Kota Suzuki, composer on Capcom's upcoming Resident Evil 5, said that he feels that the Western world is leading in game music production. But, Japan is catching up.

"I get the impression that production at western, particularly American developers is ahead of those in Japan," Suzuki said in an interview with music4games. "But, I think that more and more in Japan, the process of making video game music is becoming specialized. More and more Japanese production companies are working together with foreign companies, and sound production quality in Japan is approaching that of the west."

What? I think all of my games sound good, Japanese or Western. Tetsuya Shibata, senior manager of Capcom's sound division, clarifies: "You don’t notice much difference in the quality of the tracks themselves, but when it comes to post-production elements like recording and mixing, Japan still lags behind overseas operations."

From a compositional standpoint, I prefer most of the music coming out of Japan lately. Of course, as Shibata says, music isn't everything. I think that Western devs may put a bit more money into their sound budgets, and I think it shows in the end.

Thinking of the games you've played recently, which sound do you prefer?

[Via Develop]