Nintendo

Ryo Nagamatsu (music composer at Nintendo): I have made a decision to leave the company of April 30, 2023. I will work a little wider and more directly to help those who need my help and to help the industry.



Ryo Nagamatsu (music composer at Nintendo): I have made a decision to leave the company of April 30, 2023. I will work a little wider and more directly to help those who need my help and to help the industry.

by Turbostrider27

11 Comments

  1. blackthorn_orion

    Dude’s got [a heck of a resume](https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/Ryo_Nagamatsu#Song_Credits) under his belt.

    On the one hand, it’ll be cool to see him spread some of that talent to games outside Nintendo, but I’m also selfishly kinda hoping that going independent doesn’t mean he’ll completely stop being involved in Nintendo projects.

  3. Dukemon102

    Oh, how unfortunate, he was the best modern in-house composer for Nintendo. He had a participation in some of my favorite soundtracks like Super Mario Galaxy 2, Mario Kart 8, A Link Between Worlds, Link’s Awakening (Remake), Splatoon 2 and 3, and the BOTW trailer theme in Smash Bros.

    I hope he does well whereever he decides to go next.

  4. OoTgoated

    Now that’s really disappointing. I love Splatoon and he did a ton of notable work on that franchise. A shame he decided to leave but I wish him well on his future endeavors.

  5. thedudesews

    This is awesome!!! I love that he knows he is the bomb and wants to help other studios. Maybe he wants more control over his music and his art

  7. Yesshua

    This is just what makes the most economic sense for composers in Japan. Square Enix has also lost all their famous in-house composers. And Meguro jumped ship from Atlus last year as well.

    Actually this is a good thing though. This happens because the music licensing laws in Japan mean it’s often more profitable to be an artist for hire than a corporate drone. These laws usually come up in the context of legal bullshit and are an inconvenience for rereleases etc, but there are upsides. If a freelance Japanese composer makes a banging soundtrack that’s popular, they see a lot more direct income from that than an American composer.

    And that’s just kind of a good thing in society. Pay artists.

    There’s a reason basically every JRPG is out here trying to blow your pants off with the OST.

  8. iNoahPhotography

    I make videos every day of the GeoGuessr Daily Challenge, and I use all sorts of video game music in the background. In the description, I always make sure to credit the song, composer, and game, and Ryo Nagamatsu’s name has showed up more than anyone else’s. I love music, I love video game music, and this guy has composed some of Nintendo’s greatest tracks over the last 20+ years, it’s insane. It’s sad to see him leave, but his work will live on forever.

  9. siphillis

    Good for him. I’m all for creative empowerment, and Japan is finally beginning to move away from expecting one company to provide their entire career path.

  10. CoolguyLane666

    So he’s basically becoming a freelancer. That’s respectable

  11. omega_nik

    He made so many bangers. Hope we does well in his next chapter

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