Video Games Live to air on PBS this summer

News by Stephany Nunneley-Jackson News Editor

Published on July 14, 2010

US channel PBS has announced it's to air the Video Games Live concert performed back in April by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra

Featuring music from different series like Mario, Zelda, Sonic, Halo, WoW, Castlevania, Guitar Hero, God of War and Final Fantasy, the Orchestra was accompanied by co-founder of the concert events, Tommy Tallarico.

Tallarico has composed music more than 250 games including Earthworm Jim, Treasures of the Deep, Messiah, MDK, Maximo, Pac-Man World, Prince of Persia, and Advent Rising.

A special taping of the New Orleans concert will air as a PBS special during its summer fund drive in July and August, and a companion DVD/Blu-ray and CD set will be made available in North America through PBS until November 1.

The CD features 16 musical performances, and the DVD/Blu-Ray includes more than three hours of bonus material, including additional and extended music segments, composer and game developer interviews, exclusive game trailers, “making the game” documentaries, behind-the-scenes footage and composer commentary.

“I’m hoping that this project will have a positive impact on the perception of video games by the non-gaming world,” said Tallarico.

“We created Video Games Live over eight years ago to prove to the world how culturally significant and artistic video games have become. The goal was to create a show for everyone whether they play games or not.

"The fact that all of the game publishers have come on board with this project to help our mission says a lot about the future of gaming and how much they believe in Video Games Live.”

The DVD/Blu-ray also contains interview bites with actress and game fan Jamie Lee Curtis, along with video game composers Jack Wall, Russell Brower, Christopher Tin and Gerard Marino.

The game music performed includes: