VGM 465507 191353478 2008-02-14T04:51:27Z Lashiec 435988 Layout fix :''This article is about the audio format. For game music in general, see [[video game music]]. VGM may also refer to the [[Van Gogh Museum]]'' '''VGM''' ('''V'''ideo '''G'''ame '''M'''usic) is an [[audio format]] for multiple [[video game]] platforms, such as [[Sega]]'s [[Sega Master System|Master System]], [[Sega Game Gear|Game Gear]], [[Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis|Mega Drive/Genesis]], [[SG-1000 Mark III]], and possibly many others in the future. The normal [[filename extension]] is ''.vgm'', but files can also be [[Gzip]] compressed into ''.vgz'' files. Technically, ''.vgz'' files should be named ''.vgm.gz'', but because some popular [[operating system]]s' [[file manager]]s cannot handle file name suffixes that themselves contain a dot, ''.vgz'' is used in order to launch a VGM player (eg. [[Winamp]] with the proper [[plugin]]) and not a [[data compression]] program such as [[WinZip]] or [[WinRAR]]. On [[November 20]], [[2005]], VGM 1.50 was officially announced, and a new version of the input plugin released. The new version of the format now supports [[pulse-code modulation|PCM]] [[Optimization (computer science)|optimization]] for the [[Yamaha YM2612]] [[sound chip]], which makes sound files using the chip a lot smaller — sometimes with over 75% of size reduction. The first YM2612 VGM archive, [http://project2612.org/ Project 2612], optimized all of its packages soon after. == External links == * [http://www.smspower.org/music/ SMS Power! - Music Section] 8bit music (official VGM format site) ** [http://www.smspower.org/music/vgmspecs.shtml VGM File Format] Official specifications * [http://project2612.org/ Project 2612] The world's largest collection of Mega Drive/Genesis VGM Soundtracks * [http://www.zophar.net/vgm Zophar's Domain: VGM Archive] (Sega Master System/Game Gear) * [http://www.geocities.jp/playgamemusic Play Game Music] Sega SMS/GG VGM & Midi Music * [http://www.chipamp.org/ Chipamp] - Winamp plug-in bundle compiled by [[OverClocked ReMix]] allowing playback of over 40 chiptune and tracker formats * [http://audacious-media-player.org Audacious Media Player] - [[Audacious Media Player]] is capable of playing VGM files out of the box on Linux/Unix systems. A patch from [http://www.slack.net/~ant/libs/audio.html#Game_Music_Emu this webpage] is required to enable playback of VGM files that utilize the YM2413 synthesizer, and PSG Master System and Megadrive/Genesis VGMs are known to work with or without the patch. * [http://www.bannister.org/software/ao.htm Audio Overload] - Another program for playing VGMs. Available on Mac OS X, Windows, and x86/x86-64 Linux. {{videogame-software-stub}} {{VG Music Sound Formats}} [[Category:Digital audio]] [[Category:Video game music file formats]]