Video Games As The New Radio?

from the well,-sort-of... dept

It sounds like video game companies are trying to convince music labels that the way to make songs into a big hit is no longer to focus on radio airplay, but to get those songs included in a hit video game. It makes sense. People play a video game often enough, and if the song is catchy, it's likely that people will go find out more about it. Of course, it's a limited channel -- unless video game companies start to build in internet radio style interfaces to games, to let them continually change the songs included. Still, the main bit that caught my eye in this article was the bizarre claim that Madden 2005 made Green Day famous. I may not be an expert on music, but Green Day was big quite some time before Madden 2005 came out. Not according to this article, though: "Games can also catapult little known bands to stardom. This happened recently with Green Day whose "American Idol" shot to fame through the hugely successful "Madden NFL 2005" sports game video, which now has a cult following in the United States."
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  • identicon
    Dan, 27 Jan 2005 @ 4:32am

    bwahahahaha

    I think the album was called "American Idiot", for one. "Little known band" indeed!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Green Day Guy, 27 Jan 2005 @ 4:40am

    Been around

    I got into a fight at a bar about 8 years ago. I remember the *very popular* song being played was by Green Day: "Do you have the time....to listen to me whine....about nothing and everything all at once..."

    It is burnt into my brain from the adrenaline rush I got when my brother and I were pounding on these gorillas (and getting pounded back, lol).

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Steve Mueller, 27 Jan 2005 @ 5:36pm

    Green Day

    Green Day was pretty big as far back as 1995/1996 when the album "Dookie" came out, I think. They hadn't seemed to get much airplay lately, though, so perhaps the writer (an American Idiot himself?) meant to imply Madden 2005 helped Green Day make a comeback.

    P.S. I believe that song is "Basket Case" from the "Dookie" album.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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