The idea of creating a website dedicated to Western game music first germinated into its creator's mind in 2004. Due to poor knowledge of web design and time constraints, it was not until October 28, 2007 that VGM Rush went online. The first version of the site was built in pure HTML. As of March 2, 2008, the second version of the site was introduced. The new features include a PHP/MySQL system, a new visual design, the phpBB forum software, an image gallery, and a more elaborated download section.

For the uninitialized, it is indeed a reality that several people have an interest for the music heard in video games. Right now, you might be thinking about the popular Super Mario Bros theme, and this is a good start, yet you might be surprised by how the music evolved since 1985 and how much more there is to it than this classic Nintendo anthem. With an open mind and a tolerance towards instrumental music, one can find a relatively well-hidden world of sonic wonders that is definitely worth exploring.

The history of gaming, the commercialization of VGM and the overall reception by the fans all contributed to the fact that the most popular game music comes from Japan. This country is the home of an impressive creativity and the origin of the majority of the soundtracks. However, other regions of the world are also involved in the production of game music, such as the United States and many European countries. The soundtracks coming from these are often referred to as "Western VGM".

Certain VGM "explorers" are under the impression that the Western lands are nothing but desolated and poor. It is a truth that not everybody enjoy the same music, but it is hard to believe they have such difficulties to find something pleasant to the ear. One could believe this is related to a poor knowledge of the music and prejudices. By digging a little deeper, many chances are that they would find valuable treasures. A parallel relationship could be made with the American Gold Rush, where the pioneers discovered many riches after having dug up in the wild Western territory. This connection was used to generate the site's theme and name: (Gold/VGM) "Rush" and an Old West-inspired visual design. Some people have made allusions to how "Rush" could also mean the intense pleasure felt after a drug injection. This is a good alternative if you are not into cowboys, but be careful not to overdose!

The motivations behind the creation of this website are various, yet the main one is to counter a certain tendency in the VGM fan community of how the West is, as mentioned above, frequently ignored or even downgraded compared to the Japanese side. Not to remove any of the Eastern merits, yet this shouldn’t imply that the West has absolutely nothing of interest to offer. Still, the popular general game music databases are built in a way that does not permit the inclusion of the bulk of Western material and thus it is left in the shadows. While there is a fair amount of specialized sites about it (e.g. PC soundtracks, Amiga music, etc.), there seemed to be missing a comprehensive site that would cover the topic globally. This is where VGM Rush comes in!

VGM Rush aims at providing a resource which game music aficionados could use to widen their horizons. The keystone is information on game credits, albums, and artists. But there is more: articles, reviews, interviews, a gallery, and forums. Another goal is to help visitors in finding the music they are looking for, be it by providing links to retailers or free sources when available, or by hosting select tracks and soundtracks locally in the "Gold Mine" section. A considerable portion of the music featured in it is rather obscure, having been carefully ripped from games and rare soundtrack CDs by VGM Rush's staff. In respect to copyrights, music that is available for purchase will not be hosted on the site. Furthermore, if you are one of the artists featured and would prefer your material to be removed, please contact the webmaster. Artists are also encouraged to communicate with the staff if they would wish to contribute any info or other resources.

It should be noted that VGM Rush is built around the artists and the music, which means that the content is not restricted only to official albums like a number of other game music databases. These CDs are important and fabulous to gain access to the music, but limiting the coverage to them is an omission of a large part of what is "game music" since so many titles never had their soundtracks released officially (especially in the West). Additionally, the coverage is extended to include less common material than what is usually featured or discussed in general sites (i.e. not only the current Hollywood scores or the 1 or 2 popular albums that get mentioned in every circumstances). There should be a nice blend of retro and recent music coverage, with a mission to preserve the past, but also to promote the present and future.

While new coverage is added regularly, VGM Rush is still far from covering all soundtracks and artists from the West. If you would be interested to help, be it by becoming a regular staff member or as a occasional freelance contributor, drop a line to Rimo. Also, there might be mistakes in the information that was compiled so far; if you notice any, it would be appreciated if you could inform the staff.

As a final note, I would like to mention that I believe game music should not have to be separated by regions. However, in practice so far, it was proven that Western artists and soundtracks usually get less attention and are not as well known as their Japanese counterparts. By bringing forward this website, the goal is not to further enhance the gap between them, but rather to help make game music as a whole to be better appreciated and respected.

Thank you for your interest,
and long live VGM!

-Rimo