First it was World War II, then zombies, and now 19th century Polish composer Frederic Chopin, with an upcoming rhythm game by Polish studio Bloober Team dedicated to the star of Namco Bandai's Eternal Sonata.
I suppose two video games based around your works doesn't count as a video game explosion, but I'm still keeping my eye out, now that a second Chopin-themed game is in the works. This time around it's a music game in a vein similar to Guitar Hero and Rock Band, which makes much more sense than the composer's appearance in a Japanese role-playing game.
Bloober Team's Music Master: Chopin, in development for the PC, Mac, and iPhone, is a game that celebrates the occasion of the famed composer's 200th birthday, which we forgot to celebrate back on March 1. Funded by a grant from the Polish government, the game will feature piano performances of Chopin's greatest works, along with some vocal tracks and rock arrangements, you know, for the kids.
The game is still at an early stage of development, with the first art assets weeks away, but it should be on track for a release in the first half of 2010, the year the Polish Ministry of Culture is calling The Year of Chopin.
The studio is currently in talks to bring the game to additional consoles, and I would love to see something like this show up on WiiWare, the PlayStation Network, or Xbox Live Arcade. I don't want to sound like an old man here, but when every radio station I turn on sounds exactly the same, it's time for you kids to remember what music was really all about - dying of pulmonary tuberculosis at the age of 39 in 1849 Paris.
New game featuring Chopin music is in development [GameMusic.net]