Graphics, gameplay, and story are important elements in a game, but so is the game’s music. Having a great soundtrack only serves to further the immersion into the game, which is why soundtracks for games like Journey have been widely lauded. However sometimes there are also legal issues with the game’s music, like in the case of Final Fantasy XIV.
Industrial rock group Powerman 5000 has recently come forward and publicly accused the developers of Final Fantasy XIV for ripping off one of their songs. In a post on Facebook, the band wrote, “Got to say that the level of unimaginative theft that was used in creating this music for #finalfantasyXIV is mind blowing! I mean, this is When Worlds Collide! Using something as inspiration is one thing but a straight up rip off is another! Did they really think no one would notice?”
For those unfamiliar with the song or when the song is used in the game, it takes place in the background during the fight against Sephirot. In fact you can check it out for yourself in the video above in which the song starts playing around the 5 minute 30 second mark. For comparison purposes, you can check out the band’s song in the video below.
In response to the allegations, the game’s producer/director Naoki Yoshida released a statement explaining how they arrived at the theme. He also added, “Industrial rock is a popular genre that can be further divided into numerous sub-genres. Countless songs from these genres have been released worldwide, and I have been made aware of an allegation regarding similarities between an existing track and the track created for the 2nd phase of Containment Bay S1T7. However, track composer Masayoshi Soken, has also stated to me that he was unaware of the track in question while working on this FINAL FANTASY track.”
Based on this, it sounds like the game’s developers don’t think that they ripped anyone off, but take a listen to the songs and let us know what you guys think!
Filed in . Read more about Ff14, Final Fantasy, Legal, Music and Square Enix.