GEM Impact
Encyclopedia
GEM Impact is an audio production studio founded by game composer and saxophonist Norihiko Hibino
in 2005. It is located in Tokyo, Japan, and employs a number of composers, producers, and artists. Hibino’s fluency in English has allowed him to take the GEM Impact brand to a worldwide platform, which is the basis for the studio’s motto: “From Japan to worldwide.”
The studio employs a number of composers, including Norihiko Hibino
himself, Takahiro Izutani
, Yoshitaka Suzuki, and Takahide Ayuzawa. They have often made use of the talents of artist Uetake MacARTHUR for their graphical needs.
While Norihiko Hibino
is well known for his contributions to the Metal Gear Solid
series, many were left wondering what role GEM Impact had on the score for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
, as their contributions were not publicized. Hibino later revealed via an interview with Original Sound Version that GEM Impact in fact provided 90 minutes of music for the cinematic sequences in the game.
GEM Impact operates alongside GEM Factory, an in-house record label that has released two albums including The Outer Rim and the Ninja Blade
Original Soundtrack. Vanilla Mood
, a night club in Japan, was also operated under GEM Impact, but closed at the end of 2008.
On September 2, 2008, FromSoftware announced the ninja action title, Ninja Blade
, and named Norihiko Hibino
and GEM Impact as the composers for the title. The team has already completed the music for the title, totaling close to three hours of original music. Hibino noted in a preview article at Original Sound Version that he believes this project represents the studio's greatest achievement to date, and it is a landmark for the studio. On February 10, 2009, it was announced that the group would work alongside Platinum Games sound director Masami Ueda and composer Hiroshi Yamaguchi on the company's action title Bayonetta
.
(CEO, Composer, Producer, Saxophonist)
Takahiro Izutani
(Composer)
Yoshitaka Suzuki (Composer)
Takahide Ayuzawa (Composer)
2009
2008
2007
2006
Norihiko Hibino
is a Japanese video game composer and saxophonist.-Biography:After graduating from Berklee College of Music, he moved to Kansas City to start a career as a solo jazz musician...
in 2005. It is located in Tokyo, Japan, and employs a number of composers, producers, and artists. Hibino’s fluency in English has allowed him to take the GEM Impact brand to a worldwide platform, which is the basis for the studio’s motto: “From Japan to worldwide.”
The studio employs a number of composers, including Norihiko Hibino
Norihiko Hibino
is a Japanese video game composer and saxophonist.-Biography:After graduating from Berklee College of Music, he moved to Kansas City to start a career as a solo jazz musician...
himself, Takahiro Izutani
Takahiro Izutani
Takahiro Izutani is a composer of video game music and a guitarist.- Profile :...
, Yoshitaka Suzuki, and Takahide Ayuzawa. They have often made use of the talents of artist Uetake MacARTHUR for their graphical needs.
While Norihiko Hibino
Norihiko Hibino
is a Japanese video game composer and saxophonist.-Biography:After graduating from Berklee College of Music, he moved to Kansas City to start a career as a solo jazz musician...
is well known for his contributions to the Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid
is a videogame by Hideo Kojima. The game was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and first published by Konami in 1998 for the PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to Kojimas early MSX2 computer games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake...
series, many were left wondering what role GEM Impact had on the score for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
is a video game developed by Kojima Productions for the PlayStation 3 console. The game was directed by Hideo Kojima and made its worldwide release on June 12, 2008, ten years after the release of Metal Gear Solid and twenty years after the North American release of Metal Gear.Guns of the Patriots...
, as their contributions were not publicized. Hibino later revealed via an interview with Original Sound Version that GEM Impact in fact provided 90 minutes of music for the cinematic sequences in the game.
GEM Impact operates alongside GEM Factory, an in-house record label that has released two albums including The Outer Rim and the Ninja Blade
Ninja Blade
is a video game developed and published by From Software for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. The game has been categorized as a "cinematic action game," combining a mixture of hack and slash elements with context-sensitive commands....
Original Soundtrack. Vanilla Mood
Vanilla Mood
is a group of music performers on the Avex record label in Japan. Their debut mini-album hit stores on February 8, 2006. All four women play their instrument of choice; Waka on flute, Yui on violin, Mariko on cello, and Keiko on piano.- Profiles :...
, a night club in Japan, was also operated under GEM Impact, but closed at the end of 2008.
On September 2, 2008, FromSoftware announced the ninja action title, Ninja Blade
Ninja Blade
is a video game developed and published by From Software for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. The game has been categorized as a "cinematic action game," combining a mixture of hack and slash elements with context-sensitive commands....
, and named Norihiko Hibino
Norihiko Hibino
is a Japanese video game composer and saxophonist.-Biography:After graduating from Berklee College of Music, he moved to Kansas City to start a career as a solo jazz musician...
and GEM Impact as the composers for the title. The team has already completed the music for the title, totaling close to three hours of original music. Hibino noted in a preview article at Original Sound Version that he believes this project represents the studio's greatest achievement to date, and it is a landmark for the studio. On February 10, 2009, it was announced that the group would work alongside Platinum Games sound director Masami Ueda and composer Hiroshi Yamaguchi on the company's action title Bayonetta
Bayonetta
is a hack and slash action game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 developed by Platinum Games in cooperation with publisher Sega. Set in a fictional city in Europe, the game centers on its title character, Bayonetta, who uses pistols and magical attacks to defeat enemies...
.
Staff
Norihiko HibinoNorihiko Hibino
is a Japanese video game composer and saxophonist.-Biography:After graduating from Berklee College of Music, he moved to Kansas City to start a career as a solo jazz musician...
(CEO, Composer, Producer, Saxophonist)
Takahiro Izutani
Takahiro Izutani
Takahiro Izutani is a composer of video game music and a guitarist.- Profile :...
(Composer)
Yoshitaka Suzuki (Composer)
Takahide Ayuzawa (Composer)
Credits
2011- Konami “Otomedius ExcellentOtomedius Excellentis an Xbox 360 game and the sequel to the 2007 arcade game Otomedius by Konami, which is a spin-off of the Gradius series. Otomedius Excellent features female characters representing different Konami franchises riding on vehicles or equipped with flying armor...
” (Xbox 360) - music, music arrangement
2009
- Platinum Games “BayonettaBayonettais a hack and slash action game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 developed by Platinum Games in cooperation with publisher Sega. Set in a fictional city in Europe, the game centers on its title character, Bayonetta, who uses pistols and magical attacks to defeat enemies...
” (PS3/Xbox 360, worldwide) - music
2008
- Sammy “Unannounced Title” (Arcade, Japan) – music
- FromSoftware “Ninja BladeNinja Bladeis a video game developed and published by From Software for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. The game has been categorized as a "cinematic action game," combining a mixture of hack and slash elements with context-sensitive commands....
” (Xbox 360, worldwide) – music, main theme, ending theme - Konami “Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the PatriotsMetal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriotsis a video game developed by Kojima Productions for the PlayStation 3 console. The game was directed by Hideo Kojima and made its worldwide release on June 12, 2008, ten years after the release of Metal Gear Solid and twenty years after the North American release of Metal Gear.Guns of the Patriots...
” (PS3, worldwide) – cinematic music - Atlus “Etrian Odyssey II SUPER ARRANGE VERSION” (CD, Japan) – music arrangement, production
- Grasshopper ManufactureGrasshopper ManufactureGrasshopper Manufacture, Inc. is a Japanese video game development house founded on March 30, 1998 in Suginami, Japan. Grasshopper gained mainstream attention in 2005 for the Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2 game Killer7...
“No More HeroesNo More Heroes (video game), is an action video game for the Wii video game system. It was directed by Goichi Suda , developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and published by Marvelous Entertainment Inc., Ubisoft and Rising Star Games...
” (Wii, worldwide) – main theme remix - The Outer Rim “The Outer Rim” (CD, worldwide) – production (via GEM Factory)
- Capcom “1942” (Xbox Live Arcade, USA) – music
- Konami “Metal Gear Solid 2 Bande Dessinee” (DVD, worldwide) – music
- Konami “BeatmaniaBeatmaniais a rhythm video game developed and distributed by Japanese game developer Konami and first released in 1997. It contributed largely to the boom of music games in 1998, and the series expanded not only with arcade sequels, but also moved to home consoles and other portable devices, achieving a...
11DX 14 GOLD” (PS2, worldwide) – music - Bandai Namco “Idolmaster Fami-Song 8-bit” (CD, Japan) – lyrics, music
- Gonzo “BlassreiterBlassreiteris a 2008 Japanese anime from the animation studio Gonzo and the multimedia studio Nitro+. The title is pseudo-German and literally means "Pale Rider"...
” (anime, worldwide) – music - Tochigi TV “The Sun” (TV, Japan) – music, main theme
2007
- Heiwa “Unannounced Title” (Arcade, Japan) – music, recording coordination
- Konami “Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus” (PSP, worldwide) – music
- Capcom “Commando 3” (Xbox Live Arcade, USA) – music
- Atlus “Etrian OdysseyEtrian OdysseyMedia Create/Famitsū reported that Etrian Odyssey had sold 119,584 copies in Japan as of July 1, 2007. Atlus' own July 2007 investors report listed US sales of the title at around 30,000 units, roughly 2 months after release....
SUPER ARRANGE VERSION” (CD, Japan) – music arrangement, production - Konami “Metal Gear SolidMetal Gear Solidis a videogame by Hideo Kojima. The game was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and first published by Konami in 1998 for the PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to Kojimas early MSX2 computer games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake...
Bande Dessinee 2” (PSP, worldwide) – music - Konami “Metal Gear Music Collection” (CD, Japan) – music, production, orchestral recording (China)
- Yuki Koyangi “Sunrise” (CD, Japan) – lyrics, music, production
- Chihiro Yonekura “Lion’s Song” (CD, Japan) – music
- Properst (http://www.properst.co.jp) (web corporate promotion, Japan) – music
- Marvelous Entertainment “Tokyo-Maj in Gakuen” (PS2, Japan) – sound design
- Tohokushinsha Film Corporation “Scary Nursery Rhymes” (movie, Japan) – music
- Konami “Pachi-Slot Beatmania” (Arcade, Japan) – music
- 10tacle “Boulder Dash” (DS, Europe) – music, sound design
2006
- Konami “Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops” (PSP, worldwide) – music
- SEGA “Yakuza 2” (PS2, worldwide) – music
- Spike “Elvandia Story” (PS2, worldwide) – music
- Konami “Rumble Roses XXRumble Roses XXRumble Roses XX is a female Wrestling game that was developed by YUKE's Future Media Creators and Konami for the Xbox 360 and is the sequel to the PlayStation 2 game, Rumble Roses...
” (Xbox 360, worldwide) – music - Gonzo “ROBO ROCK” (anime, Japan) – music
- Capcom “Monster HunterMonster HunterMonster Hunter is an action game for the PlayStation 2. The game was developed and published by Capcom. Monster Hunter was released in North America on September 21, 2004...
3rd Anniversary Soundtrack (CD, Japan) – main theme remix - Konami “Yu-Gi-Oh Online” (Xbox 360, USA/Europe) – music
- Konami “Thrill Drive 4” (arcade, worldwide) – music