On Dec. 10, NexTone held [GAME MUSIC CROSSING TOKYO 2025], a major live performance and DJ event that’s all about game music, at Spotify O-EAST in Shibuya, Tokyo.
This new event was held as part of NexTone Game Music Academy, a NexTone digital distribution business initiative. The event, with its lineup of live performances and DJs, was held with the cooperation of Atlus, Sega, and Bandai Namco Entertainment, breaking down the barriers between video game giants.
Sony Interactive Entertainment was also credited as a collaborator, and the event was kicked off with a live award ceremony collab with the PlayStation® Game Music Awards, recognizing the game music with the most plays over the course of the year based on Spotify and other streaming data.
Despite being scheduled at night on a weekday, the event drew in a large audience. Even before the event began, you could feel the audience’s love for games and their anticipation in everything from the way people took commemorative photos in the lobby, flanked by Sonic the Hedgehog and PAC-MAN, to the t-shirts and accessories they wore, adorned with their favorite game characters.
The event kicked off at 6:30 p.m. on the dot with the PlayStation Game Music Awards 2025 award ceremony, hosted by the artist UK, acoustic guitarist of the instrumental band MOROHA (which is currently on hiatus). The third-place winner was the Monster Hunter Wilds Original Soundtrack, a majestic soundtrack that expresses the vitality of the game’s massive world. Taking second place was the FINAL FANTASY XVI Original Soundtrack, with its heavy, dark fantasy feel. Japanese AAA games, renowned around the world, were making an excellent showing, but what really got the audience buzzing was the announcement of the first-place winner.
The winner of the prestigious grand prize was the soundtrack of an indie game, the Urban Myth Dissolution Center Original Soundtrack. The music, with its mysterious and addictive feel, has spread through social media and streaming services. The numbers show how passionate fans feel about these tunes, whose haunting vibe leads people to listen to them on repeat. On stage, the composer, Ada-P, said, “Honestly, after the wins by Monster Hunter and Final Fantasy, it came as a huge surprise for our soundtrack to be announced as the grand prize winner.” MURASAKI, the composer of the game’s theme song, “Kiki Kaitai,” also expressed his joy, saying “I’d like to say thank you to all of the listeners out there.” This victory demonstrated a new tide in the game music scene. In today’s streaming era, the appeal and quality of a piece of game music are no longer judged based on budget or title sales, but instead directly by listeners.
With the excitement of the award ceremony still in the air, UK put on a special live performance. Saying “this is my first time playing live since MOROHA went on its hiatus, so I’m really nervous,” he played a finger-picked version of “Pokke Village Theme” from Monster Hunter Freedom 2. The warm, bittersweet tone of the acoustic guitar evoked the image of the snow-covered village, transforming the entire mood of the venue. It gently drew on the nostalgia nestled deep in the memories of the audience. UK was followed by DJ Submerse, who talked about his own roots, explaining “I dived into game music when I was around eight years old. I loved the background music on the option menus, and the sound tests, too.” His set interwove songs linked to the awards. Having warmed up the crowd, he then passed the baton on to the live performance section of the event.
First up were Azumi Takahashi and Lotus Juice, who performed music from Persona 3 Reload. Their first song was “Mass Destruction,” one of the series’ finest anthems, used in Persona 3 Reload‘s battles. The voltage on the floor arced up instantaneously. The audience swayed as Lotus Juice’s keen-edged rap enmeshed with Azumi Takahashi’s soulful vocals on “It’s Going Down Now,” a global hit with over 100 million Spotify plays. They followed this by performing “Disconnected” for the first time ever in Japan and then continued with the global debut performance of “Don’t.” They captured the essence of the stylish, polished Persona sound, and their performance demonstrated why this music has earned worldwide recognition.
Next on stage were Tomoya Ohtani and Kanon Oguni, some of Sega’s finest sound creators. They began their DJ set by blasting the Sega Saturn startup sound, striking a chord with every old-school fan. Their set covered the whole history of Sega, including music from games from the peak of the arcade era, like Virtua Fighter and Daytona USA, more modern sounds like music from Phantasy Star, and heavy beats from the Yakuza series. Ohtani led the second half of the set, starting with the SONIC MUSIC EXPERIENCE, which fused music from Sega’s famous Sonic series with VJ visuals. His set covered a wide range of genres, from tango to jazz and EDM. Sega’s iconic mascot, Sonic, also took to the stage. Accompanied by frenetic breakcore music, Ohtani threw stuffed Sonic toys into the crowd, uniting the crowd even further.
That excitement was taken to an even higher level by the next act, the DJ team of Hiroshi Okubo and Sho Okada from Bandai Namco Game Music. The moment the Sega set ended, Okubo proclaimed his respect, shouting out “We’re Sega fans, too!” Then, taking over the DJ booth, he launched into his set with the opening music from PAC-MAN, which segued smoothly into a tune whose beat was the iconic sound of PAC-MAN eating dots. In a flash, he drew the audience into the world of Namco music. The audience swayed to the grooves of music from the Katamari Damacy series before Okubo changed the tone with the powerful beat of Tekken 8, creating a more aggressive vibe. Then he sped things up again with music from Ridge Racer. Next, he dropped “Katamari on the Doun” from Once Upon a KATAMARI, performed by Saki Hanami of Gakuen Idolmaster. The audience cheered the entire way through his set, a mix of old and new. Toward the end, the famous Namco character PAC-MAN came on stage and threw freebies into the crowd. Okubo boldly announced, “We’re going to do everything we can to take the PlayStation Game Music Awards grand prize home with us next year!” Then he drew his set to a humorous close with the game over music from The Tower of Druaga. You could truly tell that this was an event planned by entertainment experts.
The final act of the event was a DJ set by Aiobahn +81 centered on the Persona series. Series fans sang along to danceable anthems, from famous songs from Persona 4, like “Never More” and “Pursuing My True Self,” to stylish numbers from Persona 5, like “Life Will Change” and “Take Over.” During the finale, Sonic and PAC-MAN once again came on stage, a miraculous pairing that broke down the barriers between game companies. The show ended with a musical phrase from the Sega classic “NiGHTS into Dreams.” This classy performance, ending the set with a song from a competitor’s game, embodied the very spirit of the event, a pure expression of love for the culture of game music, across company lines.
Game music is no longer merely an accompaniment to gameplay. It has become part of people’s daily lives, through streaming. It fills the air in clubs. It excites audiences in live performances by artists. The energy shared by the fans and creators at Spotify O-EAST was enough to convince anyone that game music is going to be livening up Tokyo nightlife and music scenes around the world.
“GAME MUSIC CROSSING TOKYO” ～Collaborated with PlayStation® Game Music Awards～
Venue: Spotify O-EAST
Performers:
・ Azumi Takahashi, Lotus Juice
・ Aiobahn +81
・ Tomoya Ohtani [SEGA](DJ)
* DJ set primarily focused on music from Sonic
VJ: KIKUZO
・ Kanon Oguni [SEGA](DJ)
* DJ set primarily focused on music from Sega
・ Hiroshi Okubo [Bandai Namco Research Inc.], Sho Okada [Bandai Namco Studios Inc.]
* DJ set primarily focused on Bandai Namco Game Music
・ UK (PlayStation® Game Music Awards presenter)
・ Submerse (DJ)
* DJ set primarily focused on songs from PlayStation® Game Music Awards nominees
—This article by Yuki Tatsuta first appeared on Billboard Japan
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