Video game soundtracks feature strongly in a recent classical music poll, ranking their composers alongside Beethoven and Mozart.
The listener poll conducted by U.K. radio station Classic FM features 12 entries from video game soundtracks in its 300-strong Hall of Fame. It’s a reflection of the care that goes into composing game soundtracks and a sign of the increasing acceptance of video games alongside other, more established forms of media.
Listeners voted Japanese composer Nobuo Uematsu’s work on the Final Fantasy role-playing series in at No. 9. The entry cited more than 100 of Uematsu’s works, including Aerith’s Theme from Final Fantasy VII.
The highest-ranking female composer on the list was Yoko Shimomura, voted in at No. 30 for her work on the Kingdom Hearts role-playing series.
Jeremy Soule also placed at No. 11 for the Elder Scrolls series and Nintendo’s Koji Kondo had the highest new entry in the poll for his work on the Legend of Zelda games.
The 12 video game entries are an increase on the eight included in 2014, reflecting the enhanced status of video game music on Classic FM’s playlist.
“I didn’t expect to be thanking the video game industry for introducing the genre to a new generation of people, but it is wonderful,” the award-winning video game composer James Hannigan told The Independent. “Gaming is becoming recognized, and it is really symphonic.”