Is Video game music a genre?

Has anyone described video game music as their favorite genre? I’m sure some people have, but the idea of video game music even being a genre is probably inconceivable to anyone who isn’t an avid gamer. However, this genre is skyrocketing in popularity.
If you want proof, you wont find it in the sales record for game soundtracks, so how can we gauge video game music’s popularity?
Well, one quick search on Youtube should be enough to convince you. You can look for the oldest, most obscure game, and I promise that an obsessive fan has uploaded every song from that game. Have you ever heard of Kid Icarus? Neither have I, and with good reason; this game is 2 years older than I am. In spite of that, the music to this game has attracted over 20,000 views, 64 comments, and 1 video response.

Let’s compare that to a popular game. The Halo theme song has 1.2 million views, over 3,000 comments, and 5 video responses. 

Youtube also has the nifty feature of letting you create and share play lists; this has allowed gamers to compile their favorite songs. Ranked play lists are pretty common, and they are usually sorted into categories. These categories can be as broad as “top 100 video game songs ever” or as specific as “top 5 video game songs that made me cry once.”

The popularity of this music can easily be attributed to the skill of the composers, but we cannot ignore the feeling of nostalgia evoked by the tracks. The fact that gamers heard these songs for hours on end while experiencing memorable virtual events definitely helps their popularity.
My personal play list has 171 of my favorite video game tracks. Video game composers replaced my favorite bands a while ago.


Although this phenomenon is not widely recognized, the time will come when video game music will be considered a legitimate genre

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