Square Enix Axes Sound Team
 

SEMO has revealed that Square Enix have axed their sound team.

Square Enix Music Online :: Video Game Music News

They'll instead adopt the Western approach of outsourcing to external talent rather than relying on internal staff. At present, it's unclear whether the entire sound team is affected or just the six composers (Nakano, Hamauzu, Sekito, Tanioka, Mizuta, Ishimoto). Either way, it's certainly the end of an era and a very sad fate for so many long-term employees.

Your thoughts? Is there still a future for sound teams in general or will this become the general trend?

Most of their former sound team members, and many sound team members in general, have been leaving their companies to go solo of late. Uematsu, Shimomura, Sakimoto, and many others have done so, yet have nevertheless been used by Squeenix since then.

So I guess that, for me, it doesn't really change anything; the only difference is that the composers will be hired on a per-game basis. It seems like things have been moving in that direction for some time, but we haven't really seen any ex-sound team members going hungry for lack of work, as it were.

Then again, by blasé attitude may be influenced by the fact that I don't really like any of Squeenix's current sound team with the exception of Tanioka.

I think that the general trend towards freelancers won't effect the quality of the music much, to us, as listeners. And in fact I think it will improve the lot of any established composer. I do, however, think that it will make the game music industry even less hospitable to new or upcoming composers. Whether or not that will have much long-term effect on end consumers, who knows.

At first glance you could think it's surprising but if you take a look on the things what's going on at Square Enix then you aren't so surprised anymore, maybe.

SE tries to be a bigger player in the west with first buying Eidos Interactive then giving a well-known franchise (Front Mission) into the hands of a Western developer (-> Front Mission Evolved) and this game's music is composed by a Western composer calling Garry Schyman. And just yesterday I've read about a rumor what says that it's planned to develop Final Fantasy also in the west.

Well, me as a European there are still enough reasons to blame SE (bad PAL versions, terrible or no localizations) but you can't say it's uninteresting to see the way they are want to go.

Seriously? Garry Schyman doing Front Mission? I totally have to hear that one for myself! Schyman is one of the most interesting Western composers around at the moment, and I'd love to hear his take on the franchise.

That brings up a good point as well: if letting the sound team go means getting the right person for the job instead of whoever happens to be convenient and cheap (I'm talking to you, Ishimoto!) then I'm all for it. Sounds like Hamauzu, Tamioka, and Nakano, who have the biggest fan followings, will be able to weather things just fine, and if I never hear another Ishimoto or Mizuta composition, well, I can handle that :)

No problem: Garry Schyman Scores Front Mission Evolved @ SEMO :)