The PlayStation Game Music Awards 2019 honors the most popular game soundtracks on PlayStation Game Music, and the winners' comments are now available!

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) today, Tuesday, February 18, 2020, released comments from the winners of the PlayStation Game Music Grand Prize 2019.

The PlayStation Game Music Grand Prize 2019 awards popular game soundtracks on PlayStation Game Music, which showcases music across the PlayStation format, based on the number of plays and comments from viewers on Spotify. The results were announced in December 2019, with "STORMBLOOD: FINAL FANTASY XIV Original Soundtrack" taking first place.

This time, SIE presented trophies to the winners of the contest. SIE presented the trophies to the winners and released comments collected from producers, composers, and other people involved with the various productions.

The following is an excerpt from the comments of Masayoshi Soken, sound director of Square Enix, who worked on "STORMBLOOD: FINAL FANTASY XIV Original Soundtrack". All comments can be viewed on the special site, so please check it out.

Comments from Masayoshi Soken,Sound Director of Square Enix 】 ※Titles omitted

Soken: Please tell us how you feel about receiving this award.

Soken: I am very honored to receive the grand prize in such a wonderful award. Thank you very much!

Please tell us about the production episodes of your award-winning albums and songs.

Soken: Currently, "Final Fantasy XIV" is releasing its latest expansion package called "Jet-Black Villains," but the previous title, "Red Lotus Liberator," was one of the most difficult titles in "Final Fantasy XIV" in terms of sound production.

The themes of the game - Royal Road, Reclaim, Revolution, and Far East - and the content had to be appropriate for the "Final Fantasy" numbering system. The new music had to fulfill all of these requirements.

Furthermore, when arranging past "Final Fantasy" songs, it was necessary to arrange them in line with the current era and the content of the game without destroying the memories of the game experience that are firmly etched in your mind.

It was a very difficult challenge, but we had a lot of fun making it.

─ Do you have a message for the fans who voted and commented on the game?

Soken: "FINAL FANTASY XIV" is now in its 7th year since its rebirth with players all over the world.

Even before the creation of the "New Eorzea," I was still working at full strength, and to this day, I'm still chasing deadlines and producing sound.

It sounds like a hellish day when I say it like this, but I am sure it will be a fulfilling day when I look back on it later.

I hope to continue to make the world of "Eorzea," loved by all players, come alive with sound. In addition to game sound production, we will also continue to work hard to deliver even better sound to everyone through live performances and concerts, using the high potential of game sound as a form of entertainment.

Thank you very much for your continued support!