I can tune out crap music in a game but great music can make a huge difference to the atmosphere in a game especially if you have a nice sound system.

It's not very important to me. A lot of the time, my TV/DS is muted, while I'm playing a game since I have something on in the background.

^I had a flatmate that used to like to listen to music while playing games, drove me nuts. I struggle to focus on games when there is different music on, so generally i'd rather have the game's crap music on, than some random background tunes.

There are a couple of reasons why music does not take such a huge part in discussions around videogames. First off, technologically sound is already 100% realistic. Not like graphics and control, which continues to not mimic life very well. So there is really no arms race to produce the best sound, because it's already lifelike. There was such a race once, but game no longer stands out on sound quality.

This means that the only distinction one can make in music these days is artistic. Imagine if all games were photorealistic. There wouldn't be much point arguing about which game has the best graphics, since that would be a completely subjective opinion.

So while technological perfection is the first reason I point to, the second reason has more to do with human nature. We tend to experience things with our eyes first and only after comes our other senses. We live our days spending time and effort to making our surrounding beautiful, but very seldom spend much effort on our audio surroundings. In short, sight is our primary sense. That means graphics > audio.

This said, I find music to be a key to how much I enjoy a game. Good music sets the mood and makes the difference between a mediocre game and a classic. Max Payne without music is a horrible experience.

It depends on the game. It's very important in rpgs, adventure and survival horror games.

great music (like those memorable classics such as mario, zelda, tetris) make a game truly great. However, most games these days seem to have music that is quickly forgotten.

I love the music in LBP, but couldn't tell you any of the songs they have in Shaun White. I love the music in Galaxy, but Okami has a completely forgotten sound track.

I disagree. There are still some technical hurdles left. Sampled instruments are still not perfect, and the race towards "interactive music" has only begun

OP: It is a well established fact that music is very important in setting the mood of a scene, and game designers certainly know as much. Visual elements take precedence, of course - as Killergran said, sight is our primary sense - but sound is still essential to our experience of the game. That's why sound (not music, really - it's mostly just ambience anyway) is so important in horror games, as they often rob us of sight and force us to rely on our other senses in an attempt to make us uncomfortable.

I don't mind the music as long as it is at 16-bit quality of higher.

E.g. Mega Man 3 was an extremely fun game but the beepy music irritates me to no end!

I think music isn't mentioned because bad music is just tuned out, so music only affects a game to a large degree when it is great, while crappy visuals are constantly staring you in the face.

Personally, I think sound design is always worth mentioning and make sure every review I check over for the site mentions it at some point. Even if it is only to describe the songs and say they are average.

I care a lot, and that's one of the reasons that Nintendo is my favourite developer