Rock band P.O.D. will include a surprise for fans in their upcoming fifth album, due for release on 4 November, 2003. Those choosing to part with USD 19.98 will not only get the San Diego, Ca bands music but also a demo of Amplitude for PS2.
The modified version of the game will be available in the first 1 million copies of the album and will only use the P.O.D. single Space, a song which will not be included in the album. The full version of Amplitude includes music from the likes of Garbage, Papa Roach, Weezer, Slipknot and of course P.O.D.'s Boom, remixed by Crystal Method.
The move aims to create a package which is not copyable and will therefore have to be purchased, at the same time however, it demonstrates that the music industry has recognized that its market is largely shared with gaming and that a large percentage of record sales originates from gamers.
In the same way, ambitious large scale games hire successful musicians in order to create an enticing combination of action and music. It is likely that in a few years, game soundtracks will outsell those of big Holywood movies.
The marketing effort by P.O.D.'s record label is an intelligent and promising move in the right direction both for the record and gaming industries.
