Fraser Gilbert: A sports game doesn't need a great soundtrack in order to be successful, but it can help to craft a sense of identity and provide a more memorable experience. In the years that follow, I'll often conjure up nostalgic memories when I hear these classic tunes on the radio.

EA SPORTS' FIFA and NHL series have been part of my life for the best part of twenty years, and although they've enjoyed plenty of great soundtracks in that time, my personal highlight is the one that was featured in 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. The game's unique selection of tunes offered something different from the yearly pop-centric offerings that have dominated the series for years. Featuring artists such as K'naan, Gang Of Instrumentals and Rocky Dawuni, each song worked to enhance the bright and colorful South African vibe.

Another favorite of mine is Mike Ault/Hollywood Principle's Rocket League soundtrack. While this compilation is unfortunately confined to the menu screens, it provides a foot-tapping concoction of electronica tunes that always gets me pumped up and ready to play. I bought the soundtrack at release, and I've had it on regular rotation ever since.

Jayson Young: Now that licensed soundtracks can get gamers' streams muted and give their videos copyright claims, it seems like a waste of money to sign an expensive playlist of well-known artists when those songs will probably just be silenced as soon as players boot up a game for the first time.

Today's publishers are probably better off paying a composer or two to create an original score that matches the tone of the game, like in Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2013 or Tecmo Super NBA Basketball. NBA Live 09's alternative approach of having ESPN Radio clips playing in the background also won't alert the Internet police. It's sad that soundtrack-centric series like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater can't be shown or broadcast these days unless their volume is dialed down to zero.


 

Mike Lowe: I cannot possibly recall each game's soundtracks over the years (and Google wouldn't do it justice), but I remember The Show and NBA having pretty solid contributions. My favorite, if I had to pick just one game series however, would be FIFA as that's the only game I can probably leave 90% of the songs as active without driving myself nuts.

Perhaps a cool feature would be to allow for a game to update a soundtrack each week or month, sort of like a "DJ Mode" similar to what 2k sports does with their weekly show on the basketball game. Users could even vote on submissions and things like that. Perhaps even gamers could submit their own "amateur" tracks for folks who can actually compile a decent song and recording.

Caley Roark: Ironically, as someone with a lot of musical education and experience, I don't usually pay attention to the soundtracks of sports games. Many times they feature rather forgettable pop tunes; sometimes I customize the playlists to feature only my favorite songs.

A few recent games stick out, however. First, I like the attempt NHL 2K7 made with "cinemotion," an emotion-driven orchestral score that made playing a game feel like a movie. I also have a soft-spot for MVP 2005, especially the flashbacks to that game that hearing "Tessie" brings. While not musically related, the audio highlights included in MLB: The Show each year are also appreciated.

My favorite soundtrack, though, would be any Madden that features the iconic NFL Films music. Nothing highlights the drama and excitement of football quite like the brassy strains of "Ramblin' Man from Gramblin" or "Up She Rises." 

Cicero: The best soundtrack should have a little bit of amazing for everyone and the one soundtrack that did this better than any before, or after, is Madden NFL 2004. This game had it all. Country? Check. Hip-hop? Check. Metal? Check. Punk rock/pop? Got that too.

The "Oh! THAT song!" award goes to Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl". This song, that seemed to be ubiquitous for a time, first debuted on this soundtrack. Other standouts include Outkast's "Church" and Killer Mike's Madden specific remix for "Akshon". A guilty pleasure is Joe Budden's "Pump It Up".

I look back on this soundtrack fondly & still play some the tracks to this day!

Kevin Groves: FIFA is the one consistent soundtrack that never wears on me to the point where I want to mute the game. It is ironic that a soundtrack comprised of mostly pop and rock songs would resonate so loudly with someone who grew up during the golden era of hip-hop (mid-90's in case you were wondering). To this day I still smile when I'm in a store and I hear a song featured on FIFA play over their speakers.

If there's one song that I could play on repeat it would be Tahiti 80s "Big Day" from the FIFA 08 soundtrack. If I had an alarm clock or took the time to program my phone's clock, I would wake up to that song.