List of Film & TV Composers in VGM

I've had an interest in this for awhile--composers who work primarily in film or TV that moonlight in VGM. I've compiled a little list based on my own memory that's far from complete, and I'm looking for help in fleshing it out. So, if you know of any film or TV composer that's done VGM work, please let me know and I'll add it to the list! Feel free to make your opinions about film/TV composers in VGM known too.

Note 1
When I say music, I mean "original music." I'm not interested in music by film or TV composers that was simply dropped into a game or adapted by somebody else (hence no listing of all the Star Wars games that use John Williams' themes).

Note 2
I'm thinking of spinning composers who work primarily in anime into a seperate list, since there are so very many, so hold onto those for now.

Film Composers and Television Composers in Video Game Music

Angelo Badalamenti
Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy (co-wrote)

Lorne Balfe
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (co-wrote)

Richard Band
Casper
Clay Fighter 63 1/3 (co-composer)
Conquest of the New World
Descent to Undermountain (co-composer)
Invictus: In the Shadow of Olympus
Planescape: Torment (co-composer)
Star Trek Judgment Rites (co-wrote)
Star Trek Pinball
Stonekeep (cinematics)
Waterwold (cinematics)

Chuck Barth
RAMA

Giorgio Bertuccelli
Dr. Brain: Action Reaction (co-wrote)

David Bergeaud
Disruptor
Running Wild
Resistance: Fall of Man
Ratchet: Deadlocked
Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
Ratchet & Clank

Ed Bogas
Gran Turismo 4
Bo Jackson's Hit and Run! Baseball and Football
Super Tetris

Simon Boswell
Burn:Cycle (co-wrote)

Bruce Broughton
Heart of Darkness

Justin Caine Burnett
Metal Gear Solid 2 (cutscenes) (additional music)
Metal Gear Solid 3 (cutscenes) (additional music)

Sean Callery
24: The Game
James Bond: Everything Or Nothing

John Carpenter:
Sentinel Returns

Alf Clausen
The Simpsons: Cartoon Studio (co-wrote)

Bill Conti
The Godfather: The Game (co-wrote)

Stewart Copeland
Spyro the Dragon
Spyro 2
Spyro 3
Spyro 4

Elia Cmiral
The Last Express

Don Davis
The Matrix Online

John Debney
Lair

James Dooley
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Combined Assault
SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs
Dead to Rights II

Gred Edmonson
Uncharted: Drake's Revenge

Danny Elfman
Fable (main theme)

Harold Faltermeyer
Jack Orlando
Two Worlds

Christopher Franke
Babylon 5: Into the Fire (cancelled)

Yuko Fukushima
Arc The Lad: The Twilight of The Spirit (co-wrote)

Joel Goldsmith
Call of Duty 3
Tom Clancy SSN
Corpse Killer (additional music)

William Goldstein
King's Quest IV

Harry Gregson-Williams
Metal Gear Solid 4 (cutscenes) (in production)
Metal Gear Solid 2 (cutscenes)
Metal Gear Solid 3 (cutscenes)

Rupert Gregson-Williams
Battlefield 2 (console)

Jan Hammer
Police Quest 3

Paul Haslinger
Far Cry Instincts
Far Cry Predator
Rainbow Six Vegas

Takayuki Hattori
I.Q Intelligent Qube
Arc The Lad: The Twilight of The Spirit (co-wrote)

Joe Hisaishi
Tengai Makyo II Manji Maru

Michael Hoenig
Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate II

Taku Iwasaki
Cho Aniki
Uncharted Waters Online
Muv-Luv Alternative (co-wrote)

Steve Jablonsky
Command and Conquer 3 (co-wrote)

Laura Karpman
EverQuest II

Kenji Kawai
Sansara Naga 2
Sangokushi Online
Nobunaga no Yabou Online

[u]Michael Legrand[/b]
Torin's Passage

Christopher Lennertz
James Bond 007: From Russia with Love
Medal of Honor: European Assault
187 Ride or Die
Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun

Trevor Morris
Need for Speed: Carbon
Command and Conquer 3 (co-wrote)

Mark Mothersbaugh
Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot 2
Crash Bandicoot 3
Crash Team Racing
Interstate '82
Jak & Daxter
Jak II
Jak III
The Sims 2

Gregor Narholz
Battlefield 2142
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse

Joey Newman
Lineage: The Blood Pledge

Michael Nyman
Enemy Zero

Michiru Oshima
Legend of Legaia
ICO

Kow Otani
Shadow of the Colossus

John Ottman
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream

Barrington Pheloung
In Cold Blood
Broken Sword
Broken Sword II

Graeme Revell
Call of Duty 2

Craig Safan
Leisure Suit Larry 5 (co-wrote)

Ryuichi Sakamoto
L.O.L. Lack of Love
Seiken Densetsu 4 (main theme)
Tengai Makyo Ziria

Lalo Schifrin
Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (main theme)

Garry Schyman
Destroy All Humans!
Destroy All Humans! 2

Howard Shore
Soul of the Ultimate Nation

Michael Skloff
Dr. Brain: Action Reaction (co-wrote)

Mark Snow
Syphon Filter - The Omega Strain
Syphon Filter - Dark Mirror
Urban Assault

Christopher Stone
Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair

Christopher Tyng
Futurama: The Game
The Simpsons Road Rage

Michael Wandmacher
I Was an Atomic Mutant
Madagascar
Over the Hedge
Shattered Reality
Ultrawheels: Street Jam

Kousuke Yamashita
Nobunaga no Yabou
Xenosaga II (co-wrote)

Geoff Zanelli
Champions of Norrath (additional)
Shrek the Third

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Uhm... at the very least (I'm sure there are way more) Koichi Sugiyama, Motoi Sakuraba, Yoko Shimomura, Nobuo Uematsu all did some work for film and/or TV as well. Also Michael Giacchino actually once started as a VGM composer (earliest work I know is Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow by Eurogames in 1996, but there may be earlier ones), and so did Yoko Kanno (much of Koei's output in late 1980's/early 1990's).

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by datschge

Uhm... at the very least (I'm sure there are way more) Koichi Sugiyama, Motoi Sakuraba, Yoko Shimomura, Nobuo Uematsu all did some work for film and/or TV as well. Also Michael Giacchino actually once started as a VGM composer (earliest work I know is Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow by Eurogames in 1996, but there may be earlier ones), and so did Yoko Kanno (much of Koei's output in late 1980's/early 1990's).

This thread seems to target composers (that primarly compose for Film and/or TV) VGM works.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

It will be difficult to define the difference between VGM and Film/TV/Anime composer in some cases.
Mark Morgan also started with game music I think but now he's doing only movie scores.
Joey Newman composed for Lineage 1.
As for anime composers who also worked on games, that's almost an impossible task.

edit: ehm okay. Though I still don't know whether Mark Morgan would be film, tv or game music composer.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

David Bergeaud (of Ratchet & Clank series) started in the film industry.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by cubed

This thread seems to target composers (that primarly compose for Film and/or TV) VGM works.

This doesn't really help drawing a line though. E.g. Sakuraba did more TV works than game works between 1997 and 2002.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I'm also interested by this kind of information. I'll try to contribute as much as I can, but not many come to mind right now. Here's a few:

Michael Nyman
Enemy Zero

Laura Karpman
EverQuest II

Harold Faltermeyer
Jack Orlando

Elia Cmiral
The Last Express

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by datschge

Uhm... at the very least (I'm sure there are way more) Koichi Sugiyama, Motoi Sakuraba, Yoko Shimomura, Nobuo Uematsu all did some work for film and/or TV as well. Also Michael Giacchino actually once started as a VGM composer (earliest work I know is Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow by Eurogames in 1996, but there may be earlier ones), and so did Yoko Kanno (much of Koei's output in late 1980's/early 1990's).

Good points. I wasn't aware that Kanno and Giacchino had started in VGM and moved to films, so I've removed them from the list. As far as Uematsu, Shimomura, Sakuraba, and Sugiyama are concerned, they're primarily VGM composers who've done a film/TV score or two and therefore not within the scope of ths list.

Originally Posted by Teioh

It will be difficult to define the difference between VGM and Film/TV/Anime composer in some cases.

As far as I'm concerned, the definition is flexible. If you know of any gray areas, post them anyway!

Originally Posted by Teioh

As for anime composers who also worked on games, that's almost an impossible task.

This is true; you'll notice that the list has a Western bias for just that reason, though I'm not opposed to Eastern composers being on it; witness Sakamoto above.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Ryuichi Sakamoto also worked on Tengai Makyo Ziria.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Hirasawa Susumu has done several anime film/TV soundtracks, but also the soundtrack to the first Berserk (DC) game, and the main theme for the second one (PS2). Though in the last 15 years I believe he's had more solo albums than soundtracks so it's kind of hard to classify him as a film/TV composer.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Kenji Kawai: Sansara Naga 2, Sangokushi Online, Nobunaga no Yabou Online

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

No Ootani Kow? He did the soundtrack to Wander and the Colossus in addition to doing two noteworthy anime series.

Hell, better add Michiru Oshima (Legend of Legaia, ICO) and Taku Iwasaki (one of the Cho Aniki games, Uncharted Waters Online) to the mix as well.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by zzeroparticle

No Ootani Kow? He did the soundtrack to Wander and the Colossus in addition to doing two noteworthy anime series.

Anything like his Thunder Force work? =o

How ya doing, buddy?

Inon Zur: http://www.inonzur.com/credits.html

How ya doing, buddy?

Garry Schyman
Destroy All Humans!
Destroy All Humans! 2: Make War Not Love

FELIPE NO

Thank God for IMDB to check all of these

I've added all the suggestions except Hirasawa Susumu and Inon Zur. I can't find enough information on Susumu, and Zur hasn't scored any film or TV projects since 2000--he's pretty much a full-time game composer now.

Also added Ennio Morricone (Red Dead Revolver) and Don Davis (The Matrix Online). I thought about adding Frederic Talgorn, but can't find any confirmation that he was involved with producing original music for Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.2.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

From what I know, the music in Red Dead Revolver isn't original. It was borrowed from various western movie scores.

David Bergeaud
Disruptor
Running Wild

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Kentaro Haneda
Wizardy

Hiroshi Miyagawa
Startling Odyssey

Yuki Kajiura
Double Cast
Xenosage series

Yuko Fukushima
Arc The Lad: The Twilight of The Spirit

Takayuki Hattri
I.Q Intelligent Qube
Arc The Lad: The Twilight of The Spirit

Kousuke Yamashita
Nobunaga no Yabou
XenoSage I&II

Shiro Sagisu
Shining　Tears
Shining Force NEO

Kuniaki Haishima
KOWLOON'S GATE　

Kohei Takana
Sakura Wars

Shiro Hamaguchi
Many orchestration on SE games

Akifumi Tada
Gunparade March

Takayuki Negishi
Bloody Roor

Hayato Matsuo
Ogre series
DQ & FF Itadaki Steet Special
FINAL FANTASY XII

Kazuhiko Sawaguchi
Weltorv Estleia
Mario Party 64

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Rimo

From what I know, the music in Red Dead Revolver isn't original. It was borrowed from various western movie scores.

I've found contradictory information. the RDR manual does credit a number of individual cues from movies, but also gives Morricone a "music by" credit, as does IMDB. Some sources say he composed original tunes, some put him in a "music supervisor" role, and others have it all tracked in. I'm not familiar enough with his body of work to know for sure. I'll do some more research on it.

Originally Posted by Taisai

Shiro Hamaguchi
Many orchestration on SE games

Not interested in orchestrators unless they composed rather than arranged the music.

Quote:

Hayato Matsuo
Ogre series
DQ & FF Itadaki Steet Special
FINAL FANTASY XII

Definitely mainly a VGM composer this one.

I'm seriously considering spinning the anime composers off into their own thread. My experience is generally with Western composers, and the list looks like it could be deluged with anime composers. Would anyone be interested in maintaining such a thread?

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by orion_mk3

I'm seriously considering spinning the anime composers off into their own thread. My experience is generally with Western composers, and the list looks like it could be deluged with anime composers.

I see what you mean here. I would like to second Takayuki Hattori from the list Taisai posted though as he is mainly known as a composer of film and TV series (non-anime) scores.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

You didn't add Joey Newman yet. Perhaps he's not famous enough, but he's the cousin of Thomas Newman. And Lineage is the only VGM he composed.
Does Mark Morgan fall flat? 6 out of his 21 works are VGM, so I'm not sure.
For Taku Iwasaki you can add Muv-Luv Alternative, he composed a small couple of tracks for the game, along with Hikaru Nanase, who goes by many names and aliases but is mainly anime composer.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by orion_mk3

Definitely mainly a VGM composer this one.

Really? I thought his main area after joining IMAGINE was anime...though without a doubt he is more known for VGM works. Anyway, I totally understood it.

Originally Posted by orion_mk3

I'm seriously considering spinning the anime composers off into their own thread. My experience is generally with Western composers, and the list looks like it could be deluged with anime composers. Would anyone be interested in maintaining such a thread?

I see the point. So, maybe only Takayuki Hattori, Kousuke Yamashita, Yuko Fukushima are worth listing from mine.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

List's been updated. Ennio Morricone was removed; upon further research, it seems that, despite his "music by" credit, his material was almost certainly non-original; it's not listed on the composer's official website.

Added Bill Conti, Stewart Copeland, Yuko Fukushima, Rupert Gregson-Williams, Steve Jablonsky, Mark Mothersbaugh, Joel McNeely, Joey Newman, Graeme Revell, and Kousuke Yamashita

FELIPE NO

Joe Hisaishi ~ Tengai Makyo II Manji Maru Original Soundtrack

(btw...good to see you're still here, orion )

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Tappy

Joe Hisaishi ~ Tengai Makyo II Manji Maru Original Soundtrack

(btw...good to see you're still here, orion )

Nice to see you're still about too, Tappy! I've added Hisaishi to the list.

Jam it back in, in the dark.