localizations for every game in the franchise, but also because it shows that American audiences are hungry for these types of games in general. Maybe Konami will notice and give us a similar game we're dying for?[Thanks Kat!]
Wii Orchestra demonstration videos
When Miyamoto took the stage in a tuxedo at Nintendo's E3 keynote and began conducting an orchestra, many attendees were floored by what they saw. Whether it was something totally unexpected that managed to pleasantly surprise or something that caused the attendee to lower their head into their lap in disgust, the unveiling of Wii Orchestra was unexpected. Since its showing at E3, nothing much else has been said about it.Well, during Leipzig the game was made available and IGN got their hands on it. In uploading two videos of the game in action, they have given us a very good feel for how speed on the player's part affects the music in the game.
More Halo 3 footage for your Halo obsessed soul
Bungie has posted a video featuring a behind the scenes look at the creation of the Halo 3 trailer, complete with commentary from several Bungie employees and footage of the orchestra and choir that was used to create the backing music. If, for whatever reason, you can't view the video, here's a quick summary of the content: Amusing quotes if taken out of context: Marty shows early signs of dementia with his paranoid "Where are we? Who is this? What's happening?" sound bite. A few snippets of unseen footage, mainly from different angles of the Halo 3 trailer. This could possibly be proof that the trailer was rendered in real time, although it's very likely that the sound, AI and everything else was pre-rendered. Some more mystery surrounding cortana: dare we say she's gone rampant? A lot of meaningless marketing lines that amount to not much more than hype. Phrases like "dynamic", "real stuff" and "that epic feel" don't tell us much about how Halo 3 is coming along. Overall, there isn't that much new to see here, although if you're a fan of Halo (who isn't?) the video is probably worth a few moments of your time. [Image: Emily Fulford]
